Want Extra Sour Sourdough? (3 Things That DON'T Work for Me)

I'm on a quest to make an extra sour loaf of sourdough bread. This week, I made my master sourdough bread recipe using three common techniques that promise to give extra sour results. The final bread was sort of a disappointment. Here's what didn't work...

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[VictorYepello]

My most sour loaves have been after a 48 hour cold nap. So much so I was asked to tone it down 😊

[GSDperson]

Smaller inoculation of starter. Longer bulk fermentation. Longer cold proof. I do 20g active starter for a 500g flour 350g water 10g salt. It takes longer to ferment and proof and that develops the AAB to be a little more dominant than the LAB.

[kathlenelarson]

I’m a scientist and the first thing I suggest is that you only make one change at a time/per loaf. When you combine changes, you may be getting some interaction between your changes (unintended.). I have also wondered about drying some of my starter and adding that to the dough before rising. Last, does a longer time in the refrigerator (i.e, 24 hours) make any difference? Love your videos and thanks for sharing this.

[onlyinparadise]

I tried the par Baking method by Heinrich. You have to leave it at room temperature (not in the fridge) for more than 24 hours. Then do the final browning bake. It’s an okay method though.

My extra sour sourdough bread starts with an extra sour starter (I use a 100% whole wheat no discard method). Add flour to your regular starter to make it stiff first. Then neglect your starter in the fridge for several weeks to a month. Stir it up when it has that liquid layer on top. Just let the starter get discolored, too. When you want to make bread, give it two normal feedings instead of one at room temperature. It needs two feedings to activate. Otherwise, the bread will not rise fully. This works like a charm for me and my bread is just as tangy as San Francisco sourdough.

[johnsonrobbins]

This is great. I spent 3 months trying to figure out the same thing and was dissatisfied with my results. If I wanted French bread I could make it a lot faster. After trying all of the methods you tried here and a few more I have gotten decent success with the following.
1. Feed starter night before, so it’s a bit hungry by morning.
2. Use warm water in bread mixture
3. add 15/20% wheat
4. Lets the bread cold ferment in first proof 5-6 hours
5. Cold proof 12-24 hrs
6. Second proof is essential in warm humid location 3-4 hrs (I put it in the oven with a bowl of very hot water under it. )
These methods have gotten much better results, no clue which of them is most important and don’t care. Love my bread now. If you find a simple way love to hear it.

[brandy]

Meanwhile not even in the sour note. Ive made sourdough for the past 3 years, with a starter thats been kept alive for for well over 20 years... and every loaf comes out a little different 😂🤦‍♀️ One of the best loafs I made was by accident, and it overproofed, but not to the point of failure (apparently). Result was a big fluffy, sour loaf that my fam has since requested, and i have yet to duplicate the result.😅
Best of luck, and thank you for sharing any tips and tricks on this. Youve helped me so much.

[Julie-kbmo]

Oh wow !! 😮
Thank you for sharing.

This is what I've tried after getting a variety of YouTube suggestions:

LESS starter used to begin the process is what I've read,
and I believe it DOES work ! 😊
(20 grams max, even when using 500 or more grams of flour)

Also, supposedly the more whole grains used in the starter, (whole wheat or rye)
helps the taste be more sour.
(Not just using the whole grains until maturity, as I believe you've shared😉)

Fermenting the starter at a cooler temperature takes longer for it to peak,
which supposedly makes it taste more sour.

I do this for the entire ferment of the loaf, which is a LONG wait !
😉
I generally keep the thermostat around 65°, maybe 66° in my place.
It certainly takes longer for the bulk ferment,
and it requires patience and attentiveness. 😉

My daughter has noticed and shared that there's more sour flavor in the multigrain
loaves I make for her to take back to her place after she visits. 😊
So I guess these things are working !

We would still like EXTRA sour flavor,
so please let us all know other ways you experiment that help achieve this.

💙

[hansenmarc]

Thanks for continuing to experiment with techniques for increasing sourness. The only thing that’s worked for me so far is to wait to use my starter until it has a nice layer of sour-smelling hooch on it.

[Lemonlimes-piul]

I appreciate your help so much; I just spent a lot of time on the same mama blog that you mentioned. Thank you for the info from your earnest efforts! Very admirable.

