Thoughts

forno

I used [url=http://www.sourdough.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?t=243]this[/url] recipe to pop my sour dough cherry

Here is the result

[url=http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00034qg3.jpg][img]http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2675/dsc00034qg3.th.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dsc00035ja1.jpg][img]http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/6482/dsc00035ja1.th.jpg[/img][/url]

I dont think the starter really took, any ideas?

When I slashed the bread it didnt open up the way it normally does with a yeast bread

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Replies

matthew 2006 December 19

Forno,

Everybody is probably waiting for a few more details. How did you make the bread? How long does it take your starter to double @ what temperature.... interesting details like that will probably start a torrent of thoughts, possibilities and advice.

Matthew

TeckPoh's picture
TeckPoh 2006 December 19

Congrats, Forno, on starting on your sourdough journey!

I'm no expert (no technical cell in my body) but I'll give this a stab. Your bread appears to be on the heavy side...looks a bit rubbery? I've seen many a similar loaf in my kitchen.

1. The dough could have been overproved.

2. How was the dough mixed? If a mixer was used, there's some chance the beasties were killed if the temperature of the dough got too hot.

3. Was the oven heated long enough?

4. Was the bread baked long enough?

Bake more and show us more. How goes your brick oven?

forno 2006 December 19

[quote="TeckPoh"]
Congrats, Forno, on starting on your sourdough journey!

I'm no expert (no technical cell in my body) but I'll give this a stab. Your bread appears to be on the heavy side...looks a bit rubbery? I've seen many a similar loaf in my kitchen.

1. The dough could have been overproved.

[b]Dont think so, but it never seemed to get up, there were some very thin skined bubbles present on the surface of the dough
[/b]
2. How was the dough mixed? If a mixer was used, there's some chance the beasties were killed if the temperature of the dough got too hot.

[b]Ten prong method[/b]

3. Was the oven heated long enough?

[b]Yes but it doesnt get to 230, more like 215-220 by the thermometer[/b]

4. Was the bread baked long enough?

[b]According to the recipe + a bit for the slow oven[/b]

Bake more and show us more. How goes your brick oven?
[/quote]

Hi TP, I will be doing more baking over the holidays for sure, as for the brick oven, that is in the que of things to do We are doing some "real" baking so there have been nesting duties. Perhaps in 2/3 months

forno 2006 December 19

Does my starter look to be a bit low on activity??

[img]http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/6907/img5603ao3.jpg[/img]

TeckPoh's picture
TeckPoh 2006 December 19

Is that pix at the peak? My bubbles are usually bigger, lots more too. Sometimes if I peek at them at just the right time, I can catch them having a fun popping time. [size=18]*POP*[/size] *pop* [size=24]*POP* [/size] Martin Prior (who visits at Dan's and popped in here once) dips his hand into his starter and he actually 'feels' the activitiy.

Why don't you feed it one more time? I think Mick has some pix somewhere online. I've taken pix before...lemme go do some digging.

bethesdabakers's picture
bethesdabakers 2006 December 20

The photos are here [url]http://www.sourdough.com.au/forum//viewtopic.php?t=162[/url] - didn't get far with my beginners' guide. Ah well, been a funny year.

But I have just cranked up my wheat starter and rescued my maligned rye starter. Just need to get the imagination going again.

Mick

forno 2006 December 20

My starter has never looked anything like this

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/bethesdabakers/Provencal/millenniumstarter.jpg[/img]

I reckon I will start a starter again

carla's picture
carla 2006 December 20

You don't need to start a new one forno.
To the contrary - keep feeding it.
Every morning take one spoonful of the starter into a new bowl, add flour and water, mix well and cover with plastic wrap and keep warm (25 to 35*C).
In the evening repeat, dump the leftovers.
In the morning repeat, dump the leftovers.
And so on ...

Until after about a week you will get this result:

[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/6850-1/DSCN1968F.jpg[/img]

This my wheat starter which every so often (when he goes a bit lame) gets a few spoonfuls of freshly milled spelt. You see he likes it.

The trick is to keep feeding the yeasts. A new sour goes sour very quickly, but the yeasts are not strong enough in the beginning to rise a bread. This is why a lot of home bakers who use their sourdough not often enough add bakers yeast for the "lift".

But if you keep it going in a warm place and feed it regularly then you will get a very yeasty sourdough. Do put it in the fridge every so often though, as otherwise it will get too yeasty and you won't have enough sour bacteria to keep it healthy - it can then go mouldy rather quickly!

Good luck.

forno 2006 December 20

Mind you for a while it smelled pretty sweet, just in the last few days has it taken on a definate sour smell

SourDom 2006 December 20

forno,

given the warm weather in Melbourne, at present, you will probably find that you can refresh on 12 hour cycles. If you leave it for 24 hours it will smell quite strong. The bubbles will have died down after reaching a peak.

One way of doing this (to avoid going through a lot of flour) is to refresh in the morning, then put the starter in the fridge in the evening, then the next morning discard most, and refresh again.

To get up an amount of starter to bake with, add two parts flour and water to one part starter (eg 15g s, 30g w, 30g f)
then twelve hours later add one part flour to one part water to one part starter (eg 75g s, 75g w, 75g f)

hope this helps
Dom

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