26
Old timer in Portland showed me why my sourdough was flat after 2 years of trying
I was at a community bake in Portland last spring and my loaves kept coming out like pancakes, then this retired baker pointed out I was using tap water without letting it sit to dechlorinate. Fixed it overnight, and now I'm wondering what other small things I'm missing - anyone else had a tiny adjustment totally change their bake?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
campbell.tara4d ago
Wait, did you have chlorine issues too? I switched to bottled water for a month and suddenly got a real oven spring for the first time ever. Night and day difference honestly.
7
Chlorine never made a difference for me personally. Tried letting water sit out overnight, tried bottled water, tried filtered water - my starter acted the same way no matter what. The real game changer was feeding ratios. Cut back from a 1:1:1 feeding to a 1:5:5 or even 1:10:10 ratio and watched my rise go from flat to tall in about a week. Also paid more attention to the flour mix I was using. A little whole wheat or rye thrown in there wakes things up way more than any water change ever did for my loaves.
3