Sourdough Flat Bread: The Most Versatile Sourdough Recipe Ever! (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good sourdough bread? ›

It may not look great, but I am sure it will be edible! Flat sourdough bread is often still edible and very tasty!

There are two main acids produced in a sourdough culture: lactic acid and acetic acid. Acetic acid, or vinegar, is the acid that gives sourdough much of its tang. Giving acetic acid-producing organisms optimal conditions to thrive and multiply will produce a more tangy finished product.

most likely the problem isn't something you're doing, it's your starter. a flat loaf like this means your starter doesn't have enough yeast in it. to fully develop your dough. you need to keep discarding and feeding . your Sourdough starter for at least a few more days to make it stronger.

The signature sourdough flavor comes from a combination of lactic and acetic acids, created as the dough rises and ferments. Refrigerating the dough encourages the production of more acetic acid, which is the tangier of the two. Thus, this bread with its refrigerated starter has the ideal balance of sour flavor.

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour. Why do you need to use these two types of flour?

It's pretty easy to tell when sourdough bread has gone bad because it will be covered in visible signs of mold growth and will feel hard both inside and out. It may also smell bad too, but not always. Once it's past the fresh stage (first 24 hours) you will notice some deterioration in crust and crumb.

But even sourdough might not be enough to survive. Eventually, just like the potato scenario, you would probably run into nutritional deficiencies. Even sourdough bread made with wild yeast, bacteria, and whole grains likely will not provide enough nutrients like vitamin C, B12, and D, as well as calcium.

Gently press your finger into the dough on the top. If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed. If it springs back very slowly, it's properly proofed and ready to bake. Finally, if it never springs back, the dough is overproofed.

In general, more minerals yield more sour taste. Using flours with more ash, or mineral, content, will yield more sour taste. If you can't get enough ash, adding a bit of whole wheat flour to your recipe, which is what is done with the 20% Bran Flour, will boost the sour of a bread.

What flour makes sourdough more sour? ›

For more tang: Incorporate some rye flour and/or whole wheat flour early in the bread-making process, such as when feeding the mother culture and the preferment. Rye flour in particular will help your culture produce some acetic acid.

Excess yeast causes extra air bubbles to form, creating holes in the baked bread. You prepared the recipe correctly. The interaction of the various ingredients and the preparation method used for French bread and sourdough bread are intended to create a bread which has a coarse texture and uneven holes.

Sourdough crumb should be even, meaning there won't be any areas that are super tight or with giant tunnels. The crumb should be light and fluffy - not wet and gummy. The holes inside the sourdough may seem shiny. This is a sign that the gluten is very well developed.

Underproofed dough is dense and has not increased in volume. This will result in a dense bread with a very tight crumb (holes are very close together) that doesn't have the pillowy texture when you take a bite. The flavor will also be underdeveloped.

The great thing is that generally, unless it's completely raw inside, you can still eat an under fermented sourdough bread.

Longer fermentation

As your dough proofs, the good bacteria eats up sugars and starches in the flour. This decreases the sweet undertone and creates a more sour undertone. The longer you ferment, the more starches and sugars the bacteria eats, and the more sour your bread will be.

You can get the sourdough starter to rise more by putting it next to the stove while you're cooking. The warmth from the stove can help to activate the yeast in the starter and make it rise more. For dough you should cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap so that it doesn't dry out.

You'll find I use honey in many of my recipes. I love to use it in my no-knead 100% whole wheat sourdough bread because it makes it much softer and less dense than it would be without it. Subbing it in recipes that call for sugar is not usually as simple as a one-to-one sub, though.