My first attempt at sourdough from scratch finally worked after 3 tries

Honestly, I've been trying to make a decent sourdough loaf for about two weeks now. My first two tries came out flat and gummy, like a weird pancake. This time I let it proof in the fridge for 24 hours instead of just 8 and the difference was wild. The crust got that nice crackly sound when I tapped it and the inside had those air pockets you see in fancy bakery loaves. I learned that patience really does matter with the fermentation time. Has anyone else had a bread fail turn around after tweaking the proofing temp or time?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_rose3d ago

Got a buddy at work who absolutely refused to believe his starter was the problem. He kept blaming the flour or his oven temp. He tried like four batches that all came out like hockey pucks. Finally I talked him into just starting a fresh starter from scratch instead of trying to revive his old one. The second batch with the new starter was night and day different, he got that beautiful open crumb and everything. He was so mad it was that simple all along.

grantnelson3d ago

Four batches of hockey pucks before trying a new starter seems like a lot of patience for bread, but glad it worked out.

the_lucas3d ago

Four batches? Man, I'd have given up after the second one.