Calling sourdough starter experts!

[stclair]

As I can’t find yeast for love nor money, I’m on day 3 of a sourdough starter (from bbcgoodfood recipe). What I am confused about is the pouring off of half the starter when ready to bake. Is this to be used to add more flour and water to keep the starter going? Otherwise It seems wasteful! If it isn’t, why pour it away?

Attempt number 4 and it finally is passable as a sourdough loaf!

That’s interesting @ppeatfruit, I have made sourdough with mashed potato and it also seems to improve the texture. I guess for one thing it increases the water content if you do a flour discount for the weight of the potato/ cooked rice.
That’s a beautiful loaf @Spottyegg
Well done @Livingoffcoffee. You are inducted into the order of sourdough bakers!

Quick question! I'm making a sourdough starter and it's been on the go for 10 days now. It's not doubling in size yet, but I don't know what I'm doing wrong... The mixture rises and falls consistently but it hasn't got big bubbles like you see on internet photos. My house isn't particularly cold, what can I do about it?

@TR888 trying putting it somewhere warmer...either in the oven with the light on (no heat) or my mum's trick was always to put it behind the tv/on the cable box.

I like Dan Lepard too spotty your loaf does look lovely! He answered my question about baking on one of the Q &A thingys they have on here! Saint Delia just ignored mine!

@TR888 Sometimes using whole grain organic flour gets the party started... I mean it produces more fermentation quicker. Worth a try if you have any.

What size cloche would I need for a loaf containing 500g flour? I'm not sure if a 1kg cloche would be too big? Thanks!

Righty ho .. here's my first attempt using a leavan (?) which was weird.

I rose overnight in the fridge, and baked from cold as per the nuclear-grade instructions here:

www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-sourdough-bread-224367

It's being buttered as I type for a lunch with soup ...

@Stumpedasatree I don’t yet one a cloche but I would have thought that was ok.
@DGRossetti it looks good for a first attempt.
Mine is not so stellar, I left overnight in fridge but then left out at room temperature for 5 hours. Maybe it overproved. @Mominatrixdo you think that could be the issue? The starter was nice and lively and I used 80% white wheat and 20% wholemeal spelt. I used Vanessa Kimbles method.

Well, I can highly recommend that recipe - bread with taste !!!

Hi @whataboutbob. It is definitely overproved and lost all it's structure. Best results are when you take the dough out of the fridge either immediately prior to placing in the oven or when you are warming up your oven.

Thanks @Mominatrix I suspected as much. I erroneously thought I’d get a better rise if I left it at room temperature a few hours before baking, but obviously not.

Can someone please give me a total dummies guide to what I should be doing with a jar of starter that I was given? I've read loads of stuff but it's only making me more confused! The starter is in a jar in the fridge. Should I be feeding it regularly, or only when I use it? How do I feed it?! And how do I use it?

Thanks everyone for all these tips. So many recipes - it's hard to know which one to choose. About to dive in - wish me luck.

Help!!! I've killed my starter... Is there any way to resurrect it? I'm afraid I was so fed up of it not doubling in size after 2 weeks that I put it into a really low oven 30 degrees, I thought). Sorry. I realise it's stupid.

Do I have to start from scratch all over again?

@IToldYouIWasFreaky. The starter should be fed every day on the run up to making a loaf, start about 3 days before. Otherwise it can be stored in the fridge for a week or so without needing a feed ( but make it somewhat less wet before leaving in the fridge to slow down bacterial and fungal action). To feed, once it is established, really any flour except self raising is ok. Many recipes will advise using organic wholemeal to get a starter going as it is more likely to contain the beneficial micro organisms.
As for actual baking recipes, there are lots around and there are different menthols, some use a sponge starter made by mixing starter plus water and leaving overnight/ a few hours , others just start with flour plus the starter straight from the jar. Some knead, some are no knead. Mominatrix posted a link to a classic no knead recipe on page 13 or 14, which you can also access on Vanessa Kimble’s website. Personally I did the River Cottage recipe for years which involves kneading and am in the process of trying out no knead as per Vanessa Kimble. If you have Netflix, check out John FAvreau’s Chef series, it’s on the episode called “ pasta a la Raimi” where he cooks a no knead loaf using the Tartine method which a lot of US sourdough bloggers refer to.

@TR888 I would cut my losses and start again. A high heat is not necessarily a starters friend, it can encourage rather unpleasant strains which will translate into the flavour of the bread.
Personally my starters have never doubled every couple of days, more like a 50% increase if that, and they work fine. The only time they have doubled so vigorously is during heatwaves and then sourdough making is off as I find the process harder to control plus I don’t want to light my oven. Use organic rye/ spelt/ wheat to start things off if you have any.

@ItsNotAboutTheChocolate good luck!

Thanks bob ! Not so optimistic about my loaf at this stage but loved the process. So tactile! I'm hooked. I just a wanted to keep folding and slapping and dreaming 😀.

I used the recipe by sourdough foodbod. But my timing was off - I had to leave it in the fridge to ferment from about 5pm till the following morning and perhaps that was my mistake because this morning the dough had only one or two large bubbles and was as tacky and sticky as can be. Poking the dough resulted in a large, sticky depression - nothing round or smooth in sight. And very little rising of the dough , if any.

Anyway I shaped it and got it onto the floured cloth and into the fridge as instructed. Now waiting the three hours to bake. Not too optimistic it will rise but determined to try again.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Todays fun fact from the QI elves ...

Sweden has a hotel where you can leave your sourdough bread starters to be looked after while you're on holiday.

TR888, my starter (Nigel) is a month and a half old and has never ever doubled, I’d say it 2/3rd - ed 😂. It is bubbly with small bubbles, smells amazing and best of all works wonderfully. Those huge bubbles you see I think are mostly for photo shoots!

Ok so here is my less than stellar 3 rd attempt at no knead, autolysed sourdough and this time I baked straight from the fridge, following the recipe @DGRossetti posted. I don’t know what went wrong but I’m thinking no knead bread is not for me and I am going to go back to River Cottage method, which involves a sponge, kneading, a rise, knockdown and a second rise.

How did yours turn out @ItsNotAboutTheChocolate?

Ok so here is my less than stellar 3 rd attempt at no knead, autolysed sourdough and this time I baked straight from the fridge, following the recipe @DGRossetti posted. I don’t know what went wrong but I’m thinking no knead bread is not for me and I am going to go back to River Cottage method, which involves a sponge, kneading, a rise, knockdown and a second rise.

Well I have my second attempt waiting to be folded a second time as I type.

I managed to get some wholemeal flour at the weekend, and have added that to my starter - my god, talk about active !

I also managed to scale everything down by 1/3rd from the off, so didn't discard any levain.

Will report back this time tomorrow when (hopefully) the bread will have been gobbled up with soup.

Todays effort ... rated "perfect" by DW (we had half with some egg salad and will save half for dinner with soup) ..

now DW wants to have a sourdough pizza. If I was using thektchen method, at what point do you put the dough in the trays ? As soon as it comes out of the fridge ? Or would you let it rise overnight in the tray, and top from the fridge before shoving in the oven ?