4 UNOBVIOUS SOURDOUGH STARTER TIPS That Will Make YOU WIN at Baking

This is how You make a worldclass fermenation beast sourdough starter by applying those 4 unobvious tips. Sourdough is much more about mastering fermentation rather than following a recipe and that's what I'll show you in the end, by just focusing on fermentation and baking an amazing no-knead bread.
We will go to the white board initially looking at the background of the whole sourdough process. This is followed by 4 tips that will make sure that your sourdough starter is in the right shape. Lastly we will finish this with a look at a pure fermentation centric no-knead sourdough recipe.
I can definitely recommend reading this book, a great inspiration for a lot of content in this video - Handbook on Sourdough Biotechnology: books.google.de/books/about/H...
Flour I am using:
Blog article on different flours in Germany: thbrco.io/blog-flour
Drax Mühle Manitoba flour 14% protein: thbrco.io/drax-flour
For ze Germans - T550 at Rewe 11-12% protein: thbrco.io/rewe-aurora
Mulino Padano 15% protein: thbrco.io/mulino-flour
Strong whole wheat flour: thbrco.io/whole-wheat-flour
Follow me here too:
Github: thbrco.io/github
Instagram: thbrco.io/instagram
My blog: thbrco.io/blog
My website: thbrco.io/homepage
Reddit: thbrco.io/reddit
Subscribe to my newsletter: thbrco.io/newsletter
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Tiktok: thbrco.io/tiktok
Support me/Merchandise:
Get my starter Bread Pitt: thbrco.io/my-starter
The bread themed T-Shirts/Hoodies I designed and wear: thbrco.io/bread-shirts-hoodies
Tools:
Banneton proofing basket (25cm length, 15cm width, 8.5cm height): thbrco.io/banneton
Cooling rack: thbrco.io/cooling-rack
Digital kitchen scale: thbrco.io/kitchen-scale
Dough scraper: thbrco.io/dough-scraper
Dutch oven for batards (Challenger Bread Pan): thbrco.io/dutch-oven-batards
Dutch oven round (Lodge): thbrco.io/dutch-oven-round
Dutch oven with glas lid (Brovn) - BREADCODE = 5% off: thbrco.io/dutch-oven-glas-lid
Infrared thermometer: thbrco.io/infared-meter
Loaf pan (30cm length x 12cm width x 9cm height): thbrco.io/loaf-pan-regular
Loaf pan with lid (34cm length, 13cm width, 12cm height): thbrco.io/loaf-pan-lid
No stick spray (vegetable based): thbrco.io/non-stick-spray
Oven gloves: thbrco.io/oven-gloves
pH meter to check acidity: thbrco.io/ph-meter
Weck starter jars: thbrco.io/weck-jars
Useful videos:
Debaked ep. 1 - Pizza journey to Napoli: thbrco.io/debaked-napoli
Debaked ep. 2 - Journey to a flour mill: thbrco.io/debaked-flour-mill
Discard starter bread: thbrco.io/discard-starter-bread
Fermentation time table: thbrco.io/fermentation-time-t...
Make a sourdough starter: thbrco.io/make-sourdough-starter
Make your starter more active: thbrco.io/more-active-starter
Recommend sourdough bread recipe: thbrco.io/sourdough-recipe
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
1:44 The science behind the sourdough
6:04 #1 Feeding your starter the right flour
7:39 #2 Sourdough starter fridge workflow
13:38 #3 The feeding ratio
14:37 #4 Depleting your starter
16:28 Noknead Sourdough Recipe
23:21 Shaping the bread
27:10 Scoring and baking
28:30 Closing words
#sourdoughtips #sourdough

[@the_bread_code]

You can read about this in detail in my free book called “The Sourdough Framework”. You can get it here: breadco.de/book. You can support the project with a donation, but there is absolutely no knead. I believe information like this should be free and accessible to everyone. The book is made for everyone who wants to understand the important details when making sourdough bread. Thank you!

[@TheINFP_Diary]

@12:52, you can tell his starter IS really happy... it literally has the cutest happy face 😂❤

[@JimRichardHartmann]

Gluten tag gets me every time. As Norwegian it's so close german that it is rally mening something to me, so I start the videos by smiling and laughing. Danke for the extraordinary superinteresting way you explain and also shows the effects, not just letting it stop by being theory. Please enlighten us as much you can, I am shure the bakers world is a world you can have a bright future in if you are taking this route you do.

