Anyone here into making sourdough bread?

[Eoin]

It's a real pain in the hole when that happens to be honest. I tip it out of the banneton as gently as I can, can't really help apart from that.

Cheers Eoin. I thought it was gentle enough but will try it again.

*edit
Google suggests that I have over-proofed my bread. Will try a shorter time in the same place and see how I gets on.

Yeah, I mean you get larger bubbles inside the bread, that collapse easier, but, if you don't...then it only rises half as much to start with?

[cruiscinlan]

*edit
Google suggests that I have over-proofed my bread. Will try a shorter time in the same place and see how I gets on.

If it over-proves you end up with a really slack runny dough like pancake batter almost.  What I would suggest is lowering the quantity of water you add to your mix, as there is no real set figure for this and in my experience flours vary enormously. 

My basic recipe is

500g 100% starter (i.e. 250g water/250g strong flour)
500g strong flour
275ml water
15g salt

However the water added can be anything from 210ml to 275ml depending on whether I'm using Odlums strong white, Bacheldre strong flour, Tesco strong etc. 

I'm currently using Marriage's Golden Crust which is a strong white flour that takes the lowest end of the liquid content for all recipes.

[Kölsch]

Hi Eoin,
It's quite easy. Our sourdough recipe is :
Day 1. 75ml natural yoghurt, 175ml skimmed milk.
Heat the milk gently, place the yoghurt into a bowl and stir in the milk. Cover and leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours until thickened. stir in any liquids that may have separated.
Day2. 120g strong white flour, stir the flour into the yoghurt, incorporating evenly. Cover and leave in a warm place for 2 days. The mixture should be full of bubbles and smell pleasantly sour.
Day 5. 100ml water, 40ml skimmed milk and 175g strong white flour. Add the flour to the starter and mix in the water and milk. Cover and leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours.
Day 6 the starter should be quiet active now and be full of little bubbles.
Now it's ready for use and should be stored in the fridge.

Now take 250g strong white flour and 250g rye flour, Add 350g sourdough starter and 250ml water plus 10g salt. Mix this together, then turn it out on to a clean kitchen surface and knead for 10 min.
Pult it then in a lightly Odiles bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and let it prove for about 3 hours. The rise will take much longer than yeast bread. Then turn out the dough on a clean kitchen surface and knock back. Portion the dough into two and shape into two ball loaves, flour generously and place each loaf seam side up in a bowel, lined with a couche cloth. Leave to prove for a further 2 1/2 hours befördert baking.
Pre-heat the oven to 230°C/425°F/Gas 7 and place a baking tray in the bottom. Turn the loaves out onto a baking tray of hot baking stone. Flour, score or glaze as required and put in the oven, put some cold Water to steam the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 min. or until a good crust has formed and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the base.

Then feed the sourdough with 200ml water and 100g flour, put it back into the fridge for next baking.
You can now use it for the next baking and if you tread like this you can use it endlessly.
We bake our bread in an outside oven heated with timber. The result is always Perfect.
Kind Regards
Kölsch

[BigDanny84]

Cheers for the replies guys, all very helpful.

My recipe has been:
300g of starter
500g of strong white flour (odlums)
200ml of water
10g of salt

I have had better results proving for a shorter period of time just like Kolsch has suggested instead of proving over night. I still think the bread could have more flavour/sourness. Perhaps I might try to make a different starter.

Thanks guys

[cruiscinlan]

I still think the bread could have more flavour/sourness. Perhaps I might try to make a different starter.

Thanks guys

If you're looking for real sour kick you could have some of my starter if you'd like.  I certainly find it sour enough, although you can always ramp up the sourness by proving in the fridge for a long period.

[BigDanny84]

If you're looking for real sour kick you could have some of my starter if you'd like.  I certainly find it sour enough, although you can always ramp up the sourness by proving in the fridge for a long period.

Cheers Cruiscinlan, I may take you up on that offer if my own doesn't improve.
Thanks

[rje66]

Hi Eoin,
It's quite easy. Our sourdough recipe is :
Day 1. 75ml natural yoghurt, 175ml skimmed milk.
Heat the milk gently, place the yoghurt into a bowl and stir in the milk. Cover and leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours until thickened. stir in any liquids that may have separated.
Day2. 120g strong white flour, stir the flour into the yoghurt, incorporating evenly. Cover and leave in a warm place for 2 days. The mixture should be full of bubbles and smell pleasantly sour.
Day 5. 100ml water, 40ml skimmed milk and 175g strong white flour. Add the flour to the starter and mix in the water and milk. Cover and leave in a warm place for 12-24 hours.
Day 6 the starter should be quiet active now and be full of little bubbles.
Now it's ready for use and should be stored in the fridge.

Now take 250g strong white flour and 250g rye flour, Add 350g sourdough starter and 250ml water plus 10g salt. Mix this together, then turn it out on to a clean kitchen surface and knead for 10 min.
Pult it then in a lightly Odiles bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and let it prove for about 3 hours. The rise will take much longer than yeast bread. Then turn out the dough on a clean kitchen surface and knock back. Portion the dough into two and shape into two ball loaves, flour generously and place each loaf seam side up in a bowel, lined with a couche cloth. Leave to prove for a further 2 1/2 hours befördert baking.
Pre-heat the oven to 230°C/425°F/Gas 7 and place a baking tray in the bottom. Turn the loaves out onto a baking tray of hot baking stone. Flour, score or glaze as required and put in the oven, put some cold Water to steam the oven. Bake for 35 to 40 min. or until a good crust has formed and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the base.

Then feed the sourdough with 200ml water and 100g flour, put it back into the fridge for next baking.
You can now use it for the next baking and if you tread like this you can use it endlessly.
We bake our bread in an outside oven heated with timber. The result is always Perfect.
Kind Regards
Kölsch

Followed this recipe and has worked out with a better flavour than other attempts in the past,
Still takes ages though, but worth the effort.
Need to work on the "shape" now, winter a bit flat when I tipped it out of banneton.
See attached