Hi Claire. Alas, my husband does not care for the funk of sourdough (I know, the philistine! Grounds for divorce, LOL) so I have not attempted baking a loaf (I, unlike my beloved, am all about fermented funk, sourdough, miso, sauerkraut, bring it on!). I have compromised with a rustic no knead artisan loaf that is not a sourdough but is quite good, and my husband loves it. The recipe contains a small amount of yeast (just half tsp) and the dough sits for 24 to 48 hours before baking. Enough ferment to give the bread flavor but not enough quite funky enough to put off my partner who is soudough averse. Speaking for myself, I LOVE sourdough and it is always my choice of toast when I go out for breakfast. My no knead recipe is pretty decent though, has a lovely crust. It is a recipe by cookbook author Bonnie Stern and I have been deferring to it for ages.
That rustic bread sounds lovely. Nothing beats homemade bread, whether it's sourdough or not. (Although I can't imagine not loving sourdough. Like you, I love all things funky and tangy. Your husband is lucky you put up with this nonsense, lol)
I am gf and sourdough very literally changed my life. We holiday in our motor home and I take my starter with me and bake in the van. Otherwise I have to rely on sliced white cardboard 🤢
That's amazing. (Also, respect for baking in a van.)
So you use gluten-free flour in the starter and loaf? Does it work well? My MIL is gluten-free (not an allergy, a preference) and she eats our regular (gluten) sourdough no problem. But she might enjoy making her own GF version at home...
Yes it’s all gf flour but I mix in loads of seeds and a bit of oats. Buckwheat flour for the loaf and doves farm brown bread flour for the starter. We were away for five weeks in the autumn and I took bags of my own recipe premixed and the starter and made the bread. As you say it’s easy once you get the hang of it but gf isn’t like a regular sourdough.
That sourdough kimchi pancake sure looks good. Did you make that with a sourdough discard pancake recipe and just mix kimchi in?
Ps - I just started my sourdough journey in October last year. I had taken a class at a farm store that sells pasture raised beef and pork and cheeses and butter and of course the bread she bakes, but I don’t use her recipes because she adds yeast and the first time I tried was horrible.
Hi Christine, welcome to the sourdough party. How are you getting on so far? (You're right on the yeast, by the way. Completely unnecessary. Sourdough just needs time.)
I make the pancake with active bubbly starter. Although, saying that, it doesn't need to be mega-bubbly. I give it a feed first thing, about 5 or 6 hours before I plan to make lunch and that works well enough. Then, just before I want to cook, I mix in some kimchi, leafy greens, any grated veg that I want to use up, and other tasty things like garlic, ginger, chillies, spices, etc. Depending on what I'm in the mood for and what's lying around. You can bung in all sorts.
Haha - I've certainly had a few 'interesting' loaves of sourdough - though I've never made one that we didn't eat enthusiastically. I've also had one or two that have climbed out of their proving baskets when we've had too much of a lie-in. I'm with you on hydration though - I've actually discovered that I prefer the crumb of lower hydration loaves, otherwise they have that waxy weirdness. I go 65% (but using a 100% levain, which makes it marginally wetter) for white and about 70% plus the same type of levain for wholemeal. I always do the final prove overnight in the fridge, which I think helps the loaf to hold its shape when you whack it into a hot oven. I've stopped pre-heating the tin (I use a lidded enamel roaster) - I did a really really scientific experiment (for which, read: tried it twice) and discovered the bread came out exactly the same if I put the loaf into a cold tin and added five minutes to the baking time. My forearms have thanked me for this. Sourdough has ruined all other bread for us, though I do love a loaf of 5o'clockapron porridge bread, which I make with 50/50 white/wholemeal spelt flour - so different to sourdough, but so quick, no kneading, just a quick mix, an hour's rise, then one knockdown, then prove in the tin (and SO good for gorgeously chewy wholemeal toast). I keep my starter in a small jam jar in the fridge, refresh once a week, and make crumpets every few weeks with the 'trash'. It always comes on holiday with us and Joan next door has a standby emergency jar in her freezer. I learned my lesson when I once forgot to bring mine back from Turkey (quelle horreur) and had to be resupplied by post by the lovely lavenderandlovage. Interestingly, when we got back to Turkey three months later, I just tipped off most of the (now grey) starter, refreshed it for three or four days running and: Voila! Back to its former glory. One last thing about sourdough though: teeth. Himself has an appointment with the dentist next week following a 'filling vs crust' battle.
Jayne, I LOVE that your neighbour has a jar of your starter, just in case - like giving them a spare key for emergencies. That's some next-level sourdough thinking. I bow down.
And I'm very interested to hear about your highly scientific experiment with a cold pan. *strokes chin, thoughtfully* I might give that a go. Although I don't find it a big deal to bung the pan in the oven while it's coming up to temperature - especially when using a bread mat to safely get the bread in and out of the pan.
