I’m not including a picture with this article because, well, it didn’t turn out any better than the previous experiment!
This time around I decided to give the Cook’s Illustrated method of refreshing the starter prior to use a try and I also increased the flour to 15 ounces from the 12.5 I tried last time.
Evening Day #1
1. Stir starter well, measure out 2 cups (18 ounces), and discard remaining starter (or give to a friend). Place measured starter in glass bowl or container with at least 1 1⁄2-quart capacity. Stir in 1 cup (8 ounces) water until combined, then stir in 1 cup (5 ounces) flour until combined. Let stand at room temperature.
Morning Day #2
1. Stir starter well, measure out 2 cups (18 ounces), and discard remaining starter (or give to a friend). Place measured starter in glass bowl or container with at least 1 1⁄2-quart capacity. Stir in 1 cup (8 ounces) water until combined, then stir in 1 cup (5 ounces) flour until combined. Let stand at room temperature.
Evening Day #2
1. Stir starter well, measure out 2 cups (18 ounces), and discard remaining starter (or give to a friend). Place measured starter in glass bowl or container with at least 1 1⁄2-quart capacity. Stir in 1 cup (8 ounces) water until combined, then stir in 1 cup (5 ounces) flour until combined. Let stand at room temperature.
Morning Day #3
15 ounces all purpose flour
1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
9 ounces sourdough starter
4.5 ounces water
3 ounces beer
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1. Whisk flour and salt in large bowl. Add starter, water, beer and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature. Feed starter.
Evening Day #3
1. Refrigerate dough and starter.
Morning Day #4
1. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has double in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.
2. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500*F. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor sharp blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch long, 1⁄2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425*F and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210*F, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.
I made dough for two loaves and, once I realized that the first loaf was too wet, I added an extra 1⁄2 cup (2.5 ounces) of flour to the dough of the second loaf. Sadly it was just as flat as the first loaf.
I’m not quite ready to give in and use the Cook’s Illustrated recipe for sourdough in its entirety, so I’m going to give a few more things a try. First, I’m going to remove the 4.5 ounces of water entirely and keep everything else the same. Second, I’m going to skip the Cook’s Illustrated refreshing method. The method I was using before that just involved feeding the starter after use was working quite well, and it’s a lot less time consuming. I think I might also add a little yeast, since maybe it’s my starter that’s the problem.
The toughest part about this is waiting for the starter to be ready to use again!