After seeing differnt videos on this matter,I will conclude Jack is far beyond all the other "teachers".Used to make sourdoughbread for 3-4 years,and gave it up .Now when I am back I will bring great thanks to Jack because I am back.Of course I saw some of his videos, and that nr. 101 I guess several times.If you are seriuos of trying follow his steps.I did and after 3-4 tries I really got his message.TX
"Not an expert ..."? Bull crap. Nobody does it better and you damn well know it. . Last week's video confirmed you do sleep on ice at night so you might as well get used to the fact that we regard you as The Master. No more to be said about it. Get it on your mind mate.
For those asking about the gummy insides (yet having a good crust), I saw in another video that was teaching sourdough baking technique that the thing to do to avoid the gummy interior, is to put a deep pan in the oven with hot water. The steam will delay the crust from forming before time. He explained that without it, you risk the crust forming early and therefore the interior stays gummy. Worth a try.
It’s quite simple. Either bake for longer or reduce the hydration. Even reducing the hydration by 2 or 3 % will help or bake for 5 or ten minutes longer. Stick a thin skewer into the loaf and if it comes out with a little sticky residue on it,put it back in the oven for five minutes.
To all the people asking about gummy crumb: do not slice your loaf when it’s still warm! It still cooks when you take it out of the oven and it needs the time for the moisture to even out throughout the crumb.
I saw someone on IG doing what they called "the real test of a bread knife", which was slicing hot bread straight out of the oven... Madness! I know some people love "warm bread" but for me you're just ruining the loaf and all your hard work by slicing it that early... needs to be stone cold in my book!
Yeah think of it as a giant steak or anything else that's large and requiring a lot of heat, also do not be afraid of overcooking it, the darker it is the better flavor. You also have to have a strong super bubbly starter that you allow to do it's thing.
I cut a corner off as soon as it has cooled down a bit, absolutely delicious. The trick is to cut very straight and then stand the bread up on the sliced part on a cutting board to seal the wound so the rest of it can cool down properly. It is only for showing off that people cut the bread in half.
Thanks, Jack! I’ll give your suggestions a try. I think I’m addicted to bread baking because of the fun of “what happens if I try this instead of this?” Thank you for your help! Would love to see your cats! 🐈
Have been making bread at home for a little more than a year. Few months ago, started trying my hand at sourdough. Has been a total disaster. Came across your sourdough videos and recipe and followed every process and step and to-day made a really great sourdough bread. Would have sent a picture, but do not know how to attach a photo. Great series of videos.
Jake i followed your Sourdough recipe it was my first attempt . it was fabulous puffed up perfect bake looked great and most of all tasted out of this world there is no way back for me now it is Sourdough all the way. Thanks a million and keep up the great work.
Gummy bread happens at a lower temperature and cutting prematurely. Pre-heat the oven to 500 F, and once the bread is in the oven turn it down to 450 F. Once it's out of the oven it continues to cook. DO NOT cut the bread until it is completely cool as the moisture migrates out to the crust from the center, and then the center won't be gummy. Hope this helps.
Not all ovens will reach 500 F. Jack says his only gets to 230C. ....or about 450 F. Several people told the gummy bread dude not to cut his loaf early. He said he didn’t 🤷♀️😅
WOW! Super video! it's just admirable all the work and passion you put into your videos to help us improve our baking techniques. THANK YOU! Regarding baking a sourdough bread with spelt: in order to avoid that it spreads once in the oven, I place a belt made of 1 sheet of baking paper folded in such a way that I get a tape of 5 cm. With 2 staples and 1 (metal) paperclip everything stays neatly in place and the dough does not spread. The belt remains the entire baking time and can be reused. Very wise decision to keep only 1 sourdough! After all, we have only 1 life and a limited amount of energy that we share and divide....so don't forget to take a break and enjoy the sunny weekend to come!
READ IF YOUR DOUGH IS FLATTENING OUT BUT YOU DID EVERYTHING RIGHT!!! Another reason your dough can flatten out is if you take it out of your banneton while your oven is preheating for 30-40 mins. LEAVE IT IN YOUR MOULD UNTIL IT GOES IN!! Unless you want a baguette like loaf xD
Good work fella! I’ve used a couple of your suggestions namely 3 stretch and folds and double shaping. They have transformed my bread. Great loaves every time now where before it was hit and miss whether I’d get a good rise on the loaf or not. Stella Chanel, keep up the good work.
have had great results since I watched your sour dough videos. My starter is white flour and I make the loaf with white. Great loaves lovely flavour. Keeping just the minimum starter in the fridge satisfies my anti waste life style I just couldn't get my head around throwing starter. I have found checking internal temperature with a thermometer at 96/97 degrees c will usually make sure the loaf is not gummy. Thanks for your help
Really enjoying these Q&A style posts. Absolutely loads of golden info in here as well. Fun listening to Questions that you've helped me overcome a few months ago as well... it's all problems you can overcome at home in your regular oven, you just need to stick at it and learn as much as possible! One thing I did notice that came up a lot was people struggling with higher hydration dough, and I remember when I was first doing sourdough it seemed to be the default position that sourdough almost needed to be high hydration to be "good" and get that open crumb. But I personally find it really challenging when at very high hydration... so my breads are more around 65-70% (only higher if using loads of wholemeal). It makes life so much easier in shaping and handling and you CAN get a nice open crumb with good fermentation and delicate handling! Happy baking!
