How to Make 50% Whole Wheat Sourdough [Video]

(Originally Published on April 1, 2016 by Trevor Wilson)

Whole grain breads can be difficult. Once you start approaching 50% whole grain, all it takes is a single wrong move and you’ll find yourself in that dreaded “dry and heavy” zone. Nobody likes a dry dense whole grain bread.

Nobody.

This whole wheat sourdough bread, however, is neither heavy nor dense. It’s light, moist and just slightly tangy. It’s got enough whole wheat to earn the mantle of “healthy whole grain”, but there’s still enough white flour to make it an airy and versatile loaf.

The secret to this loaf’s wonderful open crumb and soft mouthfeel is the overnight soaking the whole grain gets after we pre-mix our bread dough the day before. You can find out the specific details of that method here.

Essentially, the long overnight soaking of the whole grain flour helps to hydrate the flour (whole grain takes more water than white flour), soften the bran, and start enzymatic reactions that help release sugars from the grain resulting in a sweeter flavor.

Additionally, the long exposure to water helps to fully develop the gluten with minimal kneading, and creates a more extensible dough better capable of achieving an open crumb.

Truth be told, this wasn’t even my best loaf. I’ve made better risen and more open loafs from this recipe before, like this beauty . . .

Today’s loaf actually needed another 30-45 minutes of proofing before going in the oven. But we can’t win ’em all. This happened to be the loaf that I filmed and so it’s the one I’m documenting. Still, this loaf shows that you can in fact make a light and open bread even with a whole grain percentage as high as 50%.

Recipe: 75% Hydration

228g Bread Flour
203g Whole Wheat Flour
319g Water
50g Whole Wheat Starter @ 100% Hydration (25g Whole Wheat Flour, 25g water)
9g Salt

Directions

Pre-Mix

You’re gonna do this the day before you plan to bake. Combine your flour, water and salt. Everything except for the starter. Mix it just until it comes together, you don’t need to develop the gluten here. Once everything is evenly incorporated (shouldn’t be much more than a shaggy clump) cover it and toss it into the fridge.

You’re going to chill it for a few hours to help delay any wild fermentation and enzymatic activity that could result in off flavors if things were to go overboard. This is especially important in warmer weather.

Just before you go to bed that night, remove your dough from the fridge and set it on the counter. It will slowly come to room temperature overnight, which provides plenty of time for the flour to hydrate, the gluten to develop, and for the enzymes to do their work.

The nice thing about pre-mixing your whole grain breads is that it uses time to develop the gluten, instead of mechanical action. Sharp fine bran particles can shred through gluten as dough is mechanically kneaded, resulting in a tighter crumb. But by letting the gluten develop on its own overnight we minimize any damage the bran might cause, thus helping us to achieve a more open crumb.

Additionally, by the time we do knead the dough a bit the next morning (to mix in our starter) the bran has softened thereby reducing further damage. It’s a win-win. And just in case that wasn’t enough for you, the long soaking (followed by the acidic fermentation) helps in neutralizing the phytic acid contained in the bran, making the bread more nutritious to boot.

Add Starter

Next morning, place your dough into a clean bowl and weigh out your starter. I’m sure you noticed that the recipe contained 25g less whole wheat flour than bread flour. Not exactly 50/50, right?

Well, here’s where we make up for it.

We’re using a 100% whole wheat starter. That’s 25g whole wheat and 25g water. Once your starter is thoroughly mixed in we’ve hit our 50% whole wheat threshold.

Of course, you could use a white starter instead and simply correct for the difference. And that’s perfectly fine if you choose to go that route.

The reason I use a whole wheat starter instead of my usual white starter is because at 50% whole wheat, this loaf needs all the help it can get when it comes to gluten development. The white flour provides a disproportionate amount of the strength for this dough.

Because I use fully mature starter (around 12 hours old) the gluten in the starter begins to degrade through a process called proteolysis. The long exposure to acid and enzymatic activity begins to break down the gluten which, in time, will produce a gooey mess.

Now, 12 hours isn’t quite enough time to turn your starter to soup (unless it’s very warm), but there is still some damage to the gluten nonetheless.

