Honestly I feel so lucky to have run across your sourdough mistakes video so early in my sourdough journey! Gotta be one of the very best videos I’ve ever seen on UA-cam. Looks like your entire collection of videos are also well worth my time. I don’t comment often, but I was compelled to this time. Thank you! Dale
Sourdough bread tips 🍞: 1. 0:46 Healthy/active sourdough starter 2. 3:47 Autolyse your bread 3. 4:45 Use bakers percentages 4. 6:04 Lower your hydration level 5. 7:32 When to use your starter 9:08 Support the channel 6. 10:18 Stretch and Fold process 7. 10:50 When to finish working the dough 8. 11:28 Let the dough proof on your schedule 9. 12:58 Ratio of dry to sticky 10. 14:14 Generously flour your banneton 11. 14:44 Find your way to shape your dough 12. 16:39 The no-fail poke test 13. 18:27 Baking trays prevent burnt bottoms 14. 18:54 Go off based on color, not time 15. 19:48 It's ok if you fail miserably
I’ve been frying my discard like your first tip and it’s been soooo delicious! I personally put “everything but the bagel” seasoning and sesame seeds and some cheddar/Mexican blend cheese. Then I put some Honduran cream (could use sour cream or Mayo but this stuff is better) and some lime Ponzu sauce. It’s fire!
Thanks. I'm really just trying to get back in the sourdough because the first attempts sort of discouraged me. Baking with a little bit of yeast got me back into baking bread. And so, I still intend to make great sourdough bread. I just haven't understood the discard part. And some people say you don't ever have to discard. But I have those very seasonings and that same cheese, and I have a nice bubbly starter going, so I'm going to do this tomorrow.
@@suzannenichols6900 Basically the discard is to avoid ending with a ton of sourdough, since you have to refresh it with the same weight of dough you have at that moment, so you start let's say with 50gr, but next day you'll have to add double the amount. And since you're not using any of it while it's forming, it just goes on and on. I'm not in favor of throwing all that goodness out in the least. And I'm glad there're lots of recipes already that use sourdough discard, because you can actually make lots of really yummy things with it.
I have been making bread for years and it was fine. Followed all this advice and made the best bread my family have ever eaten. The crust is amazing, the crumb is perfect and it was so straightforward but upped my bread game by about a thousand times. Thank you.
I recently started my sourdough journey. This video is the only instruction I’ve had. Mind you, I watched it over and over and over again before I made my first attempt but I have not had one fail in my six attempts. Today’s loaves were the best yet and I think it’s because I finally incorporated the knowledge. My friends are incredulous at my results in such a short time. I share your video with anyone who asks. Thank you for being so thorough. You clearly have a passion for this.
@@bukguy2have you tried again? I am on loaf 6, and each o r has been different. #3 was the worst. It might have had something to do with a tree and electricity going tits up just as I had the oven preheated and was ready to move my dough from the proofing basket. I ended up putting g it back in the fridge for half a day until the electricity was back, and then I forgot to score it. My best so far was probably the one right after that, #4. It may have been perfect. This one I made a huge change....I am afraid I am ruining my ceramic Dutch oven with these super high Temps, so I am using a slightly smaller cast iron one. It's in the oven now. We will see!
Mike, this is a great video. Thank you! 0:54 establish starter health/activity 2:22 fry up sleepy starter instead of discarding 3:50 autolyse before adding starter 4:49 use baker's percentages 6:10 lower hydration level 7:38 when to use your starter 10:34 stretch and fold, don't knead 10:55 when to finish working the dough 11:41 customise dough proofing around own schedule 12:32 download guides if you like 13:01 ratio of dry to sticky 14:20 generously flour banneton 14:46 No single perfect way to shape your dough 16:42 no fail poke test 18:35 use cold baking tray to prevent burnt bread bottom 19:06 use colour instead of time to judge cooking duration 19:53 it's ok to fail
This was sooo helpful 😢! I started baking at home and my first time, I freaked out when the dough turned out sticky😭. This video was so helpful. Thank you ❤
This video changed my bread in a huge way. I have been making what I thought was ok enough sour dough for 8 years!! I couldn't get it right. I made a loaf last night with these tips and I am in shock and it is the most beautiful bread I have ever seen.
@Kathy Childress Grams are so easy, though. It's just a scale of 10. 1g, 10g, 100g, 1000g, etc.. So easy. Not like "cups" which are like 233,7g or something like that. Or ounces, which can be fluid or solid... no, grams are pretty close to perfect. Translates perfectly to liters as well, as 1g of water is 1 milliliter, or 1 thousandth of a liter. Just like it's one thousandth of a kilo.
OK, this guy has a passion and is a good communicator. Thank you. I have watched this video quite a few times and will watch it more. He is not boring anyone with nonsense, gives good information and is right. A guy with a good perspective to help you get on track as well. Good man. He does the little things with love. That goes a long way. Now, I'm not a baker, just a guy who likes to bake from time to time and enjoys his own bread, when finding the time. And I'd be lost without people posting info like that. I have a guy like that producing impressive amounts of bread - in the described fashion - and also gives away free starter. Great to have bakers in the community.
These are all excellent tips! I have to say for me that the real game-changer was spending more time on gluten development. It wasn’t until I did this that I finally ended up with consistent loaves with open crumb. I struggled for over eight months with inconsistency and rarely did I get a large oven spring. Let me mention that I prefer to bake loaves with a lot of whole grain, so I assumed this was the problem. However, I eventually cut back to just 50% whole wheat but still had poor oven spring. I was almost ready to give up on sourdough baking but then I bought a stand mixer (ostensibly for my wife’s baking activities). Just for the novelty’s sake I decided to use the mixer to incorporate the starter and salt into the mix. Online people were suggesting about ten minutes of mixing for gluten development. This was a complete game-changer!! Suddenly I got great, consistent oven spring. My current standard loaf is 46% (home-milled) whole wheat (red fife or spelt), 12% (home-milled) whole rye and the balance is bread flour. I currently employ 77% hydration and I autolyse my dough for about two hours before adding 2% salt and 20% starter. I think I could increase my whole grain content, but don’t want to jinx my good luck. While starter health is important, I have found that gluten development is key. I actually keep my starter in the fridge and only feed it the night before I bake. In the morning it has doubled, but I knock it back and I do a fresh feed of about 15% of the weight of my starter. I autolyse my dough at this time and after two hours the starter is rocking to around two and a half times its knocked down volume. After adding starter to my dough, the starter goes back into the fridge. Using this method I don’t need to keep a starter discard pot in my fridge. This works if I bake once per week. I am sure that if the starter sat in the fridge for too long it might need fortification, but this works for my baking schedule. I hope this advice helps someone else who is struggling.
Wonderful information! I'm new to sourdough and from the tonnes of complex videos and information I feel like I've been flying by the seat of my pants. I think between this great video and your information it'll be a huge help. Thank you again.
Thank you so much for the excellent additional tips! I’m on day 3 of my very first starter. I was wondering if I could utilize my dough hook and mixer. I’m not necessarily a purist on technique. I simply want the best result I personally can achieve while still holding a full time job. 😄
Thank you, I'm gonna try the stand mixer trick. My loafs have been dense and hard, inedible basically, and i think it might possibly be due to the gluten development I've been struggling with... Thank you!🙏
Duuuuuuuuuude, I made two loaves following a different recipe that didn't detail the actual technique and they turned out doughy and dense, then I followed this video's technique and the flex guide and got two perfect, aerated, crispy loaves! Thank you so much! 🍞🥖
I am a seasoned traditional bread maker and I found that the biggest mistake people make with bread is they use too much flour. Starting with a wetter dough makes a huge difference. I can't wait to make sourdough.
After several failed attempts and very disappointing loaves, THIS is exactly the video I needed!! Finally I’m feeling like I’m understanding what I’m doing and what all the different steps are for! My loaf came out PERFECT! I can’t wait to make another one. Thank you for changing my sourdough baking life! Cheers!
I've only just started making sourdough, and the two times I tried it I wasn't happy with the results. When I followed all your steps and tips I produced the most delicious loaf of sourdough I've ever had!!! This video is amazing!!!
Best tutorial ever. As a new baker, I did over a dozen loafs and each one turned out horrible. I went right down the list of this baker's tips. My first one under his tips turned out fantastic! Thank you for such a terrific video tutorial. My confidence is now through the roof.
I’ve recently joined the pandemic sourdough bread making craze and am having fun. Mike’s video is my go-to! Have watched it at least 10 times in the last few weeks. I’ve printed out his checklists and play and pause his video during my bread-making process. My husband loves sourdough and calls my ‘Teri Bread’ the best he’s had. I am so encouraged. THANKS MIKE!!!!!!
After half a year of trial and error, I think I mastered sourdough baking. Two things that I realized: You can make perfect bread with low hydration doughs (63% for me). The second thing is that you don't have to feed the starter everyday (once it's already strong), in fact I keep mine in the fridge and I only feed it when I want to make bread.
Thanks! I really want to try this but the feeding each day is putting me off. I watch another video that said once is healthy and active after 7-10 days of feeding you can keep it the fridge and take it out to feed the day before you want to bake a loaf. That sounds ideal to me!
@@alexmarie960 you can, just cover it so it doesn't dry out on the top and be prepared to find some liquid on top that will smell of alcohol and vinegar. drain it out, mix in news stuff etc. - just don't let it go completely off and have unwanted bacteria move in.
