Sourdough No Knead Method
The process of making a sourdough leavened no-knead loaf (at least the way I do it) is almost identical to the instant yeast variety. I just substitute 1/4 cup of sourdough starter for the 1/4 tsp. instant yeast.
Of course, working with sourdough can alter things quite a bit depending on how wet you keep your starter and how healthy it is. Some starters are very liquidy and can be poured out of their containers. I keep mine pretty thick. It has to be spooned out of the jar. I go into quite a bit of detail on how I manage my starter in the various related videos.
That said, here’s the most basic recipe that I use quite frequently.
- 1 cup (5 oz.) whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 cups (11 oz.) white bread flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cups purified water
- 1/4 cup starter
The baking times and all that are the same as the basic no-knead method. So you can easily just watch that video but follow this recipe. I usually bake the bread at 500° for 30 minutes with the lid on and then remove the lid and continue baking for 15 more minutes at 450°.
You might have noticed that there’s a bit of difference between what I say in the video regarding recipe quantities and what’s written. The weights shown are probably more precise, but you should be fine either way as there is a fair amount of leeway in this recipe.
Generally speaking, the wetter your dough the bigger the holes will be, which many people really like. However, a drier dough will make it easier to get the bread to rise while baking, giving you greater “oven spring” and a more spherical loaf versus a pancake. With practice, you’ll get so you can come closer to predicting how your bread will turn out just based on the consistency of the dough when you’re mixing all the ingredients together. You can adjust the amount of water and flour to get the consistency that suits you best.
Many people want to know how to make their bread more sour. Breadtopia reader, Rhine Meyering, enjoys success with this by using just 1/8 cup of sourdough starter and extending the fermentation time by refrigerating the dough. Click this link to his October 7, 2007 post to read what he says. It makes a lot of sense based on my understanding of sourdough baking too.
Also, click the following link to Ariela’s post of November 25th, 2007 where she describes her success with the sourdough no knead method using spelt flour. She includes the actual recipe she uses too – very nice.
| No Knead Revisited – A Three Year Check Up
It’s been over 3 years since the original New York Times no knead bread recipe was published. That’s also about the same time Breadtopia was born. By far the most common difficulty people write or call in about is with the dough being too wet to handle at the end of the long first proofing period and also when it’s time to place the dough into a covered vessel to bake at the end of the second rise. When you run into this, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it other than attempt to follow through on the instructions and ultimately wrest the dough into your heated baker and into the oven. Your “mistake” may turn out better than you expected and if nothing else, you’ll learn from it. The next time around you can do one or a combination of a couple things differently.
The same principle holds true on the second rise. While 1-2 hours is the suggested range, I’m almost always at about 60 to 75 minutes. Another concern we hear a lot is about the dough not rising much during that second short proofing period. I don’t see mine rise much then either and it doesn’t matter so long as you see a good rise during the first several minutes that the dough is in the oven. That’s called oven spring and it’s a very good thing. By keeping your proofing periods on the shorter side, you’re more likely to get good oven spring from the still vigorous yeast or sourdough starter. Of course all of the above is assuming your yeast or sourdough starter is fresh and viable to start with. In summary, most problems can be helped or solved by stiffening the dough a little and/or shortening the rising times. If you’re new to bread baking, don’t think from reading this that it’s difficult or tricky to get great results. Most people find it a breeze and enjoy success right out of the blocks. Others may find it takes a few tries. It’s important to have fun with it and don’t worry about bombing. There’s no significant downside to bread baking but the upside can be fabulous. Enjoy! |
March 20th, 2010 update: Beadtopia reader, Beth Adams, emailed this:
I have been a follower and contributer (through the comments sections) to the site for a few years. I just tried something that I wanted to share. I added a tsp. of lavender to the regular sourdough recipe and had great results when using it for sandwiches. Hope you are able to enjoy it!
For more no-knead recipes using sourdough, check out No-Knead Recipe Variations.