I’d rather damage the weaker whole wheat flour than the stronger bread flour.

And so that’s why I make a whole wheat starter. It’s only 25 grams of flour, but the way I see it, every bit counts.

Just be careful though. Whole wheat starters can get overactive in warm conditions. To help, you can mix them with cold water and refrigerated flour. You can also add a bit of salt to slow the activity — no more than 2% of the flour though. And don’t forget to reduce the salt content when you pre-mix your dough by the amount added to your starter.

If you prefer to use a young starter, then gluten degradation shouldn’t be much of a concern. Feel free to keep it white (if it is) and adjust the recipe to accommodate.

As for exactly how to mix your starter into the dough, just watch the video. But for a more detailed description, you can also read this post.

Bulk Fermentation/Folds

This dough usually takes from 3-6 hours before it’s ready for pre-rounding. I give it a fold every hour, and turn it out for pre-rounding once it’s risen maybe 30-50%.

But the temperature and conditions in my kitchen will be different compared to yours.

So adjust as necessary.

This particular loaf took 6 hours and 6 folds before I turned it out and pre-rounded it.

Pre-Round/Shape

As you can see from the video, I like to give my dough one last (gentle) fold before I turn it out. This releases the dough from the sides of the bowl and lets me tip it right out. The dough is removed cleanly and it’s integrity kept in tact. If you do the usual “tip and scrape” method you’re gonna cause some damage. It’s unavoidable.

But . . .

The “fold and tip” method ONLY works well if your dough isn’t too proofy. Any rise from 30-50% should be safe if you’re gentle. But much more than that (and especially if the dough has doubled) and the late fold will cause more damage than it prevents and you’re better off just using “tip and scrape”.

The pre-round should rest from 30-60 minutes. Closer to 60 is preferable, but only if your dough can hold out for that long. Watch the dough, not the clock. To determine when your pre-rounded loaf is ready for shaping, just check the signs.

Proof

Your dough should proof from 2-4 hours. But again . . . watch the dough, not the clock. I baked this loaf after 4 hours because, well, it had been 4 hours. My eyes and fingers told me the dough wasn’t quite ready yet, but my brain told me “Hey, it’s good enough. And if you bake it now it’ll be out of the oven in time for you to watch that movie. Go for it!”

But my brain’s a lying bastard, and I shouldn’t have listened.

My kitchen was cold and this dough really needed at least another half-hour or more before it would’ve been ready to bake.

C’est la vie.

Score and Bake

Score as you please, then bake in a dutch oven or combo cooker at 450F for 20 minutes covered, then another 30 minutes or so uncovered.

Or bake on a baking/pizza stone with steam. Or by whatever method you prefer, really.

Whole grain breads take a little longer to bake through than white breads so I usually give them an additional 5-10 minutes. Since this loaf is only 75% hydration, an extra 5 minutes was enough. But if you make it wetter it can take longer or you might end up with a “gummy” crumb.

Or you can bake it hotter, of course.

Cool and Enjoy!

Try and wait at least 2 hours before you cut into it. Three hours is even better. And the next day better still. You want to make sure the crumb has set before you dig in, and the flavor will continue to improve over the next 12-24 hours.

But I know the appeal of hot bread, so if you’ve just gotta have it while it’s hot then go for it. I’ll turn a blind eye.

Cheers!

Trevor J. Wilson

Original comments no longer active.

