u/Alexmfurey

I'm going to start by stating very clearly, I completely understand that you can make fantastic sourdough with tools you already have in the kitchen. I also know that having fancy accessories won't help me achieve a better loaf, that comes from an active starter, the right recipe and enough experience to "read the dough". I fully acknowledge that none of these purchases are necessary. If you roll your eyes at this post, honestly I get that, but I set a goal and I achieved it so I'm looking to treat myself.

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I told myself if I stuck with sourdough through the hard times and started seeing some success, I would reward myself with some nice tools and accessories. I didn't want to invest too early, in case I couldn't hack it in the sourdough world. But I've become obsessed. Still a beginner, for sure, but I'm excited to experiment and progress and try and fail, which is something I have struggled to overcome in the past. I'm really proud of my determination and like I said, I decided to reward myself if I could stick to it.

What are your favourite tools/accessories? "Nice-to-have" things that make sourdough prettier or easier or more efficient. Here are some things I'm considering investing in...

Weck Jars - I want a straight-sided, thick glass jar for starters. Is Weck the best option? I find clean up a chore and I'm having a hard time scraping all the starter from the walls of my mason jars, so I thought the straight walled weck jars might be a nice upgrade?

Banneton - After reading some recommendations from other redditors, I think I'm going to switch to a wood pulp one. Or is silicon a better option? I like boules and I want to work towards as tall a loaf as possible.

Dough Whisk - These seem so hotly debated. People either love them or hate them. Is it worth it? What about the seamless ones?

Lathe - I don't currently have one and have been using a knife to score (blasphemy). I know there are a few different styles and I'm wondering which to get?

Glass Mixing Bowl - I'd love to find a glass mixing bowl for the bulk fermentation stage. If it's pretty that would be a nice bonus, but I'd like something I can see through and mark to watch the dough rise, and something that comes with a lid would be great. I recently saw an ad for "dough proofing bowls", I'm not sure if there's anything special about them or if that's just marketing?

Spatula and Scrapers - I already have a metal bench scraper but I'd like a long, "uniform width" spatula so it can scraped against the entire length of the straight-walled jars. I also need a more flexible scraper, I have one intended for cleaning the cast iron but it's very stiff.

I made some changes to my process after getting some very helpful advice on my post last week. Thank you to everyone who weighed in!

This loaf feels like a big improvement over previous bakes, but I know there's room for improvement. I don't know how to recognize over proofed/under proofed and other "flaws". I'm curious to get some feedback.

The crust seemed thinner and softer than usual, I usually get a very crusty crust and this had much more give to it. I also haven't ever gotten a nice ear. The bottom of the bread looks kind of weird, I tried to describe in my process how when I went from the pre-shape to shaping the dough kind of came apart, like unwrapped what had been rolled together. I think that resulted in the weird bottom of the loaf.

Any tips appreciated!

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9:15 - made levain with afternoon starter. 15g starter, 150 g flour and 155g water, 88°. 24.3° in kitchen, left on counter.

9:45 - 22.6° resting on counter. Looks bubbly and giggly

1:45 - 20.2° resting on counter, very bubbly, very giggly. 543g water at 81°f. Mixed levain into water until milky and dissolved, added 750g flour, 18g salt, 4g malt, mixed until no flour remains. Very sticky and unmanageable, even starting with damp hands. Finished mixing at 2:10.

2-3 pinch and folds before 3:30.

7:45pm - looks large and jiggly, slightly domed, but sticky and no bubbles. When I pulled the Saran wrap away the part that was touching the dough stuck badly, and ripped some dough away, the dough underneath looked webbed. Put it in a warm microwave, 26.5°

8:10- checked it, still 26.5°. Some bubbles in surface now and not as sticky when I pulled away the wrap. But doesn't pull away from sides of bowl cleanly, sticking to bowl. Has been slightly domed since this afternoon.

9:10 - very domed above the bowl. 25° in the microwave currently. Removed it from the microwave. Very giggly, bubbles.

Pre-shaped and bench rested 20 mins then final shape and into the fridge at 9:40. The dough felt slightly sticky but very bubbly and light.

