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 do 2 loaves, not one, but yes results vary. For "the sourdough" (as my kids call it, to distinguish it from the other breads I bake with the starter) yep, cold dough into searing hot cast iron dutch oven. Almost always an overnight rest in the refrigerator.
The biggest change for me was being more intentional about shaping the loaves before putting them in the baskets for overnight rise.
As others have already said, using a standardized process won't get you standardized results because the flour, the temperature of the room, the humidity, your body temperature, your starter, none of these are precisely the same every time. But in general if the dough strengthens and rises, I get a good result when it bakes. Not always a spectacular result, but rarely a brick doorstop.
Nice! Do you freeze one?
Can you elaborate on the biggest change in shaping the loafs?
Thanks!
No, I have a family so it all gets eaten. And before I did sourdough, my experience was with no knead bread (which you just sort of dump into the pot) and loaves where the pan was doing the heavy lifting (I still make those sometimes) so I was casual about shaping.
Now I try to get the loaves tight before putting them in the banneton. Pinch all the seams as I am shaping, not just the final ones. Will flatten gently and reshape if needed, instead of trying to preserve the rise I err on the side of getting a good tight(ish) shape, most of the time.