Bread thread? Tried modifying my sourdough to include chia, flax, sunflower seeds, and rosemary. Smelled amazing...

Bread thread? Tried modifying my sourdough to include chia, flax, sunflower seeds, and rosemary. Smelled amazing, but I'm disappointed in the crumb. I soaked the chia and flax in water beforehand so as to not dry out the dough. My base recipe was 70% hydration and 2% salt, I added 1% chopped rosemary and 16% seeds. Anyone have experience with baking with water-absorbing seeds like chia to provide some feedback?

crumb

I have a couple loaves going right now. I'll take pictures if they come out ok. I don't know anything about using seeds that absorb water. But when I incorporate polenta or oats into a recipe that hasn't been specifically formulated for it, I cook them first. On the other hand, a high hydration dough should handle chia seeds just fine. Do you normally get a very different crumb from your sourdough? Mine is often different because I don't have any super precise temperature control

i've got a couple loaves going right now as well.

i've baked sourdough with flax, but not with chia. i've always been hesitant with chia because it absorbs so much water and i figured it'd throw off the texture. have you experimented with using one variety of seed in two separate loaves?

that being said, your bread looks pretty good. how long did you bulk ferment and proof? sure, the crumb's not as open as it could be, but if it tastes good....

I'd like to see them. I'm planning on doing a walnut sourdough in the future, I'll be sure to toast beforehand.
I guess I was scared of getting a brick at the end so I may have overdone the hydration. Pic related is my typical crumb w/o additions, not dramatically different but clearly more open.

I haven't done them separately, I just jumped in. I wasn't a fan of the jelliness of the chia so I may omit next time. That being said, after toasting and spreading some jam, it tastes awesome. I may have some Christmas gifts to make...
I did 3h bulk ferment and 1.5h proof. Both times I stick it on top of my water heater, so I tend to get a very quick expansion

What are your opinions on bread machines?

A coworker gave me her old one for free and I love it. I'm a student, so being able to throw ingredients in and have fresh bread hours later is great.

That’s a pretty fast sourdough, I’m impressed. I experimented with doing a really long bulk ferment (11 hours) and a cold proof overnight in the fridge. Just pulled the second of the loaves out.

This is mine, still warm. 4 hour bulk with stretch and folds and about a 3 hour rise. 85% hydration and a little bit of whole wheat in there. My starter was fed every 8 hours over the last day and a half, so the flavor is very mild. It's kinda hard to shape and score such a high hydration dough. I ended up with a lot more flour on the loaf than I like for fear of it sticking the the bannetons. Tastes good though.

Nice crumb! I'm working my way up to higher hydration loaves. is my highest yet, about 79%.

Convenient for sure. But the drawback is that they don't make really crusty bread, and you are obviously limited to what kind of shape you can bake. You may or may not care about those factors depending on what your preferences are.

I've never used them, but sounds like you got a sweet deal. Must be miles ahead of supermarket bread anyway. Does it only do one loaf shape?
The water heater really does speed things up. Is your pic the 11h bulk ferment? What was your baking time/temps?

Awesome crumb. Was this in a dutch oven?

Yep. Here’s the other loaf. This one I let sit on the counter for an hour while the oven preheated, and you can see the difference. I’m going to stick to baking straight from the fridge.

I preheat the oven and Dutch oven to 500, put the dough in and pop the lid on and immediately turn down the temp to 450. My oven runs hot, so it’s probsbly closer to 470/475 when I turn it down. 30 minutes with the lid on, 12 with the lid off.

I'll have to try the fridge ferment, it looks great. I did 500 in the dutch with lid on for 30, then 10min @425 with lid off for the chia. I used to do 20 on/25 off but it comes out a little too crusty for our taste

Yeah I use a dutch oven. It's less work than steaming your oven and the results are good. I adjusted the hydration of my dough a lot, so I really over did it on the rice flour this time. I've had them stick before

That one on the right is especially pretty

Crumb shot of , turned out okay. I’d prefer a little more open, but I can’t complain about the flavor at all.

I’m not sure the 11 ferment made a noticeable difference compared to my usual 4-6 hour ferment.

That looks great. I really like the crust on your loaves too. I need to start experimenting with retarding the dough overnight. I usually only get one day a week to play with bread, but I guess I could bake on monday mornings before work.

I use one as well, I won't go back. The rice flour gives it an awesome contrast. Well done!
You've got some good pockets in there, looks tasty. But interesting the extra fermenting hours didn't do all that much for you. I still want to give the overnight fridge a shot

It tastes great, nice and tangy. I highly recommend overnight proofing after shaping, it adds to the flavor while also making the transfer/scoring waaaay easier.