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Hi Gord, yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing, for baguettes. I have a baguette-shaped metal pan, which I line with parchment. After the 1st (long) proofing, I shape the baguette, let it rise an hour or so in the pan, then bake it in pre-heated 450 oven (still experimenting w/ this temp as I got a bit of burning along the split on last loaf, long before the rest of it turned golden), sometimes lowering by 25 degrees after the 1st half-hour. I do the old-style baking-pan-with-water on a lower shelf for some extra steam. Mostly I’ve been getting great results with this method. (I do use the standard NKB pre-heated, covered baker for other shapes of bread, but found I need the baguette pan for the 2nd proof. I guess I could cover it with foil while baking, but I’m all for eliminating extra work if I’m getting results without.)
Hi Sherry – a quick question of clarification.
Are you taking the no knead bread after the second proffing, forming it into baquettes and then baking it?
I’d like to try that if it is the case.
Are you still baking the baquettes at 500 F or are you using a cooler oven setting?
Thanks
Gord
Sherry,
I’m glad that worked out for you. My prediction that it would work is really an bit of an educated guess – having made sour dough from scratch. When we add starter to the dough alll we’re trying to do is grow that colony of yeast. When you introduce any yeast at all to your dough, that strain begins to grow. The more you add, the less time required to reach that important tipping point – what we call proof. Of course the opposite is true, too – add less yeast, it just takes more time. By selecting a set amount in our recipes, what we’re really trying to do is standardize the results.
Bill, thanks for your tips about (1) adding yeast to a slow-rising batch partway thru — I never would have thought of trying that! And (2) your wine cellar useage — interesting!!
My batch of plain white sourdough with accidentally half the needed amount of starter worked out fine, as you predicted. Oddly, the only thing lacking was the great sour taste I usually get. It was my 1st time using KA Bread Flour. Instead of my usual c. 12-hour 1st proof (when kitchen is running around 68 degrees), it took 18 — actually it was probably ready sooner but I fell asleep & it may have overproofed a bit. I still wasn’t ready to bake it so I refrigerated it for another 14-15 hours before baking. Baguettes (I bake in a baguette pan, without a cover) came out just fine, but not quite sour enough for my taste. Next batch — I will put the usual cup of white-whole-wheat back in plus the right amount of starter.
Bill
Thanks a lot for the tips. I’ll give your temps and times a try. I see from early posts that abtou 205 internal is good, so I’ll check for that. I like my crust more golden than dark brown. I’m going to try about 36 hours in the fridge to get more sour flavor on my next batch. We’ll see how it goes!
DGAllen
I think a lot of this depends on your individual oven and certainly the altitude where you cook, and how you like your crust. After trial and error, I consistently cook my bread at 450º, 30 min. covered, 10 min. uncovered. I don’t even take the internal temp any more.
Problem with over browning in oblong cloche baker.
Hi everyone, I made my first two sourdough loaves this weekend. I use the oblong bread form basket and rectangular cloche bakers. I baked at 475 for 30 minutes and then 15 minutes at 450. The loafs were very dark and nearly burned on the bottom. I didn’t check internal temperatures.
What do you think I should try as a resolution? Shorter time? Lower Temp? Both?
BTW, my Breadtopia starter is awesome!! The loaves actually over proofed. After 16 hours there were 2 1/2 times original volume. I’ll have to keep watch over them next time.
Thanks everyone for your contributions and being so helpful.
Evey, you asked a question earlier about increasing the degree of sour in your bread. I find that’s a challenging goal to effect consistently, but perhaps the single best technique to improve your odds of success is by refrigerating the dough after the initial mixing. This slows the fermentation, often allowing for more flavor and sour to develop. So refrigerate over night or even up to a few days and then resume proofing at room temp before baking. Since refrigeration doesn’t stop fermentation altogether, you will probably want to reduce the time of the final room temp rise to avoid over proofing. It’s hard to give specific times since it’s so variable. You just have to try things until you find what works for you and then hope it works the next time too.