[@mrgreenbudz37]

You blow my mind with every video. I just learned my starter was not up to par as I have been feeding her just bread flour. So tonight she gets some wheat and rye. Thank you Hendrik for all you do for us all.

[@janemcintosh7473]

Made my first bread using your method and it was a success! After 4 other poor tries, you are the teacher for me! Thank you!

[@gspeth]

Taking your starter on international trips - you’re truly committed to the craft of bread making!

[@bonesx165]

Mate, thank you so much! My starter had been looking “sad” for a while now, and after you pointed out the issue, I re-fed it 1:10:10, and it exploded into life! Just baked my best ever loaf 😁 Bravo 👏

[@RawItUp]

Anyone else see the SMILEY FACE in starter at 12:51? It's a sign that this is a great video. Thanks TBC!

[@RobertaPeck]

Here I am back to rewatch and absorb your wonderful teaching!

[@the_bread_code]

Thanks 😍

[@TheGardengrrrl]

Thank you SOOOO much. My starter was alive but not thriving or rising fully. I realized after watching this that my ratio of 1:1:1 was making it too acidic. Switched to 1:5:5 and wow! Thanks so much.

[@the_bread_code]

Moin TheGardengrrrl, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@nguyenling4478]

17:23 - Hi, what kind of flour did you use? Have you ever used whole wheat flour? I want to use whole wheat but I’m afraid it won’t work?:((((

[@keniarodriguez9562]

@@nguyenling4478 you Are supposed to use wheat or rye flour!

[@tombdaytombday6435]

Peace & love to you , i am starting my first starter looking to get in the world of sourdough baking .Is it okay to start with whole Spelt & Rye flour ?

[@tombdaytombday6435]

I am from Barbados thanks very much for your content we love it thanks very much

[@dajp97229]

I’ve always had issues with what I now know from too acidic starter. I’d given up on baking sourdough until this video! Thanks for breaking down the info and proving steps in a concise, consumable manner! I can’t wait to try this method!

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Denise P, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@racemiami1]

Thanks for all your info. Fantastic!!

[@nothanksmate]

Im So glad I found this. Thank you fo much for the genuine, thoughtful instructions.

[@isabeltrumm]

Great video! My feeding ratio was totally off!! You've saved my starter - DANKE!

[@deebrake]

Your videos are so awesome with all the explanations for making sourdough. I have been on my serious sourdough journey since March 2020. Yes I named the starter and she is Rye Flour based. During pandemic time baking and learning sourdough kept me happy. I’ve watched so much KZbin channels but mainly 4 including yours. It is good to merge as much as we can. Unfortunately here in BC, Canada I can only find protein levels of 4-5 which is not high but I have good success. I still have much to learn but this is my happy place so thanks again for your hard work helping all of your followers.

[@EridaPrifti]

I love your explanations, especially your graphs!

[@bonnieanderson5865]

Thank you so much for the tutorial. I will encorporate this.

[@maryanderson2029]

Ahh, so many questions answered! Thanks very much for all the detail and clairity around the measurements, and the science and the slow and careful delivery...Happy 2021

[@the_bread_code]

Thanks Mary. Happy 2021 to you too. Take care 🙏🏻

[@TheCelestialhealer]

What a lot of work you have done!!! Thank you so much🙏 Now its time to use the knowledge.

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Fluffy, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@CrashingJustice]

I love your videos, I always struggled with sourdough up to finding your info. Thank you

[@lisalove8526]

Your videos are the BEST out there !

[@getyourfeelgoodbackbjones1576]

I am on day 4 of my first sourdough starter batch. I have watched a ton of videos. This was extremely helpful. I am definitely going to try this method!

[@Dulceknits]

Thank you so much. This tutorial was extremely helpful and I learned so much. My ratios have been all wrong. I was using the 1:1:1 and really not seeing very much consistent growth in my starter. I will out to practice your suggestions 👍🏼

[@waqup4054]

I'm really enjoying your videos and am learning so much more and fine tuning my recipe as I go. Thank you !

[@veercoo]

Thank you. A truly outstanding video tutorial. Wish I has run in to this earlier in my sourdough baking journey.✌ Subscribed!

