Calling Sourdough

[Airencracken]

Where is that doughy fellow?

I have recently aquired a starter (Carl's Starter) and I've been baking with it and while I am pleased with the crust and the crumb I have been getting, I can't seem to wring a sour flavor out of the dough.

Tips appreciated.

TIA

-Marcus

[Napoleon54]

Where is that doughy fellow?

I have recently aquired a starter (Carl's Starter) and I've been baking with it and while I am pleased with the crust and the crumb I have been getting, I can't seem to wring a sour flavor out of the dough.

Tips appreciated.

TIA

-Marcus

*GASP*

Is it from the 1874 Oregon Trail Sourdough Preservation Society? I LOVE that stuff!!

[Yossarian]

Where is that doughy fellow?


-Marcus


:spock:


We've been posting on this board for how long? And we have the same first name... veddy interrrresstink

[Airencracken]

:spock:


We've been posting on this board for how long? And we have the same first name... veddy interrrresstink

I seem to remember this coming up before at some point... >_>


*GASP*

Is it from the 1874 Oregon Trail Sourdough Preservation Society? I LOVE that stuff!!

That's the one.

[sourdough]

Where is that doughy fellow?

I have recently aquired a starter (Carl's Starter) and I've been baking with it and while I am pleased with the crust and the crumb I have been getting, I can't seem to wring a sour flavor out of the dough.

Tips appreciated.

TIA

-Marcus


First of all, congratulations on getting some of Carl's Starter! Now to get more sour flavor out of your dough, you may want to add these adjustments to your baking procedure:

1) Spike your starter with rye flour. My baker started doing this with my superior yeast cultures and they went to it like Lindsey Lohan at an open bar. For every 1/4 cup of white flour, replace 1/2-1/3 Tablespoon with whole rye flour. Just a little bit will go a long way with flavor improvement.

2) Feed your starter well for at least a couple days before use and keep it at room temperature, if not warmer. Indoors, in the sun works fine, otherwise put it in the oven with the oven light on. The longer your starter is happy and munching on flour every day the more sour it will get.

3) Lengthen the fermentation time at a slightly lower temperature (no more than 70F), as the warmer temp reduces the sour taste. This will make a significant difference.

4) The last big improvement you can get in making it more sour is proofing your loaves/rounds in their pans/bannetons in the refrigerator overnight before final baking. I normally hang out in my banneton overnight normally 8-12 hours in the refrigerator before I go into the oven on my baking stone.

I hope these help - please let me know what works for you.

-Sourdough

[Airencracken]

Excellent. I shall attempt to get a hold of some rye flour as soon as I can.

I was already proofing the starter for a few days before I made my dough and I have experimented with doing overnight rises, but not in the fridge.

Nice tips.

Any recipes/books/websites that I should be looking at for a nice starter variety of loaves? I am interested in making other items, but I'd like to perfect the loaf first.

Thanks again!

[Nija]

:spock:


We've been posting on this board for how long? And we have the same first name... veddy interrrresstink
You guys have extra letters in your name.

-Mark

[mcs328]

You guys have extra letters in your name.

-Mark

I agree.

-Mark

[Airencracken]

You guys have extra letters in your name.

-Mark


Nah, you just lost a few letters. :D

[Markel]

You guys have extra letters in your name.

-Mark
:stupid:

"Mark the perfect man...." (Ps. 37:37)

[Yossarian]

You guys have extra letters in your name.

-Mark


you lost some, i think dopey found them with your lost KY

[kimchicowboy]

you lost some, i think dopey found them with your lost KY
:lmfao: oh boy. that gave me a good laugh.

[sourdough]

Excellent. I shall attempt to get a hold of some rye flour as soon as I can.

I was already proofing the starter for a few days before I made my dough and I have experimented with doing overnight rises, but not in the fridge.

Nice tips.

Any recipes/books/websites that I should be looking at for a nice starter variety of loaves? I am interested in making other items, but I'd like to perfect the loaf first.

Thanks again!


Just curious, are you using a pan or a banneton for your proofing? My baker has this linen-lined banneton (http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_430176) for me and works fantastic when making rounds like me.

[Airencracken]

Just curious, are you using a pan or a banneton for your proofing? My baker has this linen-lined banneton (http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_430176) for me and works fantastic when making rounds like me.

Currently using a bowl. That banneton looks nice, bit expensive though. I'll put it in the to-buy list.

[Napoleon54]

Just curious, are you using a pan or a banneton for your proofing? My baker has this linen-lined banneton (http://www.wasserstrom.com/restaurant-supplies-equipment/Product_430176) for me and works fantastic when making rounds like me.
Huh, neat. I've never heard of such a thing before. It looks comfy.

[sourdough]

Any recipes/books/websites that I should be looking at for a nice starter variety of loaves? I am interested in making other items, but I'd like to perfect the loaf first.

Thanks again!

You can also try this recipe from the egullet website: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/27634-sourdough-bread/

My baker started with this recipe and learned a lot about different aspects of artisan-style breadmaking this way. Enjoy!