my sourdough doesn't taste sour......

[sophierowe]

I have recently become obsessed with making my own sourdough bread and have had some success to a degree....

My first loaf was not one of style or beauty but was really tasty and had a very good sourdough "tang", since then they look and rise much better but have lost that sourdough taste.

I have a really smelly bubbly mother in the fridge but seem to lose that in the bread.

I would be grateful for any tips or advice from other sourdough bakers

Thanks

sophie

[Applespider]

Suspect this will get lounged since although it's an ED starter, it's not that specific.

There are lots of reasons why sourdough can get slightly less tangy from the starter ageing, to how often you refresh it and how much you discard, what you feed it with and how hydrated you keep the starter, to how long you're letting the actual dough ferment.

I bake sourdough every 2-3 weeks - the ones with a 3 week gap are definitely more sour. I suspect that's because when Sammy's been stuck in the fridge for 3 weeks, he gets far more sour than when he's used more often. I try to keep the amount in the fridge at a minimum so then I can keep all that sourness when I come to refresh it.

I've also been told that the stiffer you keep your starter (i.e. more flour than water) then the more sour it is likely to go but I've never noticed much of a difference. Sometimes switching to a partial wholewheat/rye starter seems to get more sourness back in the mix - or at least, I've noticed that when trying to resuscitate an old batch left elsewhere.

How long do you ferment the dough for before and after shaping?

[sophierowe]

Hmmmm interesting....

I bake once or twice a week so the starter is not that old, i use half to bake with and then top it up for the nxt time.

I have started making the dough in the evening and then leaving it in the fridge overnight and then knead and prove a couple more times the next day so all in all its fermenting for 18-20 hrs.

when yours is in the fridge for a couple of wks unused do you feed and refresh it or just keep it hungry?

also what shape do you bake yours?

Have tried all sorts, the last came out quite well as a sort of bloomer and also have some success with a bread tin??

[Applespider]

I refresh mine slightly differently. I take the whole tub out of the fridge the night before I want to bake (usually about 75-100g in there) and then make up however much starter I need with all of the fridge starter (that's usually 250-350g) and make sure that I calculate to have about 30g left once I finish baking. The next day, once I've baked, that last bit gets fed again with equal parts water/flour, left out for an hour and then put back into the fridge... where Sammy stays until next time. If it's ended up being longer than 3 weeks, I will take him out and feed him again two nights before I want to bake.

Shaping is my downfall - I keep thinking of taking a bread course just to get some shaping tips from an expert. I either make boules if I'm going to be using it all relatively soon or if I'm taking it to a friend. If it's for me (and I tend to freeze it in big chunks - hence why I only bake every 2-3 weeks), I make it into a batard and let it prove in a loaf tin before tipping it out to bake. I've attached pics of today's batards and some boules from a while back.

[lillyanginger]

I am not the resident sour dough baker but I remember moaning about the bread being to sour...and husband saying he let it rise/sit for too long. It seems the longer he left it out before baking the more sour it got.

[sophierowe]

Wow, they look amazing......... much better than mine! how do you get the crust so nice?

yes, i am thinking of doing a course too and found a nice looking one in east sussex called Lighthouse bakery!

thanks for all the tips and advice, its a real adventure each time i bake to see how it will turn out, i have finally got my family interested now instead of the unhelpful comment" why don't you just buy some"!!!

[Applespider]

lillyanginger - yup, the longer you leave it to ferment, the more flavour it will have. But if Sophie's fermenting overnight, it should give enough flavour... I wonder if you made it a little earlier in the evening and let it do more ferementing at room temperature before retarding it in the fridge, it might make a difference to the flavour...

Thanks! My first few months were much less pretty looking and flatter; now I've got it to the point where I usually end up with a decent looking loaf. Crust-wise... I preheat my oven as hot as it will go (250C on the dial) and I have a granite worktop saver in it (?9.50 from Wilkinsons) which takes it up to around 275 (according to the oven thermometer). I put an old baking tin in the base of the oven to heat up too. I spray the surface of the dough with water before I slash and put it the oven... and then pour some hot water into the old baking tin to try to get some 'steam' into the oven. I cook the bread with the oven dial around 220C for 10 minutes and then drop it down to 200C for 20 minutes.

It's Dan Lepard's course that I fancy going on but it's quite pricey. Waitrose do a bread course at their cookery school too that I thought about doing... will take a look at the Lighthouse Bakery one too though.

Ah... living on my own, I didn't have to convince anyone although I do get asked to bring a loaf to various friends and family members now. Haven't bought a loaf in over 18 months... :))