Demystifying Sourdough Bread Baking
There are a lot of variables in maintaining a sourdough starter and then using that starter to bake bread. While roaming through the Breadtopia web site, I ran across a rather interesting article that describes those many variables and makes an attempt to demystify them for bread bakers who use sourdough starters.
Some other key points in this article that resonated with me were:
Some other key points in this article that resonated with me were:
- learn to 'listen' to the dough instead of rely on a strict 'formula/recipe' (i.e., with so many variables in the process, it is important to pay particular attention to the condition of the dough instead of relying on the recommended timing of the recipe)
- maintaining a whole grain flour starter, instead of a white flour starter, tends to result in a stronger sour flavor
- instead of using loads of flour to keep your hands from sticking to the dough, just periodically dip your fingers in water
- over-proofing is the single most common error that new sourdough bakers make - this for sure was difficult for me during my early days of baking with sourdough, and continues to be a problem when I fall back in the habit of relying on the recipe timing instead of 'listening' to the dough
- maintain the starter in a small hinged-lid jar, but remove the rubber seal so that the closed jar is not completely air tight
- the more starter you use relative to the flour, the quicker the fermentation process will be