Comments

1. Matt Ormsbee saysApril 17, 2016 at 9:46 AMI’ve tried overnight autolyse in the past and failed because the dough would start to ferment. Last night I autolyzed a 40% khorasan dough for 8 hours with cooler water and it felt absolutely beautiful this morning. Silky smooth and nice elasticity. Thanks for the tip! I’m matt’s miche on Instagram.Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysApril 17, 2016 at 4:49 PMHey Matt, good to hear from you over here! I’m glad this method is working out for you. It can definitely be tricky letting dough autolyse for such a long time without trouble from spontaneous fermentation or too much enzymatic activity, but the cold (and salt) definitely can do the job when applied properly.And like you say, the resulting dough is silky smooth and a real pleasure to work with.Thanks for keeping me informed of your results. I’ve really been enjoying your feed over at instagram (matts_miche). You make some damn fine bread. Cheers buddy!TrevorReply
2. Adam saysApril 30, 2016 at 2:37 PMTrevor,I love your site and videos. The music and simple instructions are perfect. I am going to try one of your recipes.I would love some more videos. How do you go about prepping your starter? Common beginner mistakes.I am amhallor on Instagram. Cheers, and keeobuo the good work.Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysApril 30, 2016 at 8:08 PMHey Adam, thanks! I’m glad you like it here. You’ll be happy to know that I’ve got a new video in the works right now. Hopefully I’ll have it out within the week. But I’m a bit of a slacker, so you never know.Regarding my starter, I keep it in a way that works well for me, but probably isn’t suitable for most. I bake most days of the week, plus I often just bake on the spur of the moment. So I need a starter that’s ready to go at all times. Therefore, I keep my starter at room temp and feed it twice a day. I don’t usually measure the flour or water. I just discard what’s in my bowl, and add some water and flour (often a mix of whole wheat and white, but often just white) by eye. Sometimes it’s liquid, sometimes it’s stiff. I aim for stiff, but I’m not picky.Since I only feed it twice a day it has a tendency to get a bit acidic over several refreshments, especially in warmer weather. So I often add a bit of salt to it as well to help contain the activity. I just eyeball this as well, but no more than a pinch or so.When I’m planning on baking the next day, I’ll weigh out the flour and water (and omit the salt) based on the hydration I’ve calculated for the recipe. Since I discard all but the small amount that sticks to the sides of the container, it doesn’t really matter whether it was stiff or thin before, white or whole wheat, salted or not — there’s just not enough in the container to make a noticeable difference.I’ll be the first to admit that this is a very unorthodox method of starter maintenance, but it provides me with the flexibility I need with my frequent, but sometimes unpredictable baking schedule. I would only recommend this kind of routine to those who need similar flexibility and have a strong familiarity with their starter’s rhythms and activity.As for common beginner mistakes, the most common is misjudging starter activity and degree of proof in their dough. It’s a skill that takes time to develop a feel for. This usually results in underproofed dough and flat loaves. The next most common mistake is underestimating how difficult to handle dough can be. Those who make it look easy do so because they’ve had plenty of experiences handling and shaping dough.But make no mistake, every single baker has trouble handling dough when they first start. Yours truly included. It took me a long time to be able to handle dough and shape loaves without screwing them up and having the dough stick all over me. It’s a hand skill like any other, and like other hand skills proficiency only comes with practice.I hope that helps a bit. Let me know if you have any more questions. Cheers!TrevorReply
     • Jack Majcher saysMay 19, 2017 at 2:43 AMHowdy, friends. I’m a good cook and adequate baker who’s learning to make better bread. Recently I’ve begun experimenting with sourdough. My starter is 3 months old. I replenish with KA white AP flour or spelt on the weekends when I get home. Last week I replenished the starter with KA Spl white flour, 1 egg, 1/2 bottle of Shock Top Belgian and juice of 1/2 like (a la Puratos video on Mexican Birote bread). The biga was fantastic with a highly elastic and pliable texture. I made a boule cooked in a Dutch oven at 500 °F. Very good loaf, for me, a guy learning to do better. Is this real sourdough with egg, beer and lime juice? Thank you.Reply
