I was reading some of the comments to yesterday’s post, and it made me reflect on my first attempts at sourdough baking.
If you’re new to baking with a sourdough starter, please let me reassure you – it isn’t scary. Don’t be put off by all the numbers and detailed instructions out there, adhering to them really isn’t as critical as some of the more diehard bakers will have you believe.
Let me explain.
A lot of sourdough bakers take it all very seriously – they measure their ingredients to the last gram, set up spreadsheets to crunch numbers to determine hydration percentages, measure the dough temperature and the ambient room temperature, control the amount of steam during the baking process – and so on.
This makes a great deal of sense in a commercial bakery situation – loaves need to be consistent in size and shape, and even the slightest variation in a batch can impact on quality and profit.
But if, like me, you’re just baking at home, for fun, sourdough baking can be an adventure. Even after nearly five years of breadbaking, my loaves will still turn out a little bit differently each time. That’s because I’m not overly concerned about exact quantities, my ambient kitchen temperature changes with the seasons, and my proving times vary depending on whatever else is happening in our lives.
My preferred dough is at 74% hydration purely because that lets me work in round numbers for the ingredients. It doesn’t really matter or make a great deal of difference (and I probably wouldn’t notice) if the finished dough was 72% or 76% – the baked loaves would still be delicious and my sons would still devour them.
So please don’t be put off by the thought that sourdough baking is an overly technical exercise. It really doesn’t have to be, and it’s great fun to play around with quantities and ingredients to see what works and what doesn’t.
Let me try to explain what I do in simple terms, so that those of you who are considering it can get a clear picture of the process in your mind:
Step 1: feed your starter on flour and water. Make sure to use a good bread or bakers flour, which is higher protein than plain (AP) flour. Keep feeding your starter and giving it time to digest its food. You’ll know it’s ready when it’s all bubbly and frothy.
Step 2: in a large mixing bowl, mix together the starter, water, flour and salt. I add oil to the dough because I like the taste it imparts on the finished loaf. Let it rest for about ten minutes, then turn it onto an oiled bench and give it a knead. Now turn it back into the mixing bowl (which has been scraped out and oiled), cover it and allow it to rise. This might take three hours, or it might take thirteen. With experience, you’ll instinctively know when the dough is ready, but to start with, let the dough rise until it’s almost doubled in size.
Step 3: turn the risen dough onto an oiled bench, divide it up, and shape it however you choose. This is the really fun part, where you can turn the dough into almost anything – from pizza to epi to loaves. You could make stuffed rolls like I do every week, or work the dough into a tray and dimple it into foccacia. Let it rise again while you preheat the oven.
Step 4: bake the dough. Once it’s baked, let it cool, and then scoff it blissfully!
Lastly, don’t be afraid to stuff up. Every time you bake a loaf which is a bit ordinary, you’re one step closer to baking one that is perfect!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I totally agree with you Celia. After spending so much time ‘researching’ sourdough methods, I’ve found that it’s not necessary to follow all the instructions to the letter. The only thing that I found particularly helpful was using pineapple juice for the first week on my starter. It took off really quickly with that whereas the plain water/flour combination struggled to get started. I’ve yet to get the Northwest starter going, but I’m looking forward to doing a comparison with mine once I do.
Thanks for the crumpet recipe – it was fabulous. Everyone loved them and my plan to freeze the leftovers went out the window. Definitely a keeper.
Meaghan, that’s fantastic! I’m so glad you enjoyed the crumpets, thanks for letting me know! I’m so impressed you’ve made your own starter – as I mentioned in the previous post comments, I’ve only ever managed to grow purple mould! :)
Celia – a very encouraging and positive piece on sourdough baking. I attempted sourdough with wild yeasts some years ago with varying results, but then got distracted (by kids, life, etc) and reverted to commercial yeast baking. However, I have a sachet of San Francisco starter tucked away somewhere and will dig it out this week. The weather here is due to warm up so the kitchen should be good for some bread proving!
Amanda, I reckon you’d have great fun with sourdough, especially with those starving teens of yours! :)
Reading about others sourdough always makes me feel inadequate and I’ve been using it for about 20 years!
I add a cup of warm water and a cup of flour whenever I use it- stir it up good and stick it in the fridge until I want it again.
It is a lot easier to use than it is to read about!
I made my own starter over the years, once I poured the warm water over a bunch of just picked grapes- once I used potato water- in the last batch, I used a tiny bit of yeast to start it.
Honestly- they all ended up tasting and working the same.
I’m not scientific- I just like good bread!
:)
This was a great post, Celia, THANKS!
Heidi, I can’t believe anything to do with bread could possibly make you feel inadequate – you’re the queen of shaped loaves! :)
The stuff ups will still taste great too. Scoff blissfully indeed!
Wise words – and a very nice post. Will be very helpful to many.
Love those pretty bagels.
Thanks for that Celia! It does seem like a very technical thing and perhaps that is why I haven’t really approached it. I really should though. OK a late New year’s resolution!
