Walnut & Blue Cheese Sourdough Bread Recipe - Strayed from the Table (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to sourdough? ›

6. Just add water for softer sourdough. The secret to sourdough is simple: water. The more water you add to your dough will affect how open the crumb (bigger holes and softer texture) will be once it's baked.

Most commonly, the issue here has to do with temperature (which is very important). If your sourdough starter is kept at a low temp, even 70°F (21°C), it will slow fermentation activity and appear to be sluggish, taking longer to rise and progress through the typical signs of fermentation. The solution: keep it warm.

If your sourdough starter exhibits any of these signs: - Smells like acetone or vinegar - Has a runny consistency - Is full of tiny bubbles or foaming - Doubles in size and then falls back down - Develops a clear, gray, or black liquid on top - Gets a white, powdery substance on the surface It's time to feed it!

All-purpose Flour

It strikes a perfect balance of softness and structure, making it an ideal choice for various recipes. Due to its wide availability and affordability, all-purpose flour is often my top recommendation for creating and maintaining a sourdough starter.

The key taste compounds include salt, which is directly added to the dough, as well as acetic and lactic acid, produced during fermentation. After these experiments, they applied a technique called “unified flavor quantitation,” which was previously developed by Hofmann's team, to the sourdough bread.

Add starter to recipe after it's reached its peak

The flavor of a sourdough starter is most mild when it has reached its peak. Add it to your recipe after it has reached this peak for a more flavorful loaf.

So don't leave your dough in a warm oven, on a radiator or in sunlight. It will likely be too warm and will dry out your dough too. Instead, find a cosy spot, with no drafts, for your dough to rise. And, if your sourdough starter is struggling to get going, consider finding it a warmer spot too.

The magic that makes this sourdough so fluffy is a quick oven-rising process under very high heat. The key is to make sure the Dutch oven is fully preheated before baking the bread.

Preheat your oven with a baking surface or combo cooker/Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C). Remove your dough from the fridge, score it, and transfer it to the preheated baking surface or combo cooker.

An unusually cheesy or milky smell can indicate an overgrowth of unwanted bacteria. This can happen if your starter is kept in conditions that are too warm or if it's not fed regularly. If your starter smells like this, it might need some extra care to bring it back to balance.

What happens if you cook with bad sourdough starter? ›

Consuming mold can cause many illnesses including respiratory illnesses. You don't want to mess with mold! Obviously you wouldn't consume raw, moldy sourdough starter. But even baking with moldy or bad sourdough starter can make you very sick.

Rather than do that, I would look to extending fermentation if your dough isn't rising quickly. Or just go ahead and bake your bread.

*If making sourdough is new for you, do not be discouraged if you starter takes longer to get active than mine – stick with it, it will happen! *Tap water is usually fine, if you are not sure, use boiled and cooled water, you can use it at room temperature or cool; do not use distilled water.

Compared to whole wheat flour, rye flour is said to be the most nutrient- and amylase-dense option for a sourdough starter. Overall, it has a lower gluten protein content than wheat flour, which means it produces slack, sticky, and dense doughs.

Hard Red Spring Wheat

Bronze Chief wheat is best for yeast or sourdough breads. Although it is not as mild as the Prairie Gold, we love the depth of flavor this traditional wheat imparts. Order Hard Red Spring (Bronze Chief) Wheat Berries here to pick up locally in TN or here to have your order shipped.

One way you can help your sourdough to rise more is by turning on the light in your oven. Preheat the oven just slightly, then turn off the heat and place the dough inside with the light on. The warmth generated by the light helps activate the yeast, which will cause it to rise faster.

The ideal dough temperature for most breads, post-kneading, is in the 75°F to 78°F range. Water temperature: The higher the temperature of fully kneaded dough, the more likely your resulting bread will be more (rather than less) sour.

Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.