When I did the final shape, the inside of the dough opened up and it looked like there was a hole or something in it. Similarly hen placed upside down in basket, the bottoms came apart and wouldn't stay together.

10:30am - oven preheat to 500 with Dutch oven inside, score dough and bake for 20 with lid on, removed lid and baked until brown (20 min)

I find making sourdough very messy and I feel like I spend a lot of time cleaning up after each step.

Residue in jars and bowls, on utensils and my hands. On the counter, in the sink.... I don't want to rinse all the sludge down the drain and into the pipes.

Also, I flour my banneton and a dish towel, afterwards when I try to shake them into the garbage, I'm left with a fine white flour all over my garbage can, the neighboring recycling and the drawers that I have to clean up. I don't want to throw it straight into the washing machine in case it cakes onto the cloth or again, just washes sludge down the drain. Same with the wash cloth I use to wipe up after each step, it's covered in flour by the end

I try to avoid using paper towels (deforestation and all that) but is this the only way?

There must be cleaner/more efficient ways to do all this..?

Thank you to everyone who weighed in yesterday! I plan to take the advice from many of you and simplify my process, abandoning the current recipe for something much more streamlined. I know sourdough is a journey and I feel I learned so much from this bake and all the feedback I got on my last post.

In case anyone was curious, this is how the loaf turned out. I made 2, inadvertently making this one larger than the other.

My question is, what makes a good loaf?

Looking at how this turned out, where is there room for improvement? I don't know what the "gold standard" is or what I should be striving for.

As a beginner, I'm happy to have something edible. But as a recovering perfectionist, I'd like to know what to look for in a good loaf.

More holes? A taller loaf? My scoring/ear never seems significant once baked. My loaves also never seem to be perfectly round, they're a bit lumpy in places and it seems like it might be caused by tension as it expands when baked..?

How would you describe your perfect loaf? 🙈😅

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Levain

150g flour

150 g water

14 g starter

Autolyse

750 g flour

540 g water

18 g finds sea salt

4g diastatic malt

Process

Combined flour water and malt, mixed until fully incorporated then let sit for 60 minutes.

Added in levain and sprinkled salt slowly while mixing

Did two or three rounds of slap and folds for 3 minutes each with 10 minutes resting in between.

Bulk fermented for 5 hours, did two stretch and folds in the first 90 minutes.

Divided and pre-shaped, let sit on the counter for 10 minutes.

Did final shaping and let's sit on the counter for an additional 20 minutes. (I was unsure if I should let it sit on the counter or put it directly into the fridge, feedback welcome! The dough seemed a bit loose and relaxed fairly quickly after shaping. Didn't stay in a tight ball.)

Refrigerated around 6:00 p.m. and taken out to bake around 11:00 a.m. the next morning

Preheated oven to 500 and pre-warmed Dutch oven, reduced heat to 450 after scoring and putting the dough in to the dutch oven.

Baked for 30 minutes lid on (I misread the instructions, it should have been 20 minutes) and another 15 to 20 minutes lid off, trying to achieve a darker crust.

Let cool for just over an hour before slicing.

Every time I add my levain, it turns into a slimy mess that won't stick to itself.

I started this video after a minute or two of trying to incorporate. I've made 6 or 7 loafs now and none have really turned out. They're edible, but something's wrong every time.

This stage, adding the levain, is always where I start to lose hope. I spend days getting my starter nice and active and I think I'm timing the levain just right, I always feel confident up until this point.

I've never seen anyone else's dough look like this, what am I doing wrong? I honestly could cry right now. To my untrained eye, it looks over hydrated? I use a scale for everything and get within 1g of the recipe measurements.

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**Levain**

150g Rogers bread flour

150g water

13g started

**Autolyse**

750g Rogers bread flour

540g water

18g salt

4g diastatic malt

**Process**

Combine flour, water and malt. Mix by hand until fully combined. Rest.

Add levain after 30-60 mins (that's what instructions say, today itwas around 60mins when I added levain but it changes based on my schedule/availability each time I make bread). Sprinkle salt in slowly while mixing.