Hey, Bill:
WOW it was late when I posted this; I actually did 500 for 45 minutes and 15 at 450 with the lid off. Did round loaf and it was the highest I’d ever seen a sourdough loaf go-at least for me. In the past, I’d had problems tossing the proofed dough into the LaCloche; seems like almost anything deflated it, so I was wondering whether the long overnight proof of 18 hours might have over-proofed the dough. When I’d made baguettes with a 21 hour, refrigerated, retarded proof, the flavor was great but the time was just too much. Thinking about it all, more starter, some white whole wheat to keep it happy, coolish Room temp (we keep the house cool in fall-winter, about 60-62) and limiting the proof to 8 hours gave all the flavor I could want, yet when I dumped the dough into the LaCloche, it didn’t seem as ‘soupy’ and held up well as I placed the lid. Perhaps that extra 1T of gluten helped. My other thought was that instead of using time alone to develop the gluten, per the strict no-knead recipe, I’d ‘pulse’ the mixer (replicating a fold or three) a couple of times, as is directed in baguette making. I’ll say that the boule that I made yesterday (and the one that just came out of the oven) are the best I’ve made: I liberally oil the basket, put a ton of bran on it, and the color, taste, and texture are wonderful.
Sorry about the temperature thing. Call it a 2 year old with the flu plus a case of Lyme disease that hits hard at night. good luck!!
christopher
Christopher,
You got me with that last line! I can’t wait to try your recipe, but one question: are you making baguettes or round loafs? An hour at 500º seems like a long time for my oven, especially for baguettes.
Oh, and I love to refrigerate overnight – actually, I have a wine room (pretentious, I know) that is set at 56º. I often, especially in summer when the house is warmer, put the dough right into the wine room and leave it there overnight. I’ll take it out the following day about 4 hours before I want to form it. Works great, and the extra time it spends fermenting in the wine room really adds to the flavor. Total bulk rise is probably around 18 hours that way. My sister has actually put her dough in the fridge for 36 hours!
Sherry,
I have, in the past, found that my starter wasn’t perfoming as desired, so added yeast to the dough the following day and treated it like “normal” bread, rather than no-knead. Even that worked. So, you have options.
Hey, there:
I’m a relative novice when it comes to bread, but like anything in the kitchen, I dove right in, pulled some sourdough starters from friends, and started reading/watching. I’m usually time-challenged and so the prospect of an 18 hour ‘rise’ was hitting me hard. I’d recently read about making baguettes-from the french master Anis Bouabsa, who earned ‘best Baguette in Paris” and thought to adapt some of this, some of that. It worked, amazingly well. In fact, my wife, whose father is a French master chef, gave me the highest praise at lunch today, “wow, you really hit it.” So, here’s my ‘cheater’ semi-no-knead sourdough recipe:
1/2 cup plus 1T sourdough starter (mine’s virulent)
13 oz bread flour
3 oz white whole wheat flour
1T gluten flour
1.25 cups water
1.25t salt
Throw the lot into the Kitchenaid with the dough hook. Mix until a ball forms, then 30 seconds more. 20 minute rest; 5 seconds at slow+1 speed; 20 minute rest; 5 more seconds at slow+1 speed; 20 minute rest; 5 more seconds at slow+1
dump the dough into a bowl, plastic covered, overnight (mine 10PM start)
at 6AM,
remove from bowl to floured surface. slight flour to dough
spread it out then 1/3 folds, then over onto itself
rest 20 minutes
gather into a ball, drop into prepared proofing basket, seam up
2 hour rise in either warmed/steamed microwave or other warm place
preheat oven/LaCloche to 500
500 degrees for 45 minutes with lid;
remove lid and 15 more minutes
remove to cooling rack for an hour
amazing results. Like the first time you used Viagra.
It is really that good.
Christopher
Thanks for the encouragement, Bill. Come to think of it, if I had put in the right amount of starter, I would have had to bake at 2 am or else refrigerate it overnight, so I guess I’ll let it keep rising overnight & maybe my mistake will turn out to be a good thing!
Sherry,
My bet is that it’ll rise, but it’ll take longer. Let us know.
Uh-oh — I mixed up a batch of plain white sourdough from memory instead of reading a recipe — & realized 6 hours later (now) that I had put in only half the called-for amount of starter — 1/8 cup instead of 1/4, because I so often make a half-recipe & use 1/8. Now what? Will it be ok if I just do a much longer 1st rise? Or should I stir it down and add the extra starter?
Dear Eric,
I made the recipe two times for the no knead sourdough bread. The crust and texture of the loaf was excellent. I want to know how to improve the taste. I like to have a more “sour” taste than I am getting right now. By the way, I used the recipe with the water, beer and white vinegar.
What can I do?
