It is always hard to face a bread baking failure after all the hours and steps of preparation, but there is a lesson to learn from each mistake. Even today I had something happen that has never happened before. When I took out my baguette dough from the fridge after a long, cold ferment, and dumped it out for the bench rest, clumps of dried flour appeared in pockets throughout the dough.
I have no idea how that happened, but my guess is that the poolish I made and the flour were just not mixed well during my stretch-and-folds. Rather than throw it out as I might have in my early bread baking days, I took this as a challenge to save it and I knew that my upright mixer would be part of the solution.
First, I picked through all the dough, pinching and pulling out clumps of flour. I placed these in my mixing bowl with a cup of water. Then I squeezed and mixed it with my hands until the clumps were all dissolved. Once I got that far I added back in the dough from the cold ferment and mixed it all with the dough hook in my stand mixer. However, it was clear that this was over-hydrated, so with the dough hook in place, I slowly kneaded in two additional cups of flour. To be sure it was thoroughly incorporated, I left the mixer on a moderate kneading setting for five minutes.
Now, this is not the best way to make sourdough, but it worked. Thirty minutes later I added the salt and did my first set of stretch and folds. The gluten was already developing as if this were a standard autolyse. But this was far from that and yet still a good learning experience.
Once again I gave it long-fermented overnight, shaped and proofed them in the morning and by early afternoon, my failure was reclaimed. Two baguettes and a loaf, all redone and ready to bake. Lesson learned.
I popped them into the oven, two baguettes first, then one loaf pan to follow 20 minutes later. I decided to try using ice cubes for my steam, which I had never done before. I set the timer for 20 minutes but forgot to turn the heat down from 500°F (260°C) to 450°F (230°C).
No problem though since when the timer went off I noticed the heat and just reset the for 400°F (205°C), I took out the pan with the ice, which had mostly evaporated, and reset the timer for 10 minutes. Or did I?
About an hour later my wife interrupted the Zoom call I was on to ask what she should do about the bread that was burning in the oven. I excused myself from the call and ran to the oven, they looked ruined, but there was no time to mourn their loss. I took them out and I got right back on the call to finish my business. When I was done, I was broken-hearted but thought about one bakers comment on how most of us underbake our bread.
I took a chance and cut in. I must admit that this the most substantial crust I have ever baked but baguettes were petrified beyond consumption. The loaf was one of the most flavorful I have ever baked and the extra crunchy crust was just a bonus for my taste! Lesson learned again, stay focused when it counts. Time and temperature mater!
Among my dozen or so bad loaves, I’ve made hundreds of good ones, this one included, follies and all. With each there is a lesson to learn.
Here are five lessons I have learned though my mistakes to make better sourdough bread.
Lesson #1: It All Starts with Your Starter
The starter is easily the most important ingredient in sourdough baking and a regular backing schedule is a key to keeping a strong, active starter. During the six to ten days it take
The 6 to 10 days it takes to grow a healthy and mature sourdough start from scratch requires some attention to “death threats,” as Barb Alpern describes, “because a fledgling starter hasn’t yet developed the defenses that characterize a mature starter. But once your starter is fully developed, it’s really pretty darn hard to kill,” she promised.
And if you have purchased a dehydrated sourdough starter from Abigail’s Oven, You can rest assured that it is a mature start that will stand up to unwanted mold and bacteria.
Martha Levie, of Abigail’s Oven and your instructor here on YourSourdoughStart.com, bakes often enough to keep her starter on her kitchen counter and feeds it once a day. She says, “I think of it like a pet. It will remember it when it gets fed and gets used to that schedule. If you change the schedule, it’ll give you a little pushback. That’s okay. Just let it adjust and keep feeding it until it does what you want it to do.
“You can get it used to being fed every other day, even every three days without getting mold. But you just have to get into a regular cycle and do it for a while. And when you need to use it again, just refresh it before you need to use it.