[@deniseburchette4113]

Thank you so much for this video! I am loving the kitchen science experiments. I live in a very warm humid environment, so I had unknowingly been consistently over-fermenting my dough. The set times that other vloggers had suggested just weren’t working for my dough but I didn’t realize that that was what the problem was. Your tip of using the sample to judge when the bulk fermentation process should stop has saved me from giving up! Bless you dear bread geek. I’m a new fan.

[@MoniFTW]

I just found your channel and I love it soooo much!

[@the_bread_code]

Yay! Thank you!

[@majesticgoldfish6095]

I love this channel! You explain everything so clearly 🙌🏻 This has become my go-to source if I want more information about sourdough bread (which I have just started experimenting with). Thanks so much!

[@sychi10]

Love it. thanks for sharing mate

[@bettyshannon786]

THANK YOU!!!! I have been struggling with my starter and I learned more from this video than I have from anyone EVER!!!

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Betty Shannon, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@nerdcave0]

Great tips, it took me so long to figure out the sourness levels of my bread. Can't emphasize how right you are about having a strong starter because, in my experience, 90% of the battle is a strong/healthy starter. The rest of the process will be forgiving to the point where you can practically be neglectful. Using a weak or mediocre starter will require a LOT more skill and will crush you if you're a beginner. However, if you're ever forced to use a weak or mediocre starter, adding a tiny pinch of commercial yeast to your dough is magical.

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Jay. Thanks for the nice words. Yes, I love doing that with buns for instance. When you proof them on the tray the added yeast really helps speeding things up. A great hack, truly.

[@that_twaaang9718]

You have helped me understand so much about the starter I thank you kind sir.

[@trailsandbeers]

Awesome! Thank you for explaining this so clearly 👍

[@stefang1087]

You are just very good to explain things in a way that everybody can understand. Thank you so very much! I can tal you this: 3-4 months ago, not in my wildest dreams have I not dreamed to bake bread myself. But because of you, Foodgeek and Bake With Jack, I baked today "the bread of my childhood" It may not be exactly like THAT bread, but when I tasted the crust and the crumb, this is what it came in my mind. It happened to write to you, because of this amazing interesting experiment, but I learned from all three of you 🙂 Thank you 🙋‍♂️ Non of the breads I'v been bakenging tourned out bad. I don't know why 🤷‍♂️🤣🤣🤣 but I have been progressing with each bread I baked. I am far away from your lavel guys, but I can bake now, because of you, bread that I cannot buy anywhere. So that's more than enough for me. And I'm getting better still.......I hope 😂 So, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH ! an I hope to hear MOIN! a long time from now😀😉🙋‍♂️ Stay cool and stay safe!

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Stefan. Awesome. Thank you for the nice message. That truly means a lot! Feel free to send more questions my was at any time. Thank you!

[@eucisotar2]

Is this one of the BEST sourdought bread videos or what? Just GREAT! :)

[@the_bread_code]

Wow, thank you! Feel free to send more questions my way at any time. Cheers!

[@cleopatra22222222]

Moin! So exited waiting for this class ! Danke sehr!!!!

[@the_bread_code]

Hope you will enjoy! I also added chapters in case you want to skip ahead :-)

[@cleopatra22222222]

The Bread Code thank you so much ! You are the best !🥰

[@FreeSoul.7]

thank you so much . i love the way that you explain it so good .

[@Ricardo30stm]

You are so underrated! Love you! keep up the good work! Gluten Tag!

[@the_bread_code]

Moin! You are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@barrychambers4047]

I've already watched this 2 times! Next time I'm going to take notes.

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Barry Chambers, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@mattgarrett5399]

I had to stop half way through and restart with the same idea. Pen and paper in hand. ;)

[@cynthia79035]

My starter took off after following your tips! Danke!

[@sharonparker7697]

Enjoyed watching, love the idea of a small jar to watch fermentation

[@DANVIIL]

Your sample technique has really changed my baking success, thanks!

[@the_bread_code]

You are so welcome! Thank you very much.

[@michelecourten-derwin4481]

This was an awesome tutorial! I am reading and watching “everything sourdough” lately. I finally am feeling the rhythm and rhyme of sourdough. What a relief! Oh, and think it is very cool to travel with your starter and incorporate local flours into it! Thanks again!

[@louiseolivier2020]

Taking your starter on holiday?lol😁

[@cindysebryk5093]

Thank you. This had helped a lot.