3. Adam saysMay 1, 2016 at 1:57 PMHey Trevor,What a great reply. Thank you for the write up! I see how your method of keeping your starter is very much by feel. I guess a better question would be regardless of how a baker keeps their starter, what should it look like or what should we be looking for to know it ready. My last loaf I let it get over ripe with a bit of liquid because I want a more sour flavor, but I found this made my bread proof super fast and I think over proofed following a written recipe. I am quickly learning that you cannot just follow directions for baking bread. You have to learn what things look, feel, smell like.I have your Champlain sourdough warming on my counter right now, in preparation to add my starter when I get home.I would love to see some pictures on your blog about what to look for. IE, this started picture is not ready because of this. This picture is it ready. This bread is over proofed.Regardless, I really enjoy your blog and its format. Keep up the good work.Thank you.Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysMay 2, 2016 at 8:59 AMHi Adam, I’m glad you like it here. In the future I might add some posts about starter creation and/or maintenance including what signs to look for. I haven’t yet done so because there is already so much information out there on the subject. I’m not sure I’d be adding anything new.But I can tell you this — an overripe starter is never a good idea. It can lead to proteolytic dough that disintegrates right before your eyes. Usually 12 hours or so is about as old as you’d ever want your starter to be. Much more than that and you’re risking gluten degradation.So maybe I will take up your suggestion and offer some info on starters. Cheers!TrevorReply
4. Andrew saysMay 15, 2016 at 9:30 AMHello, love reading you blog so far! Love too see all the diffrent ways to bake. Such an art.
   Now for my questions. what’s your reason behind not leavin building and just adding the starter to dough?
   Do leavin make less sour bread?I would love to venture into more bread making such as Nicolas Supiot, or in your area bakers such as Gérard Rubaud. There is not much English info on the first , but I love the idea of the movment peasant bakers and making bread the old school way with mostly whole wheats. On that note another baker is roland feuillas
   If you have any insite on the bakers mentioned and if they are in any way simmilar to your technieqs, that would be awesome!
   Sorry for the rant, just inspired, your blog polls me deeper into the world of baking.Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysMay 15, 2016 at 11:39 AMHi Andrew, I’m glad you’re enjoying it here! As it so happens, I’m quite familiar with Gerard Rubaud — I actually apprenticed with him for a short while. He’s about as old school as you can get, and I learned a ton just being around him. My way differs from his in several aspects, as all bakers differ from each other, but at its core it’s essentially the same idea — real bread made with heart and soul.The reason I use starter versus building a levain is really a matter of convenience. In actuality, the terms “starter” and “levain” (and “chef” for that matter) are often used interchangeably by many bakers, myself included. They all refer to a culture used to seed the dough. As such, they’re all fairly identical in nature — the differences are in their intended use.Classically minded bakers might consider “starter” to be the mother culture from which the “levain” will be built to raise the dough. Others might consider “levain” to be the mother culture which is then “elaborated” to raise the dough. To me it’s all the same. I use the term “starter” because that’s what I most frequently heard used during my formative years.Now to answer your question specifically . . .Most home bakers keep their starters refrigerated and bake maybe once a week or so. Therefore their starters become old, acidic and inactive from the long storage in the cold fridge. Straight from the fridge they won’t make good bread. So in order to make bread they must first revive their starter. And this comes through the process of building a levain. After 2 or 3 refreshments the starter (or “levain” if you prefer) is once again healthy, vigorous and capable of raising bread. So for the average home baker building a levain is a necessary procedure in order to make good bread.But for me, it’s not a necessary procedure. I bake very frequently, often daily, and so I need my starter to be active at all times — more like a traditional bakery. So I keep my starter at room temperature and feed it twice a day to keep it vigorous. Actually, it should ideally be fed 3 times a day — every 8 hours — but that’s too strict a schedule for me so I stick with twice a day and take certain precautions to keep it from becoming overly acidic.Because of the way I maintain my starter, there is no need for me to build a levain. It’s always strong enough to raise bread. Now, if I wanted to create a less sour bread I might use my starter at an earlier stage, say 6 hours old instead of 12, but regardless it all comes from the “same pot” so to speak.I hope that helps to answer your question. Now I’m gonna check out those other bakers you named — I’m always keen to find new bakers and see how they operate. Thanks for the recommendations! Cheers!TrevorReply
