[Sca-cooks] Re: Sourdough Bread--for the bakers here

[Ciorstan]

Amanda writes:

> Well, based on the Platina recipe in the Miscellany "On Bread", I've made 2
> batches of sourdough bread...

> Questions: Where did I mess up? On both. The starter was the same.....plain
> flour and water. I can bake bread ok, it gets rave reviews w/ friends and
> family (as long as I remember the SALT). But I wanted to try the sourdough
> for a couple of reasons....I love sourdough, and yeast is expensive, no
> matter how you slice it.

It's possible that the sourdough taste was affected by two factors:  if
you used the starter in the first batch after a period of inactivity, it
tends to pick up a sour-er taste from alcohol production. Alcohol is the
clear liquid at the top of the starter one should pour off before
feeding the starter.

The second factor is that if I use my starter twice in quick succession,
I tend to get less flavor from it the second time as-- perhaps? I'm
theorizing here-- the critters creating the more desireable tart tastes
(as opposed to the harsher sour taste from alcohol) haven't had the
chance to expand or more fully permeate the starter and then the bread.

Also, the ideal temperature for sourdough is, IIRC, 83F. Any colder and
it rises more slowly, any hotter and the beasties die off before they
can make CO2, which causes bread to rise.

> Why the heck to my loaves rise like crazy when they go in the oven to BAKE?
> I haven't slashed the top, would that help prevent the lopsided loaf look?
> We are talking about 3 inches here.

Bear discussed the effects of slashing the tops of bread in an earlier
message-- however, I've found that if one bakes more than one bread loaf
simultaneously in a standard American oven (e.g., not a convection oven)
one tends to get lopsided loaves due to uneven distribution of heat,
which means a lopsided final rise due to heat. If one absolutely must
bake more than one loaf simultareously, watch the loaves and switch them
around on the shelf to encourage even rise. Or bake them separately in
the very center of the oven.

If you're baking a singleton loaf, then there are perhap problems with
your oven. You might want to check out the distribution of heat in your
oven by using a trusted thermometer and/or investigate the
burner/element depending on whether it's electric or gas.

ciorstan