Molly Baz Sourdough Baking Tips

5 Baking Tips from Molly

1. Bake with an Active Starter

Always bake with an active starter— that is, one that responds predictably and promptly to feedings. Your starter should double in size within 6 to 8 hours after feeding, or it probably won’t be strong enough to produce lofty loaves. Using starter that is very much alive will ensure tender, well-risen bread.

2. Longer Fermentation = More Sourdough Flavor

You can always opt for a longer fermentation (which can result in a more developed sourdough flavor… and often makes more sense for a baker’s schedule!) by transferring your dough to the refrigerator and baking the next day. The best time to stop down and chill your dough is after shaping your loaf. The next day, just pick up where you left off, letting the dough sit on the counter for an hour or two before proceeding.

3. The Rule of 1:1:1

A good ratio for feeding your sourdough starter is 1:1:1. That is, equal parts flour, water, and starter. You can perform small feedings of your starter (about 30 grams of each element) during down times when you’re not baking as much, just to keep your starter “at the ready.” No need to overfeed and create excess amounts of starter. (Though if you do, find some friends who want some!)

4. The "Windowpane" Test

A good measure of whether or not a dough has had a sufficient number of folds and stretches is whether or not it passes the “windowpane” test: flatten a small piece of dough (about the size of a walnut) in between your fingers. Gently pull on opposite ends to stretch out the middle. Dough that doesn’t tear easily– and appears as translucent as a window pane– indicates strong gluten formation (and forebodes a proper rise when it hits the oven).

5. The Secret to Maintaining Shape

Creating surface tension during the shaping step of a dough ensures that your bread will maintain its shape during baking and achieve proper structure, crumb, and rise. A tip: only lightly flour your surface while shaping. Too much flour will encourage the dough to slide around; less flour means that you’ll have some friction on the work surface to help the dough pull taught.