Rant: Tried sourdough starter for 6 weeks, thought it was hype, now I get it

I was convinced sourdough was just a trendy pain until my neighbor gave me some of her 12-year-old starter that made the best bread I've ever had. What convinced you skeptics to give something a try that you were sure was overrated?

3 comments

3 Comments

abby30827d agoTop Commenter

The thing nobody's talking about is the FLOUR itself. I was using that cheap all-purpose stuff from the grocery store for months and kept getting dense bricks. Finally grabbed some bread flour with higher protein content from a restaurant supply place - 12.7% versus the usual 10%. It was like night and day. That extra gluten structure gave my machine's dough enough strength to actually rise properly instead of just collapsing. And I started weighing my ingredients instead of using measuring cups, that was a HUGE shift too.

the_emery29d ago

Bounced off a cheap bread machine for a year, finally used a good recipe. Game changer.

patriciacarr29d ago

That 1:2 ratio of liquid to flour by weight is what finally clicked for me. Took me three loaves that came out like hockey pucks before I realized my cheap machine was just overheating the dough. Started checking the temp of the water and the room, keeping everything around 75f. Also switched from active dry to instant yeast and cut the rise time by half. Now even the 30 dollar thrift store machine turns out a decent loaf every time.