My wife and I are brand new to sourdough and began our first starter 5 days ago. We read about someone who made their own sourdough focaccia with a 6 day old starter, so we decided to have some fun and try with our 5 day old starter. Our started doubled in size during the bulk fermenting in about 5 hours. After we moved it to the pan, it proofed until it filled the pan in only 2 hours. We baked it at 425 degrees F (220 C). Does anyone know why it rose so much? Shouldn't it be flat? Thanks!
Too long of a rise in the pan. Possibly didn’t poke it enough before baking.
Should we have poked it open? Sorta like scoring? We poked it a ton, but gently with our fingertips. It seemed like the rise was one huge air bubble. Here is the crumb:
For a 5 days old starter this not a bad result.
What is the hydration you used?
It looks great and you must have caught the new starter just at the right moment. Congratulations! I love it when that happens! Now you can give the starter a larger feeding ratio if you haven't already done so.
Go ahead and bake with it more. :)