First loaf (I don't like the smell of it)

manitou

I made my first loaf of sourdough today, behold the picture.  But anyways, does sourdough suppose to smell a lot different than other kinds of bread while cooking?  I seemed to have done everything correctly, the bread did rise, but the smell of it is kind of noxious. Not really a light peasant aroma like regular white bread.    It smells sort of like burnt stale flour.  I didn't actually burn the loaf.   Maybe everything is normal and I just don't have tolerance for sourdough bread.   The internal texture of the bread is fine, but unfortunately its going to be fed to ducks because I can't eat it due to this smell.  My flour seems fine, I used it for french (dry yeast) bread not long ago and it turned out fine.   I just wonder if it's really suppose to smell this way? Perhaps it was the recipe? Are there any easy recipes that yield a loaf that smells more like regular bread?  

 

These is the ingredients in the one that I used.  The only compromise was that I used AP flour instead of unbleached flour.

  • 2 Cups of sponge (proofed starter)
  • 3 Cups of unbleached flour
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil or softened margarine
  • 4 teaspoons of sugar
  • 2 teaspoons of salt

 

 

Category: 
up
235 users have voted.

Replies

CayoKath 2010 March 9

Sourdough smells, well, sour...how does it taste with some butter on it?  That's the same recipe I started with.

manitou 2010 March 9

Thank you for the comment.   I guess this may come to a suprise, but I guess I never knew what sourdough was suppose to taste like.  I'm just one of these people who likes to do new things.  I'm pretty new to baking any kind of bread.  

 

It's unlike any bread I've had before. Not what I was expecting, but I'm glad I gave it a shot. 

rossnroller 2010 March 10

It might not have been sourness that was behind the aroma you found distasteful. And although the recipe you used might well make a bread many folk would like, I'm not much into adding sugar to SD bread - or oil, for that matter (although I sometimes do an Italian SD loaf with a little oil, and it does add a softness that is nice in that bread). 

I'd try a few different SD bread recipes before you decide that SD is not for you. It's a common misnomer that SD = sour flavour or aroma.  Many - if not most - SD breads do not taste or smell sour...and they're not 'supposed' to! I won't get into that discussion here, but there's plenty to be said on that topic.

Do give it another go or three. Try this Norwich SD - most folk seem to love that one, certainly including me, and it's a nice one to start with because the dough is not as highly hydrated as many, which makes it easier to handle. Or have a look through some of the excellent recipes on this site. Whatever you choose, I'd suggest you try to get away from that sugar + oil recipe for SD until you have baked and tasted a few other loaves. 

Cheers
Ross

 

Alie0Bronwynn 2010 March 16

I started with the same recipe and quickly moved away from it.  I don't recall the smell or the taste, but I know it was not the recipe I stuck with.

I love the smell of my baking bread, doesn't smell bad to me at all.  Just like baking bread.  :-)

 

Good luck!

manitou 2010 March 16

 

It probably was the recipe that I used, I'm going to try another.  I talked to my mother the other night and she said that there should be no difference in the taste and smell. So perhaps I did something wrong or it was the recipe that I used. Maybe it was the sugar, it was odd because the dough was rising normally for an hour, but then it kicked into overdrive and expanded suddenly, creating a deformed loaf. I could see how the sugar would cause that. I'm probably going to give my starter a little more time to mature as well, I used it the day it came to life.

Post Reply

Already a member? Login