https://www.breadstalker.com/blog daily 0.75 2022-10-17 https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-sourdough monthly 0.5 2022-10-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/22c433c1-93f5-422c-9db3-4a042b21a56c/E7C3B468-B2C8-49CE-810C-A503AE5175C7.jpeg Blog - pumpkin-chocolate chip sourdough - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/c0010696-9c2b-4fc0-8e22-3db9126c945d/9CD2A2F7-E461-48DE-8CEE-D1B5BC8C70C4_1_201_a.jpeg Blog - pumpkin-chocolate chip sourdough - HOW the pumpkin affects the dough Without the water from the pumpkin, the texture of the crumb improves tremendously. It’s not wet and sticky, it doesn't feel heavy. My previous pumpkin loaves felt stompy. You know, you stomp with Dr. Martens but you strut with Jimmy Choo kinda a thing. The crumb was still open but it was heavy with moister. After you squeeze the water out of the pumpkin, you are left with the fiber and the smoothest texture. It’s creamy and that enriches the dough. It makes it extra silky. By the way, don’t throw away the water from the pumpkin. I saved mine and will be using it for a loaf of bread. Also the pumpkin kind of tightens the dough but that could be misleading. For example, it maintains shape well after a time has past since the last coil fold and it makes you think it doesn’t need more than two folds. That was the case for this loaf. I did only two folds because the dough looked very much in good shape. But when I turned it over for shaping, it was weak and extensible, and elasticity was absent. It still had structure from fermentation, you probably saw how it looked in my video on Instagram, but it was still slack. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/dbbd5bb2-1f1d-4fc8-9901-7eb6991593e9/6C3436FA-0CFE-41E2-A516-B689D5B52AF9_1_201_a.jpeg Blog - pumpkin-chocolate chip sourdough The rate of fermentation is also affected by the pumpkin. It speeds up. But that happens towards the end…at least that’s what I observed. I didn’t mean to do 9h bulk fermentation here, I was ready to shape after 8h. You should pay attention to the dough and watch closely because towards the end, it just grows a lot and it’s unstoppable even in the fridge. What saved me not ending up with a flat loaf, was again the strength of the egg. Also the fats and the sugars from the chocolate played a good role by hardening the dough in the cold fridge and made it more manageable. The dough was huge in the proofing basket as you saw in my video. But it didn’t spread at all when I flipped it over for shaping and scoring. I think all of that, the egg, the fats and sugars, contributed to the dough structure appearing stronger after just two coil folds. As you can see, the crumb is still so lacy and gorgeous, well fermented. The texture is smooth and soft. Fantastic flavor! Will be making it again with shorter bulk and will report back. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/8baac761-1c2a-4b89-a213-8aedbead1f53/DDD02A2E-5966-4F70-A871-66E63EFEE968.jpeg Blog - pumpkin-chocolate chip sourdough - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/0caf170d-1791-4770-a8b3-3bf38bad4b2b/0F24D784-14B6-4E1C-9E07-4B0E5F4E6309.jpeg Blog - pumpkin-chocolate chip sourdough - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/50-whole-meal-open-crumb monthly 0.5 2022-08-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/62952d94-76e0-4f71-887b-5a3fa124b754/3934122C-9CA1-4E4A-9911-A99D3EB98931.jpeg Blog - 50% whole meal open crumb So far I’ve made a few loaves with higher percent of whole grain, and with each I’ve learned valuable lessons. Yes, you can achieve open crumb with 50% or higher whole grain if you follow few simple steps and have an understanding of the things you do and why you do them. For this type of sourdough we are not looking for big and irregular alveoli but simply for well fermented crumb that is soft, which also represents openness. Whole grain bread doesn’t have to be dense. Usually, the more the whole grain, the denser the crumb, but not necessarily if optimal level of fermentation is applied. Even if you push its limits and sacrifice a bigger oven spring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/7388508e-242b-46e2-9635-828b73b352bd/7E0B16C2-EE30-46E1-80CE-7FDBF0830D51.jpeg Blog - 50% whole meal open crumb - Know your whole grain flour well One of the important things is to be very familiar with your whole grain flour and how it behaves during fermentation. How well it can handle