Hi Lorri,
“Hooch” is alcohol, the byproduct of fermentation. It’s not the same as the “whey” on top of your sour cream. The ‘fourty-niners’ from the Alaska gold rush days were said to have drank the stuff. I don’t doubt it. Try it!
As for me, I stir my down into the mix when feeding my sourdough. It does make me wonder, though – since it is a byproduct, also considered “waste,” why not pour it off. I know that when fermenting beer, for instance, that alcohol will eventually kill the yeast and stop further fermentation. But, I’ve always been told to stir it back it. Any other ideas, anyone?
Hi Bill, I have gone over again your Nov 18 post and I finally get the formula! My mind was thinking ozs and you were saying grams! It is very simple! Thank you and Eric for all your help. I think I’ve got it!
On another subject, I keep forgetting to ask: do I pour off the “hooch” from my starter? At first I just stirred it down. What is hooch anyway? Is it the same as the liquid in my kefir or say on top of sour cream?
This has been so much fun for me! Thanks to all!
Lorri U
Hi Will, Thank you for the address. Very helpfull! Lorri U
Lorri,
The address I have is: Marilyn Kefirlady, P.O. Box 375, Fayette, Ohio 43521
The tel is 419-237-3095 marilynjarz@gmail.com
My grains grow fast and really large. Big as crabapples.
Wil
Wil ( from Nov 2, 2009)
Do you have the address of the Ohio Kefir lady. My “mother” is getting smaller and smaller and I just don’t know why. Thanks in advance!
Lorri U
Hey Bill, I remember my first loaf about 6 loafs ago, I did weigh my flours. It was my first and only success! I am ANAL big time. I think this site is good for another reason: it gives us a chance to support each other and work through our problems, like therapy!!!! JOKE! More news later when I make my next loaf! Lorri
HI VICKIE, Thank you for your input. The next batch I do I will try proofing less. Also I am going to weigh my ingredients too. I too am anal about this breadmaking! I won,t be satisfied until I can make consitantly good bread. The very first loaf I made-just plain sourdough from Eric’s recipe and made in a DO was the best one I did! Maybe you saw the pictures. It is the no-knead, with all it’s variables that is driving me nuts. I just went back and looked at your loaf. WOW! You are right to be proud. Lorri U
LorriU, I had the same problem you are having. I found that I was over proofing, I now only let it rise about 12-14 hours. After the 14 hours I turn it out on a floured board and sprinklie lots of flour on it before I knead it flat and fold it. I do it just like Erics video, This makes the dough a bit easier to work with. I also found that once my starter was good and active,( It takes time I think for it to mature). Things started to turn around. Their is a picture of my success on this web site. date is Sept 9 2009. Don’t give up. My la cloche also made a world of difference. /Vicki
Hi LorriU,
I’m afraid you’re about to find out how anal I can be – so bear with me! I have to get somewhat mathematical, but not too much, I hope. Hydration is simply a ratio of flour to water, but you simply can’t do it right by volume – you have to figure it by weight. So weight of water divided by weight of flour equals your hydration level. Simple, huh? 350g of water divided by 500g of flour equals 70% hydration. So you can easily determine how big a loaf you want by using this formula. If you wanted a bigger loaf, say 700g of flour, then you’d simply multiply 700 by whatever hydration level you wanted (let’s stick with 70%), so 700 x .7 = 490g of water. I find using grams as a reference is a bit more accurate than using ounces, but it doesn’t matter.
Here’s why weight is so much better than volume: according to the King Arthur Flour web site a properly measured cup of flour weighs 4 1/4 ounces . Most others say 5 ounces per cup. The original Sullivan St. Bakery recipe calls for 3 cups of flour, which they interpret to be 430g, or 15.2 oz. Lesson – a cup of flour varies greatly by weight because it compresses. As I said earlier, for a pure white flour loaf, I use 500g flour and 350g water for a 70% hydration level.
So, what’s the hydration level of your dough? Well, water always equals 8 oz. (or roughly 227g) per cup. You’re using 1.5 cups, or 12oz. If your cup of flour weighs 5oz, then your hydration is at 80%. I find that level to be really wet, though Eric gets by with it somehow (I don’t know how!). If I try to work with a dough that wet, it comes out sticky and flat – great for ciabatta bread, not so good for what we’re trying to do.
