Homemade Bread Thread

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Yeah, I did the bun and poke a hole method. I'll have to try the pro method and see which I like better.
I like the bagel with a decent sized hole, though the last batch I rolled didn’t end up the best shape and size. The poke method some people prefer because they don’t end up with much of a hole, which is okay for sandwiches.
 
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Sourdough- 20% whole wheat.
 
My last loaf of SD bread didn't spring at all when I put it in the oven, instead it collapsed. It still rose a little after that, just has a sunken top and is pretty dense. I think I didn't knead it nearly enough, and the bacteria degraded what gluten there was. Also this loaf had more rye flour than usual (about 30%) because I ran out of bread flour.

It still makes decent toast, which is mainly how I eat sourdough bread.
 
About 20 minutes ago I started some sourdough in the dusty old bread machine to see how it'll work. (I'm not going to bake it in there, just using it to mix and knead the dough) I put in 175 grams of starter, 350g of warm water, 550g of bread flour, then 10g of salt, and turned on the "dough" cycle. The starter is 100% hydration, half bread flour and half whole wheat (or maybe it's half rye, I'm not 100% certain) So far it's looking good.

When it's finished I'll transfer the dough to a small Cambro bucket and put it in my cold basement utility room to ripen overnight. Not sure if I need to do some stretch-and-folds tomorrow or just put it in the greased baking dish and let it rise, then bake it.
 
Not sure if I need to do some stretch-and-folds tomorrow or just put it in the greased baking dish and let it rise, then bake it.
If the knead cycle worked then you should not have to stretch and fold. Also I think you would want to do the stretch and fold before you did the cold rest.
 
About 20 minutes ago I started some sourdough in the dusty old bread machine to see how it'll work. (I'm not going to bake it in there, just using it to mix and knead the dough) I put in 175 grams of starter, 350g of warm water, 550g of bread flour, then 10g of salt, and turned on the "dough" cycle. The starter is 100% hydration, half bread flour and half whole wheat (or maybe it's half rye, I'm not 100% certain) So far it's looking good.

When it's finished I'll transfer the dough to a small Cambro bucket and put it in my cold basement utility room to ripen overnight. Not sure if I need to do some stretch-and-folds tomorrow or just put it in the greased baking dish and let it rise, then bake it.
It worked surprisingly well; I may make it this way all the time now. The dough almost tripled overnight. I dumped it into a greased CorningWare dish. This about halfway deflated it. I put the lid on and put it in a 105°F oven (turned off and the oven light on) to warm up and rise for 2 hours, and it's been baking a half hour now at 425°. I just took the lid off so the top crust can brown a little.
 
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I'm going to dehydrate some of my sourdough culture because I'm baking less frequently and about to go on a little trip.

Instructions I'm reading are that I should feed it, give it a few hours, then smear a bunch in a thin layer over some parchment paper.

I have a toaster oven with settings for "dehydrate", which is supposed to get down to 86°F, and "proof", which is supposed to get down to 80°F.

I would think that either one of these settings should be able to jump-start the drying process without killing the starter, especially the proof setting.

Is this a bad idea, or should I give it a shot?
 
I'm going to dehydrate some of my sourdough culture because I'm baking less frequently and about to go on a little trip.

Instructions I'm reading are that I should feed it, give it a few hours, then smear a bunch in a thin layer over some parchment paper.

I have a toaster oven with settings for "dehydrate", which is supposed to get down to 86°F, and "proof", which is supposed to get down to 80°F.

I would think that either one of these settings should be able to jump-start the drying process without killing the starter, especially the proof setting.

Is this a bad idea, or should I give it a shot?
I dry mine in an oven that has a pilot light it’s around 90 degrees it’s so dry in many homes during winter, that if you spread it thin enough it could dry without any help and it’s always good to keep some dry in the freezer incase something happens to the wet starter. BTW, it can stay in the fridge for weeks, (I have read accounts of more) without a feeding. So a week or two trip is no problem for the starter. It may have gray “hooch” on top that just means it needs a feeding. I hope this has helped.
 
I'm going to dehydrate some of my sourdough culture because I'm baking less frequently and about to go on a little trip.

Instructions I'm reading are that I should feed it, give it a few hours, then smear a bunch in a thin layer over some parchment paper.

I have a toaster oven with settings for "dehydrate", which is supposed to get down to 86°F, and "proof", which is supposed to get down to 80°F.

I would think that either one of these settings should be able to jump-start the drying process without killing the starter, especially the proof setting.

Is this a bad idea, or should I give it a shot?
When I did mine I just spread a thin layer on parchment and set it out at room teemp for a day to dry. 80-86F would speed the process if you need to and would be a safe range. You can also use a fan to help speed the process as well.
 
I dry mine in an oven that has a pilot light it’s around 90 degrees

If you dry yours in a 90° oven, either of the settings I described should be safe.

... 80-86F would speed the process if you need to and would be a safe range. You can also use a fan to help speed the process as well.

My proof setting is with convection.

I don't think I'm going to dry it completely with the toaster oven on, I'll just get it mostly dry and let it finish at room temperature.
 
@Hoppy2bmerry ... everything pretzel bites... ughhh you've stolen my heart. Gonna have to make some of them..

Currently have 2 sourdough marbled rye doughs cold proofing and will pop them in the oven this afternoon, making ahead for this weekend homemade Reubens, first rye bread so wanted to give myself some time in case they flop.
 
Those look yummy. 😋 I have been wanting to attempt pretzels. Processes similar to bagels if I remember correctly
Yes, instead of malt or sugar in the water, pretzels get their quick bath in water with baking soda or food grade lye. I used baking soda for these and the German pretzel recipe @ King Author to which I added 100 g of my stiff sourdough discard and a teaspoon of honey (to prove the yeast).
 
@Hoppy2bmerry ... everything pretzel bites... ughhh you've stolen my heart. Gonna have to make some of them..
Oh, Mr. Mountain! 😁
Currently have 2 sourdough marbled rye doughs cold proofing and will pop them in the oven this afternoon, making ahead for this weekend homemade Reubens, first rye bread so wanted to give myself some time in case they flop.
Mmm, this sounds really good, the last marbled rye attempt I made didn’t turn out to look very “marbled” so that will be a do over for me.
 
@Hoppy2bmerry ... everything pretzel bites... ughhh you've stolen my heart. Gonna have to make some of them..

Currently have 2 sourdough marbled rye doughs cold proofing and will pop them in the oven this afternoon, making ahead for this weekend homemade Reubens, first rye bread so wanted to give myself some time in case they flop.
Off Topic.... Bailey Mountain Brewer, I just realized you are in Duncannon, near the Red Rabit. LOL! We drive by there on our way to Williamsport, PA from Greencastle. Small World! Carry on.
 
Ok, so 2 thin slices in and this is what I got.. a little bit of a swirl and probably more as I slice, assuming I'm cutting from the correct side. I wasn't smart enough to think that the swirl will only show up if I slice it right and I didn't mark the edge to keep track of how I rolled it... note to self for next round.. it's a decent bread, soft and has a nice chew to it, I'd like a little more rye for the next one, this was following alegrebread since I know he posts here. It was 50gram rye to 450 grams bread flour per loaf. Overall I'm happy with it.
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