Following up to my previous post, I'm really curious what your go-to method is for baking a single sourdough loaf.
Currently, I'm using a Dutch oven (cast-iron pot) and a spray bottle to add some extra moisture to the dough. But definitely getting mix results.
Drop a comment below. Let's learn from each other ๐
I've found that a set recipe for bread doesn't give the same results every time. The temperature in the room, the humidity, the activity of the starter, and probably a dozen other factors, all affect the final loaf.
I use the ingredients as a starting point and adjust the dough as needed during the initial mix, and as long as everything feels right at that point, the final result should be good.
Of course, in a non industrial setting, all loaves are going to have a little variation, and you can learn to embrace it.
@LastYearsPumpkin @Dontbesourdough
Also, the flour is never quite the same as it was previously: it gets affected by age, packing, storage, humidity...
For me, making a loaf is always a science experiment. Even when I make loaves in the bread machine with identical quantities as previously the result can be different.
I had a bread machine decades ago but gave it to my neighbor because it drove me crazy, I was incapable of making bread without seeing and touching it. It was a Schrodinger's box, put ingredients in and sometimes get passable bread, sometimes not. No way to tell until the end. I hated it.
The neighbor loved it though.
@RBWells
I bake both in the machine and the oven. They create different types of loaf. The machine is also useful for kneading and the first rise of dough for my focaccia. Like any tool, they have their uses, strengths, and weaknesses.
Modern bread machines are more multi-use than earlier ones: they can be used to make jam, yogurt, sourdough starter, dough, pasta dough, even rice wine.
True,
Do you bake the loaf in an oven? Or do you use a Cast Iron pot?
I do the bulk of the baking in a lidded, cast iron pan, then a couple minutes with the lid off to brown up the crust.
I do not add water to the cast iron pan at any point.
My dough is always refrigerated for at least 8 hours before I bake, so the dough is pretty firm at the start of the bake.