Live Stoners AFN Baking (breads n things)

[Mañ'O'Green]

@Dr.Bubbles Buying a starter is not cheating. A starter that has been around for years will have a much better flavor profile than the one you make from scratch. It takes a long time for the yeast and bacteria to get the right strains growing well and some wild yeasts will never taste right. I am not saying the bread will not be good. I am saying that time will improve your starter if the yeast strains are good in flavors to start with. You can buy lactobacillus sanfranciscensis to inoculate your starter and get that wonderful sour flavor sorta. The thing is the foggy sea air of the bay area is what makes that bacillus strain grow so well. I never quite got it San Francisco good but it was good. I managed to keep the starter for maybe a year and then it fell victim to my poor work ethic. It is just really hard to remember to something every week.

 

[Dr.Bubbles]

I'm still up in the air about the baking technique. I see that many people including your K.A. recipe can utilize a Dutch Oven. Or maybe I'll just use a parchment cookie sheet with a water bath.

Hmm. Any thoughts from anyone?

I'm sure you'll have excellent results with your neat and tidy King recipe. As far as stiffy starter goes, I know there is some websites with girls doing sexual things...that's about all I know about that. Your mileage may vary.

THEY'RE called KAAAAHBS Joe's dad's stuff

 

[Dr.Bubbles]

@Dr.Bubbles Buying a starter is not cheating. A starter that has been around for years will have a much better flavor profile than the one you make from scratch. It takes a long time for the yeast and bacteria to get the right strains growing well and some wild yeasts will never taste right. I am not saying the bread will not be good. I am saying that time will improve your starter if the yeast strains are good in flavors to start with. You can buy lactobacillus sanfranciscensis to inoculate your starter and get that wonderful sour flavor sorta. The thing is the foggy sea air of the bay area is what makes that bacillus strain grow so well. I never quite got it San Francisco good but it was good. I managed to keep the starter for maybe a year and then it fell victim to my poor work ethic. It is just really hard to remember to something every week.

I don't mean buying a starter is cheating....if anything, that is probably the best way to go. I am talking about adding commercial yeast to a wild yeast starter. Ohh Greeny, ya just misread what I said.

THEY'RE called KAAAAHBS Joe's dad's stuff

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

I don't mean buying a starter is cheating....if anything, that is probably the best way to go. I am talking about adding commercial yeast to a wild yeast starter. Ohh Greeny, ya just misread what I said.

THEY'RE called KAAAAHBS Joe's dad's stuff

I stand corrected. That practice you speak of has a place for a style of bread with a tight crumb. We generally do not want a tight crumb in our Artisan Loaves. It also is more forgiving in the oven spring than sourdough starter probably due to the tighter crumb.

 

[Mike20132]

I went with 200g starter, 200g water, 344g of flour and 8g of salt. I did it about 11 hours ago...the dough looks beautiful. I did the 4 hour counter thing with 4 or 5 folds. I think I also got a decent amount of surface tension on the bottom of the thing which will become the top obviously when it comes out of the fridge in a few hours. I kept a piece of plastic wrap over it on the counter and bagged it up in the fridge. The dough was surprisingly easy to work with. I also made sure my starter was good and hungry before I made it...fully knocked down and all that. I put some goodies in my cart on Amazon last night, but I wanted to see how well it comes out first before I grab something else to clutter up my kitchen. I did some peeking around the internet, and it seems that just about everyone and their mother has a different way to do shit. Nurse B said "It seems like one of those things that you just gotta feel out". I agree. One thing I have figured out before even firing the oven up is that America sucks at making true sourdough. I must have peeked at a dozen different recipes and ⅔ of them had corner cutting on the starter. Lame. And I don't mean the razor blade on a stick kind of lame. A bunch of em cheated and added commercial yeast. I feel that defeats the whole purpose, and others were ready to go in 4 or 5 days max. Makes me feel good about the honest work I have put in. I tell you what though...I am a new convert to weighing ingredients for baking. My God...it's SO much better. Don't think I'll stash my measuring cups just yet, but a badass kitchen scale is definitely in my future.

I'm having Prime steaks tonight. I just had to attempt to make some bread. Really looking forward to everything. You can bet your ass that I'll get some pics.

THEY'RE called KAAAAHBS Joe's dad's stuff

Measurements sound solid. Not surprised by your reaction to weighing vs measuring cups. Its so much more accurate, and goes a long way towards consistent results. I have a book which is all bread - and all weights. I'll have to find the title and get it to you.

I use the same scale I measure my weed with. Its only accurate to one gram, but so far that isn't presenting an issue.

Being biased towards the cookie-sheet and parchment approach, I think you'll be fine. If you want the crust to be a bit more gnarley, spray the loaf down lightly before putting it into the oven. My father complains that its too much of a pain to slice that way, so I don't do it anymore. It all comes down to how you like it. I think if I made a rye loaf, I'd spray the hell out of it. Maybe even the pan-of-water approach. Dunno. I like keeping things simple.

Good luck on the bake!

And with your bread, too.

 

[Mike20132]

It also is more forgiving in the oven spring than sourdough starter probably due to the tighter crumb.

I think that has a lot more to do with the formulation of the yeast, and the sheer volume of organisms.

Commercial yeast will accomplish in one hour what could take wild yeast 4 or 5 times as long to do.

Adding it to a young starter probably isn't doing the local culture any favors either.

Adding it to a dough..... now that could produce interesting results. Should impact the crumb to a degree. Maybe add a little fat to soften the crust and have sour-ish sandwich bread.
That or it will blow up like a balloon once oven-spring kicks in.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

I think that has a lot more to do with the formulation of the yeast, and the sheer volume of organisms.

Commercial yeast will accomplish in one hour what could take wild yeast 4 or 5 times as long to do.

Adding it to a young starter probably isn't doing the local culture any favors either.

Adding it to a dough..... now that could produce interesting results. Should impact the crumb to a degree. Maybe add a little fat to soften the crust and have sour-ish sandwich bread.
That or it will blow up like a balloon once oven-spring kicks in.

I have never made that recipe but the instructions talk about cutting a deep long cut in the crust to relieve the oven spring.

Ps. I just fed my starter again and one is already in the refrigerator for future baking. I am hoping to make bread dough before I go to bed tonight but it all depends on the starter.

 

[Dr.Bubbles]

What I oven spring guys? I love the look of this, but don't want it over proofed. I took it out of the fridge about 3 hours ago. It looks so awesome. So I am gonna try the straight up parchment on cookie sheet for the first time.

Here is what I have on the counter at the moment. My two jars of starter are going right to the limit now when they bloom. Lots of little bubbles and air pockets. It looks exactly like what I see in pics.

When should I fire up the old bake box? Now....or in an hour....and what the shit is this oven spring??? Also, how should I slice it with my lame lame?

THEY'RE called KAAAAHBS Joe's dad's stuff

 

[Mike20132]

"Oven spring" is the rapid (and final) rise of the bread once the little beasties get more energy (via the heat) to do their business. Up until the point where the heat ultimately kills them off, the little buggers are farting CO2 at rates that make them unwelcome at family dinners.

It's hard to over-proof the final loaf before it goes into the oven. Start giving it a little poke after three hours, and if it springs back about 1/3, its ready. Fire up the oven, the extra 15 minutes or so while it pre-heats won't matter.

 

[Mike20132]

Also, if you meant to put up pics, they didn't make it.