The sourdough Starter Thread

[Feral007]

Yes, I feel quite proud of myself lol. Daughter who doesn't like breakfast had some this morning.
I've got two more ready to go.

I put the pan of water in the bottom of the oven but it still got pretty crusty on the outside, any other way of dealing with that?

And I'm planning to add walnuts to a loaf today, do I add any sugar or anything to sweeten the dough? It might be here somewhere but I've got a busy day today (and a friend coming with two toddlers so need to get this done before they arrive )

[Bren In Pots]

Feral I cook mine inside a Dutch oven it seems to trap steam inside so I don't need to mess around with trays of water.

I've found this link on adding walnuts and it doesn't mention sugar :-

Walnut Sourdough | The Fresh Loaf

[Feral007]

Thanks BIP - I looked around a bit and just ended up adding some sugar at the last knockback (will prob all end up in a pile like someone's chilli) and added the walnuts in at the same time. There was a supposed recipe for walnut sourdough but it used dry yeast, butter, milk, sugar, and eggs.........didn't sound like any sourdough I'd heard of recently.

Gosh Bren that link is very scientific! I just like to bung it all in and hope for the best! All those percentages made my head hurt - if I had any wine I would have had to have a glass after all that

Forgot to mention that the sponge when I went to use it this morning was really puffy, but then when I added the white flour (had used the last of the white spelt the night before) it was so sticky I was covered in it - everytime I tried to scrape some off it just stuck to the other hand. It was a bit like a cartoon in the finish! Definately not at all like the first one which was half rye/half white spelt. Not sure if it was the rye only in the sponge, or the shop bought white bread flour that did it. Would have been funny if it wasn't so messy!

[Feral007]

Not looking good. Both loaves rose really well near the fire, but when I went to turn each of them onto the baking sheet they stuck to the cloth and deflated a lot.
Not looking good at all. Tis a good thing yesterdays loaf went so well or I'd be feeling a bit put off by it.

I think it must be the flour. I'll get some more spelt when I get back from the seminar and give it another go.
Might freeze half my starter before I go and put the rest in the fridge so it can rest up and relax while I'm gone

[Bren In Pots]

Feral I don't do percentages either I add my water and flour by how it looks and that seems to work out ok. Your deflated loaves might bounce back in the oven.

[Feral007]

The walnut one is a bit flat, but it tastes ok. Hard to cut tho, the vanilla sugar sprinkled on the outside makes cutting it interesting.
Haven't tried the other one yet - seems very hard on the outside also.
I'm going to get some more spelt flour and try that again when I get back next week.
So far, it's all edible, and I must admit that I don't feel bloated like I sometimes do after eating storebought bread.

[Jeanied]

That's why I have given up making sourdough for a while, Feral. I can't afford the dentist bills

I need to research how to get the crust thinner and not knife bouncingly hard!

[Feral007]

I need to try the pot thing Bren uses.

[Bren In Pots]

Feral using the Dutch oven does make a difference, here's a link for you to read :-

Dutch Oven Sourdough « Hand to Mouth | A Blog About Food

I don't use that recipe though instead I've been sticking to the River cottage one.

[Jeanied]

Bren do you tip the loaf onto the lid part before baking or do you put it in the bowl part?

[Bren In Pots]

Jeanie I tip it into the bowl here's a couple of photos I posted earlier in the thread :-

[Jeanied]

Ah yes, forgive me, it is a bit warm tonight and I forgot!

I tried one of my loaves in a cast iron pot without a lid (it was glass and broke) and it still had a very hard thick crust. I do have a new cast iron casserole (Aldi special) so I may try and use that once I get my starter up and running in the Autumn - I am determined to crack the technique before it cracks my teeth! Your link shows a gorgeous crust in the Dutch oven with it baked in the lid - and cut open it looks just right.

[Feral007]

My brain was so tired last night I just couldn't think 'dutch oven' and I missed the aldi ones d@mnit! But Camping World has some black ones so will grab one of those next week, and also more spelt flour.

[Bren In Pots]

I baked a loaf today and it turned out to be rather flat looking compared to the previous ones never mind it still tastes fine.

[Feral007]

Saw this thread and started to wonder if my sourdough starter is missing me yet.........left it in the fridge to have a big sleep while I'm away. Poor baby.