     • Andrew saysMay 15, 2016 at 2:49 PMThanks so much for your insight!
       I use 100 rye flour that I mill about 3 times a week for the starter. I never put mine in the fridge either.
       The way I see leavin is if you want to build it to make more bread that you could not other wise rise with your small amount of starter?
       I’ve looked up Gerard’s bread and one recpie called for a 3 day leavin build, now how does that differ from just using the starter/ mother.
       Does it change its flavor or is it just for quantity and scedual sake?
       A couple links may be helpfulhttp://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/15778/gérard-rubaud-michehttp://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/28835/high-extraction-milling-tarlee-miche-biscuits-and-jamhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8B_7AFYmkYoThanks again. Looking forward to reading more from you!AndrewPs. Does Gerard’s use a lot of local whole grain/ hand sifted flours?Reply
       • Trevor Wilson saysMay 17, 2016 at 9:24 AMHey Andrew, I think you’re looking at the starter vs. levain issue in a reasonable way. If you consider the levain to be built up from a smaller amount of starter, then that’s what it is for you. These terms really are up to individual interpretation. I always have enough starter on hand that I rarely need to build up more than what I already have. So by your definition, I really am just using starter instead of levain.However, if I did need to build up more than I had — levain at this point — it would still be exactly the same as my original starter. So by my way of thinking I would still just call it starter.Gerard’s three day build was really just a matter of his old maintenance routine. He would refresh his starter every 8 hours to keep it fresh and low acid. He called it many things — starter, mother, levain — but said probably the best thing to call it would be “culture”. Again, it just goes back to language — it is what you say it is. So he would build it up every 8 hours until ready to use in 3 days. Or so I understand it.By the time I trained with Gerard, he had moved away from the 3 times a day routine to a twice a day routine. Mostly to reduce workload for health reasons, I believe. He fed it every 12 hours and included a bit of salt to slow fermentation, and a brief refrigeration period to slow it down even more. I do something similar, except I don’t refrigerate.So to answer your question . . . no, his levain build procedure didn’t change the flavor anymore than had he used the “mother” itself. Again, it’s all the same culture undergoing the same maintenance routine. Regardless of which stage it was used, it was the same. The only way to change the flavor with the levain was by adjusting the levain itself — controlling for acid, maturity, hydration, amount, etc.The 30% whole grain he used in his recipe was actually sifted. He would mill the whole grain fresh before every mix then sift out a good portion of the bran creating a fresh-milled high extraction flour. His belief was that the white flour was the body and the fresh-milled and sifted flour the flavor.Thanks for those links! The video looks particularly interesting. Much appreciated. Cheers!Reply
         • Andrew saysMay 17, 2016 at 2:30 PMAwesome info, I look forward to learning more and reading your blog more.
           Would love too see a whole wheat or einkorn bread recpie 🙂Reply
           • Trevor Wilson saysMay 18, 2016 at 8:04 AMI’ll be adding many more videos over the life of this blog, and 100% whole wheat and einkorn are definitely on my “to make” list.Reply
     • Dalvani saysOctober 6, 2017 at 2:16 PMAdorei toda essa explicação, sobre a alimentação . Muitíssimo origada.Reply
5. Andrew sheets saysMay 21, 2016 at 11:44 AMSo I’m making the recpie and all seems well, but I’m using king aurther organic all purpose instead of bread flour and the dough seems to be much more wet. Would you say the lower protien in all purpose is less absorbent then high protien bread flour, thus making a wetter/ stickyer dough?
   ThanksAndrewReply
   • Trevor Wilson saysMay 21, 2016 at 6:18 PMHi Andrew, using the all-purpose in place of the bread flour will definitely cause the dough to have a wetter consistency. In addition, the all-purpose makes for a more delicate gluten — just like the whole wheat does. So you’ll end up with a softer and more difficult dough to handle.Additionally, that’s not the only thing that might cause your dough to be wetter. Simply living in a warmer or more humid environment than I do might make the dough softer and stickier. As I like to say, adjust as necessary. In baking, things rarely go perfectly on the first try. But with each new attempt you should get closer and closer to the ideal. Good luck!TrevorReply