[@danielf_swe]

Thank you so much for this video! I have been baking a lot but I actually learned quite much. 😃👍

[@Hjuh800]

My starter has been a nightmare recently, really hoping I can get it back on track with this vid! Much love from aus

[@Hjuh800]

Update: discared almost all my starter and its back to doubling in size already!

[@the_bread_code]

Glad this helped. Thank you!

[@tasosmenelaou4204]

Thank you so much for your useful videos. Very often i couldn’t guess the right time when I had to stop stretch and fold and usually I have got over fermented dough. Recently i used your method to put a small amount of dough in som glass and follow up the fermentation process of my dough. The result was amazing. I put the dough into refrigerator the right time and the open oven spring I have got after I baked the bread was amazing. Thank you once again.

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Tasos Menelaou, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@nildincler]

Wou, so gut organisiert. Ich habe so viel gelernt. Vielen Dank!

[@teslarex]

Beautiful! Thanks for your teaching. Very approachable technique.

[@MilwGonzo]

Breadmaking is part art, part science. While the art part is acquired with practice and experience, the science part comes from understanding the chemistry, biology and physics of the breadmaking processes. Your explanations are very helpful and interesting! I'm a novice sourdough baker but your tips will help me to improve the final product. My bakes so far have been good (and quite edible) but I want a springier loaf with a more open, airy crumb. Thank you!

[@davereynolds3643]

Dear The Bread Code, I just want to say a huge thank you for this video. We've been struggling for many months now (following other, very different, approaches) to get the light, open, aerated texture which we consider to be the sign of a great sourdough loaf. Following your very clear instructions here and switching the feeding of our starter to rye flour, we have now made two loaves which we are really proud of; they look and taste fantastic. The only tiny change we made was to use 10g less water, as we struggled to shape the dough ball and to use a little more water than flour when feeding our starter, just to loosen it up. Thank you again for a truly transformational video and keep up the great work. Best wishes to you and your family.

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Dave. You are most welcome and thank you for the nice words. That truly means a lot. This is what motivates me, enabling so many people around the world to bake amazing bread.

[@miriamofsanik981]

Wow, beautiful. Thank you!

[@franck777]

Excellent. Thanks!

[@aaraguz]

I love your German ways! So clear and techy. Thank you for your videos, they are great!

[@the_bread_code]

Thank you! 😃

[@PerfectsupplementsaustraliaAu]

Thanks for this video! It was super informative 😁🤓👍🏼🍞 I’ve just gotten into making sourdough myself and you taught me so much! I’m curious as to where you got your thermometer 🌡 and pH tool from? If you could please share the brands with us? Thank you 🙏🏼

[@johnc3826]

Outstanding video - thank you so much for so many tips.

[@the_bread_code]

Moin John C, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@micahlantz905]

Wow! Great video sir! Very helpful content! Thanks 👍

[@gribble2979]

Great information and completely different from what other sources say. I've read in the past that you should only use white flour to feed the starter and use a 1:1:1 ratio when feeding, but your starter is so beautiful that I'm going to start using your directions.

[@pinterrzsolt]

How did it turn to be?

[@jamesthomas1628]

Excellent video. Would suggest using a "shot glass" (as used to mix drinks) to hold the small proofing sample. Tapered shape and volume marks make measuring easy.

[@the_bread_code]

Good idea. I just need to find one that has the right shape :-)

[@Fiona2254]

I purchased one like that yesterday just for this reason! Great minds think alike 😆

[@volponifamily7888]

I over fermented my last loaf and now going to try your method. Your explanations make perfect sense-Thank you!

[@home8046]

Also your video about scoring at the 90-degree angle was fantastic and it was a huge help for me in my bread being a simple engineer myself

[@user-yo5dh7eb9w]

Hi! I'm using 1/25/25 ratio and it's really doing a great job. I feed my starter once in 24 hour and hold it in room temperature all the time. The leftovers are great for pancakes and muffins. Thank you for all of the videos!

[@the_bread_code]

Sounds great! You are welcome!

[@Fiona2254]

I just made some starter pancakes and they are delicious.

[@kparish05]

You got me subscribe by the “ yes I’m weird” re traveling with sourdough. 🥰

[@the_bread_code]

Haha, thank you!

[@lisavranesevic5754]

Haha.. I travel with my sourdough, a cast iron pot, and my Kefir grains. Then again my family generally rents condos when we go on holiday. (Cheaper in our experience for larger families)

[@dhmacdonald8605]

Thank you for this excellent and informative video! You've given me lots to think about and try going forward.