I hate to admit it, but here’s a web site that explains all this much better than I can: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/handbook/baker039s-math
Hi Bill, Glad you squeezed in! I need all the help I can get! I don’t understand 70% hydration. I used 1 1/2 cups water to 3 cups assorted flours resulting in very wet bread after first 18 hour ferment. What percent of hydration am I getting? I think I will try kneading in the bowl and adding more flour until it is not quite so sticky and then turning it our on board and folding before putting in basket for last proofing. I love Eric’s site and all of the help available! I intend to master this if it the last thing I do!!! Thanks for your input, too!
Lorri U
LorriU, I hope you don’t mind my squeezing in here with some advise on the sticky dough issue: I can never, ever get my dough to drop from the basket like Eric does in his videos, and my dough isn’t as hydrated as his is! I hydrate my dough to about 70%, no more. Any more than that and it will hang up in that basket like glue. As for preparation, I flour the basket heavily, first with AP flour, then with rice flour. Someone – maybe in this thread – suggested rice flour long ago, and I’ve been using it purely as a basket coating. It really helps the dough to fall out nicely, but I still occasionally get a sticky spot. Nothing to do about it I suppose.
A word on hydration level: when I say I hydrate to 70%, that’s for 100% white flour. If I start adding whole wheat, rye, etc., then I’ll boost the water level a bit, because those darker flours really do need more water. Example: 500g white flour with 350g water, or 350g white flour mixed with 150g darker blends with 365g to 370g water. More water, more stick, and while water is necessary for that elusive “oven spring,” too much caused diminished returns.
Hi Eric, My second batch using my new LaCloche and proofing basket. Both didn’t rise that well in the basket. I baked anyway and the sour flavor and crumb were nice. The bottom was very dark. I had lovely proof in 18 hours, followed to the letter the recipe. The only bread I had slight success with was the bread I made in my dutch oven. these are questions: I thought I read somewhere to lightly spray the proofing basket with oil and then dust with rice flour, my dough is very sticky after the 18 hour proof, why? I brought out of the oven at internal temp of 194 because it was pretty flat. I am NOT giving up yet. Any suggestions. Lorri U
PS I am the bread with the picture of the Indian woman making bread in the background. The picture is not really correct. It is a Navajo woman. Traditionally Navajo women do not make their bread this way! Who cares!
Hi Mona,
Sorry, the “Add an Image” feature was down for a while. Your starter photo is showing now. Very nice pic! Thanks.
Hi Harry,
I’m glad you mentioned the gluten issue — I’d heard or read something similar to what you described, but hadn’t put 1 + 1 together in my brain. My mother has a friend who is allergic to gluten and I’m wondering if the long ferment would make bread allowable for her. I’ll have to look into it further.
But… in the meantime, you might want to look at a book called Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. They employ a similar no-knead method (using yeast rather than sourdough) and leave the dough in the fridge for several days. Perhaps reading their refrigerator slow-rise ideas will give you some ideas of your own. It’s just one more resource for your arsenal.
And there’s at least one more person on this site that uses the slow rise method. If I remember correctly they refer to it as “retarding” the rise. If you search for the word “retard” here on Breadtopia, I think you’ll find quite a bit of information.
Good luck, and please let us know how the gluten sensitivity issue goes.
Carolyn F.
Harry,
I believe you are 100% correct that time = breakdown of whatever it is that makes wheat/bread/grains intolerable to sensitive people. There is a very sensible scientific explanation and tons of info available on that subject!
I make most all of my breads. I notice a huge difference in not only flavor and texture when I use a cool, rise, but also in digestibility.
I am not an expert, mind you, but an avid explorer!
Here is what I would try if I could not use extra flour: (I saw someone do this)
Slightly wet your surface. Wet your plastic scraper that you will use to get the dough out of the bowl. You can smoosh it down a bit and let it rest for 15 if you want. Keep using the wettish scraper to scrape it up and form. Dip your hands in water and pretend it’s lotion and rub your hands. Only get just enough water to keep it from sticking. Quickly form the dough. Have a bowl a bit smaller than the pan or dutch oven you intend to use for baking, and line that smaller bowl with parchment paper. If you crumple the paper up and wet it , it more easily conforms to the bowl. Spray the paper w/cooking spray before you put the dough in. Put a larger inverted bowl on top of that one to keep the dough from drying out on the final rise. There’s your final rise/ no flour/ and just lower the parchment paper with the dough in it into your preheated pan. And to answer to question about using same container for the first and second rise: If it’s a bowl that’s smaller than your baking vessel, by all means use the same bowl and just stick your parchment in and then the dough. You shouldn’t even have to rinse it out. I always use parchment….it just makes it much easier and don’t worry about burning. I don’t like to risk deflating.
