My scale switched itself to OZ instead of grams and before I realized what was happening I added way to much water & flour to my levain. About twice as much as I should have.
Is it possible to save this batch?
I think i would split it in 2 & make 2 loaves… would that work without adding any yeast though? The amount of levain I used was for 1 loaf.
Btw I have not baked bread other than this type of Einkorn sourdough and don’t have experience with yeast or other kinds of doughs.
I may have to discard the whole bowl & start over but I’d like to see if there’s a way to save $7 worth of flour
You can definitely save it. You will just need to let it bulk (first) proof somewhat longer than usual. At first it might seem like nothing is happening, but just let it sit and wait. If your starter is good, eventually it will start rising and then once it gets going, the rest of the process should be as normal.
How did it turn out? I have had similar scale mishaps where my scale suddenly shut itself off, leaving me to guess how much water I had added. One goal I have for myself is to learn how the mixture looks and feels at various steps during the process. Relying on your experience and intuition is the way to go (easier said than done!).
You are right. I should have been able to calculate that, even if it meant dirtying another bowl. In a moment of panic, I wasn’t thinking clearly. Still, each time a “problem” arises, we learn something new., so perhaps that was a learning moment for me. Breadmaking is full of surprises…and I hope it stays that way.
Sometimes it helps to not tare out each time and just workout how much you’ve got to add.
E.g. bowl plus flour = 670g. Now you’ve got to add 300g water so you’ll end up with a total of 970g. If it turns off you can just put it back on the scale and continue to 970g.
Always something to learn. And the best way is to learn from mistakes. Been there, done that!
When it comes to hydration one has to go a lot by feel anyway. Slowly add water till it feels right.
It worked out great! I really wasn’t expecting a good outcome because I ended up having to let it rise in the fridge overnight because of time constraints, so that was 2 mistakes/departures from my recipe. I had a lot of dough so I cut it into 2 parts & did the 2nd proofs.
Another problem was I only have one dutch oven, so I put the 2nd loaf in a tureen kind of thing with a cover and it came out pretty flat but still delicious with lots of crust. I baked them at the same time.
I learned that the exact measurements don’t have to be so exact to get a good loaf, because mine were WAY off haha! I’m going to be a lot more of a relaxed baker from now on
Everything is wrapped up tightly now but I’ll post some pics when I can.
There really is a lot of give and take in sourdough baking and a lot of adjustments are possible if you let go of the idea of a “recipe” as a set of instructions that you mindlessly follow come hell or high water. I think developing the intuition of when and how and how much to adjust makes you a better baker.
When I bake bread I use an absolutely tiny amount of starter - literally whatever sticks to the tip of a spoon I barely dip into my starter jar. It’s probably not more than a gram or two. It’s just an inoculation which gets the preferred yeast and bacteria into your bread dough. Because I start with such a small amount of starter (compared to most “recipes”), it takes longer for the microbial culture to spread through the dough and I adjust by lengthening the bulk proofing time (a lot).
Well I’m too green to do any baking mindlessly hahaha, it takes all my concentration! I remember reading that precise measurements were important in baking & just assumed that included sourdough. It’s the whole reason I bought a scale. But yah now I can loosen my grip a little.
I’m curious why you do it that way, Do you prefer a long rise time, or is the taste more tangy that way or…?
I read the lazy one. Excellent article. It made me realize that bread making can be extremely adaptable if you’re dedicated to observing & learning. I’m so glad I posted here in my panic because I came away with much more than a saved batch of dough. You will be my mentor in my head going forward