[@the_bread_code]

Wonderful! Thanks for the nice words 🚀

[@mrtaser556]

I like that you actually explain why you do what you do unlike most video just tell you to do it with no explanations. Very good!

[@bear532]

Thank you for the mini jar idea to keep a track of bulk fermentation. Going to do the same but using a shot measuring cup. I have one that is 3 ounces and has a measurement every 10ml which is perfect for this purpose.

[@arigold5084]

But. wouldn't the rise time different due to the stretch and folds we do to the main dough?

[@bear532]

@@arigold5084 yes it does differ slightly, however it doesn’t matter. I’m going to use an analogy as to why. Lets say there’s two people who are counting. One counts upwards at a consistent pace and by one integer (1, 2…1000 etc.) and the other does as well but every time he reaches a hundredth number (100, 200, etc) he subtracts 18-22 (think of this as the folding stage) and then keeps counting up (99, 100, 81, 82 etc). The first person is your control in this scenario/the mini jar. The second person is your bread dough. Since both people are counting at the same rate, you can be fairly sure that when person A’s count is 500, person B’s count will be very close to 400. It’s the same exact thing for bread. The reason we can safely assume they’re counting at the same rate is because the percent of bacteria/yeast in both doughs is the same. They multiply at the same rate and produce the same amount of gas per volume of dough. Just because you’re slightly degassing the dough via folding, it does not change the rate at which the bacteria and yeast are creating gas. I hope this clears up any confusion :). I’ve actually moved on from using a shot cup and now use a plastic test tube with a string tied to the screw cap. I then spin it like a centrifuge to get the dough down to the bottom. I worked in a lab so yeah… centrifuges should be a kitchen appliance I swear. I know how ridiculous it is, however I can calculate the rise down to 1% making my proofing time extremely accurate and it has greatly improved my bread making to the point that I now always have the perfect proofing time.

[@bear532]

@@arigold5084 sorry the rise time doesn’t differ, the volume of rise does differ. Remember the dough matrix is being broken down at the same rate, regardless of how much the dough has been degassed. It is the breakdown of this matrix that ultimately decides if the bread has been proofed properly, not the volume. You can have a perfectly timed proof bread and completely degas it will look less proofed than an underproofed bread. If you bake them though, the properly proofed bread will taste better, albeit it will be denser.

[@bear532]

@@arigold5084 so the control in the small jar is measuring the amount of matrix breakdown. If you are consistent with your recipe and the timing of when you put your control dough in the jar, you will be consistent in knowing when the dough’s matrix has been broken down properly. Regardless of the volume in increase of your bread dough, if your control has increased in volume by lets say 75% (note this may be different for you depending on your recipe, flour, starter, and if you refrigerate and how long) you can be sure that your bread dough is done proofing because the optimal matrix breakdown is complete.

[@arigold5084]

Thank you so much. I will let u know the results.

[@kirstenholder7270]

This is so informative!! My started also died and I was confused as to why, I fed it with AP flour because I ran out and it didn't end well.

[@the_bread_code]

Yep. Definitely. I had to learn this the hard way too haha! But now I had my starter for 3 years, it is more healthy than ever :-)

[@anchaleegrinins1096]

I’ve been feeding my starter with AP from the start. It’s been 2 months and they are active. I’m confused!

[@kirstenholder7270]

@@anchaleegrinins1096 I wonder if it is the combination, it is possible that the AP I was using was not great quality.

[@pikfeeiloh930]

This is amazing and I learnt so much from this video. Thanks for sharing. Love from Aus

[@HoracioSantisteban]

Fire content, thank you so much!

[@Kaila5180]

Great contens! thank you. Learnt a lot... However, the sample in the small glass dish next to the fermenting dough didn't react at all, and when I thought it was long enough, the main dough was overfermented and it was perfect for a frisbee game. Well, making the perfect sourdough bread ain't that easy anyway.

[@geezergamers7101]

Hello, I love your bread tutorials! If I want to make as our a dough as possible for a really strongly flavored loaf do you have suggestions on a maximum pH level I could go down to? Thanks again, I have made so much better sour dough bread this year than last thanks to you.

[@the_bread_code]

You can go as high as you like. Just try to use a loaf pan for the actual baking. Nothing to worry then.