I saw a video during covid that showed that you feed it every day if it's out in the open. You can feed it weekly in the fridge. If you forget your starter for a month it will go black.
@@CobaltContrast I have not used it a couple times for 3-4 week periods and it is true that it develops a slightly black acidic liquid. In that case, just discard the liquid and feed it a couple of times, and it will be back to being active and healthy.
After a year of trying, and trying...and trying, baking sourdough bread I found your video. A total game changer! It is my first time (after many many attemps) I'm actually satisfied with the result. Better than the best Christmas gift I could find. I will bake many loaves for the Holidays and share them with my family and friends. Thank you sooooo much for that inspiring video. :-)
I prefer fine semolina flour myself. I know all the pros use rice flour, but I think the texture is powdery and unpleasant. Semolina just adds a bit of crunch and flavor, and I've never had any problems with sticking. Oops this comment is 3 years old 😅 Anyway you still baking? Any wisdom to share?
Really good video with an excellent set of tips. I started making sourdough ~ 2013 and it's become part of my life since. I'll add four additional items I've found helpful... 1) If you feed your starter straight rye flour, or a 50:50 mix of rye and stone ground whole wheat (my choice), its much more forgiving of the inevitable lapses in care that happen from time to time. 2) Preparing the autolyse can be the messiest and most unpleasant part of the process when done by hand, especially with hydrations in the 80% range. I've found using a stand mixer with a dough hook really helpful at this point. After the autolyse, however, put the machine away. All subsequent mixing and folding steps should only be done by hand. 3) I find its easier to standardize the base process when I don't add starter directly to the autolyse. The initial state of that starter just tends to be too variable in my experience. About 3 or 4 hrs before starting the autolyse I make a levain consisting of two parts flour at 100% hydration and one part starter. Let the autolyse develop for about an hour then add the levain - without salt - and mix well by hand. Add the salt after ~ 30 minutes and proceed with the sequence of folds. Levain is typically 20% of my final dough. 4) Experiment with types and brands of flour. Once you get the basic technique under control this will make the biggest difference in the quality and consistency of your bread. My base recipe currently uses 85% of a T-85 flour (from Central Milling) and 15% KA bread flour. I also find that using malted flour makes a more consistent loaf - though it creates a somewhat more active rise so you need to be more careful about over-proofing.
@@living4adrenaline I generally do 5 or 6 stretch & fold cycles about 30 minutes apart. Each stretch and fold should go relatively fast, maybe a couple minutes total to pull the dough out on each of four sides and fold it back on itself. You definitely don't want to over work the dough - It isn't like a kneading process. You're helping those gluten strands form and strengthen so you definitely don't want to bust them up.
What's your take on using discard that's been in the fridge instead of 150g of room temp fresh active starter? And also, have you experimented with levels of sourness? I like the idea of my bread being as fermented as possible for taste and health benefits. Thanks :)
I want to say I went to a baking school that cost over $12,000 over a decade ago and they never taught us how to do baker's percentage. It was just the follow the recipe training and memorization of the recipes, which sucks. Thank a lot! (this is back before UA-cam got popular with recipes and teaching others)
I’ve made bread for years - French, focaccia, pizza dough, etc...but I’ve always steered clear of sourdough because it intimidates me. I followed all of your recommendations for my very first loaf of sourdough (start to finish) and it came out amazing!! Thank you for sharing your tips with us! I’m now hooked and looking forward to perfecting my sourdough making skills.
Nice video. I have a couple tips. 1) When you form your dough, use rice flour, not wheat flour, to coat the inside of the forming basket. The rice flour, having a different molecular structure than regular flour, prevents the dough from sticking to the sides of the forming basket. 2) Spray water on your parchment paper before placing the dough on it. The wet parchment paper helps steam the bread during the first 20 minutes of baking.
My aunt made homemade bread for the family every week when I was growing up. 6 loaves, 5 to get us through, the last would be sliced up hot, slathered in butter, and she would throw the lot of us outside to enjoy our treat. One of my favorite childhood memories.
@@Anna-tc6rz You can let your second loaf last for a week? I am afraid it seems that no matter how much I make it disappears ina day or so. The first three weeks in quarantine me and my wife trimmed up, my six pack returned and my wife started talking about my "quarantine body" but since I started making sourdough bread it seems that things have gone in entirely the opposite direction.
My gosh!!! I’m new to this bread game and I’ve watched at least 30 videos so far and yet this video is the most informative and has given me so much valuable information that I think I might actually try a loaf! Bread Gold! Thank you so much 🙌🙌
This video was TREMENDOUSLY helpful! I've been making sourdough bread for the last few years, but I learned so much and tried some new techniques (new to me, anyway) from your video, and I baked BY FAR the best loaves of sourdough that I've ever made! Thank you so much!
I'm on a home office regime right now due to The Situation and all of the blue I decided to learn to make sourdough. First impression - making sourdough at home while working from a home office is an amazing idea. Forces me to take breakes at fixed times, makes me get up from my chair, move a bit, otherwise I would just be stuck at my desk for 8hrs straight. 10/10 would recommend My first attempt, using a different recipe from a food blog I really like, failed miserably (very dense dough, but I did a lot of things I shouldn't have done, wrong water to flour ratio, kneaded it a lot, and it was basically impossible to save; I baked it anyway and we ate it but it wasn't what I was hoping for). So my second attempt is based on this video and it's already looking much better. Everything went according to plan until I had to shape the loaves. I made a 78% hydration wheat dough (half and half white and whole grain flour) so it ended up extremely sticky, it was sticking to my bench scraper like crazy. I managed too shape it a bit but forget about building any surface tension XD. I think I just need to practice more with a less wet a dough. It's now proofing in the fridge for the morning bake. I hope it goes well anyway
I'm home worker too, for five years. Yup, too easy to get 'stuck in the chair' Going to give this a try, have a starter going for pancakes, we'll see how bread goes.
Did u find any recipes that come close to cup measurements?? Dont have a scale & now i find out H20 is heavier than flour or vise versa. Brain totally scrambled at this point.
I've done pancakes twice with the extra dough. One batch was really good, the other a little bitter. One site said to add bit of baking powder to take that tinge out if it tasted too strong.
I've just made my first successful sourdough loaf using these guidelines. I downloaded the timing guides and used the One Day Bake for the loaf. I've been making no-knead bread very successfully for a few years now but wanted to challenge myself in these times of yeast shortages. In comparison to no-knead it's a bit of a faff but seeing that we're in lockdown we all have the time. Give it a go people!
Thanks for simplifying the process of baking sour dough bread. I was totally confused after watching several other videos before seeing yours. I loved watching you mix the ingredients together in the bowl. I appreciate all the tips and suggestions. My husband and I love sour dough bread and hope it works for me.
Been baking sourdough for +50y. Never made what I would consider the "perfect" bread. If I ever do, I'll quit baking. ;-) You've given the "best" sourdough lesson I've ever seen.
Do you know of any way to make sourdough without the gluten? I know that is a crazy question, because the gluten is the most important part of the structure, but I'm gluten sensitive. I love sourdough bread, but it doesn't like me.. 😢😷
@@conversationswithkat5710 I bake only with rye sourdough and mostly rye breads. It has less gluten. But I'm from Poland and rye breadstuff is common and traditional here but not as in other western countries, where there is mostly wheat breadstuff.
62g of rye sourdough made from 2000 rye flour, 620g of 2000 rye flour, 480g of water. Mix, leave for 10-12 hours. Take out about 40g for next baking, add 30g of salt, about 880g of water, 900g of 720 rye flour, mix, leave for 30 minutes. Cover 3 metal forms with butter, put dough in it and leave for growing for about 1,5 h. Bake in 220 celsius for 45 minutes. Forms are 25cm long. You have 3 900g breads. If you bake you know that all these quantities may differ for different flour, temperature and all details important in baking. I can't tell you details about how it should look like, taste etc.
Bro....the scallion sesame fried dough is a game changer! I used some homemade Tare and added a little Filipino cane vinegar for the dipping sauce....near perfection.
This is by far the most detailed, complete, and spectacular instruction I've ever seen on making sourdough. I began my starter two weeks ago, after watching your vid, and just began my dough tonight. Will let you know how it comes out. Thank you for your detailed explanation on the entire process. Will be checking out your other vids too. Peace!
@@ViBoMe It was delicious, and even looked nice! Only problem was it was a little dense and sticky inside. My next one, which I'll be making today, will use less water. I'll go with 70% vs 75% hydration. If you're up to it, I'd definitely recommend this recipe and technique!
Experienced baker but new to sourdough. It’s frustrating to not just whip up amazing perfect bread so this was VERY HELPFUL. Thanks for taking the time to create this. I know it was from years ago but your video came recommended from a beginners sourdough group and I can see why 😊
I appreciate the honesty in that failure is part of the process. For so long we have been handed prepackaged products that turn out well the first time.
I think one of the best quotes I've heard about bread (and I'm sorry I can't remember who said it) was that, "Always remember - bread is a living thing and, as such, is unpredictable."
I'd already had quite some experience baking sourdough bread before finding your videos. With this pandemic, and having some extra free time, I figured I'd spend some of that time refining my baking skills. I have to really thank you, because this video has helped me bake some of the best sourdough loaves I've ever baked. And again, I've had my share of them. I'm now exploring new combinations - using different flours, seeds, etc. I can honestly say you've helped me make myself happier through our common passion of sourdough baking. 👍🏻 And that tip to use the replaced dough to make flatbread... a true find! Thank you again. Keep on baking and creating!