What initiates the final? proofing is not the extra flour added. That is only to keep dough from sticking. Something happens scientifically when gas is forced out and the “beasties” get working to make more gas as long as they have fuel. I’m no scientist for sure….just an explorer!~
I have two sourdough no knead doughs in the fridge going on day 2 tomorrow. I put them in immediately after mixing yesterday… My plan is to take them out after 48 or so and leave 18Hours, then form for final rise. They are putzing along slowly for now but slowly showing life. An experiment! Will post success or failure! I did “fold” them today using the method I suggested above with the water. (I saw it on a video) It worked beautifully with no sticking…like magic! I just figured it wouldn’t hurt to slap them around a little.
I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about your recipe for no-knead sourdough bread. I’m sensitive to gluten, however, many years ago a friend of mine (that I’ve lost touch with now) used to make sourdough bread that he let “ferment” overnight before baking. I had no issues eating this bread. After further investigation it seems many persons with similar sensitivities are able to eat bread where the yeast has been allowed to digest the flour for an extended period of time.
I would like to follow your recipe almost to the letter, but I would be forced to make some minor adjustments and I was wondering if you could comment on them. The main adjustment would be the fact that I can’t introduce any “fresh” flour into the dough after the overnight “ferment”. That means that I can’t flour my hands, the cutting board, or dough when doing the folding. Neither can I flour the proofing basket. Other than making things very sticky, would this pose any problems? Or is this small amount of new flour introduced into the dough what causes the proofing (or second rise)?
As a side note, a few questions from a notice bread maker. Can I use the same container for the first and second rise? Or do I need a separate proofing basket? What exactly initiates the proofing? Is it the extra flour introduced, the folding, or just general handling of the dough?
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this message and help me out in any way possible.
Thanks,
Harry
Here is a photo of my less than 24 hour old starter…50% kefir and 50% Montana Prairie Gold, freshly ground:
Excellent results with this one. I recently bought some of the Irish Whole Wheat flour from KA to try. I used it in combo with the KA all purpose to feed my starter and also used it as the whole wheat four in this recipe. The starter was amazing in the way it worked. The bread has a fabulous taste. A real winner all the way. The texture of the bread is great; holds up well for sandwiches. Decent crust that could maybe be a little more crackly but it is pretty crackly as is. I will be making this one a lot more often. now I will have to work on getting the crust even more crackly.
I do have a question though. I notice that most of the breads here need to be slashed on the top before baking but this one does not. Is there a reason for not slashing the top of this bread?
Hi Mona, I can 2nd your experience with kefir and starter. I have been culturing kefir from my own grains (from the Kefir lady in Ohio), after reading another post on here about it. I use it as an enhancer to my regular SD starter, adding 1/2 cup as the liquid amount called for. It has really added a noticable improvement to rise and oven spring, not to mention flavor. The milk part has added to freshness and texture. BTW, I switched from using whole milk to organic fat free, directly from a farm creamery and the grains adapted great. The kefir is thick and creamy and is so without all of the fat. I had read that the kefir fermentation process does not remove the fat content so I thought what the heck, try it with no-fat milk and it worked. I will have to try your suggestion using all kefir as the starter.
Wil
Thanks Fred! I’m going to try that. I know that flax seed when soaked gets gelatinous? They do when they’re whole, anyway. I have also read, especially for whole grain breads, that “chia seeds” (yes think “Chia pet”) have a gelatinous characteristic that can help add a gluten like texture that is often missing in breads with a higher whole grain content, and Chia seeds have also been known to increase shelf life because they hold in moisture. I just read that the other day, so haven’t tried as yet but will post here when I do. I would think that just a couple of tablespoons would do the trick. I know that they are very good for you, I use them in smoothies!