[@wiggytoyou]

Wow, never saw a Dutch Oven like that before. Very Cool! I enjoyed this video very much. Thank you so much for your informative videos. I'm following along starting on Tues (today) and I just fed my starter 1-5-5 (that was a revelation too!) btw I baked my first starter discard loaf on Saturday. Came out Great!

[@CoenCommijs]

Love the thorrough information you've put in the video! Learned alot about my starter and how to feed and optimize it. Thanks!!

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Coen Commijs, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@vickimoseley7434]

In the first few minutes I’ve learned from you than anyone. I couldn’t figure out why my dough was nightmare sticky this summer. Ich liebe dich!

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Vicki Moseley, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@jmala3192]

I changed the flour of my starter from bread flour to whole wheat Its been a wk now. Although it doubles in size. Its not passing the float test. Did i just kill my healthy starter ? Help please!

[@yaazielhuerta4845]

This is pretty awesome! I’m a bio teacher and I can use this video to illustrate many aspects of fermentation BUT the issue is that the graph is backwards. The greater the acidity the lower the pH and your x and y values are very much misplaced. I got your point, though, and most people wouldn’t mind. My comment is not a smarty pants comment, it would just become confusing to explain which I would have LOVED to use your video in the classroom. Your starter is EXCELLENTLY deconstructed and superb.

[@the_bread_code]

Oh thank you! Haha, nope - great comment indeed! Maybe you can just show the video and do your comments as you go hehe. Take care!

[@neelamsharma2117]

Thanks a lot for sharing wonderful tips for sourdough bread baking.Its really very helpful

[@deepawagle297]

Thank you for the detailed explaining

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Deepa Wagle, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@koneye]

12:50 Starter looks happy

[@the_bread_code]

Haha. I did not notice. Thanks for sharing!

[@TheAmazingHuman]

@17:51 when he said "just to geek out a little bit," I cracked up! I was like does he mean, "just to geek out even MORE...!" 😂

[@the_bread_code]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@yaazielhuerta4845]

Baking and cooking IS science! 😉The best recipes are all based on geeky scientific observations, trial and errors. That’s called the scientific process. 🤩 this is why I love cooking , baking AND science! You got to learn how things work and why especially because you are using living organisms in fermentation. #anothergeektalking 🥰

[@TheAmazingHuman]

@@yaazielhuerta4845 I thought it was obvious I feel the same way... which is why I enjoy watching the bread code channel. He's one of the smartest cutest geeks out there. #eatmoresourdoughbread. 😆❤

[@kathleensmith644]

Eek out even more I think.

[@todddavis4543]

Thank you so much. You are super. I am a veteran sourdough baker but I still learn much from you.

[@elizabethb595]

I did learn something new! Thank you for this video.

[@the_bread_code]

You are most welcome. Thank you.

[@aviationchannel6204]

Nice tips! However, I usually feed my starter with bread flour and it works fine. I feed at a 1:1:1 ratio if it is already very active, or I use a ratio of around 1:50:50. I find that bread flour makes it easier to adapt it for different breads.

[@omgitalo]

Same, though when I initially made my starter I did also use rye flour. Once it was alive and kicking I switched to regular white flour and at least so far so good (couple months).

[@aviationchannel6204]

@@omgitalo My starter is now almost 1 year old (started in Feb 2021). I initially created the starter using a very coarse whole wheat flour, and it was ready in 2 weeks.

[@claudiadecaires6299]

Hello... I must congratulate you on a stunning tutorial!!!! It is the best I've seen on sourdough!!! Thank you so very much, you are amazing!!!!💖

[@roostahktchnm7796]

I have followed some of your tutorial videos, very educational, very informative, and very scientific. Thanks for making and sharing knowledge.

[@flair2k]

Moin moin! I was super excited stumbling over your videos after getting hooked on sourdough by foodgeek :) now I finally tried out your 10h Autolyse technique, but it completely failed on me. In the morning the gluten is very weak and tears immediately. I used your percentages, bread flour with 13% protein, normal German room temperature. I already thought the "hard" berlin tap water is the problem?! Thanks so much for your help!

[@the_bread_code]

Moin! Oh noes, that's annoying. I have never heard this happening. Even with my regular T550 flour this did not happen to me before. Have you tried again? Did it happen again? Interesting idea on the tap water.