How hard is it to get into bread making? Do I need anything special at all? Is a Dutch Oven (as talked about in this thread) necessary?

It depends on how into it you want to get. But you can make good tasting homemade bread with almost no special equipment. The dutch oven in for crusty "artisanal" style loaves. The dutch oven traps steam to mimic the steam injected deck ovens that bakeries use.

You can make great bread with just your hands, some type of pan and an oven. You start having to pick up different equipment when you want to make specific things, like a loaf bread needs a loaf pan obviously. Try making some soft dinner rolls or burger buns, all you need is some kind of sheet pan or cookie sheet.

Oh thank you user! I will definitely look into that.

My sourdough starters are just barely active after 6 days. I'm feeding approx 2:1:1 starter:flour:water once a day, but average temperature is only about 15C, which I think is too low. Measured pH of whole rye starter is about 4 or 5, whole wheat starter about 6, using some ancient test strips that I suspect aren't working as well as they should. Reduce feeding to once every 2 days?

Why is the inside of my bread "gummy"? I've only made bread twice, I use 3 cups of flour and 1.5 cups of water, 1/4 tsp of yeast, 1 tbsp salt, in a dutch oven at 450 for 30 minutes closed, 15 minutes opened.

6 days is still pretty early in the life of a starter. are you doing 2:1:1 by weight or by volume? weight is optimal. measuring the pH is overthinking it. 15C is a little chilly. just keep feeding it, and if you can, stick it in a warmer place (on top of the oven with a hood light on, or in the oven with the oven light on.)

could be a number of things, user. did you knead it, and if so, for how long? google "window pane test" and make sure if you're kneading it that it passes this test. also, how soon after baking it did you slice it? you should let it cool most if not all the way through before slicing.

15C is low, I'm not all surprised you're starter is weak after 6 days. Keep at it with regular feedings and just be patient, my guess is you won't see anything substantial for another week. Try sticking it on top of the fridge or on a water heater, it's warmer up there
How many/how long are your resting periods? Kneading? Your hydration seems high, how does the dough feel when handling it?

>are you doing 2:1:1 by weight or by volume
Weight. It's definitely not failed (I can see some bubbles in the wheat batch), and neither smells bad or has mold growing, so I'll continue feeding once a day.

Measure by weight instead of volume.

6 days is still very early. I've made a lot of wild yeast starters but it's usually 25c in my house, so I can't give you an accurate time table for feeding. There are some things that may or may not help you

-I almost always feed it 1:2:2, usually 20g starter 40g water 40g flour mix
-When young they are extremely sensitive to the chlorine in tap water, I've used bottled water, or just tap water that sits exposed to the air for a couple days
-I've fed a fledgling starter that was getting bubbly with fresh tap water by accident and basically killed it, it showed almost zero activity the next day
-Some kind of clear container with straight sides so you can accurately gauge activity is important
-Freshly milled flour and rye flour are both extremely good sources for wild yeast. I've started with half rye even on a starter that will eventually become 100% white
-I feed a brand new starter if I've noticed some activity. I usually start out every 24 hours and switch to 12 when things get moving
-In the first week a lot of the bubbles you see will be from bacteria, the yeast take longer to establish themselves and thrive when you get a regular feeding schedule
-When it was cold in my house (pretty rare) I kept my starter by my computer for warmth
-I usually don't get a starter that I'm happy to bake with for at least 2 weeks. Earlier is possible, but I wait for its activity to be like clockwork

I think the once a day feeding might be just right in your cooler climate. But if your wheat starter turns to soup(gluten breakdown) or starts to smell strong it's a sign that it needs more food. The only thing that seems off to me is the 2:1:1. I always give them more fresh food than that (1:2:2)and work with a small quantity because you will me throwing most of it away

Damn this stuff looks so good! I bet the smell is amazing.

I moved them somewhere warmer and the wheat starter is bubbling much better now. The rye is still not bubbling much but maybe that's because the rye absorbs so much water and it's a much stiffer dough.

>only thing that seems off to me is the 2:1:1
Partly motivated by not wanting to waste flour, partly because I thought it would compensate for the low temperature. I fed them again today with the same ratio but I might increase the fresh food later.

glad to hear the ww stater is more active! i've found that my rye starter really doesn't bubble much at all, though it does rise a bit. feeding 1:2:2 might seem like a waste of flour now, but in the long run it's worth it!

Today I found the wheat starter bubbled up and then collapsed, fed 1:1:1 with distilled water this time instead of the tap water I've been using previously, and earlier in the day than I usually feed it. Rye starter has bubbled up but not collapsed so I haven't fed it yet. Both starters smell good.