Cooking and baking gives me joy. For Christmas, I bake about 1,00 cookies, mainly from my grandmother’s Norwegian recipes, take a pound of butter, a pint of whipping cream and call your cardiologist in the morning. I started baking at 12, 60 years ago. I love your videos.
Bread is an art form. My roots are in cooking and I love to cook. Bread was intimidating and tricky for me too. Push past it. Don't just get your hands dirty. Get your hands sopping wet with a flour dough. Wonder if it will bake out amazing. It usually will. I've been in places where I'm trying to use the bench scraper to rip 6 or 8 oz of wet flour off my hands. The bread came out wonderful. The best two words I can think for advice: Dig In. Each loaf gets better.
Also the discard pancake he makes, is brilliant! Especially if you're familiar with the Korean style scallion pancake. It is heavy and we like it that way! Don't expect this to be light and fluffy, it is heavy but use oil in your pan and fried it up, put on the scallions and sesame seeds and salt flip it let it caramelize. It is truly delicious! I think I like this as much as I do the bread! I did try to make this not using a lot of oil in my well season cast iron pan and it just doesn't get the crispy crust that is so satisfying. The oil is worth it!
I like to thin the discard with a splash of milk, a pinch of salt and pinch of baking soda before frying. Have had to scale down my starter to limit the amount of discard, as the fried dough is too irresistible!
I just made my fourth loaf from my starter, and your advice helped SO MUCH to get the results I wanted! I have a super cold house, so I've resorted to putting my starter on a heating pad (yes, really). It went from mild activity to QUADRUPLING in size in just about 7 hours. It gave my bread such amazing spring and a really crunchy crust that I'm loving. And because I'm in the San Francisco area, our wild yeast is giving me just the flavors I'm used to enjoying from the bakery. Honestly, I'm so so pleased! Thanks for uploading this.
This is an excellent video letting us beginners know all we need to know. The hydration thing still confuses me a bit. But I’ll get there. I left my sourdough out to rise over night. Oops. I didn’t know I was supposed to refrigerate. But if I’m leaving starter out I’m thinking it’s not gonna give me botulism or anything like that!😂 I loved having the rationale behind these things, and the poke test was so helpful, knowing what is under, over and just right. Thank you for the video. Oh and one tip I found is that if you want to have a softer sandwich type loaf, butter the top when it comes out of the oven and it softens right up.
I’ve been making sourdough for 2 years now and it’s been one of the most rewarding cooking adventures I’ve ever had. Overall it gives you an understanding of how dough should “feel”, better than any baking book could ever tell you.
Re-watching the video with a notebook and pen!! It's PACKED with information that I have really needed with my sourdough experiments. My gratitude cannot be expressed through words!!
Wow. Thanks - you changed my frustration into excitement! We just had our two SD-Starter "pancakes" - it was awesome! (BTW we have two as can't eat wheat, but the rest of the family can - and this (first time starter-pancake) turned out to have the texture of a really good crumpet, which is quite difficult to make with wheat free flours. Mine won by far... Used +- 50/30/20% Corn/potato/tapioca fours mix for the first day, then half stone-ground Rye for building/feeding the second day making it a +-50/25/15/10% mix for feeding from there. After adding the app rye the second day, it multiplied X5 over night!) Can't wait to make the first breads, hopefully starting the process this evening... Thanks again.
Thanks! You have given me so much hope as my sourdough loaf came out rather well for my first attempt! I tried following other's directions, and the results weren't good. So, thank you ,Mike, for your clear, detailed directions and pleasant demeanor. Your kitchen space is awesome:)
PRO TIP!: My iron dutch oven blacken the bottom of my breads. So I had this pizza pan that would fit in the Dutch oven but would not go all the way to the bottom before getting stuck at a point about an inch above the bottom. It provides a non-stick surface that has an air gap between it and the very hot iron bottom. This cooks the bottom crust perfectly and without blackening it. I was going to buy a ceramic dutch oven for well over $80 but this DIY solution works perfectly and I already had them.
@@suran396 yeah, none of this will help if your heat is coming from the top. But for many ovens, the top burner is only for broiling, and the bottom of the bread gets direct heat from the lower heating element. In that case, having a sheet pan (and an air space between that pan and the Dutch oven) will reduce the temp, and keep the bottom from burning. I don't know why the bottom would burn if the heat is from the top.
thanks for the video. I also had problems rising. now i add about 10gramm of fresh yeast into the equation. works EVERY time. no hassle anymore. the sourdough flavour is still there :)
The discarded sourdough “snack” is Amazing. I sprinkled Trade Joe’s everything bagel spice and fried it up. I made 2 inch pancakes. No dip needed. Video is great. Approach is so on the level. Not intimidating at all. Cant wait to make a better loaf of Sourdough bread.
I also use it for fermented pancakes, they're delicious. Another thing I do is collect a lot of it in the fridge to make a Russian rye, two loaves, using 700g of starter.
@@kristi1949 I was using "The Perfect Loaf" website for the pancakes, if that's what you mean, you should be able to find it with a quick google search. If you're asking about the Russian Rye, then it was from Vanessa Kimble's Sourdough School book. To be honest, I didn't have huge success with it after a few tries, but I'm not sure if that's just the way those rye loaves come out, since rye has very little gluten and you end up with something very stodgy (on that book: there are some nice recipe ideas of different breads in the book, but I also found the writing up of the process to be very poorly presented and unclear in places).
I made savoury waffles with the discarded starter this morning. Just added some wholemeal spelt and water, then let it rest for a couple of hours before adding salt and melted butter. It was heavenly! Thank you for the inspiration :)
Great video! My wife and I have been baking sourdough for almost a year now, and your other video was one of the ones we referenced when we first started. We have done an average of a loaf a week and pretty much have it nailed down using a technique similar, not not exactly like yours. We add the starter right along with the flour, water and salt at the beginning, and after the stretch-and-folds it gets shaped and into the fridge overnight, then in the morning straight out of the bannaton into the preheated Dutch oven. I will have to try altering our recipe to see if we get an improvement. There are a couple tips I would add to your list based on our experience: make sure the water is non-chlorinated so it doesn't kill the yeast. We have had better luck when the water is warm (105F). Also, if you have leftover whey from making cheese, use that in place of the water! Thanks for putting out these great videos and inspiring more people to cook for themselves!
It took 2 years before I found this video. Downloaded the checklists, followed the video. Only thing was, I keep my starter in the refrigerator and, after babying it on the counter for 2 days, got frustrated at how flaccid it was (bubbles but no energy like in the video) and I added beer rather than water at one feeding. That woke it up! Anyway, following this video (mostly) is what FINALLY after 2 years, provided me near-perfect sourdough bread. Tangy, chewy, crusty on outside. Thank you SOOO much!
Thanks again for these great tips. This is my go to method now. Two loaves a weekend for the past three weeks. All lovely and consistent. I bake them in loaf pans so I can make sandwiches. Also, I find it helpful to rub a little olive oil on my hand when stretching and folding or when shaping the loaves.
I sometimes dehydrate my discard then grind it to a powder in a vitamix. I use it like wondra to thicken sauces or as bench flour. It's a shame to waste that already fermented flour.
I used to use mine to make pancakes too .....and attempted English muffins with it too......the person said to save your small tuna cans with tops and bottoms cut out to form the muffins as they fry.....
Your sourdough recipe is foolproof and is the answer to my prayers! Both loaves are airy, beautiful, and delicious. My search is finally over. Thank you for sharing, Mike!
Never heard of Barker's percentage before. My mind is blown! So easy! I never make one loaf so the ability to double or triple the recipe so quickly is invaluable. Thank you!
I feed my starter just once, 3-4 hours before I make the bread (once or twice a week) and my sourdough comes out amazing, get a great oven spring and it’s the best bread I ever tasted. I keep the starter in the fridge until I’m ready to feed it 👍🏻 😊
JohnBoehners Oven spring is how much the bread rises up during baking, which also helps creating those holes in the bread. Something coveted by sourdough chefs.
@@ivyjules If you feed your starter outside every day then that's normal, if the smell is more vinegary. If you leave it out for longer than 1 or 2 days without feeding I find mine gets more stronger more moldy. Might be able to rescue it might not
Made my first ever sourdough this weekend using your tips, and my loaves turned out beautiful and delicious! I'm so proud, and so happy I found your tips. Such a great help, I've sent the video to several friends who are having a go a sourdough as well 😊
Great video! Just wanted to point out my own experience/observations. I've been through this process twice, and attempted to follow the instructions as verbatim as I could. My first set of loaves were completely flat and dense - they wouldn't even absorb water/milk for bread pudding. My second loaves actually came out spectacularly! I believe the step I got wrong was the stretch and fold process. The first time I tried this, I probably stretched and folded for 10 minutes each time - I'm guessing 40 individual "stretch and folds" (x4, for a total of 160 "stretch and folds"). From reading other articles, I saw that many people do a total of 4 "stretch and folds" each time (for a total of 16 "stretch and folds"). I'm guessing that stretching and folding by 10x the amount worked all of the nice air pockets out of my dough, thereby creating the sad flat loaves in my first bake.
