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My grandma called my sourdough 'too sour' and it got me thinking
Was visiting my grandma last Sunday and she tried my 72-hour cold proof sourdough. She said it tasted 'like old pickles' and honestly I was kinda hurt at first. But then she pulled out her 50-year-old starter and showed me her method of feeding it every 4 hours before baking. I tried a more frequent feeding schedule on my next batch and it definitely came out milder. Has anyone else had to adjust their sourdough based on feedback from older bakers?
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rowanr8811d ago
Gotta push back on this a little bit. That 72 hour cold proof is the whole point for me, the whole reason I bother with sourdough at all. @luna261 mentioned overfeeding resets the clock, and yeah, that's exactly why I let mine sit - I want that deep, punchy sour flavor, not some wimpy bread that tastes like regular toast. If I wanted mild, I'd just buy a loaf from the grocery store. My neighbor tried my 4 day cold proof once and said it was like "eating a pickle sandwich without the pickle," which is basically a compliment in my book.
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kimblack11d ago
...and here I thought my grandma was the only one who thinks 72-hour cold proof tastes like a science experiment gone wrong. I tried her method of feeding the starter every 4 hours and ended up with a loaf that was barely sour at all. Kinda felt like I was baking with a puppy, constantly checking on it. But hey, at least the neighbors stopped asking if I was making kimchi.
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luna26111d ago
Oh I heard on a baking podcast that overfeeding starter can actually make it less tangy because you're basically resetting the clock on fermentation. They said the sour comes from letting it get hungry between feedings.
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