The sourdough Starter Thread

[Jeanied]

Just done a bit of research - apparently a rock hard crust which breaks your teeth is due to the oven temperature being too low and cooking for too long!

[ladylottie]

I am following HFW recipe for the sourdough bread. After day 3 and feeding, I have lots of nice bubbles. HFW says to throw half away and to continue feeding 100g flour to it every day for seven days.
Did you all do that? I suppose I'm over eager to start my sponge

[Bren In Pots]

Jeanie hope that solves your crust problem.

LadyL I made my first sponge on day 6 and when I fed my starter I'd make pancakes with it instead of throwing it out.

[ladylottie]

LadyL I made my first sponge on day 6 and when I fed my starter I'd make pancakes with it instead of throwing it out.

What a good idea - I hate waste! Thanks

[mothhawk]

I am going to have to give up on making this bread unless I can find a way of making the crust softer - my teeth are not going to last much longer!

Pop the loaf in a polythene bag, seal, and put in the fridge overnight. The crust will be soft by morning. I keep all my bread in the fridge, 'cos I only get through one loaf a week and it would go mouldy else.

[BarleySugar]

Spraying with oil gives a softer crust. Crispy when first baked, but not that rock hard thick one. If you were to wrap the hot loaf in a tea towel this would probably help too. I also agree with Mothhawk, putting in a food bag softens it. Let us know which works best for you.

The other option is getting a pair of those metal teeth, like in James Bond films

[Bren In Pots]

My sister in law used to brush her loaves with milk once they were out of the oven she said that made them softer.

[Jeanied]

Right - the starter has been hauled out of the fridge and I'm going to refresh it overnight and make the sponge tomorrow. I am not going to let it beat me!

[ladylottie]

Here's my very first Sourdough loaf, baked this morning! Had a quick taste - Yum yum

[Jeanied]

Well done LL! It looks great!

[ladylottie]

Thanks Jeanied - I was very pleased with it, especially as before it went into the oven it didn't seem to have risen at all.

[Bren In Pots]

Does look a nice loaf, and after eating your first slice you know all the performance of making the starter was worth it.

[Rabidbun]

Just going to try this too! Have just made a starter using the Dove's flour instructions (assuming the crust and sour smell is ok that is) but alas I have just realised that rye is similar to wheat. As the wholegrain rye flour was all I could get, I shall be unable to use it as wholegrain wheat is a massive problem for me. Bah. So back to the drawing board tomorrow, using strong white bread flour instead!

All these loaves look lovely though.

[Bren In Pots]

Rabidbun If you've got your starter going with wholegrain rye and its to the bubbly stage start feeding it with white bread flour by the time you've done a few discards there shouldn't be much trace of the wholegrain left.

[Tinkerbell86]

Did try to make a bread starter from scratch with allison's strong white bread flour and it did work but kept forgetting to feed it (got recipe from an Australian bakery book), so didn't grow to the size needed for making sourdough. Is there any recipes that don't need a full month for starter to develop?