Very possible! My first loaf was a bit sad and flat and I did about 7 fold and stretch attempts (about 5 fold each time, ) because another video I watched said it will get smooth when stretch and find is do e and I couldn't seem to get to that point. LOL
My gosh!!! I’m new to this bread game and I’ve watched at least 30 videos so far and yet this video is the most informative and has given me so much valuable information that I think I might actually try a loaf! Bread Gold! Thank you so much
I baked my second pair of sourdough bread. Each time, I have this video playing throughout the process and with my printed checklist. Both batches have resulted in 4 beautiful loaves with caramelized and crunchy to the poke crust. Thanks Mike for virtually accompanying me in my journey. 👍
Thank you for the tip about the excess! I haven't found anyone saying anything besides just throwing it away and that felt wasteful to me and i just didn't want to make sourdough because of it
...or make less to begin with. Make only what you will need, especially in a time of scarcity. See "Bake with Jack" video number 115 for a more simple, more reasonable, less wasteful approach to sourdough starter. See "Bake with Jack" video 101 for a sourdough bread recipe made from his (or any other) starter. Jack's videos provide a wealth of bread baking information helpful to people both experienced and new to bread baking. If you find you are tempted to watch more than one of his videos, begin taking notes for future reference, you will be pleased that you did.
Here in 2023 baking my first sourdough and it was completely successful thanks to your video. Everything else I read or watched didn’t give in depth info like you did - highly appreciate it so I didn’t waste ingredients working up to a successful one. Thanks so much!!
I've just watched my third in a row of you with your fermenting. My doctor friend recommended eating more fermented foods, so that's why I'm here. Very enjoyable watching your videos. I really appreciate your insight and info.
This is fantastic! I've been baking sourdough with a lower hydration level for a while as a sandwich bread and it works wonderfully, but now I understand why I wasn't getting the airy crumb that other bakers get. I can tweak my recipe for a boule versus a loaf by adjusting the hydration level. Wonderful info!
Hey, i´m from germany and i also cook all our bread by myself. Great video and the explanation was perfect! There´s nothing better to eat than homemade bread.
Mate. Ive been baking sourdough for several years know, with a pretty consistent loaf. I still found some cracking gems of knowledge in this video. Thanks a lot.
I have learned so much from you and your brother. When I started college, I learned how to cook and survive on a budget. Now in the middle of a pandemic, I am learning how to make bread. Your videos are awesome!
Hi Mike, I'm new to baking sourdough so appreciate your video very much. My starter has been consistently doubling, and am getting ready to make my first sourdough loaf! I am so glad I tuned in to your channel what a great discard suggestion!
True confession... it was a total flop. I let it sit overnight and baked it this am using a large corning baking dish and cubes for moisture. The end result - it barely rose and the dough was very thick and slightly gooey. The top started to burn a bit the bottom was fine. I may have had it too high in the oven, didn't cut in enough to let steam out and my starter may have been too wet although it tripled in size during the feeding rise. Does anyone have any thoughts to share.?
Oh nooooooooo. Thats so sad! What do you mean by corning baking dish? Everywhere I have read has said cast iron Dutch oven is gold standard, some people spray some water on it before baking for moisture. Your starter sounds ok… baking technique I’m not so sure about! I’m on day 4 of my starter today. Have a look at my short, it’s definitely alive!
One thing I have found useful when proofing sourdough in the cold winter months is a seedling heat mat. They warm to 70-80 degrees. Just place the proofing bowl on the mat and it speeds the process some
I put a little lamp inside my oven. It keeps it around 75 to 80 degrees. It's perfect for anytime you need a warm environment. My oven has a light, but it's integrated. I don't want to wear it out.
I started making sourdough in March in NY and use a hearing pad on low, it auto turns off after a few hours and it's been helping with all the fermenting/ proofing/ rising. We'll see what challenges spring and summer will provide!
I followed this recipe, making my first loaves of bread ever!!! They were absolutely delicious and turned out perfectly having followed everything in the recipe . I would make this again. Couldn't tell the difference between a bought sourdough and the one I made. Thanks so much for putting this video together!
I was going to give up trying to bake sourdough bread. I had been trying for a while. But you have given me hope. 😊 I will follow your recommendations. Thank you.
I really appreciate you showing what you can do with the excess starter, rather than just throwing it away. I find that wasteful but none of the video I watched on how to make a starter/bread showcased what to do other than tossing it out.
One thing they forgot to annotate is roughly how long to bake it at 450 after lowering the temp and removing the lid. Yes, go by color, but he goes about *15 minutes* (it's 2:13pm and then 2:29pm for the next step)... so that's a rough guide. Great video!
I find that especially when using larger amounts of starter you will need to consider the flour used in making the starter in your bakers percentage. So when adding 300 grams of starter to 300g of flour you should consider 450g dry ingredients and 150g wet ingredients already.
i feed my starter every other day, never throw away any of it and it makes delicious fluffy sour dough. also instead of heating a dutch oven for 30 minutes (oh my god), i just use a toaster oven. it is the perfect size for bread and traps steam, and heats up in less than 5 minutes.
Wonderful baking tips! Thanks!!! I'm new to this all this. I used your 80% hydration formula and now agree with you that the dough is a bit too sticky for a newbie. It makes me want to roll the dough in "too much" flour to dry it off! Does this mean that I will do the "stretch & pull" more times (longer than 2 hrs) to get the stickiness out of the dough?
I have seen sooo many sourdough videos and I found yours so informative. I keep doing the process right except, after watching this, I don’t think I ferment it enough so it always ends up flat. I really hope with your tips I can finally have a good bread. Thank you!
the only video i've ever watched from this channel, yet i somehow deeply trust this man with my life
Well he's a mass murderer so be careful, he lures people using the fresh bread smell
Ha! Very cute comment!
@@garyskinner2422 No regrets :)
Staff of life, sister.
Brad Howell SIIIMP
Honestly I feel so lucky to have run across your sourdough mistakes video so early in my sourdough journey! Gotta be one of the very best videos I’ve ever seen on UA-cam. Looks like your entire collection of videos are also well worth my time. I don’t comment often, but I was compelled to this time. Thank you! Dale
I come back and watch this video as I make my bread literally every single time I make bread… it’s the most helpful video I’ve ever watched.
Same here! Watching AGAIN today.
My starter is ready, I’m planning on baking my first loaf.
I love the format of this video where you provide tips but they are chronological in the process of actually making sourdough !
Sourdough bread tips 🍞:
1. 0:46 Healthy/active sourdough starter
2. 3:47 Autolyse your bread
3. 4:45 Use bakers percentages
4. 6:04 Lower your hydration level
5. 7:32 When to use your starter
9:08 Support the channel
6. 10:18 Stretch and Fold process
7. 10:50 When to finish working the dough
8. 11:28 Let the dough proof on your schedule
9. 12:58 Ratio of dry to sticky
10. 14:14 Generously flour your banneton
11. 14:44 Find your way to shape your dough
12. 16:39 The no-fail poke test
13. 18:27 Baking trays prevent burnt bottoms
14. 18:54 Go off based on color, not time
15. 19:48 It's ok if you fail miserably
Thanks the the timestamp! :)
This is awesome - thanks!
This comment should be pinned!
Julien Dodokal for step 14, roughly how long do we keep it in (when should I start checking the color? Another 20 minutes ish?
Did I miss the Autolyse time length? How long!? Thanks
I’ve been frying my discard like your first tip and it’s been soooo delicious! I personally put “everything but the bagel” seasoning and sesame seeds and some cheddar/Mexican blend cheese. Then I put some Honduran cream (could use sour cream or Mayo but this stuff is better) and some lime Ponzu sauce. It’s fire!
Mine is coming out really really sour, I know its called SOURdough, but is yours really sour as well?
Thanks. I'm really just trying to get back in the sourdough because the first attempts sort of discouraged me. Baking with a little bit of yeast got me back into baking bread. And so, I still intend to make great sourdough bread. I just haven't understood the discard part. And some people say you don't ever have to discard.
But I have those very seasonings and that same cheese, and I have a nice bubbly starter going, so I'm going to do this tomorrow.
@@suzannenichols6900 Basically the discard is to avoid ending with a ton of sourdough, since you have to refresh it with the same weight of dough you have at that moment, so you start let's say with 50gr, but next day you'll have to add double the amount. And since you're not using any of it while it's forming, it just goes on and on. I'm not in favor of throwing all that goodness out in the least. And I'm glad there're lots of recipes already that use sourdough discard, because you can actually make lots of really yummy things with it.
@@dustinpaff Either you have a really active starter or you're not feeding it enough. Do you live in a warm climate? That could explain it.
So do we really need to make the bread?? 😅
I can’t believe this man just had me so engaged for a 20 minute video on bread
He’s pretty much the ideal spokesperson.
Even I realized that the video is 20 minutes long just after finishing it. Not regretting.
That means you are insane. See a doctor.
And I am not even into baking
Bread is real it make sense to me! Makes a lot more sense than a lot of things people are into.
I have been making bread for years and it was fine. Followed all this advice and made the best bread my family have ever eaten. The crust is amazing, the crumb is perfect and it was so straightforward but upped my bread game by about a thousand times. Thank you.
I recently started my sourdough journey. This video is the only instruction I’ve had. Mind you, I watched it over and over and over again before I made my first attempt but I have not had one fail in my six attempts. Today’s loaves were the best yet and I think it’s because I finally incorporated the knowledge. My friends are incredulous at my results in such a short time. I share your video with anyone who asks. Thank you for being so thorough. You clearly have a passion for this.