longer fermentation, is the key to that softer crumb. Because as we know, the whole wheat flours supposed to ferment faster. But not all of them. My experience and observations are that, for example, whole meal flour takes longer to ferment, and that is because it’s with higher protein but also because the whole grain is there, even the bran. And that plays a big part in the rate of fermentation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/74ac5f01-5f12-4c03-99fa-688e29b8a7f2/984F1199-E692-4249-803C-712144F73D16.jpeg Blog - 50% whole meal open crumb - It takes the enzymes much longer to convert the starches into simple sugars because of the whole grain. Whole meal is a coarse flour with the bran in it and that also affects the rate of fermentation, the bran interferes with gluten development. That’s why many bakers prefer to sift it out. Because of the coarseness of the flour and the bran, I chose to do a very long autolyse which really helps with softening the grain and the bran. That prevents them from tearing the gluten. With the grain softened it’s much easier for the enzymes to do their job. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/6d0e28aa-caa8-486a-b807-b2eef0171b0c/D0AE142A-CDEF-49EA-A64A-46384B854AA7.jpeg Blog - 50% whole meal open crumb Applying optimal hydration for this type of flour is also very important, for the same reasons. It’s a flour with high protein and whole grain and lots of water is needed to boost enzymatic activity. The brand of whole meal flour I used is also more elastic than extensible and high hydration really helped by introducing more extensibility which greatly helped with opening up the crumb. https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/the-magic-of-long-autolyse monthly 0.5 2022-07-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/85bd516e-d207-4df2-9116-e5a8b300c8d7/D0E76DE2-DE40-460A-B89D-074A984CB2D7.jpeg Blog - the magic of long autolyse - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/cb403c58-f41f-45d0-ab09-57d796ccb421/E84D2AFD-FB42-4094-89A1-0A260D4C4645.jpeg Blog - the magic of long autolyse The longer the autolyse, the more extensible the dough becomes. That extensibility balances very nicely with the strength that the starter brings to the dough with its acidity. Of course it has to be the right acidy. If the starter is not balanced well and if one kind of bacteria is more present than the other, then that could weaken the dough more and make it even more extensible to a point that it won’t be able to build a strong dough structure. But that’s another topic. With overnight autolyse of 13h, you wake up to find the dough with fully developed gluten. It’s perfectly smoothed and relaxed, beautifully extensible, it feels like heavy velvet curtains in your hands. Overnight autolyse is very convenient method for sourdough baking but few very important things must be considered. You have to make sure that the dough will autolyse at cool temperatures(67-72F) so that the proteolytic activity is slowed down. Very often people place the dough in the fridge. I’ve never done that because in my kitchen is very cool, specially at night and that’s where I keep my dough for overnight autolyse. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/33664e65-db5f-4e70-8b9e-6b2b910a4a5d/CBB95552-1DF6-4EF3-9374-A38D1E7DCC43.jpeg Blog - the magic of long autolyse Also you could keep it in a wine cooler. I personally prefer to use the fridge only for final proofing. I’ve done overnight autolyse always on my kitchen counter at the temperatures mentioned above and never had an issue with too much protease activity. Many people also add salt to the mix of flour and water for a long overnight autolyse to further slow down enzymatic activity. I wouldn't recommend long autolyse if you live in a hot and humid climate. Unless you provide a cool spot for the dough. Another thing to keep in mind is that you have to lower the hydration. The reason is the same, to slow down enzymatic activity. Also you have to use strong bread flour, 12-13% is perfect, you don’t need any stronger than that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/40bfd7bd-ee1f-4ce4-bd7e-6e9d6b59643d/B16AF080-284C-4DE8-8691-9BB57A476C63.jpeg Blog - the magic of long autolyse - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/sourdough-potato-doughnuts monthly 0.5 2022-06-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/c1245bd4-706e-491e-8d65-b227950bd933/0750EFC7-8072-487C-A26E-5398090FECE8.jpeg Blog - Sourdough potato doughnuts I think making doughnuts is my second favorite thing after bread. There’s something so satisfying about the whole process. Watching them blow up in the hot oil makes me so happy. Especially when you try to flip them over and you struggle to do so because they are so round and plump that they don’t stay flipped. They are like impish children. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/77a1ec48-b719-4945-b584-4be0940c28ab/0834C4B8-C8FC-496A-8B95-A1F5D978B8C1.jpeg Blog - Sourdough potato doughnuts - The secret ingredient These beauties that came out of fried dough are even more special because they are made with potato, one of the most important ingredient here that makes them what they are: heavenly! They fry soft and crispy at the same time. If you wish, you could fry them a little longer and bring them to the darker brown side of hue. They are crispy on the outside while still hot, until that crispiness succumbs to the superior strength of cool air. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/378d1839-ecc5-4bd4-945d-321390834ace/0BD91CED-8860-4BAF-BFEB-487145CAC853.jpeg Blog - Sourdough potato doughnuts Then you are met with an ethereal texture that you haven’t seen in a doughnut. When I teared a small piece to taste it, I didn’t expect this kind of fragile softness. It felt like cotton candy. Of course I had to eat the whole doughnut, it wouldn't be fair to the fried dough if I just had a bite. A bite of this doughnut is like a puff for a smoker that is trying to quit and thinks that just an innocent drag won’t make him want to smoke the whole pack. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/291b2116-6e8b-438b-b01f-25e78a19bb9a/A4B74936-A653-47E1-A571-0A5F5D1DE235.jpeg Blog - Sourdough potato doughnuts The original recipe for these potato doughnuts is with yeast and it’s by Bojana Katsarova, one of Bulgaria’s master chefs. Of course I had to convert it into one with sourdough. That brought the whole experience to another level as nothing beats naturally occurring fermentation. https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/call-me-a-crumb-snob monthly 0.5 2022-06-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/2cce57cc-042c-458a-b6f6-78e9b218f744/18E2B104-4B4F-46D4-A1F5-FAB3AAC2B074.jpeg Blog - Call me a crumb-snob… - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/92c43026-b98f-4c61-80f8-92f8bebd6a88/6CC1AF91-86A1-45DE-9B0B-1F4847AB8488.jpeg Blog - Call me a crumb-snob… Not long ago, I shared another paprika loaf and talked about how paprika affects the gluten and the final crumb. You can read all about it here. Because of the effects paprika has on the dough, I added only 1% salt for my previous paprika sourdough. That helped open up the crumb since paprika tightens it a little. Just like cocoa does. Since for this loaf I added an egg as part of the hydration, I followed the standard 2% salt inclusion. The egg brings extra softness and delicacy to the crumb, it makes it kind of fragile, that’s how soft it is, adding that standard amount of salt brought stability and strength to the dough. That’s what salt does. I added a little more paprika for this loaf and my egg was very vibrant amber color, and that showed in the final result. It turned out very bright and happy-making. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/632c8a69-e8e7-4de1-88ac-d7537465ceb1/0063C262-BA1C-4F5B-96FA-4BA04B9A3C0D.jpeg Blog - Call me a crumb-snob… When I lifted the lid of my baking vessel after the first twenty minutes, I saw the beautiful and defined ear, and I knew that my first intentions were right. And they were that I could’ve extended bulk fermentation a little longer like I had planned. It doesn’t necessarily mean that if you got the ear, your crumb would be open. Or that it would be open to the degree you wanted to. I talk in detail about the connection between the bread ear and under/over fermentation in my upcoming book. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/d35c1039-46d1-47b3-9877-1026f18c03b8/ADC19D58-B393-4978-B6BC-B81AFF6412C7.jpeg Blog - Call me a crumb-snob… - Hung up on the ear More often than you think, the sharp and well expressed bread ear indicates under fermentation. And not just the well formed ear but also there’s a second layer from where the bread opens and peels where it’s been scored. That also indicates under fermentation. As you can see here, look closely, and you will spot that second layer of peeling. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/4364324b-13c1-405a-849d-775adb2fa0e9/F57F6FDB-F556-4CBA-B4A9-7FD55222C677.jpeg Blog - Call me a crumb-snob… Very often, fermentation is not even through out the bread, which also tries to tell you that it needed longer bulk fermentation. For this paprika sourdough, all three indicators are here to tell me that the dough needed to ferment even better to get to that lacy quality of the crumb that I’m looking for. Saying that often times fermentation is not even through out the bread, means that, for example, when you slice your bread right in the center, the crumb might appear a little tighter. Then the next slice could be better, with better fermented crumb. You’ll notice that if you pay close attention. Which is the case here. The first photo is the one from the center slice and there are two spots of slightly tighter crumb. Do you see them? Next photo is from the second slice and it’s better. And it got more beautiful with each slice, better quality fermentation for sure. Do you see it? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/b2f71536-4a51-4fc4-b1c7-13788b4dcbd3/66B6B688-CB2B-49C0-BCA5-641B33F2D219.jpeg Blog - Call me a crumb-snob… - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/54005083-f0a3-483e-88fb-92cbc2d4de7f/51390AD5-C097-433F-A016-367CE363F3F8.jpeg Blog - Call me a crumb-snob… - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/crepes-like-no-others monthly 0.5 2022-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/6316d2f4-7528-46aa-9f7e-bd4bb0c5eaea/DCD8590D-5EF0-4EA9-8906-C337F75F9978.jpeg Blog - crepes like no others - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/2879d217-1de0-4a53-8c15-fbdaa3588693/40F5FE4F-1956-4F8E-89FC-3E0A9C543984.jpeg Blog - crepes like no others The crepes were so delicate, rolled with different kinds of fruit jam. And even though we could make them at home, we chose not to and ran out to the “crepe” trailer. Eating them outside, prepared by someone else was so much sweeter. Like with any other food, it just tastes better when someone else makes it for us. My crepes, prepared at home, always take me back to those charming moments. Sometimes I just have more need to make them than to eat them so I can take myself to my childhood years and just float there. My personal choice of making crepes is that I prefer making them with yogurt, not milk. And don’t get me wrong, they are delicious with milk as well. I am Bulgarian, and if you know of our culture, then you’d be familiar with the fact that yogurt is a big part of our cuisine. We eat it with and add it to many dishes. Very often my husband jokes and offers me yogurt with really ridiculous things. It’s like our private joke. So, that’s why I prefer making crepes with yogurt. But also I find the texture and the flavor very unique. I think with the baking soda they make a world of difference. And the leftover starter is totally optional. If you don’t work with sourdough, and don’t own a starter, feel free to make them without. They will still be fantastic! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/e1531ae1-3549-43f7-a029-80f07ac2119b/670377E6-7219-4FDF-AA21-D2A5338A0409.jpeg Blog - crepes like no others - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/fc1229a6-f1ec-449e-95ab-715456263b4b/DC6738DC-D6F4-4C48-87F7-1AC5E2B6CC3C.jpeg Blog - crepes like no others - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/ea4242b7-9342-4d15-a8d0-eced6d7eab20/4FF50C00-49FF-4E05-BA52-7A98118D52F8_1_201_a.jpeg Blog - crepes like no others - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/i8ck0i66a7s6ate0ysg0zq1o7z8zoi-xg3a3-8c6r6 monthly 0.5 2025-12-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/20154bb3-4297-4e7c-937d-fe0fab4f459e/8BFA95D2-284C-4ECA-AA40-05B2973F3475.jpeg Blog - AN EGG IDEA - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/da6d27d8-11fc-426c-acc0-26254ee8bb66/35B42F50-0A58-4E5D-AC99-03865A360A01.jpeg Blog - AN EGG IDEA - Having learned all of that, one sleepless night I was struck with the idea to add an egg to my dough as part of the hydration. An egg is like adding more protein to the dough, hence more strength. I couldn't wait to get up and mix. As you can imagine, I didn't sleep much that night. I was overly stimulated with excitement. So, this post will be about my experiment with an egg. The first time I added an egg as part of the hydration was last year and since then I've baked many more to prove to myself again and again that an egg makes a difference. The texture of the crumb is a of certain quality, it's soft and tender and creamy. The color is pale, pastel yellow, it makes me think of some sort of pudding or creme. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/1649751894101-FJ7UUEZKAMDNV5XNMO08/05D225B3-F17F-4A0B-AEFC-D7BBE9D014B9.jpeg Blog - AN EGG IDEA - HOW AN EGG AFFECTS THE DOUGH AND FERMENTATION Adding an egg to your dough will require higher hydration. More protein needs more water. The egg will add strength and we want to bring in a little more extensibility. Adding more protein to your dough will definitely extend bulk fermentation. Don't be afraid to ferment your dough well. It's very easy to under ferment it if you watch the clock and not the dough, and compare it to your other doughs and timings. Each dough is individual and requires unique treatment and development. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/609bf436-6aeb-4a40-8345-dd53aaf18b49/9C8470E3-94D3-44A6-8A1A-5A7F55C88B2E.jpeg Blog - AN EGG IDEA A dough with added egg as part of the hydration can handle long fermentation very well without degrading the gluten. It will keep strong shape. Of course all of the other variables involved in sourdough making must be done right as well. During baking, the egg will brown your crust beautifully and your loaf will express itself very well with a big oven spring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/c69d0d2b-a015-40a2-9dc9-8bff1d14c14b/52123BCB-2081-41B3-A4DA-023E0E1BC0DA.jpeg Blog - AN EGG IDEA - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/classicwholemealsourdough monthly 0.5 2022-06-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/ae86443b-cefb-4945-92ae-c513afc6cc4d/ABC90C75-BBC6-4539-B6F8-26EAF5F7C485.jpeg Blog - A classic 30% wholemeal sourdough…and a unique starter treatment idea - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/c12c8fa5-20b1-4f32-88b6-5fca4288e5ba/2E1E685A-DBB6-4318-A9B1-A64BD5891A7F.jpeg Blog - A classic 30% wholemeal sourdough…and a unique starter treatment idea In this case, for this loaf, with this type of flour, the longer autolyse would assure that the whole grain would hydrate very well and soften so it doesn’t tear the gluten, since the flour is coarse. That also means that the rate of fermentation would change and also the building of the dough structure. My observations are that bulk fermentation time is longer because having the whole grain means it would take the yeast longer time to convert the starches into simple sugars and produce CO2. Also, I’ve observed that even with higher hydration and longer autolyse, wholemeal flour is absorbing the water very well and maintaining good shape, so just few coil folds are needed to built a good dough structure. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/47e2971a-aa24-47ed-b592-48028a9e222a/tempImageb7qdYR.jpg Blog - A classic 30% wholemeal sourdough…and a unique starter treatment idea - let your starter float In the title of this post I mention about a unique starter treatment which I did for this bake. In my book you’ll learn that most of my ideas come to me right before I fall asleep. So, let me get to it because it’s interesting. For this loaf I built a levain. But this levain was built from a floating in water starter. I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of the float test that tells you if your starter is ready and active. And I’m sure you know about Pasta Madre being given a bath as well. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/82d2b866-1cb7-4eba-8416-5278f5dd5711/828941DA-4AEF-42F0-BB40-C644D76B5229.jpeg Blog - A classic 30% wholemeal sourdough…and a unique starter treatment idea If you are reading this and don’t know what Pasta Madre is, it is a very stiff starter with 40% hydration that is used in the production of panettone and other enriched doughs. Its acidity is controlled by soaking it in water for few minutes to dilute it. So, I was inspired by both of these tricks and decided to give my starter a bath before I build the levain. My starter is 100% hydration! I fed my starter as usual. The one that was left in the bowl, I filled up with water and let it float there for 15min. It floated to the surface almost right away. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/f0ef68ae-b38a-471b-8453-1f59ae67d3da/E0275B77-46AF-4A23-AF9F-C836BE1D5259.jpeg Blog - A classic 30% wholemeal sourdough…and a unique starter treatment idea - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/0ae0b7d0-6567-4aaa-9e3c-cddbb90fb21d/1BC60AEA-4C0A-4A2F-BDBE-9B656683D2C6.jpeg Blog - A classic 30% wholemeal sourdough…and a unique starter treatment idea - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/sweet-paprikasourdough monthly 0.5 2022-05-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/9568aa97-22c7-46c5-b96d-9615f92a6079/AE90C54D-C2A0-4D73-BF18-E08ED205AE3B.jpeg Blog - sweet paprika sourdough - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/c0ebb797-c490-4394-84dd-56867a497ec6/F82E542F-75FE-4965-809E-C6C2E2149E37.jpeg Blog - sweet paprika sourdough - How paprika affects the dough Just like cocoa, paprika tends to affect the dough as it makes it tighter. I’ve baked this bread many times before but just as my cocoa sourdough, I was’t completely satisfied with the results. I wanted to achieve very light and airy crumb with almost broken down gluten which I still needed to be strong enough to lift my loaf. As with my cocoa sourdough, for this dough I added only 1% salt as oppose to the standard 2%. I also raised the hydration and the combination of the two delivered very nice extensibility. Which was still well balanced with the elasticity that the paprika brings to the table. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/6605bc4b-905b-46a3-b2c3-f4aa94cf4f42/28A046C0-E64F-4948-8963-D7245F8E4E33.jpeg Blog - sweet paprika sourdough - The few things to consider with adding less salt are that the dough will be a little more sticky and softer. And since there’s less salt, that will affect the rate of fermentation, it will speed it up. Also as I said the dough will be more relaxed and extensible and it will need stronger structure, maybe an additional fold will be required. You need to keep a closer look at the dough and give it what it needs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/e4884eca-0b8d-4c66-8dce-7c27ae699db2/73D21D19-EF91-47D7-A5B1-7EE7B8C559A1.jpeg Blog - sweet paprika sourdough - rate of fermentation What I noticed was that even though both, cocoa and paprika tighten the dough, and the crumb of both benefits from less salt, the paprika sourdough fermented faster than the cocoa, the sourdough with cocoa powder, even though with less salt, still was with slower rate fermentation. That only confirms again and again that every dough is unique and it has special needs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/6281c3c7-7c33-4b63-9648-5fc073e7d988/DABD23C5-84B0-4C71-AD88-11722EC0412C.jpeg Blog - sweet paprika sourdough - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.breadstalker.com/blog/i8ck0i66a7s6ate0ysg0zq1o7z8zoi monthly 0.5 2025-12-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/e970116a-2d0e-4d64-b372-8f3a37a2184c/82F5D78A-D1A4-4B5A-967C-323EA796A669.jpeg Blog - RICH CHOCOLATE CHIP SOURDOUGH - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/1047896f-f0e2-4918-baac-1001ba15bb09/A4F398EB-6CCC-4365-89F8-28F561BAD474.jpg Blog - RICH CHOCOLATE CHIP SOURDOUGH - HOW COCOA AFFECTS THE DOUGH AND THE CRUMB Adding cocoa powder to your mix of flour, water, salt, tightens the dough, it makes it kind of stiff, it affects its extensibility which will translate into your crumb. That brings the need for higher hydration to fight that stiffness and make the dough more relaxed and easy to work with. Another great thing to do is longer autolyse which would further relax the dough and make it more fluid. In my book I discuss in great detail the benefits of longer autolyse and how it could contribute to open crumb. Have you read it yet? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/62283c9c62d1a76876f315e7/1a55a65a-b3ed-42dc-be49-143f4dadc7bd/8BEA6F76-131D-46D6-B585-AB760CCE3C20.jpg Blog - RICH CHOCOLATE CHIP SOURDOUGH One important thing to watch for when adding less salt to your chocolate chip sourdough is the rate of fermentation. Your dough will ferment faster than usual and that is because the less amount of salt you add, the less dehydrated the cells of the yeast will be and they will work much faster on converting the starches into simple sugars which they will consume and produce CO2. The chocolate chips, on the other hand, slow down fermentation, anything sweet added the the dough does that. That will be discussed soon on a different post. So, you must watch your dough, not the clock! 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