Becca and Doc, thank you! The sourdough bagels are always a hit here! :)
Lorraine, it really does sound harder than it is! :)
Hahaha! Ire indeed, bake away, it’s the best thing in life!
Jezza!
Jezza, if anyone could inspire someone to take on sourdough baking, it would be you! :)
Folks, check out Jeremy’s blog – http://www.stirthepots.com.
So very generous of you to share your sourdough knowledge and help demystify and take the fear away. I often wonder why breadmaking seems so “scary”.
I couldn’t agree more when you say if you make a mistake it helps get you closer to the perfect result the next time. Isn’t that true with all cooking and baking? I say that all the time. Some people seem to think they have wasted their time, effort and money when things don’t go quite right. And then will not have another go. Crazy isn’t it.
I love your top pic. The rolls look amazing.
Mariana.
Thanks Mariana! They’re sourdough bagels, and the boys love them (recipe is here)! We never worry too much about food disasters, because our chooks are very forgiving..hahaha!
You’re so right, one of the things I notice is that when people get stuck early on they get loads of conflicting advice and don’t know which to follow. So many methods out there and at the end of the day you have to make the bread your own. As with learning any new skill you have to trust your teacher. I had so many books to start with and realised very quickly that it was better just to work from one and see where that led. I suspect you did something similar?
Creating starters from scratch takes maybe a bit more patience than people realise these days. It’s worth it for people who have been baking for a few years to stop every now and then and try and make a new one from scratch and remind themselves how it goes. love Joanna
Jo, creating starters takes more patience than I have! Lucky for me we’re able to buy such good ones as well! :)
Hello, I’ve come here via Joanna’s blog, and I would just like to say how much I enjoyed reading such a sensible article on making sourdough bread. I have been making it for about 18 months and to begin with I got so frustrated because every book I picked up, and I looked at lots (!) gave different advice. And then when I read blogs, again every one seemed to have a different idea on how to make the ‘best’ sourdough. Then I decided to go with one book and see how it turned out, gradually I have evolved my own way of doing it that suits me and none of the bread gets wasted, some is not as good as others but I learn from every baking and enjoy it all.
I keep meaning to try making my own sourdough but it does seem daunting to start your own, even though I do like the sounds of ‘feeding it’ and knowing when its finished digesting. lol.
Great post Celia. A slow conversion of the masses to sourdough :-) Stuff ups are still able to be eaten which I love, (except for my under cooked, burnt on the outside, forgot the salt one…phew!)
I was just given Dan the Man’s book on the weekend and am rather excited to play with some of his recipes.
Well said, Celia! When I made my starter and started baking with sourdough nine years ago, information was pretty scarce. I just made it up as I went along! Now I read about bread a lot (I’ve just ordered Hamelman’s book) but mainly keep doing what works and trying ideas that sound interesting.
Jeanette, thanks for stopping by! It’s interesting how we all find our own techniques, isn’t it? I think a lot of that is because each starter seems to have a personality of its own.. :)
Helen, it’s really obvious that the starter organisms are alive and thriving. It’s like having a zoo in a bowl.. ;-)
Brydie, that’s exciting, I love Dan’s book! He has some really wonderful and very different recipes in it!
Liz, thank you – wow, nine years is a long time to be baking sourdough (especially here in Oz!). Have you been using the same starter the whole time?
Yes, nine years with the same starter, that spends most of its life in the refrigerator. I think it’s too hot in Australia to leave the starter out unless you can feed twice a day. I’ve been baking bread a lot longer though–probably about 35 years!
Thanks for demystifying sourdough Celia! Last year I tried making my own starter, fed it for days, then I went interstate and thought that it’ll be able to ‘grow’ better out of the fridge….I came back to some pretty strong smelling goop 8( Will try to make it again this year with reading your post 8)
This is great information on demystifying sourdough, this post is going onto my page, information like this just has to be shared huh. I love your advice about not being afraid of stuff ups, excellent advice, its the only way to finding the perfect results we’re after. Thanks Celia :)
I love sourdough but haven’t gotten around to hunting down some starter. I think you’ve inspired me. Either that or I’ll put it on my Birthday wish list. It’s an interesting read this year!
Soy, if anyone can grow their own starter, it’s you and Honey! :)
Anna, thanks love, I’m glad you found it useful! :)
Claire, thank you! If you can get your hands on Dan Lepard’s book The Handmade Loaf, it’s a great place to start the sourdough journey!
Great post Celia. I wasn’t in the least scared of sourdough until I heard all this talk of hydration ratios – I suddenly started to get a bit nervous. As you know thought, I’m a bit of a haphazard baker, so didn’t take it seriously for too long ;-)
Celia. I have been thinking alot about making my own bread lately. I am not too scared about the whole process but I am confused about the starter. Is this something I make or do I buy it preprepared somewhere.
Can you please clear this one up and then I think I am ready to give it a go!
Thanks
Vita, you can really do either – buy some or make your own. I tried but didn’t successfully start my own, so I bought mine in dried form from the US, and it’s been going strong ever since! :)