15 Mistakes Most Beginner Sourdough Bakers Make

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-Sourdough Recipe-

Flour (1000 grams total)
600 grams of all purpose flour
300 grams of whole wheat
50 grams of spelt flour
50 grams of einkorn

770 grams of water (77% hydration)
150 grams of starter- (15%)
20 grams of salt (2%)

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[fellforthesharks]

I can’t believe this man just had me so engaged for a 20 minute video on bread

[agentbeauty]

the only video i've ever watched from this channel, yet i somehow deeply trust this man with my life

[noahmarino]

I love the format of this video where you provide tips but they are chronological in the process of actually making sourdough !

[Mediocretwinmom]

I come back and watch this video as I make my bread literally every single time I make bread… it’s the most helpful video I’ve ever watched.

[Kakkarot]

you forgot the cardinal rule of breadmaking, always make 2 loaves, one for the irresistible urge to eat it hot. one to let cool properly

[JulienTJ]

Sourdough bread tips 🍞:
1. 0:46 Healthy/active sourdough starter
2. 3:47 Autolyse your bread
3. 4:45 Use bakers percentages
4. 6:04 Lower your hydration level
5. 7:32 When to use your starter
9:08 Support the channel
6. 10:18 Stretch and Fold process
7. 10:50 When to finish working the dough
8. 11:28 Let the dough proof on your schedule
9. 12:58 Ratio of dry to sticky
10. 14:14 Generously flour your banneton
11. 14:44 Find your way to shape your dough
12. 16:39 The no-fail poke test
13. 18:27 Baking trays prevent burnt bottoms
14. 18:54 Go off based on color, not time
15. 19:48 It's ok if you fail miserably

[DarkEnergyStudios]

Honestly I feel so lucky to have run across your sourdough mistakes video so early in my sourdough journey! Gotta be one of the very best videos I’ve ever seen on YouTube. Looks like your entire collection of videos are also well worth my time. I don’t comment often, but I was compelled to this time. Thank you! Dale

[ginabena]

I have been making bread for years and it was fine. Followed all this advice and made the best bread my family have ever eaten. The crust is amazing, the crumb is perfect and it was so straightforward but upped my bread game by about a thousand times. Thank you.

[dbw]

I made two loaves following a different recipe that didn't detail the actual technique and they turned out doughy and dense, then I followed this video's technique and the flex guide and got two perfect, aerated, crispy loaves! Thank you so much! 🍞🥖

[coolpinkone]

This video changed my bread in a huge way. I have been making what I thought was ok enough sour dough for 8 years!! I couldn't get it right. I made a loaf last night with these tips and I am in shock and it is the most beautiful bread I have ever seen.

[Austin-mctp]

I’ve been frying my discard like your first tip and it’s been soooo delicious! I personally put “everything but the bagel” seasoning and sesame seeds and some cheddar/Mexican blend cheese. Then I put some Honduran cream (could use sour cream or Mayo but this stuff is better) and some lime Ponzu sauce. It’s fire!

[andreasnyder]

I recently started my sourdough journey. This video is the only instruction I’ve had. Mind you, I watched it over and over and over again before I made my first attempt but I have not had one fail in my six attempts. Today’s loaves were the best yet and I think it’s because I finally incorporated the knowledge. My friends are incredulous at my results in such a short time. I share your video with anyone who asks. Thank you for being so thorough. You clearly have a passion for this.

[ThatGuy-djqr]

These are all excellent tips!
I have to say for me that the real game-changer was spending more time on gluten development. It wasn’t until I did this that I finally ended up with consistent loaves with open crumb. I struggled for over eight months with inconsistency and rarely did I get a large oven spring.
Let me mention that I prefer to bake loaves with a lot of whole grain, so I assumed this was the problem. However, I eventually cut back to just 50% whole wheat but still had poor oven spring. I was almost ready to give up on sourdough baking but then I bought a stand mixer (ostensibly for my wife’s baking activities). Just for the novelty’s sake I decided to use the mixer to incorporate the starter and salt into the mix. Online people were suggesting about ten minutes of mixing for gluten development. This was a complete game-changer!! Suddenly I got great, consistent oven spring.
My current standard loaf is 46% (home-milled) whole wheat (red fife or spelt), 12% (home-milled) whole rye and the balance is bread flour. I currently employ 77% hydration and I autolyse my dough for about two hours before adding 2% salt and 20% starter. I think I could increase my whole grain content, but don’t want to jinx my good luck.
While starter health is important, I have found that gluten development is key. I actually keep my starter in the fridge and only feed it the night before I bake. In the morning it has doubled, but I knock it back and I do a fresh feed of about 15% of the weight of my starter. I autolyse my dough at this time and after two hours the starter is rocking to around two and a half times its knocked down volume. After adding starter to my dough, the starter goes back into the fridge. Using this method I don’t need to keep a starter discard pot in my fridge. This works if I bake once per week. I am sure that if the starter sat in the fridge for too long it might need fortification, but this works for my baking schedule.
I hope this advice helps someone else who is struggling.

[carstenbecker]

OK, this guy has a passion and is a good communicator. Thank you. I have watched this video quite a few times and will watch it more. He is not boring anyone with nonsense, gives good information and is right. A guy with a good perspective to help you get on track as well. Good man. He does the little things with love. That goes a long way. Now, I'm not a baker, just a guy who likes to bake from time to time and enjoys his own bread, when finding the time. And I'd be lost without people posting info like that. I have a guy like that producing impressive amounts of bread - in the described fashion - and also gives away free starter. Great to have bakers in the community.

[lswebr]

Not only do we get terrific sourdough baking advice but your voice is what makes it so easy to listen to you have a beautiful tone to your voice

[Anna-qwerty]

I want to say I went to a baking school that cost over $12, 000 over a decade ago and they never taught us how to do baker's percentage. It was just the follow the recipe training and memorization of the recipes, which sucks. Thank a lot! (this is back before Youtube got popular with recipes and teaching others)

[marijagoupis]

I've only just started making sourdough, and the two times I tried it I wasn't happy with the results. When I followed all your steps and tips I produced the most delicious loaf of sourdough I've ever had!!! This video is amazing!!!

[orioltorrell]

After half a year of trial and error, I think I mastered sourdough baking. Two things that I realized: You can make perfect bread with low hydration doughs (63% for me). The second thing is that you don't have to feed the starter everyday (once it's already strong), in fact I keep mine in the fridge and I only feed it when I want to make bread.

[anjelasargent]

This video was TREMENDOUSLY helpful! I've been making sourdough bread for the last few years, but I learned so much and tried some new techniques (new to me, anyway) from your video, and I baked BY FAR the best loaves of sourdough that I've ever made! Thank you so much!

Love that you didn't throw out the starter and made good use of Best video I've seen on making sourdough bread!