Heikjo's blog

I've been directed to dabrownman's (which I've read as dabrownwoman until now...oh well) No Muss No Fuss Starter on multiple occasions, so I decided to give it a go.

I use wheat and spelt starters, so I stuck with those. The writeup by Dab is very good, but I like to compromise the main points in my own words when following a recipe. I went with the 101 g total.

66% hydration starter, make at 26-29º C (80-84 F)

My starter has been alive for three months now and I've made a few loaves since then. I've learned about many things and gotten some experience with how temperature affects the entire process. Summer has arrived and I can expect 25-30º C (77-86º F) room temperature. I do have a basement which I might be using for overnight fermentation now. I need to measure the temperature, but expect it to be around 15-20º C.

When I started making sourdough bread three weeks ago, I did not have much of the equipment. I'm currently not living apartment, but in a house with four students, so I had to make do with what I found. There are no clay pans in the house, so that was not an option. I read a lot about baking vessels and wanted to replicate a dutch oven, which many seem to prefer when making sourdough bread. I got a pizza stone in my apartment, but not here.

Baking with sourdough can be daunting and it takes some effort to get into. You can make wonderful loaves with advanced techniques involving thermometers, special temperature controlled boxes, handling the dough properly etc. I want to dedicate this entry to easy sourdough baking.

A little story on how I got here.

I have always loved bread and dough products, but due to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), I've largely avoided it for many years. The fructans in flour, which contains oligosaccharides, are a cause for my stomach getting bloated. They are higher in rye and wheat than spelt, so I have been using spelt to make yeast breads or buns now and then.

Graphic comparing levels of FODMAPs in different flours.