Should I cut the sourdough starter in half when I’m doing a half of recipe? Even if I’m using a formula with percentages? Is there a concern that I will not have enough rise or fermentation with a smaller amount of starter?
If you're using a formula, you should be fine. For instance, if the recipe calls for 20% starter, just do that! It'll automatically be halved since you're halving the rest of the ingredients.
Mix it all together to form a shaggy dough. Stretch and fold every 30 minutes 3 times (total of 1.5 hours). Rest 45 minutes, then coil fold. Repeat. Rest final 45 minutes to an hour (total bulk ferment ~4.5 hours).
Preshape, bench rest 10 minutes, final shape. Proof in basket on the counter 30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
Score and bake in covered Dutch oven preheated to 500F for 22 minutes. Uncover, turn temp down to 450 and bake additional 8-12 minutes depending on desired color (this loaf was 9 minutes).
Autolysed flour and 280g water for 1.5 hours. Then added the starter, salt, and a few splashes of water (maybe about 10g more).
Stretch and folded 3 times at 30 minute intervals (so 1.5 hours), then 2 coil folds at 45 minute intervals (another 1.5 hours). Let rest additional 1-1.5 hours for a total bulk ferment time of around 4.5 hours (it was hot in my kitchen).
Preshaped, 10 minute bench rest, and then a final shape. Proofed overnight in the fridge.
The next morning, preheated Dutch oven to 500F. Scored and placed into the oven, and turned the temp down to 475. Baked covered for 22 minutes, uncovered and baked additional 9 minutes.
Before and after sourdough pizza with homemade sauce, two kinds of vegan cheese (VioLife mozzarella shreds and Miyoko’s smoked mozzarella) and Upton’s soyrizo. I started cutting it before I realized I needed an “after” photo!
Mix together the starter, water, and olive oil, making sure the starter is dissolved.
Add the flours and salt, mix by hand until a shaggy dough forms.
Stretch and fold the dough every 30 minutes for 2.5 hours.Â
Let the dough continue to bulk ferment, undisturbed, until pillowy. My kitchen was about 75F and decently humid, so total bulk fermentation from time of mixing was about 5 hours.
Preheat oven with baking stone as hot as it’ll go (500F in my case).
Turn dough out onto a cookie sheet lined with heavily oiled parchment paper. Dimple and stretch dough gently as far as it’ll go, cover and rest 20-30 minutes.
Stretch again, then top with your toppings of choice (in this case, homemade red sauce, Miyoko’s vegan smoked mozzarella, VioLife vegan shredded mozzarella, and Upton’s vegan chorizo. Bake 15-17 minutes, let cool 5-10 minutes, and enjoy!
115 g starter + 280g water + 400g bread flour + 8g salt.
Mix, stretch and fold every 30 min 3 times, then coil fold every 45min-1hour, 3 times. Let rest after final fold about 1.5 hours, shape, and refrigerate overnight. Bake in 475F preheated Dutch oven covered 24 minutes, uncovered 9 minutes
Hello! My wife and I really struggle to buy bread. She likes to take sandwiches to work but every time we buy bread it goes stale before she can use it all. We thought about sticking it in the freezer but our freezer is awful. Any suggestions for a bread I can make at home to provide her with sandwich material that makes small batches so we can avoid wasting food? We prefer wholewheat to white if that's important? (ps sorry this is so long!!)
Hey! The sandwich struggle is real, I feel you. The best solution for this is to get a smaller sized loaf pan — the average ones are usually 9" x 5" or 8 1/2" x 4 1/2". However, you can get smaller ones (like these 5.75″ x 3″ ones) and then scale down any recipe accordingly.Â
This looks like a pretty solid whole wheat sandwich bread recipe, but it makes 2 large loaves. So if you get some smaller pans, I’d probably divide this recipe at least in half, maybe even 1/3. You’d also need to reduce the cook time!
100g fed and happy sourdough starter, at peak (I fed mine hard red winter wheat)
Process:
First thing in the morning, feed starter (50g each starter, water, and flour, mixed.)
After 2-3 hours, in a large bowl mix the flours and water together. Start with 300g of water and add more if needed to fully moisten the flour so there aren’t dry clumps. You’re not looking for a smooth dough or anything, you just want to make sure the flour is all a moistened -- this is called the “autolyse” stage.
After an additional 2 hours (or when your fed starter has doubled in size) add the starter, salt, and an additional splash of water. Incorporate using whatever method you prefer. I pinch it in, fold it, and then use the Rubaud method (demonstrated here).Â
Do a round of stretch and folds every 30 minutes for 2 hours, then allow dough to rise another 2-4 hours (timing will depend on dough temp, room temp, how active your starter is, etc.)
When the dough has risen, is a little domed, is showing activity, and is jiggly, turn onto lightly dusted work surface.Â
Preshape, bench rest at least 10 minutes.
Gently shape and place in banneton/proofing basket (or colander lined with a kitchen towel) that has been dusted with rice flour.Â
Wrap in a plastic bag (or shower cap!) and place in fridge overnight.
The next day, preheat dutch oven as high as your oven will go for at least an hour (for me, this is about 500F.)
Turn dough onto parchment paper, score, and place in dutch oven.
