to wish sourdough would go away?

[Turtleyturtles]

Sourdough is still everwhere in cafes and restauants. Why? It's either tough or crunchy in a bad way. It's often riddled with holes. Butter doesn't work well on it, what with all the craters. It's not a nice base for things on toast, it's even worse untoasted. Nasty scratchy bread. Why can't we have normal, fresh bread/toast back on the menu? Cafes advertise it on the menu like it's a good thing. Smashed avo on sourdough. GET IT OFF THE SOURDOUGH and put it on decent toast. Even a slice of Warburtons would better. I found a dank, soggy, tasteless piece sinking into my soup in a restaurant last night. Weird. Rant over.

I think a lot of places serve not good sourdough. I’ve a friend who makes it and it’s genuinely lovely and much of the cafe stuff is a poor imitation.

i do love a brioche bun though.

You don’t even need a machine. It takes 5 minutes to weigh out the ingredients and another 5 minutes to knead them together. Then leave to rise for 45 min, a few minutes to shape into a loaf, leave to prove (I find this only takes about 20 minutes because I don’t knock all the bubbles out), bake and it’s done.

OP wants “normal fresh bread” on the menu at cafes - I don’t know why the sourdough snobs have translated that as she wants nothing but Warburtons. Probably brain rot through eating too much nasty bread.

Agreed. Give me a slice of warburtons any day

I'd be happy to, but you have to understand that most home made breads in Ireland were made with a bit of this and a bit of that, and a side plate was used to measure the dry ingredients! My granny made hers by eye only and I used to watch her making it. My mother was not a baker but a great cook.

It is very easy to make but I have tweaked it a bit over time. Darina Allens recipe is a good one, if you want the basics from a professional baker/chef!

Mine is made using US cups as measurements. I never use a scales. Until I bought a proper cup measure I used a mug!

3 cups wholemeal flour
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup mixed milled flax and chia seeds Optional, if not using, reduce wet ingredients by 1/2 cup, you can add back more if needed.
1.5 teaspoons baking soda (or bread soda as it's called in Ireland)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder ( this is not traditional but I do it)

2 cups buttermilk
1 egg (not everyone uses egg, but it gives a softer texture I think)

Mix dry ingredients, use a fork to incorporate the egg in the buttermilk and add wet to dry. Do NOT knead or overmix, just gather together into a ball and make sure there is no flour left in the bowl. Add more buttermilk if too dry. Should be pliable consistency not too wet, not too dry.

Then shape it on a floured board ( 1.5 -2 " in height usually, but it's not an exact science), and transfer directly to an oven tray, or place in a suitable size tin as you would an ordinary loaf.

If shaped in a round, you MUST make a deep cross in the bread, and prick the four corners "to let the fairies out" 😊If in a tin you can leave it as it is, or cut a line down the middle.

180 oven for 40 minutes or so, just check now and then. The usual test with a cocktail stick to see if it's done.

I don't like a hard crust, some do, so I put a damp tea towel on top while loaf is still hot from the oven. That softens it.

I can tell you now that there are probably hundreds of different measurements, methods and so on, some depend on the part of the country etc. So I know some might disagree with my measurements/method.

Lol, poor you. Dont you know any other bread!!!!

Sorry to hear you’re having substandard sourdough, OP. Over the past six months I’ve managed to perfect mine, having made my own starter and now following my daughter in law’s no-knead recipe. Takes 24 hours to make, minimal input from you. Just needs patience and a little forward planning, and costs around 80p a loaf. Makes excellent toast, and is exceptional straight out of the oven.

All sourdough is substandard. Because it’s sourdough.

Totally agree. Evil stuff. I have IBS. It's a huge trigger for me.

Cork placemat..the most apt description I've ever read.

I do fully appreciate your point. I’d never have a sourdough sandwich but do actually like it toasted. In fact, I have sourdough toast most days! Some are nicer than others though. My favourite is the Tesco finest.

Yep.

Jason's sourdough is absolutely lovely. I do like the San Francisco sort you're describing but definitely not for sandwiches! I'm yeast intolerant but can eat sourdough so I'm truly grateful to have it as an option in cafes. I understand that you should be able to choose your bread though!

My biggest issue is brioche buns on savoury items. It's far too sweet for me to want to have with a burger or similar. To the point I won't order it at all.

Jason's sourdough is repulsive. Its like eating something thats gone off in the fridge. We bought it once because I kept reading about it on here, horrible. Went in the bin.

I completely agree! I've tried so hard over the last couple of years to like sourdough and I just don't! Expensive sourdough, cheap sourdough, posh sourdough.... nope! I just don't like the tang. Nothing wrong with a good traditional bread or baguette.

Similarly brioche can get lost too. Way to ruin a good burger, fried chicken sandwich or anything else!

You’ve summed it up perfectly. It’s rank.

Try Jason's bread from the supermarkets. It's really good.

Yes, crunchy thin crust and nice open texture

I like a bit of sourdough on the side but I wouldn’t use it for sandwiches or toast. Sainsbury’s park-baked sourdough baguettes cook up all nice and rustic.

Love sourdough and don't eat anything else at home. Mind you, we have an artisan baker in our village and she makes many different varieties (yummy)

YANBU. Horrible stuff!

I love it . I bake it & love eating it . No additives and so much better than shop bought crap. Keep the sourdough !!

Love sourdough would be massively unimpressed if I was given Warburton in a cafe. I also love ryebread. Sometimes like brioche sometimes pick something else. However I am not a fan of sliced white bread.

At home I bake our bread and really love the density of it.

It’s not is bloody awful.

Oh god YABVU

It’s so much nicer. Now if someone makes non sour dough bread toast in the house it smells like cake, it’s so sweet.