Regular feeding should be a simple task, but often life just gets in the way of keeping it active and alive. Mine spends most of its time in the fridge which means I have to plan to make bread by allowing time for it to warm it up and be refreshed with a bit more flour and water. I have tried a lot of short cuts but the best one I know is when you take it from the fridge, add warm water and flour, set it aside while you do something else.
That something else can be to start your autolyse at the same time, let that sit covered, and just wait for the start to double. When it does, your autolysed ingredients are ready to be combined with the active start and the salt. Then, right away you can do your first stretch and fold, saving half an hour before moving into the long ferment, and all the other steps to success.
Now, if you are really serious about keeping your starter on the counter, then feed it every day and twice on the day before you will be using it. Chad Robertson at the Tartine Bakery explains that the sweetness of your starter “is affected by the temperature of the environment in which the starter is maintained, the percentage of the seed amount (what you start with), and the frequency of the feedings. Refreshing a starter on a regular schedule with the same amount and blend of flour while storing the starter in a temperature-stable environment (ideally 65° to 75°F) will train it into a predictable and lively natural leaven.
Mike Greenfield,’s Sesame Scallion Pancake
If you have some discarded start, just fry it in olive oil like a pancake. While the first side is baking, sprinkle chopped scallions and sesame seeds on top before turning. Cut into wedges and dip in olive oil and balsamic vinegar
“…At Tartine, we promote the flavor of the mild lactic acid over the vinegary acetic acid by controlling the production and importation of these acids during the feeding and fermentation stages. We always feed at moderate room temperatures using a small seed amount (less acid transfer), and we feed often—a few times per day depending on the season.”1
Of course, daily feeding means you will have plenty of discard for waffles and pancakes. You can even add it to cookies, cakes, muffins, and more. Experimenting with discard is part of your sourdough adventure, so go for it.
Mike Greenfield, of Pro Home Cooks, says that most bread problems come from a starter that is not active enough. He thinks of it as a life-force, powering everything in sourdough bread making. Unlike Martha, he only bakes once or twice a week, so his start is kept in the fridge. The day before he bakes he takes it out and feeds it twice until it is very bubbly and doubling in size. He says that nearly every sourdough failure he has had can be traced back to an underactive or over-ripened start.
Bakers who make bread daily, will often feed their starter twice a day and sometimes every four hours. This not only promotes activity, but it sweetens the start. Unless you are baking bread every day or two, your starter will need regular attention, or be fed and placed in the fridge.
Whether used daily or not, a counter start should be fed equal parts of purified water and flour once or twice a day. One way to feed it is to weigh out equal ingredients with a kitchen scale. You could add 50 grams of water and 50 grams of flour, equal parts, each feeding.
But if you don’t have a kitchen scale you can add about ⅓ cup of water to ¼ cup of flour. Either way, you will need to mix the water and flour until there are no dry parts left. That’s it, and of course, you will have to wait for 4 hours for it to get bubbly and active. Then it will be ready to use and it will probably stay active for 4 more hours. After that, it will need to be fed again or put in the fridge.
Lesson #2: Improve Flavor using an Autolyse
This rest period known as the autolyse (AUTO-leese) was developed by Professor Raymond Calvel, an esteemed French bread expert, and now is now in common use. The autolyse is simply a resting period of 15 minutes or more ( sometimes even hours) that begins when wet ingredients and flour are mixed but before the addition of starter and salt.
There is nothing to this, but to let the dough rest in the mixing bowl. As is rests the gluten in the flour hydrates and begins to form chains that will later trap gasses to lighten the dough. This rest period also makes the time spent stretching and folding (or turning) the dough more effective.
According to Chad Robertson, “Calvel confirmed the notion of improved mixing by letting the dough accomplish much of the work passively. If you are short on time, even a 15-minute rest is better than none and increases the efficiency of the turns you are about to do.