Cover and bake 22 min with the lid on.
Uncover, turn heat down to 450F and bake additional 8-20 min (depending on hour dark you like your bread. This loaf was baked for 10 min uncovered.)
I was interviewed talking about baking bread, taking inspiration from Tumblr, and the communities on Tumblr and beyond that have come to love baking bread. Check it out!
I fed my starter and let it come to true peak, ~4.5 hours (I usually just keep my starter in the fridge post-feeding and use cold fed starter). Then just mixed literally all of it together, skipping the autolyse that I’ve been doing. Then did a stretch and fold at 30, 60, and 90 minutes (instead of lamination) and let it just sit and bulk for a total of about 5.5 hours post-mix.
Preshaped (gently), bench rested for 10, then final shaped (GENTLY) and proofed in a banneton in the fridge overnight.
Next day, preheated DO to 500, scored dough straight from the fridge and placed in oven. Turned the temp down to 450 and baked covered 30 min, uncovered 10 min.
Toasted sliced sourdough and slathered with a little vegan pesto from a tube, some veganaise, sliced farmer’s market heirloom tomatoes, baby bibb lettuce, and Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon (first time trying it!!!)
This was a fun series of experiments that included a long autolyse and my first time laminating sourdough — recipe below!
Ingredients:
One head garlic, roasted and then roughly chopped
Several sprigs fresh thyme
300g bread flour
100g red fife whole wheat flour
320g water
9g salt + additional splash of water
100g sourdough starter, previously fed, happy and bubbly
(To roast garlic, cut off top 1/4 of the head to expose the bulbs. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, roast at 375F for about an hour. Let cool, then remove roasted cloves. Use immediately or place in a small jar and cover with olive oil and refrigerate.)
Steps:
Autolyse stage: Mix flours and 320g water into a shaggy dough. Cover and let rest at least 1 hour, preferably longer. This loaf was an experiment in a longer autolyse — I let this one go over 3 hours.
After autolyse, add starter + salt and a splash of water to help the salt dissolve. I use the “Rubaud Method,” you can see a demonstration of it in this video.
Cover and rest 30 minutes, then perform a series of “stretch and folds,” which you can also see demonstrated in the above video.
Cover and rest 30 minutes, then laminate the dough. This is complicated but easy!
First, wet your work surface (I use a GIANT cutting board, you can just use your countertop.)
Remove the dough from your bowl and place on wet counter.
Gently stretch the dough out as thinly as possible. Go slow, you don’t want it to tear!!!
It’s fine to stretch some, let it rest for a minute, then stretch some more.
At this point when it was all stretched out thinly, I added the roasted garlic cloves and the stripped thyme.
Gently fold the dough over on itself like an envelope and continue to fold until you’ve got a nice little package with tons of layers.
Cover and rest 30 minutes, then gently do another round of stretch and folds.
Cover and rest 30 minutes, then gently do a FINAL round of stretch and folds. (total time so far — 2 hours from adding starter + salt)
Cover and let rise undisturbed additional 1.5-5 hours depending on temperature, humidity, and starter activity. This part is tricky! I let this loaf go about 2, 2.5 hours after the final stretch and folds for a total bulk fermentation time of 4-4.5 hours.
Gently turn dough onto a floured surface and preshape.
Bench rest (I did about 10 minutes)
Final shape, then place in a well-floured banneton or heavily floured cloth-lined colander. Protip — use a 60/40 mix of rice flour and regular flour to dust your bannetons, the rice flour REALLY helps with dough sticking!
Cover and rest on counter 30 minutes, then refrigerate covered overnight, up to 24 hours (this one was about 18 hours).
Next day, preheat Dutch oven in oven as hot as it will go (500F.) Score dough and place in Dutch oven, cover, turn heat down to 475F and bake 20 minutes.Â
Remove lid, turn heat down to 450F and bake additional 15-25 minutes depending on how dark you like your bread. I like mine pretty bien cuit so this one was about 17 minutes uncovered.
50% red fife whole wheat, turned out better than I expected!
Basic Tartine method with ~250g each bread flour and stone ground red fife. 90g starter, 330g water, 1 hour “autolyse,” then added 10g salt +50g water.
Bulk ferment was about 5.5 hours after autolyse with s+f at 30, 60, and 120 min.
Solid 30 min rest after pre-shape before final shape, and about 24 hours cold proof in the fridge.
Mix 100g starter, 350g water, 450g bread flour, and 50g red fife whole wheat flour. Sit, covered, 45 min-1 hour. Add 10g salt and 50g water, incorporate, cover and rest 30 min. Stretch and fold every 30 min for 2-2.5 hours, let rest undisturbed additional ~1.5 hours.
Preshape, bench rest 20 min, shape. I proofed this one in a covered banneton for one hour on the counter, then 1.5 hours in the fridge. Preheat oven and Dutch oven to 500, score dough and turn down temp to 450. Bake covered 22 min, uncover and bake additional 12-20 min. Cool completely before cutting.
I have a well-established starter, and used 450g bread flour + 50g red fife flour. After bulk fermentation (the stage where you do the stretch and folds) I shaped and proofed on the counter for 1 hour and then covered and proofed in the fridge for about 1.5 hours.
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