I am making Sourdough with a starter I started up almost a year ago with waterkefir. When I make the dough I add some honey and olive oil, use a scraper for it is very wet dough. Not much needing needed for l leave it all night on the counter, next morning I add my salt and some baking soda and extra flour for the dough has become even wetter during the night, shape it while heating the oven and voila. Lovely, not realy sour bread as I like it. When I forget the baking soda, the rise is less so for me that is the way to make it prove better and make it less dense. Works magic in the bread.
Excellent, detailed descriptions and instructions. As you said, Jack, anyone trying to figure out how to change something should only change one thing at a time - very important and the scientific way. Change one thing and if it’s not right go back to the original recipe and change another thing. It’s the only way to find out what isn’t working right. Another observation: sourdough starters can be different because the airborne yeasts can be different. That’s why genuine San Francisco sourdough bread has such a reputation and it can only be made there. One more thing - who really looks after the two little'uns? 🧐
Just a thought on the two questions about the bread being "gummy" and overly moist. It sounds like they are not letting their bread cool completely before cutting into it. When I cut into a hot loaf of any bread it looks gummy. Once you let it cool and set up completely that doesn't happen anymore.
To the person asking about controlling acidity: you can use temperature as a tool of control. While most people think that temperature control the speed of fermentation, it actually controls the acidity too. The technical explanation for that is the optimum temperature for yeast to consume sugar is not the same as the optimum temperature for the lacto bacteria to produce lactic acid. So if you use a colder temperature and assume you ferment to the optimum point, your sourdough will be less acidic. If you use the temperature of say, 90F (approximately 32C) and also ferment the sourdough to the optimum point, you get a much more acidic sourdough. Too sour for me! But try it out.
I just noticed your one bulletin board that say "Stuff I probably don't need to do" Now that was a spit out your coffee moment for me but what a great stress reliever! BTW where have you been Mr. Jack? Its almost February 2021!
Great video and wonderful tips. You might consider adding some tips using poolish / sponge as at some point they get really similar. Keep up the good work.
Hi Jack, thanks for the great tips. New subscriber since this week 👍. I' ve been making sourdough bread since a while. Made your beginner recipe this weekend and it turned out great! Short question: Any tips on preserving the 'crunchyness' of the crust? Only few hours after baking, my bread's crust slowly loses it's crunch... Grtz from Belgium
You know that there is yeast in a sourdough starter right? Natural yeast. That, and bacteria to a small extent, is what makes the dough rise. Love the channel btw.
Can’t wait for part 2! I was just sitting here wondering if I can use the left over from making oat milk as a starter. I had some and put it in a jar in the fridge to use in my oatmeal and the next day I saw it had bubbles and was fermenting. Going to give it a go as a starter now and will let you know.
Jack, between 7:30 and 7:50 you talk about two ways of using the starter. Could you please elaborate a bit more on that? And maybe even bake two loafs with the two different approaches. What are the different steps and the essential „bread difference“ in the end? Don’t quite get it. Thanks!!
So this is where there is some disagreement on the terminology in the sourdough world, but let me share my take on the issue. The two terms in question are "starter" and "levain." For our purposes consider this; the starter is the continuous sourdough culture that is maintained over time, and the levain (French world for leaven: to rise) is whatever portion of sourdough culture goes into the mix to make your dough, and is ultimately destined to die. In Jack's case the starter is 100% rye, and this can be used in two ways. Either he can maintain the starter as usual, with rye flour, and use that in the mix, OR he can take a portion of the rye starter, feed it with spelt and wheat to create a levain, and use that in the mix instead.
Jack I just got your book and it is amazing. I started with the sourdough recipe. My question is why you keep your loaf uncovered in the refrigerator while others cover their dough in the frig. Please elaborate.
5:56 Greetings from Chicago! I struggle to know when my sourdough bread is done, so I probably over-bake it. Plus I have a tricky oven! Is it OK to use an instant read thermometer and what temperature is it done? Will poking it affect the cooling down process? When I use the tap method, the top of the bread sounds more hollow than the bottom. Any suggestions? I stone bake the bread. Love your book - working my way through it!
Hi Jack I have followed you sourdough starter recipe and on day 3 it was going crazy i couldn't believe it. However day 4 in the morning i fed it with another 25g of flour and 25g of water @35°C and nothing...it is bubbling just a tiny bit bit not a rise at all. It is on the window seal and it is supper hot at the moment so temperature is not the issue. Where did i go wrong? Does it need more flour? I have been always adding only the 25g of flour even though i have a lot more in the pot. Is my starter hungry? Thanks
i love my (one) starter which is also from wholegrain rye flour. easier to maintain and it can last in the fridge unattended for a week. Before making bread I make levain with one spoon of it and a white flour so the rye "properties" are minimized.
The question about the starter that died. I did an experiment with my starter (50/50 strong flour and whole wheat flour). I left in in the back of the fridge for 3 months. I took it out, poured off the liquid, fed it and the next day it was as active as ever. It's really hard to kill it.
hmm.. ich had my starter for a week and a half in the fridge without feeding it. two days ago i took it out, fed it and.. nothing! not a single bubble of live in their. it was a rye flower starter and with rye i fed it. now i cant bake bread till i got a new starter i guess :/
Paul how is where you live? Mix half ap and half whole wheat and put it somewhere hot.I live on a house where there is one of those old(at least 60 years old) heaters..i put on top of it;few hours and boom i made some bread today
my sourdough came out great, crust was amazing tasting and great color, being picky, I guess I could say it didn't really rise too much proofing in the fridge over night before the bake, but I did get good oven rise. I use a dutch oven, cover on first 25 minutes and cover off last 15ish at 475 degrees F. Gonna bake again Tuesday morning, pulled starter out for a few hours I will feed tonight, Maybe my next batch I will take out the fridge n let it rise on the counter a little longer in the proofing baskets before baking? Cant wait for my order to come in and hoping to get a proving cloth soon lol, thanks...
