Unless I discover something super duper awesome in the near future, this will be the last installment of a string of sourdough posts in the Candid Carbohydrate series…
Not that capturing wild yeast out of thin air isn’t awesome in and of itself. Because it totally is.
What if I told you you’d never have pay for baker’s yeast again?
Or that you could eat bread so packed with nutrients that it’s practically digested for you?
Still better yet, it contains the same gut-healthy bacteria as yogurt?!
See? Totally. Awesome.
Here are the previous posts we’ve covered on sourdough:
- Sourdough 101: The Crash Course
- Creating a Sourdough Starter
- A Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Making a Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter
- Sourdough Pancake Recipe w/Ideas for Variations
After successfully starting and working through three different starters, using two different methods, and a total of five different flours, I’ve gained a bit more experience when it comes to sourdough.
Granted though, I am by no means an expert.
I’m just a frugal foodie who has collected a few tips along the way, and I’d like to share them all with you! It’s been said before – making sourdough is more experimentation than following a recipe. But it’s also been said that we should learn from each other’s mistakes. 😉
In as organized fashion as random tips can be organized, here are some tips when making sourdough (based on some additional research and my own experience):
The Starter…
- Water kefir can be used instead of filtered water when making a starter. In general, this method produces a ready starter is less time.
- The good, healthy bacteria live in the water that often collects at the surface. It’s the bacteria that gives the bread its sour taste.
- The yeast lives in the dough portion of the starter. The yeast is what must be fed so it can multiply to the point of causing dough to rise.
- Feeding the starter more often will cause the yeast to multiply faster.
- Pouring off excess water will lessen the sour taste.
- Pouring off excess starter does not affect the yeast’s ability to multiply in the long run.
- In general, thicker starters yield better baked goods, so use less water when feeding the starter.
- If the starter feels too thick for a recipe, add water.
- Yeast thrives better with more rather than less air circulation.
- Medium pyrex bowls covered with a dinner plate are excellent for maintaining a starter.
- The same medium pyrex bowl can be used to create a starter as well, in lieu of a quart jar.
- Sourdough is forgiving. It thrives when fed regularly, but won’t throw fits if you miss a feeding (or two).
Making Dough…
- You want to bake with starter that is at its peak – when nearly all of the yeast has eaten but hasn’t begun to go dormant because of the lack of food. You can see when a starter has peaked because it will have a dome-shape on top.
- Starters peak in the 2-3 hour range after each feeding.
- Don’t skimp on the water that recipes call for. Sourdough recipes are wetter than traditional breads make with baker’s yeast.
- Make the following alterations to all sourdough recipes: In the beginning, combine the starter, water and half of the flour and let it sit for 10 minutes. Add the salt after all the remaining ingredients, knead briefly and let it sit for 10 minutes. When the dough is just pulling away from the sides of the mixer bowl, dump it out onto a lightly floured surface and let it sit for 10 minutes. Knead by hand for 5 minutes, then rest for five minutes. Repeat one more time.
- The press-your-thumb-to-test-for-springyness test works. Do it.
- The see-through-your-dough test works too. Try it.
- Two rises will produce a more sour bread than a single rise.
During the Rise…
- The quicker the dough rises, the less sour the bread will be.
- The longer the dough rises, the more sour the bread will be.
- The warmer the temperature, the quicker the dough will rise.
- It is possible for sourdough to over-rise. When baked, this dough will become flat discs.
- The vessel in which dough rises can limit the extent of the rise. Be sure to leave plenty of room for expansion. (That’s a two-loaf recipe split into thirds above)
- Controlling the temperature allows you to be in greater control of when the dough will be ready, and in turn, when the bread will be ready.
- The following methods will provide a consistent temperature for the bread to rise: heating pad on low, in an oven with the light on or in a dehydrator. Consider adjusting the temperature higher and lower to find the “sweet spot.” Using my heating pad on low gives me a rise time of 5-6 hours.
- Sourdough will not necessarily double in size during the rise(s).
When it’s Baking…
- Using a pan filled with boiling water adds moisture to the bread.
More General Tips…
- Sourdough takes time, patience and practice. Don’t give up!
- If bread fails despite repeated attempts, use the starter for other baked goods for a few weeks to a month. Meanwhile, feed the starter consistently to build up the concentration of the yeast.
Good stuff, Friends! My gf starter got nice and sour-smelling in the first few days. Now that i’m expanding it to start trying to bake a loaf, it smells more like yeast, not lacto. sourish. I haven’t poured anything out. Any way to encourage the sour-bugs preferentially?
Hi Jackie! There’s no fast way to sourdough – the traditional method of adding flour + water and pouring out is the best way to get good bugs!
I’ve tried your gluten free starter. I missed a couple feedings and an wondering what to do now. Should I drain off the excess water and just keep feeding?