6. Andrew saysMay 23, 2016 at 9:10 AMAwesome, thanks for the info.
   So I guess I’ll shoot for a little less water in the pre mix maybe 10g at least.
   I am down in North Carolina in the mountains, so humidity and Heat are defiantly a factor.
   I’ll keep trying 🙂
   Thanks for inspiring informative videos!Reply
   • Trevor Wilson saysMay 23, 2016 at 7:48 PMHappy to help!Reply
7. Einav Tal saysJune 1, 2016 at 4:24 AMHi Trevor,
   This 50% ww bread really hit the spot for me! it came out a beauty (att link to a pic), the taste is rich with wonderfully mild sourness, not too sharp, not too flat. (i used a very very young starter, before it even peaked, other than that i followed the video step by step), but thats not why its so nice,The thing that put this one to a shine – true to the intro – is the texture! WOW.
   I ve got used to the fact that 50% – 70%WW, always comes with a compromise, it is dense, this one really isnt 🙂 , excellent crust, almost fluffy interior.I will bake this couple of times more to make sure i got it right (and cause its so tasty), then i would have liked to increas to 70%ww, Do you think I should change anything with the precentage? hydration? Bulk Time?Thanks,
   EinavReply
   • Trevor Wilson saysJune 1, 2016 at 4:43 PMHey Einav, your loaf is fantastic! Seriously outstanding crumb you’ve got there! I’m glad this method worked out so well for you. When you move up to 70% whole wheat you’ll need to increase the hydration in order to maintain the same consistency of dough. I don’t know how much you’ll need to raise it by — a little trial and error is likely in order.Let me know how the higher WW percentage loaf turns out. I’m curious. Cheers!TrevorReply
     • Einav Tal saysJune 16, 2016 at 4:24 AMHi Trevor,Thank you for your encouraging words,
       So of course here is an update of my baking during the past couple of weeks under the influence, guidelines and videos in your posts. I’m enjoying your 50/50, I had made it in so many variations (Using 50%BF, then adding either 25ww + 25whole spelt, or 20 ww + 17.5 whole spelt + 12.5 W rye which came out with amazing flavor. I uploaded some pictures for you to enjoy the outcome of your remote mentoring 😉About the progress with increasing the WW to 70%, not there just yet, I did make is a kind of 70% WW with the above technique, using 30% BF + 50 % WW + 20% whole spelt, I started without additional hydration(75%). At the stage of incorporating the starter, I added a splash or two of water until I got the desired texture in my hands, I’m sorry I’m not that accurate… I believe it was around a 20 gr of water which brings it to a 77% hydration, not much more. It came out very nice ( i messed it up a little bit with over proofing, so it didn’t bloom as it could, I’ll be more careful next time, maybe I’ll start with 77%H and get my numbers ).I was wondering if you ever got my mail regarding loosing tightness of the dough’s skin before scoring/baking,( it had tons of pics maybe if didn’t come through). On any case I uploaded a pic of a loaf scorring, it is sometimes loose and degassed, I’m really trying to fix it, can u spot out what am I doing wrong here?Thanks again, looking forward for your next posts,EinavReply
       • Trevor Wilson saysJune 17, 2016 at 8:24 AMHi Einav, your bread looks wonderful! Really beautiful baking you’ve been doing! I like how you’ve taken the basic idea of this method and adjusted it to suit your needs. That’s what good baking is all about. I went back and looked through my inbox and found the last letter that you mentioned — the one with all the pictures. I must’ve missed it before (I’ve got a pretty cluttered inbox, to be honest). I’m going give it a thorough review and then send you a response to your questions. Otherwise, it looks like you’re doing just fine. Keep up the great baking!Cheers!TrevorReply
8. John Gonzales saysJune 10, 2016 at 7:39 PMHello and thank you
   If the house is warm (75f or more) should I just let the mixture sit in the fridge over night, remove and let come to room temperature 4 or 5 hours before adding starter? Or is the all night summer warmth still ok?Best
   John GReply
   • Trevor Wilson saysJune 10, 2016 at 10:08 PMHi John, I’ve done it up to temps in the high 70’s without problems. However, I was careful to make sure the dough was fully chilled and that it sat out overnight no more than 8 hours.Now, I usually make my dough first thing after I get up in the morning. So it’s important to me that it be room temp by the time I get up — I don’t want to have to set the alarm just to get up and take the dough from the fridge then hope I can go back to sleep for a few hours.If you don’t follow that same schedule — if it’s actually convenient for you to leave the dough in the fridge overnight and then remove it a few hours before you intend to use it — then that might be the better way to go. There won’t be quite as much enzymatic activity as there otherwise would, but the dough will still be fully developed and the risk of things going wrong is minimal.Of course, you’ll never know if the warm temps will cause problems unless you test it out. If you like to make your dough first thing in the morning then I would suggest taking the risk and proceeding as normal. Making bread isn’t worth losing sleep over. Let me know what you decided and how it turned out. Best of luck!TrevorReply
