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Questions tagged [sourdough]

Questions regarding baking and working with wild yeasts and starters (also known as levains or chefs).

Sourdough is generally used to refer to baked goods made using a culture of wild yeasts and symbiotic bacteria (usually Saccharomyces and Lactobacillus, respectively). This culture may be referred to as a starter, chef, levain, or mother. These cultures are usually maintained by adding a mixture of carbohydrates (such as flour, starchy vegetable matter, and/or sugar) and water to the existing culture and allowing it to rest in a warm environment while the microorganisms reproduce. A portion of this culture is then added when making a dough to leaven it.

For questions regarding other biological leavening agents see , and for questions regarding chemical leavening see or .

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How frequently should I feed my sourdough starter?

I am growing my first sourdough starter. It is a week old, but it isn't very active. My concern is that I might be feeding it too frequently or too infrequently. I could see it going either way. The process I have been using is to (initially)…
user2488125
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Sourdough starter issues

I've been trying unsuccessfully to create my sourdough starter. First of all it starts off well, i combine 100g of bread flour with 100g of water (bottled) mix well and leave it in my jar covered with cloth for 24 hours. Next day i always have a bit…
user54136
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Influence of salt on gluten

How does salt influence gluten development in sourdough bread dough? Does it inhibit or enhance it?
Frank Podborski
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Why won't my sourdough form a shapeable dough that doesn't stick?

I'm pretty new to the sourdough game and will admit that I have very little knowledge of the science behind it (hydration, etc.). I have so far tried two sourdough starters to make two simple sourdough boules which have both failed. The first was a…
emyrking
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Adding flavorings & fillings to bread dough

I have a basic sourdough bread recipe that I've made a few times with consistent results, so I decided to try modifying it with different flavors and fillings. My question is, are there general rules of thumb, specifically regarding how different…
JShweky
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Sourdough starter began acting strange after storing in fridge

I recently began developing a sourdough starter and it seemed much easier than it sounded - within a few days it was growing well and smelled good (like yeasty bread dough). On about day 5 or 6, I had to go away for the weekend, and so I stored the…
Jason
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Can I substitute a stainless steel pot for the traditional iron dutch oven?

I have very limited options in my kitchen, and while the dutch oven is the preferred method for getting an 'oven spring' while baking sourdough, I do not have a cast iron pot to do it. IF stainless steel is a good substitute, should I consider extra…
erasmortg
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How to rise and bake a sourdough loaf in the least amount of time?

Sometimes I need to bake a loaf or loaves of bread as soon as possible with my sourdough starter. For example my few tablespoons of starter needs to become bread within the next three hours when dinner is served. I'm happy to enrich it with sugar,…
ccsdg
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How does a sourdough sponge work?

I'm trying to learn more about sponges in breadmaking. Most recipes that I've found for sourdough bread don't use a sponge. What does it add? Also, what's a general rule of thumb for how to make one? From what I can gather, it looks like the sponge…
Kricket
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How to get a sourdough like effect without the hassle of a real sourdough starter?

I enjoy making bread, but the bread I make using standard yeast of course lacks that sourdough taste. But the process of making and maintaining a sourdough starter frankly requires a bit too much work and consistent attention from me. Is there a…
michaelw_newyork
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Could I use beer instead of/as well as water in my sourdough?

The sourdough recipe I use calls for 300ml of water to 500g of bread flour (along with the starter). Instead of this water, could I use beer - or a combination of beer and water? The reason I thought this would be possible is because the beer would…
Danger Fourpence
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are there any appliances that can automate feeding of sourdough starter?

I am a pretty busy person, and the last two times I've started a sourdough starter, I've ended up forgetting to feed it, and it went bad. I never got anything good out of it, but there were times where it seemed pretty alive (bubbling, etc.). Are…
gatoatigrado
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How do I diagnose and adjust my bread recipe?

Our family has maintained a sourdough start for several decades. It has great flavor, but we use it mostly for pancakes. I've tried making bread with it several times, but never get good results. This experience has led me to look for some sort of…
erickson
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How long will it take for yeast culture to adapt to new flour

My starter is made from organic whole wheat. I feed it twice a day every 12 hours with 1:1 ratio of flour to water. It almost triples in volume each feed. I started it on April 12/2020 I decided to change my feeding to 50% white all purpose and 50%…
Alvaro M
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85% hydration tangzhong sourdough bread - what went wrong?

I tried Foodgeek's 85% hydration tangzhong sourdough bread recipe (video here, text here). I only made 2 changes to the recipe: I used 100% bread flour (no whole wheat). I don't have a banneton, so I put the shaped loaf in a small rectangular…
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