I just tried my first attempt and it was a huge FAIL! I have no idea what I did wrong. I’m thinking I didn’t use the starter at the right time. 🤷🏻♂️
@@bukguy2have you tried again? I am on loaf 6, and each o r has been different. #3 was the worst. It might have had something to do with a tree and electricity going tits up just as I had the oven preheated and was ready to move my dough from the proofing basket. I ended up putting g it back in the fridge for half a day until the electricity was back, and then I forgot to score it. My best so far was probably the one right after that, #4. It may have been perfect. This one I made a huge change....I am afraid I am ruining my ceramic Dutch oven with these super high Temps, so I am using a slightly smaller cast iron one. It's in the oven now. We will see!
Mike, this is a great video. Thank you!
0:54 establish starter health/activity
2:22 fry up sleepy starter instead of discarding
3:50 autolyse before adding starter
4:49 use baker's percentages
6:10 lower hydration level
7:38 when to use your starter
10:34 stretch and fold, don't knead
10:55 when to finish working the dough
11:41 customise dough proofing around own schedule
12:32 download guides if you like
13:01 ratio of dry to sticky
14:20 generously flour banneton
14:46 No single perfect way to shape your dough
16:42 no fail poke test
18:35 use cold baking tray to prevent burnt bread bottom
19:06 use colour instead of time to judge cooking duration
19:53 it's ok to fail
Not all heroes wear capes!
Thanks alot. This comment should be at the top.
SO helpful, thanku!!
Not only do we get terrific sourdough baking advice but your voice is what makes it so easy to listen to you have a beautiful tone to your voice
This was sooo helpful 😢! I started baking at home and my first time, I freaked out when the dough turned out sticky😭. This video was so helpful. Thank you ❤
This video changed my bread in a huge way. I have been making what I thought was ok enough sour dough for 8 years!! I couldn't get it right. I made a loaf last night with these tips and I am in shock and it is the most beautiful bread I have ever seen.
Toni Gomez That gives me hope thanks!
@Kathy Childress Grams are so easy, though. It's just a scale of 10. 1g, 10g, 100g, 1000g, etc.. So easy. Not like "cups" which are like 233,7g or something like that. Or ounces, which can be fluid or solid... no, grams are pretty close to perfect. Translates perfectly to liters as well, as 1g of water is 1 milliliter, or 1 thousandth of a liter. Just like it's one thousandth of a kilo.
@@PoulWrist Metric system is the best thing.
@@PoulWrist yes and grams is more accurate providing more consistent results
Toni Gomez how long do you stretch and fold the dough for?
OK, this guy has a passion and is a good communicator. Thank you. I have watched this video quite a few times and will watch it more. He is not boring anyone with nonsense, gives good information and is right. A guy with a good perspective to help you get on track as well. Good man. He does the little things with love. That goes a long way. Now, I'm not a baker, just a guy who likes to bake from time to time and enjoys his own bread, when finding the time. And I'd be lost without people posting info like that. I have a guy like that producing impressive amounts of bread - in the described fashion - and also gives away free starter. Great to have bakers in the community.
These are all excellent tips!
I have to say for me that the real game-changer was spending more time on gluten development. It wasn’t until I did this that I finally ended up with consistent loaves with open crumb. I struggled for over eight months with inconsistency and rarely did I get a large oven spring.
Let me mention that I prefer to bake loaves with a lot of whole grain, so I assumed this was the problem. However, I eventually cut back to just 50% whole wheat but still had poor oven spring. I was almost ready to give up on sourdough baking but then I bought a stand mixer (ostensibly for my wife’s baking activities). Just for the novelty’s sake I decided to use the mixer to incorporate the starter and salt into the mix. Online people were suggesting about ten minutes of mixing for gluten development. This was a complete game-changer!! Suddenly I got great, consistent oven spring.
My current standard loaf is 46% (home-milled) whole wheat (red fife or spelt), 12% (home-milled) whole rye and the balance is bread flour. I currently employ 77% hydration and I autolyse my dough for about two hours before adding 2% salt and 20% starter. I think I could increase my whole grain content, but don’t want to jinx my good luck.
While starter health is important, I have found that gluten development is key. I actually keep my starter in the fridge and only feed it the night before I bake. In the morning it has doubled, but I knock it back and I do a fresh feed of about 15% of the weight of my starter. I autolyse my dough at this time and after two hours the starter is rocking to around two and a half times its knocked down volume. After adding starter to my dough, the starter goes back into the fridge. Using this method I don’t need to keep a starter discard pot in my fridge. This works if I bake once per week. I am sure that if the starter sat in the fridge for too long it might need fortification, but this works for my baking schedule.
I hope this advice helps someone else who is struggling.
@J Thank you, good info, I will use it.
Wonderful information! I'm new to sourdough and from the tonnes of complex videos and information I feel like I've been flying by the seat of my pants. I think between this great video and your information it'll be a huge help. Thank you again.
Thank you so much for the excellent additional tips! I’m on day 3 of my very first starter. I was wondering if I could utilize my dough hook and mixer. I’m not necessarily a purist on technique. I simply want the best result I personally can achieve while still holding a full time job. 😄
How often to you feed the started to sustain it in the fridge while not using it?
Thank you, I'm gonna try the stand mixer trick. My loafs have been dense and hard, inedible basically, and i think it might possibly be due to the gluten development I've been struggling with... Thank you!🙏
Love that you didn't throw out the starter and made good use of it!!!!! Best video I've seen on making sourdough bread!
Duuuuuuuuuude, I made two loaves following a different recipe that didn't detail the actual technique and they turned out doughy and dense, then I followed this video's technique and the flex guide and got two perfect, aerated, crispy loaves! Thank you so much! 🍞🥖
Technique is more important than formula by miles
I am a seasoned traditional bread maker and I found that the biggest mistake people make with bread is they use too much flour. Starting with a wetter dough makes a huge difference. I can't wait to make sourdough.
Where is this flex guide ? He mentioned it but I dont see it anywhere
@@FucU4everdid you find it? You have to click on the link he points at. I found it yesterday, so it's still available
After several failed attempts and very disappointing loaves, THIS is exactly the video I needed!!
Finally I’m feeling like I’m understanding what I’m doing and what all the different steps are for!
My loaf came out PERFECT! I can’t wait to make another one.
Thank you for changing my sourdough baking life! Cheers!
and your success?
End of the day you are still getting some what or complete nutritional bread. Keep on baking!
I've only just started making sourdough, and the two times I tried it I wasn't happy with the results. When I followed all your steps and tips I produced the most delicious loaf of sourdough I've ever had!!! This video is amazing!!!
Best tutorial ever. As a new baker, I did over a dozen loafs and each one turned out horrible. I went right down the list of this baker's tips. My first one under his tips turned out fantastic! Thank you for such a terrific video tutorial. My confidence is now through the roof.
I’ve recently joined the pandemic sourdough bread making craze and am having fun. Mike’s video is my go-to! Have watched it at least 10 times in the last few weeks. I’ve printed out his checklists and play and pause his video during my bread-making process. My husband loves sourdough and calls my ‘Teri Bread’ the best he’s had. I am so encouraged. THANKS MIKE!!!!!!
After half a year of trial and error, I think I mastered sourdough baking. Two things that I realized: You can make perfect bread with low hydration doughs (63% for me). The second thing is that you don't have to feed the starter everyday (once it's already strong), in fact I keep mine in the fridge and I only feed it when I want to make bread.
Thanks! I really want to try this but the feeding each day is putting me off. I watch another video that said once is healthy and active after 7-10 days of feeding you can keep it the fridge and take it out to feed the day before you want to bake a loaf. That sounds ideal to me!
@@alexmarie960 you can, just cover it so it doesn't dry out on the top and be prepared to find some liquid on top that will smell of alcohol and vinegar. drain it out, mix in news stuff etc. - just don't let it go completely off and have unwanted bacteria move in.
Where I live and they type of flour I use the hydration varies greatly especially depending when it in the year it is.
I saw a video during covid that showed that you feed it every day if it's out in the open. You can feed it weekly in the fridge. If you forget your starter for a month it will go black.
@@CobaltContrast I have not used it a couple times for 3-4 week periods and it is true that it develops a slightly black acidic liquid. In that case, just discard the liquid and feed it a couple of times, and it will be back to being active and healthy.
We've been binge watching sourdough recipes for a month. Mike's videos gave us the best results by far.
After a year of trying, and trying...and trying, baking sourdough bread I found your video. A total game changer! It is my first time (after many many attemps) I'm actually satisfied with the result. Better than the best Christmas gift I could find. I will bake many loaves for the Holidays and share them with my family and friends. Thank you sooooo much for that inspiring video. :-)
This is fantastic info, thank you. looking forward to making my first loaf tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
I’ve found flouring bannetons with rice flour is a huge help. Prevents gluten formation and sticking with wet flour and the flour on the basket.
That was a great tip. I've been using rice flour on the bassinet as well.
I prefer fine semolina flour myself. I know all the pros use rice flour, but I think the texture is powdery and unpleasant. Semolina just adds a bit of crunch and flavor, and I've never had any problems with sticking. Oops this comment is 3 years old 😅 Anyway you still baking? Any wisdom to share?
Really good video with an excellent set of tips. I started making sourdough ~ 2013 and it's become part of my life since. I'll add four additional items I've found helpful...
1) If you feed your starter straight rye flour, or a 50:50 mix of rye and stone ground whole wheat (my choice), its much more forgiving of the inevitable lapses in care that happen from time to time.
2) Preparing the autolyse can be the messiest and most unpleasant part of the process when done by hand, especially with hydrations in the 80% range. I've found using a stand mixer with a dough hook really helpful at this point. After the autolyse, however, put the machine away. All subsequent mixing and folding steps should only be done by hand.
