Heard someone say "baking is just chemistry you can eat" and I wanted to throw my failed loaf of sourdough at them

After 4 tries this month with my starter from Portland that kept coming out like a brick, I finally realized I was skipping the autolyse step because I thought it was just extra work.

2 comments

2 Comments

emery_taylor1mo agoMost Upvoted

Honestly that "chemistry you can eat" line is annoying when you've been fighting with your starter for weeks. I had the same problem with my first sourdough attempts, kept getting dense little hockey pucks. Tbh what finally fixed it for me was realizing my water was too cold. I started using warm water like 80 degrees when I fed my starter and it woke right up. Ngl the autolyse step actually does matter a lot too, it gives the flour time to soak up water before you add the starter.

andrew8541mo ago

Heard someone say starters are like pets - gotta keep em warm and fed right. Warm water thing makes total sense, never thought of that.