(just kidding)
Also, don’t know if anyone has mentioned this in previous posts, as I haven’t read through all of them,- but I make a fabulous sourdough starter out of Kefir. I used to use commercial Kefir (plain Organic) and it took about three days (in Summer) for me to get a very active batch. Now I make my own kefir using real kefir grains and raw milk. With the real kefir, I sometimes have a starter the next day after I mix it up! (50% whole wheat or rye and 50% kefir) It always amazes me! (just shows you how alive with probiotics kefir is!) I just whip up enough to use and don’t bother feeding or keeping it going. If anyone tries commercial kefir make sure it is Organic and plain. I always used full fat. It may take longer than 3 days if your room is very cool. Mix 50/50 in a glass jar or bowl, cover with a layered paper towel and rubber band. It needs to breath…..and stir once a day. I keep mine in the dark and play classical music for it.
I have not tried the no knead bread with this starter yet but I have been making whole grain breads (traditional method) with it and they have risen beautifully.
I will soon try the no knead method with this starter and try to post a picture here.
I recently spoke with a local baker who makes some wonderful breads. He told me that he puts flaxseed into some of his bread, soaking it for a few hours prior to adding it to the dough. He somehow got a shipment of cracked flaxseed and added that to the dough, after soaking it. He said the resulting oven spring was amazing.
I got some flaxseed, put it in a coffee grinder for a few seconds, soaked it and added it to the dough. The resulting bread had good oven spring and THE BEST FLAVOR AND SCENT THAT I HAVE EVER HAD IN ANY BREAD! The scent was gone the next day. I will see whether it comes through when I toast it.
Eric – thank you so much for this fantastic site. it is awesome.
I am just getting into the no knead bread recipes and am in the process of ordering the necessary supplies. Until I get a proper proofing dish to use for the second rising, however, what should I use as an alternative/substitute?
Thanks again for a super site. You make everything look so easy and soooo delicious!
That’s great, Rhonda. You should find that your starter will continue to strengthen the longer you use it and the more frequently you bake, the more potent it becomes.
One counter to the “petering out” you aptly referred to is shortening the long rise time to something in the neighborhood of 12 hours and the second rise to not much more than an hour. You can play around with the times to see what works best for you.
Just made my first loaf using my strapping adolescent of a starter (pineapple juice, started 6 days ago) this afternoon and it is so good. Not very holey and quite flat, I think the yeast started to peter out a little during the first rise because it was massive this morning before I shaped it for the second rise. I have another batch rising on my counter right now which I mixed up 3 hours later than usual (usually mix at 2pm for an 8am shaping and 10am baking time) to give me a little leeway.
Thank you for the wonderful tutorials, chances are I would never have tried making my own starter and sourdough without you.
…and it shows.
Best no knead sourdough recipe I have come across. Works every time for me.
Many thanks.
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I’d say somewhere in between. After the starter has had a chance to feed on its latest meal and well before it’s flat and dormant.
Nice video! One question please. Should the starter be added to the baking ingredients in its bubbly fermenting stage just after being fed or when it is flat and dormant and ready to be fed again?
I keep a gallon of distilled water at room temperature. When making bread I will measure the water (usually by weighing it) in a large measuring beaker, then stir the starter, from the fridge, right into the water. Then I add the water/starter to the dry ingredients. I guess that’s probably how Erik does it… been a while since I’ve viewed the video. At any rate, I doubt proofing is necessary in a no-knead bread, since proof times are usually overnight or longer.
I use it right out of the fridge, but that’s mostly because I bake so frequently that my starter is always fresh. If it ever sits unused for a week or so, I feed it prior to baking and let it sit out for a while.
Hi Eric,
Do you use your sourdough right out of the fridge or do you proof it first.
Thanks,
Matthew
It’s beautiful. Thank you!
Eric, I am sending a picture of my no knead sour dough bread. I am so proud. After I finally was able to perfect my starter, thanks to you, things just fell into place. Thank you so much for all your time and help, and words of encouragement. I couldn’t have done it with out you. I look at your web sight almost every day. The la cloche makes all the difference in the world. I would love to share this picture on your web sight. I would also like to tell people to not get frustrated, and don’t give up. Each time I make bread it gets better. Thanks again. Vicki
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