[@flair2k]

@@the_bread_code sorry for late reply I need to get my notifications in order ;( I got it to work by ordering the Italian flour you suggest on your blog. Don‘t know why it failed, didn‘t dare trying again

[@vltree]

Hi, thanks so much for your amazing channel! I love sourdough bread but it is hard to find any authentic ones in my area. Your videos finally convinced me to start my own sourdough starter last week. A big question is, when checking the volume of the starter, do I take into account the bubbles the starter create? My one-week-old starter (Bob) now doubles in volume within a couple of hours after feeding, but when I tap the jar on the countertop, it collapses and I see that the size has not really increased much, just a little bit. Another thing is, it is starting to smell quite acidic (like nail polish - I don't have a PH tester). Is it because it is too warm (24C) and maybe I should also reduce the feeding ratio (change from 1:1:1 to 1:5:5)? Thanks again and looking forward to baking my own sourdough bread very soon!

[@the_bread_code]

Hey V L. You are most welcome. Yep - try switching to the 1:5:5 feeding ratio. No worries, the moment you see your starter doubles, it is ready to be use. Good luck on the first bread :-)

[@TheINFP_Diary]

I loved this video so much, especially you explaining everything on the white board, i love science and this helped me understand this art so much more

[@gersonmendes628]

Maravilhosa aula! Pão é Arte.

[@the_bread_code]

Moin and Gluten Tag. Too long didn't watch - Fermentation is king 🤣. Also - it seems I did a small error in the video, sorry for missing this. The dough had 375 grams of water (75%) :-). Not 350 grams. I will do the same recipe again next week, trying to tweak it even further.

[@JVSwailesBoudicca]

Totally fascinating to hear all you have to say, and extremely helpful tuition. Thank you.

[@ToastedSynapseGaming]

I did something similar with a longer autolyze. One tweak that you might want to try to make it easier, even though it's called no kneed bread: After loosely incorporating the starter, instead of continuing with effort to finish incorporating in the pot, you could always dump your dough on the counter and bench kneed it there, even round it up. Much easier to incorporate and actually see if you missed spots (also ads strength). Then it's back in the pot :) Good luck.

[@the_bread_code]

@@ToastedSynapseGaming Yep, I did this before but then I got too much hate from no-kneaders over this 🤣

[@LuNemec]

Thanks for the tips, I applied them to my starter, will try bake tomorrow morning, I hope it goes better!

[@LuNemec]

Just to share my findings. Today I baked 2 loafs, from starter prepared as you showed. 1 loaf was pre-shaped at 50% rise of fermentation probe, 2nd loaf was pre-shaped at 100% rise. The 1st loaf turned much better, the 2nd turned out flat. So I guess 50% is the goal for me.

[@arnaudn.5675]

Man, thank you so much for putting all this together for us to educate ourselves ! I think I've learned more in 30 min that I had in my one year sourdough bread read-the-net/trial/error journey. I've been plagued by flat bread issues for most of the summer and been trying to fiddle around with bread fermentation time and oven settings only with marginally better results. I never guessed that the 1 to 1 to 1 daily feeding schedule that most people tend to praise as ideal throughout the internet might be the the biggest culprit here. I'm definitely going to put all your tips to good use. One more thing, I have been given a couple tips by a friend who worked in a bakery for a few years here in France, and one of them was : never put your yeast (they weren't making sourdough in that bakery though) directly into contact with solid salt. Salt grains will harshly pull out the water from the yeast cells and destroy some of them. Always dissolve all your salt into the water you are going to put into the bread and then add you yeast, to get the best fermentation results. I don't have any idea how much this is true or if it will make any difference in the end of the day, but I wanted to know if you have heard of, or experimented with this in the past ?

[@the_bread_code]

You are most welcome, thanks for the nice words. Yes, I heard this before, but I don't think it's that big of an issue. A few might die yep, but they also reproduce at the same time all the time. I wouldn't worry about this too much, it sounds to me like it could be 0.01% improvement hehe.

