I have been making Sourdough bread for while now. Trying all different kinds a starters, Raisin, Rye and others. All of this was adding up n the jars, since I only was make one or two loafs at a time a couple times a weeks. We loved the English Muffins and my New Orleans SD. Started to look for more books on Sourdough recipes.
Now if you know how I work. Books and I do not work well together. It seems the recipe has to be tweak. Most books have a statement at the beginning " recipes may not turn out exactly like the pictures". What!! why post the photo.... However, I found out that the measurements where off or the instructions were not clear. After cooking with Sourdough for awhile now, my learning curve has increased.
For one the way every one measures is different. Even with a scale, they can be different. Some weigh heavier and some lighter. having a few of them I see the issue. Where you set them out to be used. On one surface wood, or on Granite, stone , marble, laminate . All surfaces are not the same. One suggestion is to always use the same surface and place to measure the ingredients. Measure them twice. Use the same containers for each the item. Like one container to measure the flour, one for the sugar and one for the wet items. I have measured the sourdough in a one cup and then on a scale and Have gotten a different gram measurement than the book. Is the Starter thicker and thinner. That will effect the outcome of the bread. If the starter is thicker then you need more liquid in you mix. If the starter is thinner it will need to add more flour. Plus the thinner ones can cause all sort to different outcomes. The thing that I learned is it is important to stir the starter after the rise in the jar, before you measure it. That will make your outcomes consistent. It will also help in tweaking the recipe.
I have learned what Type of oil to add. For breads I usually use a lighter oil like sunflower. Pizza dough uses a robust olive oil. Italian bread use a lighter EVO oil. Dessert items use a coconut or Sun Flower can be used., you what that bread to has no oily taste. I tend to use unsalted butter for Desserts recipes. depending on the recipe I melt it or cut it into the dry ingredients,
Next s the baking temps. This can be tricky, do we use the convection oven or the regular oven settings. I found that using the regular setting ,the normal oven , does better. It browns better. Set the temp and let it come to temp, do not put the bread in when it come to temp and the oven buzzes. Let the oven sit at the temp for 5 to 10 minutes before putting the bread in. It is also good to heat the oven up to 5 degrees more and then turn it down to the correct temp once the bread is in. This helps with the heat loss as you open the oven door. Also always using parchment paper is a plus. I put a sprinkle of semolina flour on the top of the paper and some on the top of the regular breads. Found that the cover on the top does not sick to the bread during the final rise, and the bread does sick to the paper, the bottom comes out great.
As always wait for the bread to cools down before cutting. This helps with the heat pocks in the bread to even out. Making it not gummy. One thing I do is put a light weight gauze towel on the top as it cools . this helps make the top do so hard. However if you like the crusty top leave the bread to cool naturally. we like to toast our bread so like the softer tops.
I hope this helps with some issues we see in the sourdough bread making. I will be posting some more SD recipes with the real photos, no wish it was like that ones. This next week I will be posting my Blueberry Almond Paste Scones. I will also be working on a recipe for SD French Croissant.
