I have a lovely bubbly "mother" - I keep it in the fridge bring out once
a week & feed it.

It tastes sour, makes great tasting pancakes.

I have attempted sourdough bread while the taste is everything I love
they are quite dense - to quote an early "troll thread" almost a weapon
of mass destruction...
I have tried various recipes but all seeming to yield the same result.
THe latest involved making a sponge from the starter then using
2 cups of the sponge
3 cups unbleached bread flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt.
knead leave in warm place 3 hours (I left it for 5 - at the 3 hour mark
hadn't risen much at all).

then bake at 375

I am getting a little frustrated with my bowling ball production.

I have in the past started from scratch in so far as making my "mother"
this batch seemed very promising.
I feel as If I have "lost my touch"

Thanks for any help

John LaBella wrote:

> knead leave in warm place 3 hours (I left it for 5 - at the 3 hour mark
> hadn't risen much at all).
>
> then bake at 375
>

Patience, most of mine take closer to 8-12 hours to rise, even longer
some days.

I also give my fridge starter a few quick 'wake up' feeds before using
it and the 2 cup method works ok.

I also have had great luck using this recipe as a base for my hand made
bread and my homemade starter, vs the machine used. The volumes and
times work very well.
http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/dickpics/billowy.html

The instruction link is on the page.

Mike
Some bread photos: http://www.mikeromain.shutterfly.com

"Mike Romain" > wrote in message
.com...
> John LaBella wrote:
>
>> knead leave in warm place 3 hours (I left it for 5 - at the 3 hour mark
>> hadn't risen much at all).
>>
>> then bake at 375
>>
>
> Patience, most of mine take closer to 8-12 hours to rise, even longer
> some days.
>
> I also give my fridge starter a few quick 'wake up' feeds before using
> it and the 2 cup method works ok.
>
> I also have had great luck using this recipe as a base for my hand made
> bread and my homemade starter, vs the machine used. The volumes and
> times work very well.
> http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/dickpics/billowy.html
>
> The instruction link is on the page.
>

I agree with you, Mike, that Dick's recipe works very well. In fact, it is
the most reliable recipe that I've tried. I have converted the flour
volumes to weights (grams) as I am one of those primitive Europeans who
weighs everything when baking{;-)
Graham

In article >, says...
>
> "Mike Romain" > wrote in message
> .com...
> > John LaBella wrote:
> >
> >> knead leave in warm place 3 hours (I left it for 5 - at the 3 hour mark
> >> hadn't risen much at all).
> >>
> >> then bake at 375
> >>
> >
> > Patience, most of mine take closer to 8-12 hours to rise, even longer
> > some days.
> >
> > I also give my fridge starter a few quick 'wake up' feeds before using
> > it and the 2 cup method works ok.
> >
> > I also have had great luck using this recipe as a base for my hand made
> > bread and my homemade starter, vs the machine used. The volumes and
> > times work very well.
> > http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/dickpics/billowy.html
> >
> > The instruction link is on the page.
> >
>
> I agree with you, Mike, that Dick's recipe works very well. In fact, it is
> the most reliable recipe that I've tried. I have converted the flour
> volumes to weights (grams) as I am one of those primitive Europeans who
> weighs everything when baking{;-)
> Graham
>
>
>
Do you have the weighted version posted anywhere?
Thank you

"John LaBella" > wrote in message
. ..
> In article >, says...
>>
>> "Mike Romain" > wrote in message
>> .com...
>> > John LaBella wrote:
>> >
>> >> knead leave in warm place 3 hours (I left it for 5 - at the 3 hour
>> >> mark
>> >> hadn't risen much at all).
>> >>
>> >> then bake at 375
>> >>
>> >
>> > Patience, most of mine take closer to 8-12 hours to rise, even longer
>> > some days.
>> >
>> > I also give my fridge starter a few quick 'wake up' feeds before using
>> > it and the 2 cup method works ok.
>> >
>> > I also have had great luck using this recipe as a base for my hand made
>> > bread and my homemade starter, vs the machine used. The volumes and
>> > times work very well.
>> > http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/dickpics/billowy.html
>> >
>> > The instruction link is on the page.
>> >
>>
>> I agree with you, Mike, that Dick's recipe works very well. In fact, it
>> is
>> the most reliable recipe that I've tried. I have converted the flour
>> volumes to weights (grams) as I am one of those primitive Europeans who
>> weighs everything when baking{;-)
>> Graham
>>
>>
>>
> Do you have the weighted version posted anywhere?
> Thank you
No! Out of respect for Dick.
send me an e-mail!
gdotdolbyatshawdotca

On Apr 29, 8:35 am, John LaBella > wrote:
> I have a lovely bubbly "mother" - I keep it in the fridge bring out once
> a week & feed it.
>
> It tastes sour, makes great tasting pancakes.

If it tastes sour before the bread making, the refreshment was
insufficient. A refreshed starter is not sour... it is new and very
active.
>
> I have attempted sourdough bread while the taste is everything I love
> they are quite dense - to quote an early "troll thread" almost a weapon
> of mass destruction...
> I have tried various recipes but all seeming to yield the same result.
> THe latest involved making a sponge from the starter then using
> 2 cups of the sponge
> 3 cups unbleached bread flour
> 1 tablespoon olive oil
> 4 teaspoons sugar

Sugar is part of the problem here. The dough needs several hours to
develop gluten, the sugar pushes the fermentation ahead of gluten
development and your dough will not hold gas... and it will be dense.

> 1 tablespoon salt.
> knead leave in warm place 3 hours (I left it for 5 - at the 3 hour mark
> hadn't risen much at all).

3-5 hours a sufficient for a Final Proof, but insufficient for
overall fermentation. You need about 6-8 hours of bulk fermentation
before shaping the dough for the final proof.

>
> then bake at 375

Try 450 F. and don't put the dough in the oven until it is thoroughly
fermented.

"John LaBella" > wrote in message . ..
> I have a lovely bubbly "mother" - I keep it in the fridge bring out once
> a week & feed it. It tastes sour, makes great tasting pancakes.

> [ ... ]

For bread, things go much better if the fridge culture is refreshed for each
bake. See, for instance, http://home.att.net/~carlsfriends/dickpics/starter.html .
A soured starter is not good for bread.

Fridge refreshment works for some, but takes some luck. For instance, see
http://lumpymuffins.home.comcast.net...h/NoWaste.html .
Such a procedure work for me when I baked regularly on an interval of
four days. But when I got a new and colder refrigerator it did not work so
good anymore.