9. John saysJune 11, 2016 at 11:36 AMthank you so much!
   This will be my next bake.I am gratefulReply
10. Cheyenne saysJuly 27, 2016 at 5:10 PMWould I be able to mix the flour, water and salt and leave it on the counter for 4-5 hours at approx 24 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit)? I need a quick answer please, I’ve screwed up my baking scheduleReply
    • Trevor Wilson saysJuly 28, 2016 at 8:51 AMHi Cheyenne, I know this answer is coming too late to do you any good now, but the answer is yes. You can certainly give the premix a short room temp rest instead of the long overnight rest. The dough will come out just fine. I hope everything turned out all right for you. Cheers!TrevorReply
11. Corey saysAugust 5, 2016 at 6:52 AMHi there!
    Now I understand ambient climate plays a huge factor as always, but I’ve followed youre recipes to the gram and yet I still end up with dough a tad on the wet and sticky side, not like the more suppl/smooth and maleable kind you’ve got in this video. My quesstion is whether or not I could adjust accordingly by eye/feel, by which I mean asprinkling some more flour (ither WW or Bread) into the bowl as I work my culture into the dough. Let me know your thoughts/ecxperiences regarding an issue such as this. And i’d like to extend my sinceret gratitude for sharing your passion with us, individuals like you and the wisdom you pass on are invaluable for the revitalization of culture and back-to-roots simpler/sustainable techniques this time desperately needs.
    Carry on the good work brother!Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysAugust 11, 2016 at 10:35 AMThanks Corey! I appreciate that!You can most certainly adjust things by feel as you go. In fact, I highly recommend that folks do just that. Hence my motto, “adjust as necessary”. So if you feel that the dough could use a sprinkle of flour or a dash of water then go for it. Unless you’re adding a large amount of extra flour, it’s not really gonna mess up the salt ratio so no worries.One thing to keep in mind is that I’ve been doing this a very long time. If an inexperienced baker were working with this same exact dough alongside me then you would see that the dough would be sticky and messy in their hands while it remains smooth and supple in mine. Dough handling is a skill that takes time to develop. So often times it’s not the dough that makes the difference, it’s the handling.That said . . .If the dough seems a bit too sticky then it is too sticky. And so it’s best to adjust it in whichever way makes it easier to handle. That will make for less frustration and better bread. Additionally, it will allow you to improve your dough handling skills at a greater pace than if you were constantly working with unmanageable dough. Best of luck!Cheers!TrevorReply
12. Simon saysAugust 15, 2016 at 1:35 PMHow come you’re not using the Rubaud method for mixing with this dough? Is it because of the lower hydration and higher whole wheat content?If you were to up the hydration, say to 80%, would the Rubaud method be appropriate? Any predictions of how that would change the bread?Your wet dough video on YouTube really improved my results, by the way. I think a common problem with the Tartine method as it is laid out in the book is that it sets people up to underdevelop gluten. Your tips really improved the extensibility of my dough.Thanks for the instructive content.Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysAugust 17, 2016 at 1:39 PMHi Simon, I’m glad the method is working well for you.You’re correct that the reason I don’t use the Rubaud method for this dough is because it is too stiff. At 80% hydration it might work with the Rubaud method, it just depends on the flours you are using. Flours that absorb plenty of water might still make for a dough that’s borderline too stiff for this method. If you’re using flour that doesn’t absorb as much water, then Rubaud would probably work fine.As far as the difference in results — you’d likely get a loaf that’s a bit flatter and a bit more open, all else remaining equal. And it’s that last part that’s really the most important part. Because if you make a dough that’s too wet for your shaping skills then the loaf won’t just be flatter, it might be more dense as well. This is doubly true when it comes to higher