Yep! That’s the beauty of sourdough. Once you get it going a little bit, it’s pretty forgiving. However, if you don’t see any new bubbles after 2-3 feedings, start over from scratch.
Hi Tiffany,
My starter of about 5-6 days is bubbling very, very little and certainly not doming. It’s in a wide-mouth quart jar and being fed 2-3 times a day. I only use filtered water. I’m stirring with a plastic chopstick since I read you should not use metal utensils. Any ideas why it’s not bubbling much?
Hi Vicky,
I would try using a bigger container, like a bowl. The quart jar is great for the first few days, but I found that when it’s moved to a bigger space with more room to breathe it does better. Also, are you pouring any starter out? Did I say not to use metal? I use metal spoons, lol!
Hi Tiffany,
Wondering if you could help me…made a gluten free starter back in the beginning of December. Baked my first loaf of bread in a cast iron dutch oven…ooooh did it turn out perfect! Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Made another one and there was a good size ‘pocket’ in it, but still edible. I made the third one and there was a HUGE ”pocket’ in it… totally inedible…not even the birds will eat this disaster. Any ideas?
Hi Robin!
Since your oven hasn’t changed (or at least I’m assuming it hasn’t!), the likely culprit could be not kneading well enough to get all the gas out, greasing a bowl during an early rise (when this grease mixing w/flour as you knead it creates dry pockets where air can seep in), not having a super tight shaped loaf, or not slashing the loaf before baking.
That could be information overload, but hopefully one of these will trigger some ideas for you. Maybe coincide with any changes you’ve made to your loaves when comparing #1 to #3? Hope this helps!!
Wow!!! Thank you so much for the prompt response! Hmmm…I have to grease the dutch oven because there is only one rise and when baking gluten free you don’t have to ‘knead’ the dough. But it caught my eye when you said ‘not having a super tight shaped loaf’…maybe that is it. With my first one I may have pushed the dough flatter in the dutch oven and then shaped it into a dome. I will try that. I was just wondering if the ‘starter’ could be a little too ‘excited’ and that would cause air…
You’re welcome Robin! How did it go?
hi Tiffany,
don’t worry, Malaysia is both hot and humid throughout the year. guess you won’t melt so easily just sweating a lot..
LOL, good to know Janetan!
Janet:
Any idea where to get sourdough starters in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, to be exact)?
Seems not many people have it…
Hi Tiffany,
here in my house the temp is more than 100. but normally i would just let the dough rise for first 4 hours then shape and final proofing for 2 hours. the bread isn’t sour at all, the secret is the starter must be super active healthy and the room temp must be around 30-32C. i have been baking with sourdough starter for more then a year and ever since i started, my baker’s instant yeast just sat quietly in the freezer..poor thing~
My baker’s yeast has been sitting too! Thanks for the tips Janetan – and your house is HOT! I’ve adjusted to the temperate climate here and we complain at 75 degrees, lol. If I visited you, I wonder if I’d melt! 😉
hi Tiffany,
recently i saw a Taiwan video about the temperature (between 24c-27c) of the dough during the first rise to control the taste of the bread. have you ever heard about this? here Malaysia, there isn’t much people using sourdough to make bread.
Hi Janetan!
Keeping the dough between 75-80 degrees F makes sense. That’s the temperature of a “warm spot” and keeping it within that range ensures a consistent rise. It would be a long rise, thus a more sour taste. My house is naturally 68, and my heating pad is 100. I’d love to find a happy place in the middle! 😉
hi there!
i wonder if you ever over proof your dough?? mine become non elastic when the dough over proofed. the surface of the dough have many hole that even you tried so hard to shape it but it just couldn’t have smooth surface but only many hole then if you moving to the final stage and bake it, the result is the bread collapse and become as hard as rock.. then i use the over proofed dough as a starter and feed it once a day for three days. then i start the making bread process again and voila!! the result is good..
Hi Janetan! Yep, I have overproofed. Turned out like a brick! That’s partly why I haven’t tried a double rise yet, but it’s nice to know that overproofed dough can be worked back into a starter again!
This is such a great series, Tiffany, I really need to try this! Thanks so much for sharing it on Waste Not Want Not Wednesday, I’ve pinned it : )
This is a great course–I know I’ll be referring to this series in the future!
Thanks Elsie!
I tried the sourdough starter and mine got moldy. Any ideas about what might have happened?
Hi Natalie,
That happened to me just last week! Mold on the surface of the starter isn’t a big deal. With a clean spoon, carefully scrape off the mold – take care not to stir it into the rest of the starter. Then get another clean spoon and scrape off another layer, just in case. Continue feeding/using as you originally intended.
If your schedule allows, trying adding a couple stirs throughout the day, after the 2-3 hours of feeding. Stirring should help prevent the stagnant environment that mold likes.