Those delicious loaves of sourdough bread that are as beautiful as they are tasty? I am obsessed. I love baking them. I love the smell of fresh baked bread filling the house. And I love the taste- that tangy sourdough is so delicious. If you aren’t baking your own sourdough (or any kind of bread) maybe it is something you might enjoy as well.
Aside from the health benefits of eating bread with nothing but exactly what you want in it- aka no fluff to make it look more appealing, no preservatives to make it last weeks and no added anything that you don’t. Sourdough is also a bread that is healthier for you- it has probiotics just like some of the other things like kefir or sauerkraut that you might already enjoy. And it is just.plain.delcious.
Though as I mentioned last week, I am not really enjoying too many nibbles of it at the moment with the low carb meal plan my fitness trainer son has us following- but that is a whole other post haha. Even though I am not slicing it up to eat with soup or making sandwiches with it- I am enjoying baking it each week. There is something about mixing, shaping and then baking bread. It is a process and it is just plain fun. So, I make my son in law a loaf and also bring a loaf to family dinner each week. (I do usually sample one small bite of it to see how the flavor is turning out though)
While I am definitely NOT an expert- I only started this sourdough journey at the beginning of the year. I have learned a few things by trial and error and by doing a lot of research and joining some groups on sourdough baking that have been super helpful. So today, sharing a bit about how it has been going and a couple of tips that have worked for me.
Sourdough Bread Baking
Sourdough Starter
They say your bread is only as good as your starter and your starter has a whole personality of its own. Did you know that a lot of people name their starters? They become like a pet in a way. You feed them, you talk to them, they grow and bubble and get happy and give you what you need to make sourdough bread along with so many other recipes. I started out with a dehydrated sourdough starter I bought from Amazon – this is the one we started with HERE.
My daughter and I fed it, grew it, discarded, fed, grew and so on for 10 or 12 days before attempting to bake with it. Every day it got stronger and we got excited about every little bubble we would see pop up and when it was bubbling happy- we were feeling like proud parents. I will admit that I feed my starter too often- (it is like a person and needs love) it really should be in the fridge until I get ready to bake but I am slightly addicted to tending to it. So I do go through a bit of flour each week to maintain it.
Tips on What I have learned: The more strong and happy your starter is the better. I think our first loaf was pretty good- but the flavor and rise now is so much better than where we started and I think that has to do with the starter being more well established.
Tip: Less is more: I keep too much starter (because I am obsessed with feeding) and have several jars of discard at any given time (again, because I am obsessed with feeding it ) So, I am working on putting it in the fridge during the week and feeding it only before baking on Fridays (or whenever I am going to be baking) now.
Tip: Keep the starter more stiff rather than runny- it definitely makes a difference. I have gotten mine to be thicker by feeding it more flour than water and using rye flour- a tip from one of the groups I am in. The starter loves all the extra food. And don’t do as I do and keep too much starter and keep feeding it daily unless you are baking daily.
Discard
Every time you feed your starter – you remove half and discard it. But don’t discard it. Save it and use it to make all kinds of things- crackers, pizza, focaccia, you name it. It is gold like your starter- it is just unfed starter.
Baking Sourdough Bread
I tried several recipes before settling on what that has worked consistently. I have been following this one HERE– and one of the things I like is that her recipe is more no nonsense and simple than some of the others. She also has a ton of Q&A below and info that is helpful and I like the addition of the olive oil in her recipe. We use regular organic bread flour most often- but I am venturing into using a European flour for even better benefits. I do alter her recipe by including the stretch and folds which she says is optional-I love working the dough with my hands so really enjoy doing them. And after rising the loaves on the counter (or in the oven ) for several hours- I also like to put the loaves into the fridge for cold retard at minimum overnight. I am told this increases the health benefits of the sourdough and also breads down the gluten more for those that are sensitive. It also helps slow the fermentation process so you can bake a couple days later if you would like.
So as you can see it is a 2 day minimum process for baking- I start the loaf day one and get that process done- then cold proof overnight or more and bake the next day sometime. There are quite a few cheat recipes out there that cut the steps. We tried a couple early on but have found we do have the best luck by sticking with the 2 day schedule and using fed starter.
Scoring Sourdough Bread
Because this is one of my favorite parts- I LOVE to play with the scoring. So far, the leafy branch looking thing has worked the best. And I recently got the coveted ‘Ear’ on my bread which has made me so happy too. Those are both a result of taking a razor blade and cutting the dough before placing it into the oven.
Bread Oven for sourdough baking
I did it. I ordered a bread oven. They are pricey- I will be honest. I am a bargain hunter in all aspects but I also like whatever the version is that I want- so I did it. I ordered a Le Creuset Bread Oven that was new in the box but returned on Amazon and saved about $50 off the price. Not much savings but it made me feel like I got a wee bit of a deal haha. Honestly, the difference in how the loaves are rising and baking is insane. So it was a good purchase in my opinion. And it is so pretty so there is that.
Tip: While you can open bake, I suggest you get a bread oven or a good Dutch Oven. We started out baking in a Dutch Oven and it did okay as long as it was the taller one that allowed the loaves to rise nicely. Though it did always burn the bottom. Partly because in my ovens- where the racks are spaced, I have to use the lowest rack to allow for the tall bread oven to fit. A tip from my dad who is also baking sourdough every week – use crinkled up tin foil in the bottom of the pan. The bread is not necessarily the flattest on the bottom but it does not burn so that works perfectly for my oven. The bread oven creates steam while baking the first part of the time it is in the oven and definitely gives the bread the height and the size that I am trying to achieve.
What I am working on
More Sour
Currently, working on trying to get the sourdough bread even more sour. I started feeding some rye flour to help with that and I will keep you posted on how that turns out. For now, the taste is sour but mild and really is so good.
High Hydration sourdough bread
I am also working on baking a high hydration sourdough. The recipe I am currently using is for a fairly tight crumb- which is totally fine – it has been a wonderful one for me. But I do want to venture out into higher hydration which equals bigger holes in the crumb.
More Rise & More inclusions
And I would like to get the loaves to rise even more. These loaves are fairly small because I split them into more than one so that might contribute to smaller overall rise as well.
I would also like to try some more loaves with inclusions- I am obsessed with walnuts and cranberries so far and have done whole wheat with some nuts.
I will keep you posted on how those turn out. Would you like me to delve into anything more? Maybe share more on the starter or the baking process and what that looks like? I would also love any of your tips and tricks if you have any favorites or advice to add here. I am always up for starting a new couple of loaves so let me know any tips or questions and I can include some in the next post.
Here is a Banneton basket set with the elements for proofing, scoring, etc. and the jars we ordered for starters for those looking. Just click the photo to shop.
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Angie says
I love sourdough, and this past october finally took the plunge to learn how to make, and it has been so rewarding. PLUS, it is also so therapeutic. your loaves look beautiful.
Courtney says
It is such fun and rewarding indeed! If you have any tips to add or help- would love them!
Aussie Jo says
I have only tried sourdough once and it wasn’t to my liking but I know plenty do like it