About whether starter/yeast can die, if you keep your starter in the refrigerator, it is hard to kill the yeast even if you keep it for 2 months, but if you keep it for a month or longer, it is better that you feed it at least once before you use it to make the levain. But if not refrigerated, the yeast can die. It happened to me last year. I was about to leave town for a long time (a month in total), but my refrigerator turned bad. It was still cooling but not predictable. I still kept my sourdough starter in the refrigerator. When I came back, I fed my sourdough, but it was dead.
Hey Jack, love the videos. I have been following your instructions for sourdough starter. I pulled mine out of the fridge yesterday (was in there for about 7 days) and when I opened...phew. It reeks of nail polish remover. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Jack ... my trouble with the starter is on the 3rd day it rise up then it falling ... i feeded and it never bouble again but it still have a sour smell on day 8... my question is it dead or alive.... thank you !
Hey Jack! Just found your channel, its fantastic! I have a ton of trouble scoring my bread, my lame always sticks and I end up with a sad, jagged, sticky cut. Any tips?! Thanks!
Danielle Scott Hey Danielle, I just managed the first time to score my bread properly: it was all about “the skin formation”. Previously I always covered it with plastic during the proofing period, but after watching Jack’s last video, I tried a breathable cloth! It seemed to be a game changer on the scoring at least. Good luck!
www.thefreshloaf.com/handbook/scoring. See this webpage & embedded videos. I've seen some bakers dip their lames in water before scoring to reduce resistance. Also curved vs. straight blades & knife angle depending on loaf types.
Hi - not a sourdough question but I've just found your channel and it looks great. What I can't find is a video which goes through the basic process of making a loaf...How do you mix and adjust water content...what does it look like...what should it feel like....etc. Can you point me to a video which does this. Thanks
Jack, love your channel and your approach. I have eliminated all the people I was following except You and Teresa Greenway. Don't need any other copycats. Thanks for all you do to promote good baking. I have been baking with only my sourdough starter for over 15 years and have had probably every experience you mentioned. For the person that posed the "sourdough conspiracy theory" BS. How do you think people ever made bread before commercial yeast was available? Where do you think the commercial yeast came from? Duh!
I just found this channel and so happy I did! If i'm not using the starter for a while and keeping it in the fridge, does it still need to be "fed" occasionally ie weekly or?
I feed my starter one a week but you can go longer I use it a lot (baking for five) But I have let it go for a month and fed it a day or two before I use it and there have never been any issues and I am new to sourdough baking!
@@janster7777 , it's plastic. He said so in one of his earlier videos on sourdough. As for size, he has never told us that...my guess would be at least a 27oz/765g sized jar. That's how large my jar of almond butter is .
Whole wheat starters are (generally) healthier and more robust, they are also more active which means they have to be fed more often than AP starters... which might be a problem in the Dog Days of Summer. When you're feeding your starter (or working with the dough), you will of course want your hands and all work surfaces to be clean... *NOT* STERILE!!! You have those little bottles of hand sanitizer? Please, throw them out! To initiate a starter, you don't need pineapple juice or anything like that. ALL you need is whole wheat flour, spring water, and a clean but unsterilized kitchen. Mix the flour and water, wait for two or three days, and then, twice a day, remove half, replace with fresh, remove half, replace with fresh, until it is highly active, then it can be safely stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks (I can't remember where I read it but the comparison is with watering your grass and mowing your lawn. Frequent watering feeds your grass and frequent mowing helps to keep the weeds under control. Eventually you have a nice lawn). Ten and a half years ago when I initiated my starter, I mixed whole wheat flour with spring water. Then I called my wife into the kitchen and we both put our fingers into the wet flour (everybody go *AAAWWW*). Ever since then, despite episodes of shameful neglect, it has never failed me.
Hello Jack. I know is called sourdough but what can I do to lower the sourness or acidity in the dough? I have read about adding baking soda to the dough. Have you tried that? When is the right time to add it?
Hi Jack, great video. My question, if I reduce the amount of the starter to 25g so it puffs up more slowly to fit into my schedule, should I increase the amount of flour in your recipe by 75g or not? (ie to make up for the missing 75g of starter).
Adriana Crees He answered this in another video - you need to adjust the flour and water. If you reduce starter by 75 grams you need to increase water AND flour by 37.5 g EACH. The math will be easier if you reduce it to 20 or 30 grams of starter, in which case you increase FLOUR AND WATER by 40 grams each in the first case or by 35 grams each in the second.
Looking forward to next week's video! Not sure you answered this one already but: if you bulk ferment in the fridge, do you do the stretch & folds outside first and then chuck it in the fridge for the rest of the bulk or do you mix, put it in the fridge and then take it out everytime you want to do some stretch&folding?
@@lina987 That is what I do. However, several people have mentioned bulk fermenting in the fridge. Thus my question. If this is doable, what would be the best way and why?
Hi Jack! I left you this question at your starter video tip # 68. I followed your instructions for the starter from day 1 through day 4 using rye flour and room temperature distilled water. Nothing happened- no activity, no bubbles and it wasn’t growing. It sat out at room temperature for 2 weeks; there was liquid on the top but still no activity. At that point I threw it away. Did I do something wrong with the starter ?? Did it need refrigeration ?? Thanks so much.
