I always got starter from friends and coworkers. Some bakeries will give them out, too. (Though the one in Berkeley will give you the stink eye if you come during rush hour.)
Failing that, you can make your own with floor and water (and air), but it takes some time.
I usually bake four large loaves at a time, and they tend to go stale before moldy (sourdough, again). We freeze the two or three of them; not as good as fresh, but still better than from the store…
Three days for mold seems awfully fast, but I suppose different environments will speed or slow the process. I usually leave my bread in its container for 3-4 days, and if any is left (usually not) then I put it in the fridge to avoid molding.
It’s strange. They’ve gone moldy on the same spot - the bottom where it sits in the bread container. It’s making me wonder if there’s maybe something on there. But I’ve washed it very thoroughly with soap, water, and vinegar each time, and let it dry thoroughly as well. So I don’t know what else I can do there.
I’ve made smaller loaves, but at some point, I don’t want to be making a loaf every couple of days. And while freezing them is okay, you lose a lot of the “fresh bread” value, as they go more stale, no matter what people say.
So I actually baked bread in college and for a short while afterward, with a lot of failures leading to some eventual successes. Since then I just haven’t but have wanted to for a long time. The occasional biscuits, cakes or whatnot is all I seem to do anymore.
I would propose there are enough of us here you should make this a monthly learning thing. Each month we could try a new baked product. It would be fun to learn that way.
A few have mentioned mold, we have high humidity here in North Carolina which accelerates that. If we keep any fresh breads longer than about 4 days it needs to be refrigerated or frozen, which is hard on breads but it’s better than moldy bread. :(
The comedian Tom Papa is hugely into artisanal bread baking.
I should add - I’m in Minnesota. So I don’t think it is a humidity issue for me. I can’t imagine the Carolinas - I have friends who lived there, and it sounds like it is full of humidity and creepy crawlies. :)
You can start your own from wild yeast in your area. The process is googlable but basically has you setting out a wet flour mixture on the counter for a few weeks (while you tend to it) until the yeast starts to populate it.
Or, you can buy a starter kit that contains yeast strains from certain regions with known good wild yeast.
I’ve purchased from this company in the past. No complaints.
It’s funny this thread should come up, because I literally just started my new sour dough starter a week ago Tuesday, so it should be ready for first use in a day or so (I understand it is a good idea to give it a week).
I’ve done it before, and it is really easy. It’s not even really labor intensive - you just have to be home a couple times a day about 12 hours a part, and remember to feed it.
It’s pretty much just equal flour and water, let sit until the bubbling starts good, then feed it equal parts flour and water (by weight) every 12 hours (assuming it keeps doubling, which mine always has), getting rid of some each time because otherwise it will create a monstrously large starter. :)
I’m quite happy with my home made starter.
Made from equal parts strong flour (preferably organic so it may contain the most wild yeasts) and water. Added some cranberry and raisins to it and a little bit of dried beer yeast and just wait.
Recipe from the book Brilliant Bread, which contains a copious amount of practical tips.
I’ve bought a cast iron bread box recently and made quite a few breads already. Good stuff! And the box form makes sure you get much more consistent results as well as a more even crust.
Though one very annoying thing are the different flour types. There doesn’t seem to be an international standard, it is kinda hard to translate German flour type X (because, really, when you want bread, you want German bread at least at some point) into Finnish flour type Y already, and then when you try out some recipes from US, UK or somewhere else around the planet, the confusion is complete.
The best conversion table I could find was here… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour#Type_numbers
And that is rough at best, miles away from being complete.
When we used a bread machine we managed to get good sandwich slices only by letting the loaf sit and fully cool and use a very sharp bread saw. It was often a toss up though; either overflowing light bread that was wonderful hot but wouldn’t support a sandwich or dense loaves that were too heavy to eat just out of the machine but sliced well later.
This sounds like a good idea, especially if they are closer to fresh fruits. The white-ish dusky powder on the outside of fresh grapes is a natural yeast which develops on the sugary fruit.
I don’t have the patience or commitment to babysit a starter, but I do bake most of my own bread at home. Because of my limited counter space, I mostly make either no-knead or do all my kneading in the rising bowl. I don’t do much with higher hydration loaves since it’s harder to handle.
I have the best of both worlds. My wife is a bread baker. Even the best bakery-bought bread does not measure up to hers, and I am deeply spoiled.
Ok I want to participate in this thread and make good bread.
I own a Sunbeam breadmaker and have gone through some on-again, off-again rounds of using it. The bread that comes out is just ok. I often want it to be more stretchy and spongy and I feel it comes out a bit dry and crumbly. I’ve tried adding extra water and oil and the different settings (e.g. sandwich or french in addition to white).
Any suggestions? I feel maybe I should try and source some bread flour instead of all purpose?
What would be my next step in making better bread? Should I try the dough setting and make a round loaf for oven baking on a cookie sheet? Should I ditch the breadmaker and get a stand mixer and proper bakeware?
I don’t know what kind of “recipe” is mostly used in a bread-maker, and whether it would translate to more traditional methods and oven baking.
If you want more “stretchy and spongy”, then you want more gluten development, so use bread flour and/or some classic kneading, and if you have something like a dutch oven it can bake easily in an oven. The ingredients are so basic, it’s all in the technique.
Honestly, you don’t have to ditch the bread maker to try it without. And you don’t need a stand mixer. People have been hand kneading bread for a very long time.
If your bread is too dense, it is likely one of a few factors, probably hydration, gluten development (kneading), or over proofing. Part of the fun of bread making is playing around with the factors and seeing how it changes things. And it’s fun in part because flour, water, and yeast are cheap, so mistakes don’t really matter. 😁
You might try putting in an extra egg. Possibly a bit more flour as well, if the dough looks too runny.
Okay well I messed up my first attempt.
It stuck to my peel and thus my boule became a loaf. The crust is wonderful, and the crumb is an improvement over previous tries, but I can do better next time I think.
It does taste fantastic, though. Especially with butter and homemade strawberry jam.
Oh. That is terrible. Please send your mistakes to me. I’ll pay shipping. :)