3) I find its easier to standardize the base process when I don't add starter directly to the autolyse. The initial state of that starter just tends to be too variable in my experience. About 3 or 4 hrs before starting the autolyse I make a levain consisting of two parts flour at 100% hydration and one part starter. Let the autolyse develop for about an hour then add the levain - without salt - and mix well by hand. Add the salt after ~ 30 minutes and proceed with the sequence of folds. Levain is typically 20% of my final dough.
4) Experiment with types and brands of flour. Once you get the basic technique under control this will make the biggest difference in the quality and consistency of your bread. My base recipe currently uses 85% of a T-85 flour (from Central Milling) and 15% KA bread flour. I also find that using malted flour makes a more consistent loaf - though it creates a somewhat more active rise so you need to be more careful about over-proofing.
How long should you do each stretch and fold for?
@@living4adrenaline I generally do 5 or 6 stretch & fold cycles about 30 minutes apart. Each stretch and fold should go relatively fast, maybe a couple minutes total to pull the dough out on each of four sides and fold it back on itself. You definitely don't want to over work the dough - It isn't like a kneading process. You're helping those gluten strands form and strengthen so you definitely don't want to bust them up.
What's your take on using discard that's been in the fridge instead of 150g of room temp fresh active starter? And also, have you experimented with levels of sourness? I like the idea of my bread being as fermented as possible for taste and health benefits. Thanks :)
I want to say I went to a baking school that cost over $12,000 over a decade ago and they never taught us how to do baker's percentage. It was just the follow the recipe training and memorization of the recipes, which sucks. Thank a lot! (this is back before UA-cam got popular with recipes and teaching others)
I just ran across this video, and my loaf was amazing! Light, airy, tall - and it was such an easier process than the way I was doing it. Thank you!
I’ve made bread for years - French, focaccia, pizza dough, etc...but I’ve always steered clear of sourdough because it intimidates me. I followed all of your recommendations for my very first loaf of sourdough (start to finish) and it came out amazing!! Thank you for sharing your tips with us! I’m now hooked and looking forward to perfecting my sourdough making skills.
Nice video. I have a couple tips. 1) When you form your dough, use rice flour, not wheat flour, to coat the inside of the forming basket. The rice flour, having a different molecular structure than regular flour, prevents the dough from sticking to the sides of the forming basket. 2) Spray water on your parchment paper before placing the dough on it. The wet parchment paper helps steam the bread during the first 20 minutes of baking.
I use a fine semolina for dusting. Great tip about the parchment and water!
What about tapioca flour?
It’s very sticky!
you forgot the cardinal rule of breadmaking, always make 2 loaves, one for the irresistible urge to eat it hot. one to let cool properly
We always eat an entire loaf when it's hot then the other loaf over a week lol
😀🤗🙌
My aunt made homemade bread for the family every week when I was growing up. 6 loaves, 5 to get us through, the last would be sliced up hot, slathered in butter, and she would throw the lot of us outside to enjoy our treat. One of my favorite childhood memories.
Actually he did make two loaves...he just baked only one...😊
@@Anna-tc6rz You can let your second loaf last for a week? I am afraid it seems that no matter how much I make it disappears ina day or so. The first three weeks in quarantine me and my wife trimmed up, my six pack returned and my wife started talking about my "quarantine body" but since I started making sourdough bread it seems that things have gone in entirely the opposite direction.
My gosh!!! I’m new to this bread game and I’ve watched at least 30 videos so far and yet this video is the most informative and has given me so much valuable information that I think I might actually try a loaf! Bread Gold! Thank you so much 🙌🙌
Agreed!!
brilliant!
It really is all about having great starter! It is like a cheat code!
This video was TREMENDOUSLY helpful! I've been making sourdough bread for the last few years, but I learned so much and tried some new techniques (new to me, anyway) from your video, and I baked BY FAR the best loaves of sourdough that I've ever made! Thank you so much!
I'm on a home office regime right now due to The Situation and all of the blue I decided to learn to make sourdough.
First impression - making sourdough at home while working from a home office is an amazing idea. Forces me to take breakes at fixed times, makes me get up from my chair, move a bit, otherwise I would just be stuck at my desk for 8hrs straight. 10/10 would recommend
My first attempt, using a different recipe from a food blog I really like, failed miserably (very dense dough, but I did a lot of things I shouldn't have done, wrong water to flour ratio, kneaded it a lot, and it was basically impossible to save; I baked it anyway and we ate it but it wasn't what I was hoping for). So my second attempt is based on this video and it's already looking much better. Everything went according to plan until I had to shape the loaves. I made a 78% hydration wheat dough (half and half white and whole grain flour) so it ended up extremely sticky, it was sticking to my bench scraper like crazy. I managed too shape it a bit but forget about building any surface tension XD. I think I just need to practice more with a less wet a dough. It's now proofing in the fridge for the morning bake. I hope it goes well anyway
I'm home worker too, for five years. Yup, too easy to get 'stuck in the chair' Going to give this a try, have a starter going for pancakes, we'll see how bread goes.
Did u find any recipes that come close to cup measurements?? Dont have a scale & now i find out H20 is heavier than flour or vise versa. Brain totally scrambled at this point.
Kerry Wright Have a look at Ellys Everyday. Really really simple beginner tutorials. No weighing.
A nice tip I found in another sour dough video re: sticking to bench scraper is just to lightly flour the surface of your scraper before using it.
I've done pancakes twice with the extra dough. One batch was really good, the other a little bitter. One site said to add bit of baking powder to take that tinge out if it tasted too strong.
I've just made my first successful sourdough loaf using these guidelines. I downloaded the timing guides and used the One Day Bake for the loaf. I've been making no-knead bread very successfully for a few years now but wanted to challenge myself in these times of yeast shortages. In comparison to no-knead it's a bit of a faff but seeing that we're in lockdown we all have the time. Give it a go people!
Thanks for simplifying the process of baking sour dough bread. I was totally confused after watching several other videos before seeing yours. I loved watching you mix the ingredients together in the bowl. I appreciate all the tips and suggestions. My husband and I love sour dough bread and hope it works for me.
Been baking sourdough for +50y. Never made what I would consider the "perfect" bread. If I ever do, I'll quit baking. ;-) You've given the "best" sourdough lesson I've ever seen.
Do you know of any way to make sourdough without the gluten? I know that is a crazy question, because the gluten is the most important part of the structure, but I'm gluten sensitive. I love sourdough bread, but it doesn't like me.. 😢😷
@@conversationswithkat5710 I bake only with rye sourdough and mostly rye breads. It has less gluten. But I'm from Poland and rye breadstuff is common and traditional here but not as in other western countries, where there is mostly wheat breadstuff.
@@sloncenieksiezyc can you share your polish rye recipe? My polsih family used to do this, but most of them are dead.
@@stanmlekodaj2562 I will try tomorrow to send you some.
62g of rye sourdough made from 2000 rye flour, 620g of 2000 rye flour, 480g of water. Mix, leave for 10-12 hours. Take out about 40g for next baking, add 30g of salt, about 880g of water, 900g of 720 rye flour, mix, leave for 30 minutes. Cover 3 metal forms with butter, put dough in it and leave for growing for about 1,5 h. Bake in 220 celsius for 45 minutes. Forms are 25cm long. You have 3 900g breads. If you bake you know that all these quantities may differ for different flour, temperature and all details important in baking. I can't tell you details about how it should look like, taste etc.
Bro....the scallion sesame fried dough is a game changer! I used some homemade Tare and added a little Filipino cane vinegar for the dipping sauce....near perfection.
just made it. SO GOOD
Is it normal that starter tastes sour when fried?
@@SerraDruschmusch Yes. Your starter is pretty much fermented dough.
I use suggestion of a neighbor. ... Use Everything But The Bagel Spice mix from Trader Joe's on top instead of just scallions. It's awesome.
This is by far the most detailed, complete, and spectacular instruction I've ever seen on making sourdough. I began my starter two weeks ago, after watching your vid, and just began my dough tonight. Will let you know how it comes out. Thank you for your detailed explanation on the entire process. Will be checking out your other vids too. Peace!
How did it come out??
@@ViBoMe It was delicious, and even looked nice! Only problem was it was a little dense and sticky inside. My next one, which I'll be making today, will use less water. I'll go with 70% vs 75% hydration. If you're up to it, I'd definitely recommend this recipe and technique!
Experienced baker but new to sourdough. It’s frustrating to not just whip up amazing perfect bread so this was VERY HELPFUL. Thanks for taking the time to create this. I know it was from years ago but your video came recommended from a beginners sourdough group and I can see why 😊
Finally someone explains the poke test completely, thank you so much for that.
Yessss!
I appreciate the honesty in that failure is part of the process. For so long we have been handed prepackaged products that turn out well the first time.
I think one of the best quotes I've heard about bread (and I'm sorry I can't remember who said it) was that, "Always remember - bread is a living thing and, as such, is unpredictable."
The good thing is that failed bread still tastes like bread.
Jami Lynn “your dough can sense your fear” - Claire, from the BA test kitchen
I'd already had quite some experience baking sourdough bread before finding your videos.
With this pandemic, and having some extra free time, I figured I'd spend some of that time refining my baking skills.
I have to really thank you, because this video has helped me bake some of the best sourdough loaves I've ever baked. And again, I've had my share of them.
I'm now exploring new combinations - using different flours, seeds, etc.