Maybe it had to do with using distilled water. There are no minerals in distilled water; I wonder if they're needed? I'm just guessing here. I use boiled tap water, that I cool down to 90F. My starter I actually was born back in 2009 with beer. :)
As for the sourdough conspiracy, of course there is no conspiracy. And I am sure the person who asked the question was joking too. But Jack, would you agree that sourdough bread can never be the same as yeasted bread? When I started bread making, I first made a couple of yeasted bread, liked it, then I just turned completely to sourdough. My thought was with starter I would be growing my own yeast so I would never need to buy yeast again. The point was not to save a few cents for buying yeast, but I thought it was fun and I love science, so it sounded fun if I could grow yeast at home. But after 2 years of making sourdough bread, I never got what I made with yeasted bread 2 years ago. The yeasted bread was light, fluffy, puffy, soft, cloudy, heavenly, but I never achieved that with sourdough alone. I have an explanation for that, but I would love to hear your thought first. PS: I love your videos, especially when you describe things or how you visualize them "in your mind."
Very funny! My husband said you look like 35 but to me you looked like 25, so I don’t want bread recipe anymore, I want the recipe of youth😜😂😂😂 Btw, your bread is in the oven, the pyrex I threw the boiling water on has just shattered🙈
I do not think it is cheating to sneak in yeast in bread that also contains sourdough. Why? Because it all depend on YOUR sourdough. If you have a very slow moving sourdough like me, adding yeast is a way to actually make bread in one day and make sure the bread don't get too sour. Using only sourdough is difficult with my sourdough, since nothing will happen the first hours at all. In 6 hours, it has maybe started to rise a little bit. We are looking at 12-16 hours before my sourdough is at full kaboom. And then the question is, why add sourdough when you anyway add yeast, is it necessery at all? Won't the yeast do the job just perfectly on its own? I find sourdough is necessary, if you have it. Because, sourdough will make a bread that stays fresh for longer. Much longer. It will also add a touch to the taste. So yes, adding sourdough makes a much better bread than using yeast alone, in my opinion. But if you go out and claim that your bread is a sourdough bread, and then sneak in some yeast, well, then it is cheating, yes. But hybrid breads with yeast and sourdough is definately not cheating, as long as you are honest to yourself and others that it is a hybrid bread, sourdough enhanced bread or whatever you can call it, and not a pure sourdough bread. Because it isn't. If you have a slow moving sourdough, it makes sense to add yeast. And it also makes sense to start all over again with a new starter, research how to speed up your sourdough starter, or what you can do, I don't know. But if you are comfortable adding yeast to speed up things, why not? A hybrid bread with both yeast and sourdough is a very good bread, and that is all that matters in the end. I find that is good enough for me right now. I might have used only sourdough if my starter was quicker acting. I don't know.
![FNAF vs TF2 - Episode 2 [SFM]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/z5b3V2-VLb0/mqdefault.jpg)
After seeing differnt videos on this matter,I will conclude Jack is far beyond all the other "teachers".Used to make sourdoughbread for 3-4 years,and gave it up .Now when I am back I will bring great thanks to Jack because I am back.Of course I saw some of his videos, and that nr. 101 I guess several times.If you are seriuos of trying follow his steps.I did and after 3-4 tries I really got his message.TX
"Not an expert ..."? Bull crap. Nobody does it better and you damn well know it. . Last week's video confirmed you do sleep on ice at night so you might as well get used to the fact that we regard you as The Master. No more to be said about it. Get it on your mind mate.
FACT!! PRrrrEACH it!! LOL 👏👊👍
For those asking about the gummy insides (yet having a good crust), I saw in another video that was teaching sourdough baking technique that the thing to do to avoid the gummy interior, is to put a deep pan in the oven with hot water. The steam will delay the crust from forming before time. He explained that without it, you risk the crust forming early and therefore the interior stays gummy. Worth a try.
It’s quite simple.
Either bake for longer or reduce the hydration.
Even reducing the hydration by 2 or 3 % will help or bake for 5 or ten minutes longer.
Stick a thin skewer into the loaf and if it comes out with a little sticky residue on it,put it back in the oven for five minutes.
To all the people asking about gummy crumb: do not slice your loaf when it’s still warm! It still cooks when you take it out of the oven and it needs the time for the moisture to even out throughout the crumb.
I saw someone on IG doing what they called "the real test of a bread knife", which was slicing hot bread straight out of the oven... Madness! I know some people love "warm bread" but for me you're just ruining the loaf and all your hard work by slicing it that early... needs to be stone cold in my book!
@@richardharris5336 I mean bread fresh out of the oven is obviously crazy good. But ruining the remaining 2/3 of the bread isn't worth imo
Tobias Valinski, the first guy who spoke of gummy crumb said he let it cool for 2 hours before cutting it 🤷♀️
Yeah think of it as a giant steak or anything else that's large and requiring a lot of heat, also do not be afraid of overcooking it, the darker it is the better flavor. You also have to have a strong super bubbly starter that you allow to do it's thing.
I cut a corner off as soon as it has cooled down a bit, absolutely delicious. The trick is to cut very straight and then stand the bread up on the sliced part on a cutting board to seal the wound so the rest of it can cool down properly. It is only for showing off that people cut the bread in half.
