Nice, my little sourdough experiment worked. I had been minorly annoyed with how dense my bread came out a lot of the time. I was trying to figure out how to fix that.
I guess for a softer, more pliable dough. You add more water to the mixture. I usually add about 250 grams and I added 300 grams this time. And even though a picture doesn't quite tell you texture, I can confirm that the bread is much softer.
#breadstr #foodstr
Looks good!
Did you bake it in a loaf pan? How long did you let it proof for?
Yep, I used a loaf pan and I think I let it do a second proofing for about an hour and a half. Not sure on the initial proofing, I didn't really time it. I was just kind of keeping track of size.
I usually proof for 8 hours while occasionally stretching and folding the dough. Then the final proof is about an hour and a half, like yours.
Works pretty well for loaf pans and for round artisan loaves.
My problem is with more water itβs too sticky to work with. How do you work around that?
I just dusted it with flour as I was transferring it between my bowl and the loaf pan.
Definitely makes it more sticky and kind of annoying to work with.
Wet and sticky dough becomes much more pliable if you work it enough.
I tried a slap and fold technique for a while, like a more aggressive stretch and fold. It worked a bunch of air in and developed the dough so it was less sticky. It would take 15-30 minutes of work, though, so I've since been playing with water content and an easier stretch and fold to save time and effort.
Wet hands helps with the sticking. Like sloppy wet hands, lol.
Also, having a bread knife really helped me. I didn't have to touch it with my hands all too much.
Thatβs the opposite of what I would have thought! You always hear βwell-floured handsβ
I preach about The Sourdough School book by Vanessa Kimbell all the time, it's such a good resource explaining the how's and why's of sourdough. The water makes the flour slimy, so it slips off.
I hear sourdough English muffins make amazing hamburger buns...
I'm actually using my discard to make English muffins. π
Grilled Ciabatta rolls are the best I've ever found for hamburger buns.
I'll put some Kerrygold butter on them and slap them on the Blackstone till golden brown like a perfect grilled cheese.
Nice!
That looks really great. Giving it a longer time to rise and rest after light needing helps too
I prefer a more dense bread. It keeps what I spread actually on my bread.
I also found more water and the more I stretch and fold the more "holes" I get. So I intentionally add less water and do like max 2 stretch and folds, it then gives me more dense slices. Less sticky as well.
