[url=https://flic.kr/p/25XnDBq]DSC_0583[/url] by My Ti, on Flickr">http://[url=https://flic.kr/p/25XnDBq]DSC_0583[/url] by My Ti, on Flickr

This is 50 wholemeal spelt 450 white, 270 water. Much easier to get out of the banaton than my usual 340 water. Lovely crust, lovely texture quite light but a close crumb rather than big holes which I don’t mind as it’s better for spreading butter on but I’m wondering how the big holes holes are achieved. Could be my starter is not that active or maybe over proved slightly.

I didn’t really have time to try the mixing methods in the vid although I did take some tips from them and my finishing method is similar to the one in the last vid. Baked on a tray as it was too big for my le cruset. I made 3 crumpets with 130g of starter discard and half a teaspoon of sugar, quarter salt and quarter bicarb. They were really light and deliciously cheesy despite no cheese in there! My starter is Rye so I was surprised the crumpets were so light.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/27kuWJH]DSC_0585[/url] by My Ti, on Flickr">http://[url=https://flic.kr/p/27kuWJH]DSC_0585[/url] by My Ti, on Flickr

The texture was so good I actually made a sandwich with it which I rarely do as usually it’s a little dense and mostly I make it the night before so it’s not so fresh.

Think I’ll stick with the lower hydration for now and then be a bit more careful with my starter. Since summer hit I’ve been much busier and tend to feed my starter once a week, keeping it in the fridge and I’ve been pretty slap dash with the bread making as not really paying attention to timings.

Just bringing this thread back to life……

Does anyone use their sourdough starter specifically for pizza dough? And if so, any tips?

I love proper homemade pizza but have never really settled on a dough recipe I’m 100% happy with. Therefore am looking to try a sourdough starter. I’ve read up a bit and it seems as though rye flour is the preferred flour for creating and feeding the starter. Is that the case?

Cleaning up wise, it’s one of those jobs it’s actually good to procrastinate over. Leave all the bowl etc till the evening when the reminants have dried up, and then just chip it off.

Yes I have made pizza base using sourdough. By the time you have all the pizza toppings on it it hard to tell its sourdough but it does give you something to do with all the starter you normally discard from feeding.
You can either freeze the bases rolled out or freeze as a ball for rolling out.
A frozen base already rolled does not need to defrosted. Just add the topping and chuck it in the oven. I stack mine frozen with greaseproof paper in between.

As regards the starter flour I use spelt. I have used rye but it died. That was probably more to do with the yeast than the flour. I used organic grapes unwashed as they carry a natural yeast but it can be very hit and miss. You can also dry some of the starter and grind it to a powder and store it. Just add water to re activate.

Bump

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2fS6kyz]DSC_1197[/url] by My Ti, on Flickr" alt="bread" />

[url=https://flic.kr/p/25fuWLa]DSC_1198[/url] by My Ti, on Flickr" alt="sourdough " />

Myti,that looks gorgeous.

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.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/25ihaeV]DSC_1827[/url] by My Ti, on Flickr" alt="" />

[url=https://flic.kr/p/25ihbXV]DSC_1828[/url] by My Ti, on Flickr" alt="" />

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…..

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).

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…..

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.

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.

Right

Pics so far.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/P7LhMJkMizZTJUPD9

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 **** slice shot tomorrow.