Righty-o. I will chew on that tonight. Saké is making me in-effective.
I thought I saw many recipes that used more starter...30% vs your 20%.
If your water isn't soft it is most likely the starter then.
InTheShed Grows Inside & Out: Jump In Any Time
I thought I saw many recipes that used more starter...30% vs your 20%.
If your water isn't soft it is most likely the starter then.
- Thread starter
- #18,422
Thanks Dutch and thanks for the oven
.Don't count on me for successful baking of anything but cookies!
Oh, I never saw anything over 20% but since mine never even doubled in size it just might not have the right stuff.
Still, I've seen folks add starter and water to dry flour and knead immediately, and get something that looks like dough and not thick oatmeal. So something else might be at play.
I'm putting the bowl into the fridge, so any inspirations can Shirley wait until tomorrow.
Or maybe I'll ramble on some more...
Lol.
See what it looks like in the morning. Maybe it will be easier to work with if it's cool. Mark your bowl so you can tell how much it has risen if at all.
Lol.
See what it looks like in the morning. Maybe it will be easier to work with if it's cool. Mark your bowl so you can tell how much it has risen if at all.
I was surfing bread making forums. Probably not standard recipes.
At this point either more flour with the understanding that it will make the bread more dense and tough or pull it right out of the fridge and if she has risen at all, stick it right into the oven.
Lots of the rising is done during bake. It should have more flavor sitting in the fridge overnight.
Some slack bread doesn't turn out too bad.
- Thread starter
- #18,425
VG! After leaving it in the bowl for a couple of hours it thickened up a bit. Dynamo thought that I might have messed the recipe up by going to heavy on the wheat flour, and suggested I proof it overnight in the fridge. Of course, I can't actually bake them until tomorrow night and they might be out of energy by then, but I can't stay home from work to bake bread!I'll peek at them in the morning and see how they look, and hope they can hang on for 24 hours
.
dynamo1
Well-Known Member
O No, flatbread, in the Shed, if the starter didn't seem to rise I would try again with refreshed starter and you only need to turn it once an hourhow stiff- should be like almost thick pancake batter
nobodyhere
Well-Known Member
No, it means you will have a very thick heavy loaf.
I'll peek at them in the morning and see how they look, and hope they can hang on for 24 hours
nobodyhere
Well-Known Member
Tips:
Overkneading Wheat anything = less crumb
A standmixer with a dough hook is prefered to hand kneading.
Gram scale. Don't use volume measurements.
SAF yeast by the #, screw those little packets that require activation BS. SAF works for about 2 years after it expires.
Overkneading Wheat anything = less crumb
A standmixer with a dough hook is prefered to hand kneading.
Gram scale. Don't use volume measurements.
SAF yeast by the #, screw those little packets that require activation BS. SAF works for about 2 years after it expires.
- Thread starter
- #18,429
"Oh no!" said Kipper. "I have made a flat thing."
The starter was the consistency of thick pancake batter but it never rose much. Smelled right though.
Something will get baked tomorrow night come hell or high water.
Sourdough, no yeast packets. Gram scale, no volume. No stand mixer available though I did stand and mix.
DOH!
Just to add my $.02, bread consistency is pretty basic. If it's too stiff - add water (just a tsp at a time). If it's too "pancake batter-like" add a little more flour. Here's my suggestions: #1 add a bit more flour until you are happy with the consistency; #2 add approx 1 tsp of "instant" yeast.
Instant yeast is different than "rapid" or "fast rise" yeast. It is often labeled as "bread machine" yeast. It usually comes in a small jar - not packets. Instant yeast does not require any pre-activating. Just add it directly to the flour, or in your case, the dough (then knead it in). I know you are using sourdough starter and it shouldn't require any other yeast, but often the starter is not active enough, so a bit more yeast will help your situation without affecting the flavor.
PCaddict
Member
Man you never know where Sheds journal will lead. 
Now its Bread making, Good subject my buddy Loves making bread, Pasta etc. and I Love when he brings some over. Maybe some day I will try my hand at making bread.
Now its Bread making, Good subject my buddy Loves making bread, Pasta etc. and I Love when he brings some over. Maybe some day I will try my hand at making bread.
Heavenly Hybrid
Well-Known Member
The more cycles of feeding your starter will reinvigorate your yeast. If your bread dough isn’t rising still, I would do some more work on the starter again.
Loves baking some bread...
5 cups of warm water (each cup is a loaf)
Tbsp sugar, stir in
Sprinkle yeast on top, 2 tbsp
Cover and wait for 10 mins
....
Stir yeast mixture, add sugar, salt, and oil, stir stir stir. Add 1 to 2 cups of flour... stir mix well.
Then add the rest of your flour, mine always ends up being 4 to 5 more cups. Just add cups one at a time and mix and knead till you get a good consistency.
Once this is done, place bowl is warm spot and cover. I put mine in the oven with the oven light on. Let rise for 45mins to an hour.
....
Knead your dough down again, then grease bread pans. Add dough to pans, cover and let rise again. Then bake, I usually do mine at 325 for 30 mins, but even oven is different so you'll have to judge as your going.
