Super Sourdough

A good starter should always be doubling or tripling in size when fed. If you’re not baking bread every day or two (and that’s most people), you should keep your starter in the fridge between uses. It can be used as soon as it’s warmed up to room temperature again. If you have any doubts about its bubbliness, then you can take it out the night befo

This property of being able to maintain a shape or structure without degrading is known as strength. You should notice your dough is elastic, or springy. Leave your dough to rest, and as the gluten slides over itself, it will lose its strength. You’ll notice your dough is more extensible, or stretchy.

Your sourdough starter is now ready. As a rule, it should be fed in proportions similar to those aforementioned – the new total weight of starter should be at least double that prior to feeding.

This helps the dough stretch, and allows your bubbles to expand enough so that the dough holds together, but only just.

The quantities above mean that, in total, you have 1050g flour, and 750g water, including the quantities contributed by the sourdough starter. Because 750 divided by 1050 is 0.714, this formula gives a dough of just over 71% hydration. That is pretty dry by most standards, and even more so compared to a white loaf, as the bran of the rye absorbs qu

firmly believe that the dough tells you how it wants to be shaped. Not which shape, but how tight. Shape too tightly and you’ll destroy much of your delicate matrix and push your gas outwards. Shape without conviction and your dough will flop during its final prove and have poor oven spring.

don’t use levains because an active sourdough starter does the same job, and in all honesty, my brain can’t process an extra step in my bread making.

Making dark doughs is a little bit different to those made solely with white flour. The dough is rougher, and has a tendency to tear rather than stretch (it’s more tenacious). You need more water, and with that and all the bits that get in the way of your gluten matrix, your doughs have lower strength.

you feed it only in small volumes, your starter will use the new flour in a short time, and will gradually become more and more acidic. To maintain good activity, you’d need to feed more regularly. Rather than pouring it away, save leftover starter and use in the recipes from the final chapter, or make bread more regularly.