“Calvel quantified the autolyse and explored other beneficial actions that occur during this rest period, such as the conditioning of protease, an enzyme in the flour that is activated with hydration and works on the gluten to increase extensibility. Extensibility is the ability of the dough to stretch easily while not pulling back, or bucking. It’s an important quality that is essential to achieve good volume in your bread.”2
This step is easily skipped by many bakers, but in doing so they miss the chance to both develop gluten and flavor. As flour and water are mixed, the protease enzymes in the flour start to break down its proteins. This helps the dough become more extensible and stretchy.
At the same time, the amylase enzymes begin to turn the starch into sugars that feed the wild yeast and bacteria from the starter that will be added to your dough. This makes fermentation work faster and easier and makes for a better rise.
The autolyse also helps develop more complex flavor, aroma, and color. Because there is less kneading needed, the dough is less oxidized. Oxidization destroys the carotenoids in the dough which inhibits flavor, aroma, and crust color. The process of autolysis also slows down fermentation giving time for the dough to develop flavor.
But remember you are not kneading the dough, a lesson I had to learn because I just threw it all together in my stand mixer for 9 minutes, skipped the autolyse and the stretches and folds. Kneading the dough can destroy flavor, aroma, and color. That is why we use the stretch and fold technique shown here.
Lesson #3 Use a Long Enough Bulk Rise
There are two phases to sourdough bread fermentation. The first is the bulk rise and the second is called proofing or proving. It is this nomenclature that confuses many a first-time sourdough baker.
Think of the bulk rise as the primary fermentation and proofing as secondary. Both phases are part of sourdough bread’s fermentation, and both are necessary. Peter Reinhart, a renowned baker, and author explains that “in professional settings, fermentation usually refers to the primary fermentation while proofing refers to the secondary fermentation.”2
Good sourdough fermentation takes time and patience it is not “instant.” The wild yeast and bacteria in a start usually start off slowly, then in the final two hours, the volume is really built as fermentation peaks. Most of us are accustomed to the way instant yeast rises quickly, so we might cut it off early and miss the second phase of fermentation altogether which can add a depth of flavor otherwise missed.
Sadly a rushed bulk rise may leave you dissatisfied with the results. You might get a flat loaf or see a dense crumb rather than an airy, light texture. This happens most often when you follow a recipe closely that suggests a 2–4-hour bulk rise. But unless the temperature in your home is perfect and your starter is at its peak, 2–4 hours might not be enough. At times it could even be too much, which would mean slowing the dough in the fridge. In my experience, you should plan anywhere between 4–12 hours. This was a hard lesson for me to learn and it took nearly two years to get it right.
Peter Reinhart, in his Whole Grain Breads, wrote this about the bulk rise, “I referred to [it] earlier as the first transformation, when the leavening begins to manifest as growth, transforming inert ingredients into living dough. Fermentation is also when most of the flavor develops …Proper bulk fermentation at this stage is necessary …to develop more character in flavor and texture.”3
Chad Robertson, also explains, “Proper development during the bulk fermentation enables the wet dough to hold its shape as a loaf, and the baker must watch for signs of development and determine when the dough is ready. During the first hour of the bulk fermentation, the dough will feel dense and heavy. Watch how the surface becomes smooth soon after you turn [stretch and fold] the dough. By the end of the third hour, the dough will feel aerated and softer. A well-developed dough is more cohesive and releases from the sides of the bowl when you do the turns. The ridges left by the turn will hold their shape for a few minutes. You will see a 20 to 30 percent increase in volume. More air bubbles will form along the sides of the container. These are all signs that the dough is ready to be divided and shaped into loaves.”4
From these descriptions, you can see this part of making sourdough bread is more art than science. Mike Greenfield promised that with time and as you trust your intuition you will experience the art of sourdough. As you let the dough go and experiment by letting it go a little longer it will become more airy and pillowy, and you will say, “This just feels right.” Doing this he says, “will give you much better results in the long run.”
Lesson #4: Improve Oven Spring with Steam and Scoring
Oven spring in sourdough is the final burst of fermentation, where the heat excites the wild yeast and bacteria in one final surge of carbon dioxide production before the crust hardens. When the heat and steam hit the dough, it can expand to by one third the size in just moments. Oven spring can be a good indicator of the crumb you will end up within your bread.
