
Do nerds or hackers bake sourdough regularly? - basileafe
I enjoyed a thread about how hacker and nerdy cooks [https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=8356489]. For me as developer and designer, cooking and baking it is therapeutic.<p>Here I shot and edited a short video about Feeding a sourdough starter. https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=TlxmP3n4SQs<p>Do nerds or hackers bake sourdough regularly?
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jiscariot
I tried going the sourdough route a couple years ago with limited success
(about 25%). I have definitely learned more since then by just doing pre-
ferments--primarily a poolish(high water % preferment mixed with a small
amount of yeast and let sit for 14-ish hours, before adding additional yeast,
salt, water, flour).

If anyone wants sour bread that peaks a few days after baking, but not the
full levain/sourdough feeding regiment, I would definitely recommend trying a
poolish (or biga). In getting the poolish down, I feel like I'm in a better
position to retry sourdough, now that I understand what all the steps are for,
and to treat time as an ingredient.

When you get in to it, one of your main problems will be always having a loaf
of tasty bread on your counter. That combined with working remotely makes it
easy to gain a few pounds.

Another recommendation with the poolish, is to use a 2 loaf recipe (say 1000g
flour), then make focaccia's with the 2nd. Focaccia is extremely simple and
makes for a great gift or something to show up to a dinner party with.

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basileafe
I have been baking Sourdough goods such as bread, focaccia, scones, doughnuts,
pizza, baguette, pancake, and more for over 5 years [www.urbancottage.net] and
haven't tried poolish not biga. I know you would need to add yeast to the mix.
I tried other recipes with yeast and it is good. I would need it to give the
dough a lift not more.

My get to a recipe for bread, focaccia, and pizza is 800g white wheat, 200g
whole wheat, 800g water, 20g salt, 200g starter. Mix, rest, and turn over once
every 30 minutes. Cold fermentation for 6-20 hours. I have taught many people
this simple and easy receipt.

Bread baking is like magic to me, more than cooking. It requires patient and
appreciate the process of simple elements.

I'm working on an online course where I attack people's issues, not mine. I
will explain it, and offer solutions based on science and common sense. Give
them confident to bake with any flour at any temperature (+30º / -10º). Show
them different ways to bake with pure starter or with a little of dried yeast,
and why.

1- Would anyone be interesting to join? 2- What would you like to see this
course covers or explains? 3- What issues/fears/troubles/mistakes you do/face
while baking sourdough bread.

Thanks :)

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seanwilson
I made a sourdough starter for the first time recently. It's really hard to
find a short guide on e.g. what ingredients to use, what amounts to use, what
to do about discarding, how often to feed.

Worked fine for me first time. I feed the starter every 1 to 3 days (it's not
important), throw in 1/3 of a cup of water and 1/3 of a cup of flour each time
then mix (just by eye, don't bother measuring, white or brown flour is fine,
cold or warm water is fine), don't discard anything (no need to waste it, or
collect it in another container). When the container starts getting full I
either make bread or pancakes.

It's probably from being a developer, but I was frustrated by the number of
guides I had to read to settle on the above because a lot are dauntingly
complex.

Some guides will say feed once, twice or three times a day, some will say to
only use a specific kind of flour at first then change, some say measuring by
weight is vital, some say discarding each feed is important to keep the ratios
exact etc.

I just went with the simplest advice for each variable and it worked (along
with several friends who followed their own method) so my feelings are many
guides that say "you need to do this for it to work" aren't based on fact and
yeast isn't delicate at all to cultivate (makes sense given it survives
freezing, not being fed a while, sitting idle in bags of flour for months,
being saturated in water, high room temperatures).

In terms of verifying sourdough advice scientifically, it would be super cheap
to do with minimal equipment so it bothers me there isn't a definitive easy
guide by now to dispel common myths. The one about how you're cultivating
yeast from the air is a myth as far as I know (the yeast is coming from the
flour) but you hear it everywhere still.

Maybe I just got lucky first time or the method is non-optimal, but I'm happy
that I've cultivated laid-back yeast that isn't picky about how it's fed.

~~~
mbrock
A lot also depends on your climate, bulk fermentation is hugely variable on
temperature and humidity. Now that our flat is warm and humid, I can easily
overferment if I leave the dough standing during the day.

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rdtwo
I’ve found that feeding 2x a week is really the sweet spot for starter. As for
recipes, I recommend you kneed in the bowl and use the following

60g 100% hydration starter fed 18-24 hrs before 300g water 450g all purpose
Costco flour or equivalent

Mix it up in a bowl till it’s not clumpy and let it sit 30min or so (15-120
min seems to work)

Add 12g salt and mix it in by folding the dough over in the bowl till it forms
a ball Wait 10-30 min or so Repeat folding 2-3 times when convenient Shape
into ball, let rise for a couple hours then shove it in the fridge top self
overnight covered

In the morning take it out, fold it cold just enough to make a loaf shape
transfer to banetonne, cover.

Preheat over to max and put in crock pot to preheat.

Wait 1-2 hrs

Transfer flowered cutting board. Score and transfer to crockpot

Bake 20 min covered @500 reduce temp to 425 20 uncovered

Eat

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mbrock
Yep, I bake sourdough bread a few times per week using something similar to
this method:

[https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/recipe/overnight-
sourdough-...](https://www.culturedfoodlife.com/recipe/overnight-sourdough-
bread/)

Basically just bulk ferment from night until morning.

I bake in a loaf pan and keep a tray on the oven bottom with enough boiling
water to provide steam for the first 15 minutes or so.

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basileafe
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlxmP3n4SQs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlxmP3n4SQs)

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ThePhysicist
I’d just ask a local artisanal bakery to give you some of their starter, which
they often are happy to do. Starting my own was quite disappointing so far,
many bakeries cultivate theirs for generations so I think they usually have
developed a better microfauna.

~~~
bibabaloo
You should be able to get a starter going without too many issues. Some tips:

\- Use bottled water

\- Use organic rye flour to feed the starter

\- Be patient :)

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agent008t
I would love to get into this, but I am a total noob at this with minimal
experience of any kind of baking (tried making white bread once with water,
instant yeast and white flour).

Is there an easy-to-follow step-by-step tutorial for a total noob on this?

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quickthrower2
I thought about it but it’s a bit too involved for me. I prefer to make soda
bread, flat bread or traditional loaf. I’m not cheffy at all btw, just corona
bordem

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alltakendamned
I bake about once per week, mostly because the bread I bake is better than
anything I can buy in the area (subjectivity might apply...).