Thanks, Jack! I’ll give your suggestions a try. I think I’m addicted to bread baking because of the fun of “what happens if I try this instead of this?” Thank you for your help!
Would love to see your cats! 🐈
Have been making bread at home for a little more than a year. Few months ago, started trying my hand at sourdough. Has been a total disaster. Came across your sourdough videos and recipe and followed every process and step and to-day made a really great sourdough bread. Would have sent a picture, but do not know how to attach a photo. Great series of videos.
I really do wish you could attach photos to RUclips - you can on fb.
Jake i followed your Sourdough recipe it was my first attempt . it was fabulous puffed up perfect bake looked great and most of all tasted out of this world there is no way back for me now it is Sourdough all the way. Thanks a million and keep up the great work.
Gummy bread happens at a lower temperature and cutting prematurely. Pre-heat the oven to 500 F, and once the bread is in the oven turn it down to 450 F. Once it's out of the oven it continues to cook. DO NOT cut the bread until it is completely cool as the moisture migrates out to the crust from the center, and then the center won't be gummy. Hope this helps.
Pamela Dallaire the gummy crumb guy said he baked at 230 C and let it cool 2 hours out of the oven.🤷♀️
@@janster7777 230 C is the same as 450 F.
Not all ovens will reach 500 F. Jack says his only gets to 230C. ....or about 450 F. Several people told the gummy bread dude not to cut his loaf early. He said he didn’t 🤷♀️😅
WOW! Super video! it's just admirable all the work and passion you put into your videos to help us improve our baking techniques. THANK YOU! Regarding baking a sourdough bread with spelt: in order to avoid that it spreads once in the oven, I place a belt made of 1 sheet of baking paper folded in such a way that I get a tape of 5 cm. With 2 staples and 1 (metal) paperclip everything stays neatly in place and the dough does not spread. The belt remains the entire baking time and can be reused. Very wise decision to keep only 1 sourdough! After all, we have only 1 life and a limited amount of energy that we share and divide....so don't forget to take a break and enjoy the sunny weekend to come!
READ IF YOUR DOUGH IS FLATTENING OUT BUT YOU DID EVERYTHING RIGHT!!! Another reason your dough can flatten out is if you take it out of your banneton while your oven is preheating for 30-40 mins. LEAVE IT IN YOUR MOULD UNTIL IT GOES IN!! Unless you want a baguette like loaf xD
Thanks Jack! I started my new sourdough hobby about a year ago thanks to your vids and am having a blast.
Love the whiteboard titled "Stuff I probably don't need to do."
Good work fella! I’ve used a couple of your suggestions namely 3 stretch and folds and double shaping. They have transformed my bread. Great loaves every time now where before it was hit and miss whether I’d get a good rise on the loaf or not. Stella Chanel, keep up the good work.
have had great results since I watched your sour dough videos. My starter is white flour and I make the loaf with white. Great loaves lovely flavour. Keeping just the minimum starter in the fridge satisfies my anti waste life style I just couldn't get my head around throwing starter. I have found checking internal temperature with a thermometer at 96/97 degrees c will usually make sure the loaf is not gummy. Thanks for your help
Really enjoying these Q&A style posts. Absolutely loads of golden info in here as well. Fun listening to Questions that you've helped me overcome a few months ago as well... it's all problems you can overcome at home in your regular oven, you just need to stick at it and learn as much as possible! One thing I did notice that came up a lot was people struggling with higher hydration dough, and I remember when I was first doing sourdough it seemed to be the default position that sourdough almost needed to be high hydration to be "good" and get that open crumb. But I personally find it really challenging when at very high hydration... so my breads are more around 65-70% (only higher if using loads of wholemeal). It makes life so much easier in shaping and handling and you CAN get a nice open crumb with good fermentation and delicate handling! Happy baking!
I am making Sourdough with a starter I started up almost a year ago with waterkefir. When I make the dough I add some honey and olive oil, use a scraper for it is very wet dough. Not much needing needed for l leave it all night on the counter, next morning I add my salt and some baking soda and extra flour for the dough has become even wetter during the night, shape it while heating the oven and voila. Lovely, not realy sour bread as I like it. When I forget the baking soda, the rise is less so for me that is the way to make it prove better and make it less dense. Works magic in the bread.
Excellent video Jack. You have helped me so much with the sour dough questions/answers.
Excellent, detailed descriptions and instructions.
As you said, Jack, anyone trying to figure out how to change something should only change one thing at a time - very important and the scientific way. Change one thing and if it’s not right go back to the original recipe and change another thing. It’s the only way to find out what isn’t working right.
Another observation: sourdough starters can be different because the airborne yeasts can be different. That’s why genuine San Francisco sourdough bread has such a reputation and it can only be made there.
One more thing - who really looks after the two little'uns? 🧐
royksk, I think he puts them to work 😝 I heard him mention baking bread with his daughter. Get em young, train em right. Lol
To anyone who is losing heart with sourdough....take it from me...The Master of Hockey Pucks....listen to Jack !!! Success for sure.
Great stuff as usual Jack. Thanks very much. Keep up the excellent content. Kind regards, Roy.
Legend! Thanks for answering my question, Jack.
Just a thought on the two questions about the bread being "gummy" and overly moist. It sounds like they are not letting their bread cool completely before cutting into it. When I cut into a hot loaf of any bread it looks gummy. Once you let it cool and set up completely that doesn't happen anymore.