[DebraUlrich-omuk]

Can’t wait for you to “crack the code” Grant! I for one want a tangy sour dough bread!

[handsarah]

I used my starter after being fed and left in the fridge for about a week. Didn't take it out and let it rise or anything. Love this quest and can't wait to see what works for you!

[catbootsy]

I love the way you think. I sm also on this quest. I do get a sour loaf on occasion but still not sure why…. Your content has really improved my bread!

[Cappy]

I get wonderful results with 72 hours cold fermentation.

[lisamorissette]

overnight levain, 8 hour room temp bulk ferment then overnight in fridge. this has produced the most sour loaf I've made

[barrychambers]

I'm still learning, but this has worked for me: Use a small amount of levain, 4-5%. Use at least 25% whole wheat and 25% rye in your starter and levain. Generally ferment at cooler temperatures, both starter and levain, 70-76F. Wait until your starter and levain start to fall. Use a stiffer starter and Levain, 60-80% hydration. Stir starter and levain once in a while to oxygenate. Use 20-25% whole wheat and rye in your dough. Ferment your dough at 70-76F range. Bulk ferment to 75-80% rise.This can take most of the day if you are trying to maintain your dough at about 72F, so start early. If your dough shows no signs of rising in the first 6-7 hour don't despair, it will happen. If the refrigerator temperatures are 35-38F try to cold proof at least 36-48hrs, or longer. Check out the Detmolder 1-3 stage starter methods for the best way to keep starters happy. The Detmolder one-stage produces the most sour starter. So, your levain can be quite sour and that is one reason why you don't want to use but a small proportion. Same way with starter refreshment, very small carry over.

[michelleslifeonrepeat]

I literally just baked bread that was neglected for 5 days. Day one was all the folds and first rise. Then refrigerated her in a tightly sealed bowl for 4 days. I got sick and couldn’t get to it. On day four at night I took her out onto the counter to double rise. I meant to shape and roll and put in baskets. Well, I forgot. I woke up to a pooped off lid on my counter. I punched it down, poured out separated and shaped. She rose up and I snapped into baskets for a 30 min chill in refrigerator. I baked the two loves cold in cold oven and cold Dutch ovens. 450 degrees for 50 min. Then about 8 more minutes right on the rack after popping them out of the Dutch ovens. So far it’s been my best tangy loaf . Yeah I’m going to try making them one day and baking much longer in the week. The key was the sealed in dough inside a big enough sealed container to slowly expand and ferment.

[nicolasafanador]

I would suggest using a stiff starter. In Italy its pretty common to use stiff starter or lievito madre for pannetone, Pandoro and pizza in teglia. It develops so much acidity and it´s so pungent that normally it has to be soaked in lukewarm water with a pinch of sugar to reduce this pungent taste and smell. Hydration of the starter should be around 40%.

[OlenaBespalova-ct]

I put the bread in fridge to ferment for 4-5 days than baked it and it got its sour dough taste.
I also did bulk ferment for 5 hrs vs 3 hrs that also gave it more sour taste.

[joannestretch]

when i want a sour loaf these are the things that have worked for me

- use more salt to slow down the fermentation
-slow the fermentation down by using the least amount of starter so it takes way longer to ferment, like 10g starter for 500g flour
-use cold water, this is temporary however for fermentation brings heat
-cold retard in the fridge for more than 72hrs and more up to 5 day (120hrs) high gluten flour is needed
-add dark whole rye to the starter and the dough
-mature starter (at least 3 months old)will be more sour than young starter
-counter starter, skip a meal before making the dough
-fridge starter, stir it to incorporate air, will make the acetic acids more prominent
-stiff starter is more sour 1:5: 2.5 (water) more acetic acids compared to liquid starter (more lactic acids)

#2 and #4 work best in my experience

have fun experimenting, i recommend doing one at time otherwise you wont know which worked or didnt for you

[OlenaBespalova-ct]

I do havé à question for you. I incorporated seeds into the bread following your instructions put half of seeds in 2nd stretch and fold and the other half in 3rd stretch and fold. The bread had risen well but ones I put it in fridge it deflated really bad. Is there a reason why my bread deflated?.