Sourdough Journey #4

For my fourth inquiry post, I decided to make another plain sourdough loaf. My first attempt left room for improvement,and I didn’t feel advanced enough yet to start adding inclusions throughout the dough.

My original recipe was extremely time-consuming. While it worked okay, I knew I needed a more realistic process if I was going to stick with baking long-term. I turned to TikTok to find a simpler alternative, landing on a same-day method that takes around 8 hours from start to finish—a huge change from my first recipe, which took over 24 hours with an overnight cold proof.

Comparing the Two Loaves

New 8-HourTikTok Recipe:

• Exterior: Prettier overall shape and crust finish.
• Crust Sound: Made a satisfying, distinct crackle while cooling on the rack.
• Structure & Slicing: Felt sturdier in a good way and sliced smoothly without squishing.
• Efficiency: Fits easily into a single day, making the baking routine sustainable.

Old 24-Hour Cold-Proof Recipe:

• Exterior: Duller visual appearance and less defined shape.
• Crust Sound: Softened quickly whiwle cooling without much crackle.
• Structure & Slicing: Gummier interior that caught on the knife when cut.
• Efficiency: Required over a day of planning and fridge space for the overnight proof.

Over All this recipe worked well, but it’s still missing something. I believe it has something todo with the fact that I have not been using bread flour. My next recipe will be made with bread flour and will be adding inclusions into my bread.