Hi Claire. Alas, my husband does not care for the funk of sourdough (I know, the philistine! Grounds for divorce, LOL) so I have not attempted baking a loaf (I, unlike my beloved, am all about fermented funk, sourdough, miso, sauerkraut, bring it on!). I have compromised with a rustic no knead artisan loaf that is not a sourdough but is quite good, and my husband loves it. The recipe contains a small amount of yeast (just half tsp) and the dough sits for 24 to 48 hours before baking. Enough ferment to give the bread flavor but not enough quite funky enough to put off my partner who is soudough averse. Speaking for myself, I LOVE sourdough and it is always my choice of toast when I go out for breakfast. My no knead recipe is pretty decent though, has a lovely crust. It is a recipe by cookbook author Bonnie Stern and I have been deferring to it for ages.
That rustic bread sounds lovely. Nothing beats homemade bread, whether it's sourdough or not. (Although I can't imagine not loving sourdough. Like you, I love all things funky and tangy. Your husband is lucky you put up with this nonsense, lol)
I am gf and sourdough very literally changed my life. We holiday in our motor home and I take my starter with me and bake in the van. Otherwise I have to rely on sliced white cardboard 🤢
Better than it used to be but not great
That's amazing. (Also, respect for baking in a van.)
So you use gluten-free flour in the starter and loaf? Does it work well? My MIL is gluten-free (not an allergy, a preference) and she eats our regular (gluten) sourdough no problem. But she might enjoy making her own GF version at home...
Yes it’s all gf flour but I mix in loads of seeds and a bit of oats. Buckwheat flour for the loaf and doves farm brown bread flour for the starter. We were away for five weeks in the autumn and I took bags of my own recipe premixed and the starter and made the bread. As you say it’s easy once you get the hang of it but gf isn’t like a regular sourdough.
That's really interesting. I'll have to tell my MIL. I imagine GF supermarket bread is pretty miserable.
That sourdough kimchi pancake sure looks good. Did you make that with a sourdough discard pancake recipe and just mix kimchi in?
Ps - I just started my sourdough journey in October last year. I had taken a class at a farm store that sells pasture raised beef and pork and cheeses and butter and of course the bread she bakes, but I don’t use her recipes because she adds yeast and the first time I tried was horrible.
Hi Christine, welcome to the sourdough party. How are you getting on so far? (You're right on the yeast, by the way. Completely unnecessary. Sourdough just needs time.)
I make the pancake with active bubbly starter. Although, saying that, it doesn't need to be mega-bubbly. I give it a feed first thing, about 5 or 6 hours before I plan to make lunch and that works well enough. Then, just before I want to cook, I mix in some kimchi, leafy greens, any grated veg that I want to use up, and other tasty things like garlic, ginger, chillies, spices, etc. Depending on what I'm in the mood for and what's lying around. You can bung in all sorts.
Haha - I've certainly had a few 'interesting' loaves of sourdough - though I've never made one that we didn't eat enthusiastically. I've also had one or two that have climbed out of their proving baskets when we've had too much of a lie-in. I'm with you on hydration though - I've actually discovered that I prefer the crumb of lower hydration loaves, otherwise they have that waxy weirdness. I go 65% (but using a 100% levain, which makes it marginally wetter) for white and about 70% plus the same type of levain for wholemeal. I always do the final prove overnight in the fridge, which I think helps the loaf to hold its shape when you whack it into a hot oven. I've stopped pre-heating the tin (I use a lidded enamel roaster) - I did a really really scientific experiment (for which, read: tried it twice) and discovered the bread came out exactly the same if I put the loaf into a cold tin and added five minutes to the baking time. My forearms have thanked me for this. Sourdough has ruined all other bread for us, though I do love a loaf of 5o'clockapron porridge bread, which I make with 50/50 white/wholemeal spelt flour - so different to sourdough, but so quick, no kneading, just a quick mix, an hour's rise, then one knockdown, then prove in the tin (and SO good for gorgeously chewy wholemeal toast). I keep my starter in a small jam jar in the fridge, refresh once a week, and make crumpets every few weeks with the 'trash'. It always comes on holiday with us and Joan next door has a standby emergency jar in her freezer. I learned my lesson when I once forgot to bring mine back from Turkey (quelle horreur) and had to be resupplied by post by the lovely lavenderandlovage. Interestingly, when we got back to Turkey three months later, I just tipped off most of the (now grey) starter, refreshed it for three or four days running and: Voila! Back to its former glory. One last thing about sourdough though: teeth. Himself has an appointment with the dentist next week following a 'filling vs crust' battle.
Jayne, I LOVE that your neighbour has a jar of your starter, just in case - like giving them a spare key for emergencies. That's some next-level sourdough thinking. I bow down.
And I'm very interested to hear about your highly scientific experiment with a cold pan. *strokes chin, thoughtfully* I might give that a go. Although I don't find it a big deal to bung the pan in the oven while it's coming up to temperature - especially when using a bread mat to safely get the bread in and out of the pan.