To the person asking about controlling acidity: you can use temperature as a tool of control. While most people think that temperature control the speed of fermentation, it actually controls the acidity too. The technical explanation for that is the optimum temperature for yeast to consume sugar is not the same as the optimum temperature for the lacto bacteria to produce lactic acid.
So if you use a colder temperature and assume you ferment to the optimum point, your sourdough will be less acidic. If you use the temperature of say, 90F (approximately 32C) and also ferment the sourdough to the optimum point, you get a much more acidic sourdough. Too sour for me! But try it out.
I just noticed your one bulletin board that say "Stuff I probably don't need to do" Now that was a spit out your coffee moment for me but what a great stress reliever! BTW where have you been Mr. Jack? Its almost February 2021!
OMG. Best video ever! That was seriously awesome. Thank you Jack!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well I have subscribe.. you are indeed my cup of tea.
Cheeky! You got us hooked for next week's episode! 😜
Great video and wonderful tips. You might consider adding some tips using poolish / sponge as at some point they get really similar.
Keep up the good work.
Hi Jack, thanks for the great tips. New subscriber since this week 👍. I' ve been making sourdough bread since a while. Made your beginner recipe this weekend and it turned out great! Short question: Any tips on preserving the 'crunchyness' of the crust? Only few hours after baking, my bread's crust slowly loses it's crunch... Grtz from Belgium
You know that there is yeast in a sourdough starter right? Natural yeast. That, and bacteria to a small extent, is what makes the dough rise. Love the channel btw.
Can’t wait for part 2! I was just sitting here wondering if I can use the left over from making oat milk as a starter. I had some and put it in a jar in the fridge to use in my oatmeal and the next day I saw it had bubbles and was fermenting. Going to give it a go as a starter now and will let you know.
Jack, between 7:30 and 7:50 you talk about two ways of using the starter. Could you please elaborate a bit more on that? And maybe even bake two loafs with the two different approaches. What are the different steps and the essential „bread difference“ in the end? Don’t quite get it. Thanks!!
So this is where there is some disagreement on the terminology in the sourdough world, but let me share my take on the issue. The two terms in question are "starter" and "levain." For our purposes consider this; the starter is the continuous sourdough culture that is maintained over time, and the levain (French world for leaven: to rise) is whatever portion of sourdough culture goes into the mix to make your dough, and is ultimately destined to die.
In Jack's case the starter is 100% rye, and this can be used in two ways. Either he can maintain the starter as usual, with rye flour, and use that in the mix, OR he can take a portion of the rye starter, feed it with spelt and wheat to create a levain, and use that in the mix instead.
Jack I just got your book and it is amazing. I started with the sourdough recipe. My question is why you keep your loaf uncovered in the refrigerator while others cover their dough in the frig. Please elaborate.
5:56 Greetings from Chicago! I struggle to know when my sourdough bread is done, so I probably over-bake it. Plus I have a tricky oven! Is it OK to use an instant read thermometer and what temperature is it done? Will poking it affect the cooling down process? When I use the tap method, the top of the bread sounds more hollow than the bottom. Any suggestions? I stone bake the bread. Love your book - working my way through it!
Hi Jack I have followed you sourdough starter recipe and on day 3 it was going crazy i couldn't believe it. However day 4 in the morning i fed it with another 25g of flour and 25g of water @35°C and nothing...it is bubbling just a tiny bit bit not a rise at all. It is on the window seal and it is supper hot at the moment so temperature is not the issue. Where did i go wrong? Does it need more flour? I have been always adding only the 25g of flour even though i have a lot more in the pot. Is my starter hungry? Thanks
i love my (one) starter which is also from wholegrain rye flour. easier to maintain and it can last in the fridge unattended for a week. Before making bread I make levain with one spoon of it and a white flour so the rye "properties" are minimized.
You answered questions I didn't even know I had, thank you!
Sourdough CONSPIRACY??!! Bwahahaha!! Snort snort chuckling here!! Can't stop LMBO!! 😂😁🤣
Thanks for answering my questions, Jack!
The question about the starter that died. I did an experiment with my starter (50/50 strong flour and whole wheat flour). I left in in the back of the fridge for 3 months. I took it out, poured off the liquid, fed it and the next day it was as active as ever. It's really hard to kill it.
hmm.. ich had my starter for a week and a half in the fridge without feeding it. two days ago i took it out, fed it and.. nothing! not a single bubble of live in their. it was a rye flower starter and with rye i fed it. now i cant bake bread till i got a new starter i guess :/
Paul how is where you live? Mix half ap and half whole wheat and put it somewhere hot.I live on a house where there is one of those old(at least 60 years old) heaters..i put on top of it;few hours and boom i made some bread today
my sourdough came out great, crust was amazing tasting and great color, being picky, I guess I could say it didn't really rise too much proofing in the fridge over night before the bake, but I did get good oven rise. I use a dutch oven, cover on first 25 minutes and cover off last 15ish at 475 degrees F. Gonna bake again Tuesday morning, pulled starter out for a few hours I will feed tonight, Maybe my next batch I will take out the fridge n let it rise on the counter a little longer in the proofing baskets before baking? Cant wait for my order to come in and hoping to get a proving cloth soon lol, thanks...
I really wanted to say, many of these questions you have already answered 😆. People! PAY ATTENTION!
The RUclips Gestapo strikes again...
About whether starter/yeast can die, if you keep your starter in the refrigerator, it is hard to kill the yeast even if you keep it for 2 months, but if you keep it for a month or longer, it is better that you feed it at least once before you use it to make the levain.
