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Paul Paul is offline
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Default Advice on old school bread

I've been doing tons of reading and experimenting in the kitchen
trying to perfect a very specific style of bread and was hoping for
some input. I've read the FAQ several times and baked many loafs but
have been so far dissatisfied with the results.

I'm trying to make sprouted-grain (flour), sourdough. I buy organic
grain, soak it for 4-8 hours and sprout it for about 12 hours using an
EasySprout by Sproutmo (which is the fastest and easiest sprouting
system ever devised). I then dry the sprouts and grind them into
flour.

I've been using my own wild-caught starter. When I feed the starter, I
double the amount of flour every 12 hours and try to keep the starter
at around 70-75F (closer to 70). When I feed I add the water first and
whip in some air. It often grows quite high some times doubling in
size so I think it's plenty active.

I think where I'm having trouble is with the bread making/baking part.
I've tried Load of Learning approach from Laurel's bread book and the
no-knead technique from the Times. But all my loafs are door stops. I
realize that this style of bread is always going to be dense, but I'm
hoping for advice about improving my techniques. I realize that the
sprout flour is high in enzyme and that this may be the primary
limiting factor. I do add salt and the sourdough starter is pretty
acidic so I assume I'm using enough salt and acid, although I suppose
I should try increasing these. I haven't tried adding ascorbic acid,
but I may try that next. I'm also considering buying a starter from
Sourdough International to compare it to mine as perhaps my starter is
not as good as it could be.

Thoughts?

Sincerely,

Paul