Another new guy introduction

Profile picture for user RichieRich
RichieRich on 31 Jan 2018 at 01:01

First, I hope I'm in the right forum.

I'll be going by RichieRich, I'm 74 years old. I'm retired. I have never really baked bread except for a very simple white sandwich bread which came out well in my opinion. I have done that a couple of time in the last month. That is the extent of my baking experience. I've always liked a good sough dough bread and pancakes. So I'm here to try and learn.

I have a ton of question. My first question is "which forum would be the correct place to start with all these question?

Thanks.

this is as good a place as any to start asking questions.  Shoot!

If you want to type simple questions into the site search box.  Chances are good the q's have been asked before.  But someone somewhere is always ready to help including myself.    

You understand the basics, it's all about yeast.  Sourdough is about yeasts paired with a batch of bacteria to raise a loaf. It's a lot more fun learning how they work.  If you have a kitchen scales, the learning curve may be easier but not needed to grow a starter however  fresh whole flour, non chlorinated water, and a warm spot are much more important. Oh, and patience, it will take about a week , longer in cooler temps.  

My tips:  The first 24 hour day should be balmy warm 85° - 92° F. and the rest of the incubation time at 75°F or a few degrees warmer to encourage yeast over bacterial growth.  The bacteria go thru stages and conquests slowly lowering the pH until yeast find it comfortable to grow and populate the goop.  

I think you'll find The Fresh Loaf forums informative and extremely friendly. Many of the people that will respond to your questions are quite accomplished and others are on their way to that level. There are countless years of hands-on experience available just for the asking.

When you get ready to bake a bread, you might consider letting us know which type of bread you want. Let us know whether you want to mix with a mixer or by hand. There are quite popular methods that require no kneading whatsoever. I'm sure you'll get suggestions and help. Starting out simple would be best. Initially, you might want to try a simple bread that uses store bought yeast and a pre fermented portion (poolish, biga, etc) of the recipe to greatly increase the flavor. Nothing beats success!

Dan Ayo

Go for it.  I notice the recipe is in cups so there will be a little play with getting the water amount correct so go by feel.  My tip,  aim for a slightly firmer dough feel than a yeasted dough when mixing.  As a sourdough ferments, it feels gradually wetter and slumps.  This can be compensated by adding additional simple folds to the dough during the bulk or main rise to retain some form of shape.  

Mini

Thanks for the tips. So far I been weighting my flour and not using volume measurement.  I weigh my flour using 4 and 1/4 ounces as a cup or 12O grams.

 

I'm pretty new to all this, I don't really understand "adding additional simple folds to the dough during the bulk or main rise to retain some form of shape."

 

BTW I will be doing this all buy hand for the time being. I don't have a capable mixer at this point.

I'm a visual learner so that helps a lot.

Just as well throw this out there.  I won't bake bread frequently. This is because I'm baking for one ( me) and occasionally some to give away to friends. I expect to bake 2 loafs bread at a time and and this would be about every 2 weeks.

That being said, I'm considering buying the Bosh 400 watt compact mixer. In the gear section of this forum the mixer seems to get good comments.

Any comments on this or other stand mixer are welcome.

I just like to feel the dough.  I do think a strong sturdy paddle or spatula is a must and so is a small bench scraper.  Both are not expensive and can easily be found.  

Keeping your starter refrigerated is the way to go for occasional baking.  Let your loaves cool 24 hours then slice and freeze to best fit your eating habits.  

Someone else can comment on mixers,  I only use mine for creaming butter and sugar, beating egg whites and whipping cream.  Mostly cakes and mashed potatoes.  I have a small cheapie with a bowl and stand.  Don't need anything bigger for the two of us.   

So many delicious things to learn! Keep baking with yeast while you are developing your starter and natural levain (sourdough) starter. That way you will get the feel of so many other things you need to know.

Terminology. I have been on this forum quite a few years now and it is a world-wide forum so early on I learned that there are many different words for the same thing or at least for the same concept. So clarify and ask questions-don't assume! Sometimes the differences are important nuances and sometimes it is apples and apples using different titles.

Techniques. INFINITE! The most confusing decision is which way to go and why? So choose a technique that is relatively comfortable for you and use that one for a while. Learn and move on. Figure out WHY you are doing it that way-I am a concept learner myself. If I know what I am trying to accomplish, I can learn the most efficient way to get there and what the restrictions and obstacles are.

Get a notebook. It is just easiest to write stuff down or you will never remember exactly what you did to change something. I hate it when I make a recipe -on the fly- that turns out wonderful and haven't written anything down. I usually can't duplicate it. I have learned. Now I have to try and keep track of my post-it notes. :) Keep a notebook!

Do one thing over and over until you can experience modest success.

Learn the way different ingredients behave-whole wheat, AP, rye, Bread flour-all behave a bit differently and might have different handling or recipes.

Have some delicious fun! Enjoy the company here and never be afraid to ask ANY question. The SEARCH box works well, also. This is a fun, excellent forum with a world-wide reach.

Welcome!

Messing up imparts more learning than getting it right. Really messing up makes you wonder whatever made you think you could do this in the first place...,

Wild-Yeast

I started a sourdough starter  about 2 weeks ago. It seems to be doing well. It looks active and more that doubles in volume when fed and has some order to it. So far I keep it in a warm place and feed it 2 times a day(about ever 12 hours). I'm thinking it time to move it to the refrigerator and feed it once a week. I don't bake often so I think this is the best plan for me now. I'm posting how I made my starter and then I have a couple questions I will post at the end.

I copied and pasted my starter build from a Word document but it doesn't  show up. Is there a way to do his.

 

Questions, How do I transition my starter from the counter to the refrigerator?  Do I just put it in there? Should I feed it first or maybe feed and let it raise and fall and then put in refrigerator? Does it make any difference?

 

 

 

My starter build.

 

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This method is almost taken as gospel to most of us for long time cold storage of starters.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/40918/no-muss-no-fuss-starter

The author recommends using rye, and if possible I would follow his instructions closely. I’ve had a starter made using his method in my refrigerator and it was still viable 20 weeks out. And it was never fed during that time.

Dan