[@arnaudn.5675]

@@the_bread_code Yeah, not sure what difference it may make either. One thing for sure, this is definitely not a ground breaking effect because I'm still doing it by habit, but my bread is miles away from greatness ! XD I also wanted to let you know that I've baked my second bread applying your knowledge and things got instantly better. I've used a brand new flour that my local farm harvested this year, with an old variety of wheat which is, the lady there told me, quite low on gluten compared to modern wheat they have been growing until now. But despite having no experience with this new flour, I went for an overnight long autolysis and a less acidic starter and I'm already having twice as more air inside the loaf as my previous bread with the gluten rich flour. That was just amazing (and good tasting !) Still a lot of room for improvement on working with this new kind of flour, but now I have a much clearer idea of what I'm looking for and what I may change for the next one. Thank you so much !!!

[@the_bread_code]

@@arnaudn.5675 You are most welcome and glad to hear that. Try also using a loaf pan for your daily bread, it makes things a lot simpler. Plus in case you like it, you can make the dough a lot more sour and will still get quite good oven spring.

[@arnaudn.5675]

@@the_bread_code I already made the switch to the loaf pan. I prefer regular bread myself but my girlfriend is a huge fan of squared bread for her toasts despite the drop of oven spring. Things we do for love... Oh and we had a go on your recipy for the discard sourdough starters and it turned out amazing as well. I went for the mediterranean style, and tweaked it a little with a bit of dried garlic powder on top of the herbs and two tablespoons of olive oil in the dough (280g of starter + 140g of flour). Of course I kept the parmisan cheese on top. 👌

[@the_bread_code]

@@arnaudn.5675 Oh that sounds very delicious, I am hungry now 😂

[@luminouslentil8510]

Amazing. Thank you

[@ivegotheblues]

Hey that's a brilliant tutorial, thank you! Nowadays I'm experiencing a lot of difficulties with my dough when increasing the hydration, the dough it's so sticky and difficult to manage

[@superman2246]

I’ve skimmed through the comments but can’t find it or on your blog - where is that adorable shirt from?!?!

[@the_bread_code]

Thank you! the-bread-code.myteespring.co/

[@dennyze5744]

Oh! What to do with the discarded sourdough? I realized that for Christmas, instead of putting it in a discard jar, I could split it and make several jars of starter for bread to give as Christmas gifts. :-)

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Denise. Oh - I typically bake a nice bread out of it. That's a nice idea. I would recommend you dry it this way, then it won't go bad: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3bUm6SXibCJaJY

[@loriki8766]

Actually, you don't even need to feed your sourdough unless you plan to use it. Just keep it in the fridge and then there's no waste. For discard you already have, you can make bread or crackers. I like adding mine to egg noodles. If you do an internet search there are tons of recipes for discard.

[@donnadehardt5728]

I am pretty adventurous, so Ive added it to waffles/pancakes (just this AM), muffins, even doughnuts (which I bake then lightly pan fry). Focattia, all kinds of stuff. I hesitate to try & use it for enriched bread tho.

[@bholmes5490]

Fascinating. Your explanations are fantastic, and easy to follow.

[@the_bread_code]

Moin Bob Holmes, you are most welcome! Feel free to reach out with more questions at any time. Happy baking and cheers from Hamburg.

[@patrickf82]

ein super Video - richtig toll aufgearbeitet!!!

[@MaryOBrienaus]

I've learnt so much from this video and I'm excited to try the overnight autolyse...wow!! Does acidity have an effect on how sour the bread tastes? I really like a super sour (would that be uber sour?! 🤣) taste so would love your geeky insight into how I can get that consistently...thank you! 🍞

[@the_bread_code]

Hey Mary. Glad you enjoyed the video! For a more sour bread, try to maybe use a loaf pan in the end. It will give additional support and you can make a more sour dough :-)

[@MaryOBrienaus]

@@the_bread_code thank you...will give it a go!

[@philipalma1027]

Hi, i was hoping you can help me with my sourdough starter. I started my starter yesterday and now my 2nd day i see that it doubled in size. But i noticed there is some kind of white liquidy flours at the very bottom of the jar.. By the way i used a whole wheat flour with some hulls in it. I hope you could help me. Thank you

[@the_bread_code]

Nothing to worry. Just keep feeding it. The liquid is normal. It also contains a lot of bacteria and yeast.

[@philipalma1027]

@@the_bread_code thank you so much for your response. What a relief!! 😊🙏

[@jeffwilliams707]

Wow. This is the kind of knowledge and experience I’m seeking so i can experiment with confidence. Danka!

[@peterthomas5792]

The hack with the mini-jar is priceless! It's been the single most important tip that has improved the consistency of my loaves. Thank you.