But if not refrigerated, the yeast can die. It happened to me last year. I was about to leave town for a long time (a month in total), but my refrigerator turned bad. It was still cooling but not predictable. I still kept my sourdough starter in the refrigerator. When I came back, I fed my sourdough, but it was dead.
Great video. Very very helpful.
Hey Jack, love the videos. I have been following your instructions for sourdough starter. I pulled mine out of the fridge yesterday (was in there for about 7 days) and when I opened...phew. It reeks of nail polish remover. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Jack ... my trouble with the starter is on the 3rd day it rise up then it falling ... i feeded and it never bouble again but it still have a sour smell on day 8... my question is it dead or alive.... thank you !
Hey Jack! Just found your channel, its fantastic!
I have a ton of trouble scoring my bread, my lame always sticks and I end up with a sad, jagged, sticky cut. Any tips?!
Thanks!
Danielle Scott Hey Danielle, I just managed the first time to score my bread properly: it was all about “the skin formation”. Previously I always covered it with plastic during the proofing period, but after watching Jack’s last video, I tried a breathable cloth! It seemed to be a game changer on the scoring at least. Good luck!
www.thefreshloaf.com/handbook/scoring. See this webpage & embedded videos. I've seen some bakers dip their lames in water before scoring to reduce resistance. Also curved vs. straight blades & knife angle depending on loaf types.
Wow! This community is awesome! Thank you both for your replies! Some fantastic tips, I'll report back and let you know how the next bake goes...
Good info! Keep on doing what you do!
Hi - not a sourdough question but I've just found your channel and it looks great. What I can't find is a video which goes through the basic process of making a loaf...How do you mix and adjust water content...what does it look like...what should it feel like....etc. Can you point me to a video which does this. Thanks
Jack, love your channel and your approach. I have eliminated all the people I was following except You and Teresa Greenway. Don't need any other copycats. Thanks for all you do to promote good baking. I have been baking with only my sourdough starter for over 15 years and have had probably every experience you mentioned. For the person that posed the "sourdough conspiracy theory" BS. How do you think people ever made bread before commercial yeast was available? Where do you think the commercial yeast came from? Duh!
I just found this channel and so happy I did!
If i'm not using the starter for a while and keeping it in the fridge, does it still need to be "fed" occasionally ie weekly or?
I feed my starter one a week but you can go longer I use it a lot (baking for five) But I have let it go for a month and fed it a day or two before I use it and there have never been any issues and I am new to sourdough baking!
Thank you for doing these!
You’re welcome ☺️
love the breakdown.. inquiring minds want to know.. what kind of peanut butter do you eat? I am seeing that starter jar in many aspects of my life :)
ps - you are the best!!
veganhauser, I thought the same thing! It’s a perfect size. Is it glass or plastic? Sure looks like a peanut butter jar to me. ;)
It is possible it is smooth peanut butter ... when I lived in the US I think blue was smooth and red was crunchy and I vote it is plastic
@@janster7777 , it's plastic. He said so in one of his earlier videos on sourdough. As for size, he has never told us that...my guess would be at least a 27oz/765g sized jar. That's how large my jar of almond butter is .
I think that's a Skippy jar.
Which size Dutch oven is a good standard size for baking bread
Whole wheat starters are (generally) healthier and more robust, they are also more active which means they have to be fed more often than AP starters... which might be a problem in the Dog Days of Summer. When you're feeding your starter (or working with the dough), you will of course want your hands and all work surfaces to be clean... *NOT* STERILE!!! You have those little bottles of hand sanitizer? Please, throw them out!
To initiate a starter, you don't need pineapple juice or anything like that. ALL you need is whole wheat flour, spring water, and a clean but unsterilized kitchen. Mix the flour and water, wait for two or three days, and then, twice a day, remove half, replace with fresh, remove half, replace with fresh, until it is highly active, then it can be safely stored in the refrigerator for a few weeks (I can't remember where I read it but the comparison is with watering your grass and mowing your lawn. Frequent watering feeds your grass and frequent mowing helps to keep the weeds under control. Eventually you have a nice lawn).
Ten and a half years ago when I initiated my starter, I mixed whole wheat flour with spring water. Then I called my wife into the kitchen and we both put our fingers into the wet flour (everybody go *AAAWWW*). Ever since then, despite episodes of shameful neglect, it has never failed me.
Hello Jack. I know is called sourdough but what can I do to lower the sourness or acidity in the dough? I have read about adding baking soda to the dough. Have you tried that? When is the right time to add it?
Hi Jack, if I use buckwheat flour to feed my starter will it act as rye flour? Or I won't get good puffy starter?
So, do have something special up your baker's sleeve for your triple digit 100th BWJ Baking Tips episode?!
Jack you're great
Hi Jack, great video. My question, if I reduce the amount of the starter to 25g so it puffs up more slowly to fit into my schedule, should I increase the amount of flour in your recipe by 75g or not? (ie to make up for the missing 75g of starter).
Adriana Crees He answered this in another video - you need to adjust the flour and water. If you reduce starter by 75 grams you need to increase water AND flour by 37.5 g EACH. The math will be easier if you reduce it to 20 or 30 grams of starter, in which case you increase FLOUR AND WATER by 40 grams each in the first case or by 35 grams each in the second.
Looking forward to next week's video! Not sure you answered this one already but: if you bulk ferment in the fridge, do you do the stretch & folds outside first and then chuck it in the fridge for the rest of the bulk or do you mix, put it in the fridge and then take it out everytime you want to do some stretch&folding?