5 cups of warm water (each cup is a loaf)
Tbsp sugar, stir in
Sprinkle yeast on top, 2 tbsp
Cover and wait for 10 mins
....
Stir yeast mixture, add sugar, salt, and oil, stir stir stir. Add 1 to 2 cups of flour... stir mix well.
Then add the rest of your flour, mine always ends up being 4 to 5 more cups. Just add cups one at a time and mix and knead till you get a good consistency.
Once this is done, place bowl is warm spot and cover. I put mine in the oven with the oven light on. Let rise for 45mins to an hour.
....
Knead your dough down again, then grease bread pans. Add dough to pans, cover and let rise again. Then bake, I usually do mine at 325 for 30 mins, but even oven is different so you'll have to judge as your going.
smokesbetter
Well-Known Member
Good luck with the bread !! I an do Bread Mach. bread lol and have pizza down pat for me and most eaters around > 
- Thread starter
- #18,436
Thanks BL! I should probably have some of that on hand the way this round has gone...
Since my plants are pretty boring, why not get sidetracked? I think regular bread with yeast is a lot easier than this! A lot less time as well
.Thank you double H. I'm pretty sure the starter was not up to snuff. I would think that it's too late now to add more starter though, so tonight it's sink or swim for this batch.
Thanks itibiti! I'm not sure how I feel about it yet
.My parents had a bread machine, but it made these really tall silo-shaped loaves that were hard to figure out what to do with.
----------------------------------
Here is the Monday update, such as it is. The dough got moved into the proofing bowls (I don't have baskets yet) where they are supposed to rise in the fridge:
And here is something I discovered yesterday...I was feeding the starter with 50% white flour and something called
whole wheat pastry flour (that's not what I used in the dough though). I don't know the difference but I know that's not right. Turns out there were two different bags of whole wheat flour up there!
Last night, when I fed the starter the correct 50/50 mix it more than doubled in size in about 3 hours! This morning it had backed down to about a 50% gain. So that's new information!
On the plant front, I peeked at the roots on the Golden Tiger 1 this morning:
I'm okay for another week, so they better all do the gender reveal thing by then (no video productions necessary
).I hope your weekend went well and your week goes according to plan. And here is your penultimate reminder to take a minute and...
VOTE IN THE CONTESTS! Not just the OTM's, but the equally important (if not more, given the stakes) OTY contests. Go show support for the plants, buds, and members that shined a bit brighter than the others for you last year.
Here's what I use:
I think they came from Crate and Barrel? I dunno, they were a gift. Tell you what though, these suckers are heavy. Not 100% sure what the inside guts/mold/frame is, but it's really heavy. Not like 500lb heavy, but one of those where it looks like it weighs X, and really weighs 5 times what it looks.
The coating on them (looks plastic, might be porcelain? I dunno, but it chips) is top notch and smooth as silk. I use them all the time for dough. Dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, bread, whatever. (Along with anything else I need to mix up from time to time.)
I'm guessing the inner part is cast iron. Not super thick, but probably about as thick as the sides of a cast iron skillet. Where the beauty lies is I can turn the oven onto warm, then put the bowl in the oven for 5-10 min warm it up good. Not hot, but warm. Throw the dough in there, set the bowl on top of the stove and cover with a towel. (Don't forget to bring a towel! /towelie)
Works a treat, and keeps a nice even warmth.
Heavenly Hybrid
Well-Known Member
Honestly, I wouldn’t waste much more energy with that dough if I were you, but great news about the starter!! 
That’s the “predictable rise and fall” from your recipe. You want good strong starter and yeast, or your bread won’t turn out very well. That’s my 2 cents.
And nice roots.
That’s the “predictable rise and fall” from your recipe. You want good strong starter and yeast, or your bread won’t turn out very well. That’s my 2 cents. And nice roots.
- Thread starter
- #18,439
Our wedding registry was Crate and Barrel! Thanks for the suggestion mV, but my wife hates heavy. If I get the hang of this bread thing I'll probably just get a couple of cheap bannetons from Amazons.
Thanks double H! I'll be baking at least one of these loaves tonight just to complete the process. Might even be somewhat edible? If the starter is supposed to rise and fall, can it only be used when it is at it's highest?
Heavenly Hybrid
Well-Known Member
It will be at its yeastiest (most leavening) after it rises/falls, at which point you’d want to divide out your measurement for the perpetual starter, and then either use, or refrigerate the rest. For example, when I was baking with my starter, I would take out one cup of the starter, feed it and set aside to keep and perpetuate. Then I would use the remainder of the starter in my recipe (or refrigerate for later use). So it would have completed its rise and fall and was ready to use. Hopefully that comes across clearly.
To use after refrigeration: pull out of the fridge, let it come to room temp and then feed with a little bit of fresh flour to get it eating a little again, I’d give it about ~10 mins to eat (and produce fresh gas/leavening power), use for your recipe.
To use after refrigeration: pull out of the fridge, let it come to room temp and then feed with a little bit of fresh flour to get it eating a little again, I’d give it about ~10 mins to eat (and produce fresh gas/leavening power), use for your recipe.