I can honestly say you've helped me make myself happier through our common passion of sourdough baking. 👍🏻
And that tip to use the replaced dough to make flatbread... a true find! Thank you again.
Keep on baking and creating!
Cooking and baking gives me joy. For Christmas, I bake about 1,00 cookies, mainly from my grandmother’s Norwegian recipes, take a pound of butter, a pint of whipping cream and call your cardiologist in the morning. I started baking at 12, 60 years ago. I love your videos.
Bread is an art form. My roots are in cooking and I love to cook. Bread was intimidating and tricky for me too. Push past it. Don't just get your hands dirty. Get your hands sopping wet with a flour dough. Wonder if it will bake out amazing. It usually will. I've been in places where I'm trying to use the bench scraper to rip 6 or 8 oz of wet flour off my hands. The bread came out wonderful. The best two words I can think for advice: Dig In. Each loaf gets better.
Also the discard pancake he makes, is brilliant! Especially if you're familiar with the Korean style scallion pancake. It is heavy and we like it that way! Don't expect this to be light and fluffy, it is heavy but use oil in your pan and fried it up, put on the scallions and sesame seeds and salt flip it let it caramelize. It is truly delicious! I think I like this as much as I do the bread!
I did try to make this not using a lot of oil in my well season cast iron pan and it just doesn't get the crispy crust that is so satisfying. The oil is worth it!
Sara tbh we're more likely to make that than bread. Getting the oven going is a hassle.
Sara I made scallion pancakes from starter but a little TOO sour!
I like to thin the discard with a splash of milk, a pinch of salt and pinch of baking soda before frying. Have had to scale down my starter to limit the amount of discard, as the fried dough is too irresistible!
I just made my fourth loaf from my starter, and your advice helped SO MUCH to get the results I wanted! I have a super cold house, so I've resorted to putting my starter on a heating pad (yes, really). It went from mild activity to QUADRUPLING in size in just about 7 hours. It gave my bread such amazing spring and a really crunchy crust that I'm loving. And because I'm in the San Francisco area, our wild yeast is giving me just the flavors I'm used to enjoying from the bakery. Honestly, I'm so so pleased! Thanks for uploading this.
We h what a great idea! We keep our house really cool also....65 ish so I’ve been having trouble getting activity. Getting out heating pad tonight!!
U
This is an excellent video letting us beginners know all we need to know. The hydration thing still confuses me a bit. But I’ll get there. I left my sourdough out to rise over night. Oops. I didn’t know I was supposed to refrigerate. But if I’m leaving starter out I’m thinking it’s not gonna give me botulism or anything like that!😂 I loved having the rationale behind these things, and the poke test was so helpful, knowing what is under, over and just right. Thank you for the video. Oh and one tip I found is that if you want to have a softer sandwich type loaf, butter the top when it comes out of the oven and it softens right up.
I’ve been making sourdough for 2 years now and it’s been one of the most rewarding cooking adventures I’ve ever had. Overall it gives you an understanding of how dough should “feel”, better than any baking book could ever tell you.
Re-watching the video with a notebook and pen!!
It's PACKED with information that I have really needed with my sourdough experiments. My gratitude cannot be expressed through words!!
Ya he called a dough knife a bench scraper 😆 🤣
Wow. Thanks - you changed my frustration into excitement!
We just had our two SD-Starter "pancakes" - it was awesome!
(BTW we have two as can't eat wheat, but the rest of the family can - and this (first time starter-pancake) turned out to have the texture of a really good crumpet, which is quite difficult to make with wheat free flours. Mine won by far... Used +- 50/30/20% Corn/potato/tapioca fours mix for the first day, then half stone-ground Rye for building/feeding the second day making it a +-50/25/15/10% mix for feeding from there. After adding the app rye the second day, it multiplied X5 over night!)
Can't wait to make the first breads, hopefully starting the process this evening... Thanks again.
Thanks! You have given me so much hope as my sourdough loaf came out rather well for my first attempt! I tried following other's directions, and the results weren't good.
So, thank you ,Mike, for your clear, detailed directions and pleasant demeanor.
Your kitchen space is awesome:)
I have followed this to the "T" twice and it worked perfectly. Thanks so much!
PRO TIP!: My iron dutch oven blacken the bottom of my breads. So I had this pizza pan that would fit in the Dutch oven but would not go all the way to the bottom before getting stuck at a point about an inch above the bottom. It provides a non-stick surface that has an air gap between it and the very hot iron bottom. This cooks the bottom crust perfectly and without blackening it. I was going to buy a ceramic dutch oven for well over $80 but this DIY solution works perfectly and I already had them.
Hmmm, I wonder what I have that can safely go in the bottom of my cast iron Dutch oven.....
@@suran396put a cookie sheet on the lower rack of your oven - protects the bottom from radiant heat from the burner.
@@Boater so, not directly under the Dutch oven but on the next shelf doen? And my burner is above , not below. I am very confused.
@@suran396 yeah, none of this will help if your heat is coming from the top. But for many ovens, the top burner is only for broiling, and the bottom of the bread gets direct heat from the lower heating element. In that case, having a sheet pan (and an air space between that pan and the Dutch oven) will reduce the temp, and keep the bottom from burning. I don't know why the bottom would burn if the heat is from the top.
@@Boater yea, I can't figure it out either.
thanks for the video. I also had problems rising. now i add about 10gramm of fresh yeast into the equation. works EVERY time. no hassle anymore. the sourdough flavour is still there :)
I've tried two other baker versions of sourdough, and this is the keeper! Thank you for the excellent instructions & video.
The discarded sourdough “snack” is Amazing. I sprinkled Trade Joe’s everything bagel spice and fried it up. I made 2 inch pancakes. No dip needed. Video is great. Approach is so on the level. Not intimidating at all. Cant wait to make a better loaf of Sourdough bread.
I also use it for fermented pancakes, they're delicious. Another thing I do is collect a lot of it in the fridge to make a Russian rye, two loaves, using 700g of starter.
me too
@@jamma246 Thanks for the tip!
@@jamma246 Can you share a recipe for that?
@@kristi1949 I was using "The Perfect Loaf" website for the pancakes, if that's what you mean, you should be able to find it with a quick google search.
If you're asking about the Russian Rye, then it was from Vanessa Kimble's Sourdough School book. To be honest, I didn't have huge success with it after a few tries, but I'm not sure if that's just the way those rye loaves come out, since rye has very little gluten and you end up with something very stodgy (on that book: there are some nice recipe ideas of different breads in the book, but I also found the writing up of the process to be very poorly presented and unclear in places).
I made savoury waffles with the discarded starter this morning. Just added some wholemeal spelt and water, then let it rest for a couple of hours before adding salt and melted butter. It was heavenly! Thank you for the inspiration :)
that sounds awesome
Great video! My wife and I have been baking sourdough for almost a year now, and your other video was one of the ones we referenced when we first started. We have done an average of a loaf a week and pretty much have it nailed down using a technique similar, not not exactly like yours. We add the starter right along with the flour, water and salt at the beginning, and after the stretch-and-folds it gets shaped and into the fridge overnight, then in the morning straight out of the bannaton into the preheated Dutch oven. I will have to try altering our recipe to see if we get an improvement.
There are a couple tips I would add to your list based on our experience: make sure the water is non-chlorinated so it doesn't kill the yeast. We have had better luck when the water is warm (105F). Also, if you have leftover whey from making cheese, use that in place of the water! Thanks for putting out these great videos and inspiring more people to cook for themselves!
I can’t say how much this helped me, i’m about to make sourdough for the first time! I’ll be coming back to watch you over and over again! THANK YOU!
It took 2 years before I found this video. Downloaded the checklists, followed the video. Only thing was, I keep my starter in the refrigerator and, after babying it on the counter for 2 days, got frustrated at how flaccid it was (bubbles but no energy like in the video) and I added beer rather than water at one feeding. That woke it up! Anyway, following this video (mostly) is what FINALLY after 2 years, provided me near-perfect sourdough bread. Tangy, chewy, crusty on outside. Thank you SOOO much!
Beer is greatest.
Thanks again for these great tips. This is my go to method now. Two loaves a weekend for the past three weeks. All lovely and consistent. I bake them in loaf pans so I can make sandwiches. Also, I find it helpful to rub a little olive oil on my hand when stretching and folding or when shaping the loaves.
Holy crap the fried starter is genius. It's so simple I never would have thought to do it but it's delicious!
I've always wondered what to do with the leftover starter. Now I know!
Yeah and the genius writing this comment throws his starter on the compost pile out back...geez I never thought of frying it!!! Brilliant
I sometimes dehydrate my discard then grind it to a powder in a vitamix. I use it like wondra to thicken sauces or as bench flour. It's a shame to waste that already fermented flour.
Mary Penza and you can actually rehydrate the powdered dried starter, to get a new starter
I used to use mine to make pancakes too .....and attempted English muffins with it too......the person said to save your small tuna cans with tops and bottoms cut out to form the muffins as they fry.....
Your sourdough recipe is foolproof and is the answer to my prayers! Both loaves are airy, beautiful, and delicious. My search is finally over. Thank you for sharing, Mike!
Never heard of Barker's percentage before. My mind is blown! So easy! I never make one loaf so the ability to double or triple the recipe so quickly is invaluable. Thank you!
I feed my starter just once, 3-4 hours before I make the bread (once or twice a week) and my sourdough comes out amazing, get a great oven spring and it’s the best bread I ever tasted. I keep the starter in the fridge until I’m ready to feed it 👍🏻 😊
Anna - What is an "oven spring"?
