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My neighbor's sourdough starter comment finally clicked
My neighbor Doris mentioned she lets her starter sit an extra hour before feeding it, and I kinda dismissed it at first. But after three flat loaves last month I tried it and my bread finally got that open crumb I was chasing. Has anyone else had a simple tweak like that totally change their results?
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xena37313d agoMost Upvoted
People act like waiting an extra hour is some kind of magic bullet, but let's be real here. Your starter probably wasn't the issue in the first place. Maybe your oven temp was off, or your flour was old, or you just didn't knead it enough. Everyone loves to blame the starter because it's an easy target. Doris could've told you to stand on one leg while feeding it and some of you would swear it works after a few tries. Correlation isn't causation, and a flat loaf is usually a sign of something way simpler like overproofing or a weak gluten structure.
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danielb4313d ago
Wait, isn't overproofing actually caused by the starter being too active? If your starter is super strong and you let it go too long, that'll flatten a loaf way faster than a weak gluten structure. I've had bricks come out of the oven from underproofed dough that looked perfect on the surface. But yeah, I agree the starter gets blamed too much. Most people just need to check their water temp or buy a cheap oven thermometer. Those built-in oven gauges are almost always lying to you.
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