You put it in the fridge after the stretch & fold period!
@@lina987 That is what I do. However, several people have mentioned bulk fermenting in the fridge. Thus my question. If this is doable, what would be the best way and why?
Susana Cabaço Hey there! Oh, I didn’t hear that before. Interesting... maybe the people live in a very warm climate...?! But Jack knows that for sure!
Why? How? What? intrigued mate......what is that sign??
why no oil and/or sweetner in sourdough bread?
Jack, why my sourdough bread of 2 cup AP flour n 1 cup Rye Flour mixture do not rise as much as I expected after 4 th proof?
Because Rye flour is a total $&*#ing pain in the arse...
Hi Jack! I left you this question at your starter video tip # 68.
I followed your instructions for the starter from day 1 through day 4 using rye flour and room temperature distilled water. Nothing happened- no activity, no bubbles and it wasn’t growing. It sat out at room temperature for 2 weeks; there was liquid on the top but still no activity. At that point I threw it away. Did I do something wrong with the starter ?? Did it need refrigeration ?? Thanks so much.
Maybe it had to do with using distilled water. There are no minerals in distilled water; I wonder if they're needed? I'm just guessing here. I use boiled tap water, that I cool down to 90F. My starter I actually was born back in 2009 with beer. :)
I use Tap, whole meal rye, and water at 34C
As for the sourdough conspiracy, of course there is no conspiracy. And I am sure the person who asked the question was joking too.
But Jack, would you agree that sourdough bread can never be the same as yeasted bread?
When I started bread making, I first made a couple of yeasted bread, liked it, then I just turned completely to sourdough. My thought was with starter I would be growing my own yeast so I would never need to buy yeast again. The point was not to save a few cents for buying yeast, but I thought it was fun and I love science, so it sounded fun if I could grow yeast at home.
But after 2 years of making sourdough bread, I never got what I made with yeasted bread 2 years ago. The yeasted bread was light, fluffy, puffy, soft, cloudy, heavenly, but I never achieved that with sourdough alone. I have an explanation for that, but I would love to hear your thought first.
PS: I love your videos, especially when you describe things or how you visualize them "in your mind."
Jack Gently's Holistic Baker
Anyone know what temperature should the fridge be for proofing overnight?
Can I use buckwheat flour for my starter or not, if not what other flour I can use for gluten reason?
Yes you can for your starter, but it won’t make a good loaf without the gluten 👌🏻
Bake with Jack thanks, I can keep starter gluten free but bread it self not , thank you so much.
This man has 3 cats! Three!
and two kids and one sourdough starter! And that at barely 30! Geez, he's superman!!!
I'm sure he's also got a 🎶partridge in a pear tree🎵 somewheres... LOL
Gotta love a guy who loves cats !
Can i add oil? Can I back it in a silicon pan and not in a Proofing Basket Banneton
How would know that my starter is ready or not yet is there any test for dough or just time , how much starter I need for one bread?
😉👉🏻 ruclips.net/video/XnfKeAHUcCI/видео.html
Bake with Jack thank you so much Jack .
Never thought I'd hear about sourdough conspiracy theory!
So tempted to say First! But I won't. :)
Oh no...my loaf needs an ear 🥺
Really could use cup measurements instead of scale weight please
😬👉🏻 ruclips.net/video/wySpX3MB_rk/видео.html
@@Bakewithjack Understood. Thanks for the link.
Pardon me, you said you have 2 kids?!?! Asking you again, how old are you?? You look super young to me!!
59
Very funny! My husband said you look like 35 but to me you looked like 25, so I don’t want bread recipe anymore, I want the recipe of youth😜😂😂😂 Btw, your bread is in the oven, the pyrex I threw the boiling water on has just shattered🙈
Here is the link to Bread Tip 42. ruclips.net/video/OQlG_zKwuMQ/видео.html
Who is here from Sunday brunch.??
🖖😁🤞✌
The whole open crumb structure thing is such an overrated thing.Jesus..if it looks good and tastes great.That's it.
I do not think it is cheating to sneak in yeast in bread that also contains sourdough. Why? Because it all depend on YOUR sourdough. If you have a very slow moving sourdough like me, adding yeast is a way to actually make bread in one day and make sure the bread don't get too sour. Using only sourdough is difficult with my sourdough, since nothing will happen the first hours at all. In 6 hours, it has maybe started to rise a little bit. We are looking at 12-16 hours before my sourdough is at full kaboom.
And then the question is, why add sourdough when you anyway add yeast, is it necessery at all? Won't the yeast do the job just perfectly on its own? I find sourdough is necessary, if you have it. Because, sourdough will make a bread that stays fresh for longer. Much longer. It will also add a touch to the taste. So yes, adding sourdough makes a much better bread than using yeast alone, in my opinion.
But if you go out and claim that your bread is a sourdough bread, and then sneak in some yeast, well, then it is cheating, yes. But hybrid breads with yeast and sourdough is definately not cheating, as long as you are honest to yourself and others that it is a hybrid bread, sourdough enhanced bread or whatever you can call it, and not a pure sourdough bread. Because it isn't.
If you have a slow moving sourdough, it makes sense to add yeast. And it also makes sense to start all over again with a new starter, research how to speed up your sourdough starter, or what you can do, I don't know. But if you are comfortable adding yeast to speed up things, why not? A hybrid bread with both yeast and sourdough is a very good bread, and that is all that matters in the end. I find that is good enough for me right now. I might have used only sourdough if my starter was quicker acting. I don't know.