High heat, steam, and good scoring all aid in good oven spring. More spring and you will have a lighter, airy loaf. Less spring points to a denser, more compact crumb, and heavy loaf.
Once your bread has been shaped and proofed, it should be scored. Many bakers see this simply as decorative, but scoring opens and expands the loaf. Moisture in the dough turns into steam and pushes its way out. The scoring controls that push and also exposes the crust to oven steam before it carmelizes and hardens. Between the gases from the yeast and the steam from the dough’s moisture, the entire loaf balloons until the dough reaches 120°F (49°C) when the yeast dies.
“Let your dough scoring knife do the work, as you’re scoring, slashing or docking your way to an ear!“
Weekend Bakery
When it comes to scoring, if you have a sharp enough knife, you can let it do all the work. But you do need to make quick and confident slashes. Remember not to press down on the dough, just let the knife glide through using quick movements.
If you are timid like me, a bit of cooking oil or water on the blade will lessen the drag. Personally I like to cut in an “ear” for the dough to break through. Do this by slanting the blade at 30 degrees cutting into the dough’s surface about ¼ inch (.6 cm).
There are several ways to add steam to your bake. You can place a lid on the dutch oven for the first 20 minutes. You can add ice cubes to a preheated cast-iron pan on the oven’s lowest shelf just as the bread goes in. Or you might add a backing sheet to the lower rack filled with hot water as the bread goes into the oven. After 20 minutes remove the lid or pans of water and let the break bake until crusty and golden brown. Each of these suggestions is a lesson that I learned.
Lesson #5: Turn Up the Heat and Bake the Bread Long Enough
When I was first told to turn the oven to 500°F (260°C) all I could do was imagine cleaning the oven at that temperature and taking bread ash from it when I was finished. But after reading about baking bread the old way in a wood-fired oven with temperatures between 500–550ºF at the outset, I gave it a try.
These wood-fired ovens, loaded with steam, start hot but gradually cool and the steam is vented. However, I did not bake it long enough and I left the steam tray inside the oven and another lesson learned
So after many bad bakes, I tried the dutch oven with the lid on and got a good result as you can see, but still, it could have baked longer. Finally, I got smart and tested the internal temperature of my dough to see when it reached 200 °F (93°C).
I was surprised to find that I was under baking by about 15 minutes. But every oven is different so why should I have been surprised? Still another lesson learned
These days I preheat my baking container along with the oven to 500°F (260°C) and leave it on high for at least 30 more minutes before baking. After adding the ice cubes to a pan below the bread, I quickly place the bread into the hot container and back into the oven. Then I lower temperature to 450°F (232°C) and bake the bread for 20 minutes. After that, I remove the pan of water but leave the bread (uncovered) in the oven at 400°F (232°C) for 20 more minutes.
Then I turn the oven off and let it “cure” as the oven cools for at least 20 more minutes. That was one lesson I learned early on from Matha at the bakery.
Finally, my bread was done and baked right, with a crackling crispy crust that stays that way for days.
I can only hope that you can take a lesson from one of my failures. But I have to tell you, of the 300 or so loaves I have baked I have never had to throw one away. Over baked, I use the insides for soft sandwich bread and the crust for crumbs. Under baked and I toast it. If it is ugly, I eat it. If it is handsome, sometimes I give it away. But all in all, l take a lesson from nearly every loaf I bake. Then try again because it gives me so much satisfaction when it is a nearly perfect loaf!
Endnotes
1 Chad Robertson, Tartine Bread (p. 72). Chronicle Books LLC.
2 ibid., (p. 73-4)
Peter Reinhart, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, 15th Anniversary Edition (p. 92). Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale.
3 Peter Reinhart, Whole Grain Breads, Potter/Ten Speed/Harmony/Rodale. Kindle Edition.
4 Robertson, ibid. (p. 55).
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