Thanks it only took me about 2 years to get to this stage 😂
looks lovely mate. so whats the recipe/method you're using for that bad boy?
The spring on that Myti! Are you sure your bread isn't dabbling in epo? 😉
If the 2 I am baking today come out half that well I'll be happy.
So I can get the outside looking like that every time now but the inside bubble size varies. It's a dark art I think. I'm still using that hobbs house method but my starter is rye. 200 starter, 300 white, 35 wholemeal (sometimes all white), 230g warm water, 7g salt and sesame seeds. Tweaks I've made are that I use 2/3rds the recipe amounts to fit nicely in my pot and makes it easier to handle and shape. I also stopped getting the bread out of the fridge an hour before baking and now it goes in cold to a hot oven apparently that increases oven spring also I think it was over proving before. 250 for 25 mins then 200 for 20 to 25 all with lid on. I used to try to get it from the banaton straight to the le cruset and it would go in wonky but now I turn onto a baking parchment and lift it into the pot.
myti, you use 200g starter, brant uses 30g, what do you think the difference makes? less starter = more fermentation time needed, hence brant taking a couple of days per loaf, and yours is mebbes 1 day?
must admit, im tempted to start baking again, but probably do it differently to last time. brants 'no knead/no prove' method appeals for the lack of faff but id need a bread tin. his is 50/50 flour/water which is very wet and no way i could shape that. id just cut down on the amounts as id just be making one loaf.
yours looks spot on too, you say you use a 'le creuset'? had a quick google and they range from cheap enough to very expensive, what size do you use?
I’ve done this one too. But prefer my lazy tin method.
https://www.hobbshousebakery.co.uk/blogs/recipes/henrys-sourdough
so youve also got a dutch oven/le creuset then?
may have to get meself one, just wary of adding more kitchen ornaments that never get used 😀
so youve also got a dutch oven/le creuset then?
may have to get meself one, just wary of adding more kitchen ornaments that never get used 😀
I have a couple of Le Crueset pots that I found at Tod Tip.
But proving then dumping proved dough into them is far too stressful. So I just use some nice bread tins I bought from a shop.
myti, you use 200g starter, brant uses 30g, what do you think the difference makes? less starter = more fermentation time needed, hence brant taking a couple of days per loaf, and yours is mebbes 1 day?
I think that’s the science.
When you start with 30g from the fridge, then make 100g over 24hrs then 500g again it wakes up properly and you get a much better rise.
It’s working well for me.
It's not a real le creset but a different brand. Any heavy cast iron pot will do. If you get a bigger one you can do a bigger loaf. Mine is smaller hence why I do 2/3rds of Henry's sourdough. If you like cooking it's an essential kitchen item imo. I use mine all the time for casseroles and curries. Brant I was getting frustrated with tipping the dough in too. It's so much better now I use a square of parchment.
So I decided to actively try to make a loaf with big holes...the holey grail of sourdough 😂. Found a good page with a few tips. https://www.virtuousbread.com/bread-and-conversation/how-do-i-get-holes-in-my-artisan-bread/
As my starter is rye and I was trying for big holes I fed it with white this time to increase the gluten and made it without any wholemeal flour and left out the seeds. I was really gentle with my folding and shaping this time which I'd forgotten about previously. Got a very pleasing result.
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I have a couple of Le Crueset pots that I found at Tod Tip.
But proving then dumping proved dough into them is far too stressful. So I just use some nice bread tins I bought from a shop.
well, my first effort at the 'brant loaf' hasnt turned out well.....
wouldnt mind seeing if theres a difference in looks at any stage brant?
left my 30/30/30g rye starter/rye flour/water combo for 24 hrs, mixed it with 200/200 canadian white flour from waitrose and water. this it it after that mix, which was left for 8 hrs.....
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mixed in another 300/300g flour water, plus salt, left for 2 hrs in an oiled loaf tin (all mixes covered with shower cap btw).
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preheat oven to max, 15 mins max, 15 mins 210, only thing i forgot was to slit the top with a razor. this was the result.....
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looks ok from the top, but a 'soggy bottom' and its really chewy and dense, like an overprooved loaf i did back in the day. not pleasant anyway. this was the bottom.
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ideally itd go straight onto a hot stone to cook the bottom, but as far as i can see im doing it the same was as brant, but with poor results?
Oh dear. Seriously have a go at Henry sourdough no knead. I found it really simple for getting started. But don't leave it out to come to room temperature before putting in the pot just straight from fridge to hot oven and tip it onto a baking parchment then lift that into the pot much easier. Or you could try his method but using the tin.
Omg that looks terrible.
Seems like a really inactive starter.
If stuff isn’t “foaming” up at various stages then it ain’t right.
I’m doing one tomorrow I think after rescuing a starter yesterday.
In fact I’ll get it started tonight and bake tomorrow.
You should have got a good rise in the tin. If it didn't do that it's screwed.
Some more updates this morning.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P7LhMJkMizZTJUPD9
well theres no doubting you get more bubbles than me, but i still get a fair bit of rise in mine, it maybe doubles, but is more 'fluffy' than 'bubbly'. yours is er....stiffer than mine tho.
no, as you can see it wasnt a very good rise in the tin, just an okay rise i spose, but it felt very heavy once done. a bad loaf :-/
dont know what the answer is, either bin the idea and buy sourdough instead, or keep persevering til i get it right (if ever). i spose its not the most expensive thing to keep plugging away at.
myti, ill probably try the henry no-knead after a few more goes at brants method. im away for a few days today, so will feed my starter again wednesday (its in the fridge now), and maybe build a white one to go alongside it to compare.
cheers
@sadexpunk - Do you think that baked for long enough and hot enough? It looks a bit underbaked to me.
I also tend to end up with quite dense loaves, trying to minimise the flour added when shaping helped me, but I've still yet to get much bread I'm really happy with.
@sadexpunk - to me it looks like the hydration of your loaf is v high - basically throughout you have equal amounts of water to flour so 100% hydration. For the sponge that's fine but for the final loaf I would expect more like 70% (from memory - at work currently will check later).
My high hydration, tinned, dead easy method is now on final proving I think it's called. Another hour and a half or so before they go in the oven.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P7LhMJkMizZTJUPD9
Pics updated with loaves baked. Well do sourdough ****er slice shot tomorrow.