Well done, you, for looking after your starter, once you've found what you need. Love it, keep it, and it will love you back for years!!!
JohnBoehners Oven spring is how much the bread rises up during baking, which also helps creating those holes in the bread. Something coveted by sourdough chefs.
I kept my starter outside is it bad? She has a weird smell
@@ivyjules If you feed your starter outside every day then that's normal, if the smell is more vinegary. If you leave it out for longer than 1 or 2 days without feeding I find mine gets more stronger more moldy. Might be able to rescue it might not
Made my first ever sourdough this weekend using your tips, and my loaves turned out beautiful and delicious! I'm so proud, and so happy I found your tips. Such a great help, I've sent the video to several friends who are having a go a sourdough as well 😊
Just made my first loaf, and I think I nailed it all thanks to this video. This is SO helpful.
That kitchen is an aesthetic I want to immerse myself in
At least some of that is actually from Ikea - the pantry shelves are the same Ivar shelves I have. Amazing what some stain and added hardware will do!
I've been watching a lot of UA-cam videos on making sourdough bread. This video is, by far, the best of them all. I hope you do more!
AGREE!
Great video! Just wanted to point out my own experience/observations. I've been through this process twice, and attempted to follow the instructions as verbatim as I could. My first set of loaves were completely flat and dense - they wouldn't even absorb water/milk for bread pudding. My second loaves actually came out spectacularly! I believe the step I got wrong was the stretch and fold process. The first time I tried this, I probably stretched and folded for 10 minutes each time - I'm guessing 40 individual "stretch and folds" (x4, for a total of 160 "stretch and folds"). From reading other articles, I saw that many people do a total of 4 "stretch and folds" each time (for a total of 16 "stretch and folds"). I'm guessing that stretching and folding by 10x the amount worked all of the nice air pockets out of my dough, thereby creating the sad flat loaves in my first bake.
Very possible! My first loaf was a bit sad and flat and I did about 7 fold and stretch attempts (about 5 fold each time, ) because another video I watched said it will get smooth when stretch and find is do e and I couldn't seem to get to that point. LOL
My gosh!!! I’m new to this bread game and I’ve watched at least 30 videos so far and yet this video is the most informative and has given me so much valuable information that I think I might actually try a loaf! Bread Gold! Thank you so much
I've had so many sourdough failures, followed your instructions and have baked the most wonderful loaf. Thank you
I baked my second pair of sourdough bread. Each time, I have this video playing throughout the process and with my printed checklist. Both batches have resulted in 4 beautiful loaves with caramelized and crunchy to the poke crust. Thanks Mike for virtually accompanying me in my journey. 👍
Thank you for the tip about the excess! I haven't found anyone saying anything besides just throwing it away and that felt wasteful to me and i just didn't want to make sourdough because of it
i recommend bon appetit's crepe suzettes. the video just came out and it uses excess sourdough starter and its crepes. who doesnt love crepes?
Sour dough starter pancakes!
...or make less to begin with. Make only what you will need, especially in a time of scarcity.
See "Bake with Jack" video number 115 for a more simple, more reasonable, less wasteful approach to sourdough starter.
See "Bake with Jack" video 101 for a sourdough bread recipe made from his (or any other) starter.
Jack's videos provide a wealth of bread baking information helpful to people both experienced and new to bread baking. If you find you are tempted to watch more than one of his videos, begin taking notes for future reference, you will be pleased that you did.
there's a sourdough discard pancake/waffle recipe on king arthur flour that is to DIE for
King Arthur’s website has tons of recipes to use discard. Also tips on how to use starters in most recipes, in place of some of the flour/liquid.
Here in 2023 baking my first sourdough and it was completely successful thanks to your video.
Everything else I read or watched didn’t give in depth info like you did - highly appreciate it so I didn’t waste ingredients working up to a successful one.
Thanks so much!!
I've just watched my third in a row of you with your fermenting. My doctor friend recommended eating more fermented foods, so that's why I'm here. Very enjoyable watching your videos. I really appreciate your insight and info.
He has a Home made Vinegar episode too.
`This is the most helpful and informative video on making sourdough I've seen. Thanks for the great info--you're a natural teacher!
"this is a quote"
Made my first sourdough and it turned out amazing!!! Thanks so much for your great content 😊
This video made my whole bread making experience 100% better. Thank you!
THANK YOU! I had cooked a few loaves of sourdough, but not in a Dutch oven as you described. Best loaf ever!
I watched this video about 10 times before I had the courage to try sourdough and it worked! Thank you so much !
I have watched several of his videos repeatedly. Because of him I have my first sourdough starter in my kitchen... almost ready to go...
This is fantastic! I've been baking sourdough with a lower hydration level for a while as a sandwich bread and it works wonderfully, but now I understand why I wasn't getting the airy crumb that other bakers get. I can tweak my recipe for a boule versus a loaf by adjusting the hydration level. Wonderful info!
You can make vaery airy bread with low hydration. In my experience it is even easier to achieve that way
Hey, i´m from germany and i also cook all our bread by myself. Great video and the explanation was perfect! There´s nothing better to eat than homemade bread.
I’ve been wanting to make sourdough bread for a while now, and you made the process seem much simpler than most bakers out there
Mate. Ive been baking sourdough for several years know, with a pretty consistent loaf. I still found some cracking gems of knowledge in this video. Thanks a lot.
Which were they, did you use them,and were you pleased with the results?
I have learned so much from you and your brother. When I started college, I learned how to cook and survive on a budget. Now in the middle of a pandemic, I am learning how to make bread. Your videos are awesome!
Hey, you know there's really no pandemic right?
Aw man!! I wish I had known about frying up the unusable portions. It seems so obvious but it never crossed my mind. Ty!!
Hi Mike,
I'm new to baking sourdough so appreciate your video very much. My starter has been consistently doubling, and am getting ready to make my first sourdough loaf! I am so glad I tuned in to your channel what a great discard suggestion!
Ahhhh I am about 10days behind you! I started my starter today! Still nervous about actually knowing how to use it! 😢
True confession... it was a total flop. I let it sit overnight and baked it this am using a large corning baking dish and cubes for moisture. The end result - it barely rose and the dough was very thick and slightly gooey. The top started to burn a bit the bottom was fine. I may have had it too high in the oven, didn't cut in enough to let steam out and my starter may have been too wet although it tripled in size during the feeding rise. Does anyone have any thoughts to share.?
Oh nooooooooo. Thats so sad! What do you mean by corning baking dish? Everywhere I have read has said cast iron Dutch oven is gold standard, some people spray some water on it before baking for moisture. Your starter sounds ok… baking technique I’m not so sure about! I’m on day 4 of my starter today. Have a look at my short, it’s definitely alive!
One thing I have found useful when proofing sourdough in the cold winter months is a seedling heat mat. They warm to 70-80 degrees. Just place the proofing bowl on the mat and it speeds the process some
I'll have to get one this season! My sourdough nearly stops doubling every time winter comes around.
I put a little lamp inside my oven. It keeps it around 75 to 80 degrees. It's perfect for anytime you need a warm environment. My oven has a light, but it's integrated. I don't want to wear it out.
I started making sourdough in March in NY and use a hearing pad on low, it auto turns off after a few hours and it's been helping with all the fermenting/ proofing/ rising. We'll see what challenges spring and summer will provide!
I followed this recipe, making my first loaves of bread ever!!! They were absolutely delicious and turned out perfectly having followed everything in the recipe . I would make this again. Couldn't tell the difference between a bought sourdough and the one I made. Thanks so much for putting this video together!
OMG.. will you marry me? ( oops, you already are married😢)…regards to your spouse..she is so so lucky
I was going to give up trying to bake sourdough bread. I had been trying for a while. But you have given me hope. 😊 I will follow your recommendations. Thank you.
I really appreciate you showing what you can do with the excess starter, rather than just throwing it away. I find that wasteful but none of the video I watched on how to make a starter/bread showcased what to do other than tossing it out.
Try making pancakes!
I’m finding my love of home baked bread once again after 30+ years of not baking. Your video was SUPER helpful!
One thing they forgot to annotate is roughly how long to bake it at 450 after lowering the temp and removing the lid. Yes, go by color, but he goes about *15 minutes* (it's 2:13pm and then 2:29pm for the next step)... so that's a rough guide. Great video!
Thanks for putting that up.
Thx for all the tips, to sourdough baking. I finally realize that the more you bake, the better your bread will be, like anything else, practice.
I find that especially when using larger amounts of starter you will need to consider the flour used in making the starter in your bakers percentage. So when adding 300 grams of starter to 300g of flour you should consider 450g dry ingredients and 150g wet ingredients already.
i feed my starter every other day, never throw away any of it and it makes delicious fluffy sour dough. also instead of heating a dutch oven for 30 minutes (oh my god), i just use a toaster oven. it is the perfect size for bread and traps steam, and heats up in less than 5 minutes.
Artecolote that toaster oven tip is actually genius and makes sense!!!
Wonderful baking tips! Thanks!!! I'm new to this all this. I used your 80% hydration formula and now agree with you that the dough is a bit too sticky for a newbie. It makes me want to roll the dough in "too much" flour to dry it off! Does this mean that I will do the "stretch & pull" more times (longer than 2 hrs) to get the stickiness out of the dough?
I have seen sooo many sourdough videos and I found yours so informative. I keep doing the process right except, after watching this, I don’t think I ferment it enough so it always ends up flat. I really hope with your tips I can finally have a good bread. Thank you!