percentage whole grain breads since they’re already inherently weaker than white doughs.Another difference you might notice is the flavor. The long soaking that premixing gives this dough really helps to bring out the sweetness of the whole wheat. If you were to use the Rubaud method you might lose some of that sweetness. That long overnight soaking also helps to make the dough more extensible than it otherwise would’ve been, and that helps to open up the crumb. So even though you might get a more open crumb with the wetter dough, it might only be a slight difference — and possibly not worth the loss in sweetness.Of course, this is all just speculation. The only way to really find out what the differences are is to try it and see. Which is something I highly recommend you do. Theory can be useful, but it can also be blinding if it prevents you from testing things for yourself. Experimentation is both fun and educational. Let me know how it goes. Cheers!TrevorReply
13. Or saysAugust 20, 2016 at 7:24 AMHow important it is to use dutch oven?Will i get sort of similar results using a pizza stone?ThanksReply
    • Trevor Wilson saysAugust 22, 2016 at 6:47 AMYou can get excellent results using a pizza stone. The dutch oven is easy and convenient since it doesn’t require any steaming, whereas when you bake on a stone you will need to find a good method for steaming your oven in order to get the best results. But otherwise, either way works perfectly fine.Cheers!TrevorReply
14. Rustum saysAugust 21, 2016 at 7:23 AMI started baking bread about three weeks ago (3 batches of an easy, no-knead, instant yeast ‘baguette’), but have always liked sourdough bread, good ones of which is either difficult to find or expensive (Cape Town, SA). So I started researching sourdough home baking.Among a messy field of many different opinions, I latched onto your videos: clear, easy for the layperson to follow and *understand* the techniques and the science.I baked this bread yesterday. I messed up a few things due mainly to impatience, but also probably due to some silly tweaking. The bread was a bit flat, but it was not dense/heavy and still tasted delicious. (Shortly: flatness due to impatience with pre-mix development and with all-round proofing etc. Also, I substituted 50g wholemeal with (fine) rye and used a starter transitioning from wholemeal to rye – I love the taste of rye. The dough was pretty wet – could that be due to rye, both in pre-mix and starter, not absorbing as much water as your recipe requires? I understand that this recipe is a high hydration recipe, but my dough was definitely too sticky.)I’ve read through the thread and, notwithstanding that my tweaks messed up things, I have a few questions, if you’re not tired of amateur questions yet.When you say you use a mature starter (up to 12 hours old), at what point in the starter cycle do you mean? Given that conditions for starters differ, my starter may be radically different after 12 hrs. So, to put my question differently, is your definition of mature starter one that is at the peak of its expansion after feeding, or past that, i.e. deflating?I want to try this recipe again, with my tweaks, but following procedures to the T, until I get a well-sprung loaf.But I wonder what the best way of getting some rye flavour into the bread is: rye starter (without rye in pre-mix); wholemeal starter mixed proportionally with rye starter (I have them developing separate now); or wholemeal only starter, with 50g rye in pre-mix?Anyway, thanks for your time, and thanks for the videos and recipes – the latter have really cleared up a lot of confusion from the plethora of sources on sourdough.Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysAugust 23, 2016 at 6:14 AMThanks! I’m glad this site has helped to clear things up a bit for you. I think the problem is that there are so many different ways to make good bread — the trick is to find the way that works best for you. Not easy to do though when you’re new to baking and swimming in a sea of conflicting opinions. But to answer your questions . . .I don’t think the added rye would make this dough any wetter, but it would certainly make it stickier. Rye absorbs more water than most other flours, so it makes for a stiffer dough. At the same time, it doesn’t form gluten. This makes for a stickier dough. So by using rye, it’s possible to get a dough that’s both stiffer and stickier.That said, your dough might still have been wetter than mine. Different flours absorb water differently. And the flour you’re using might not be as water-hungry as the flour that I’m using (North American bread flours like the kind I use are noted for their high protein and water absorption). This is why bread recipes are really just guides — it’s up to each baker to adjust hydration as necessary.As for my definition of “mature starter”, I’m referring to a starter that has ideally just peaked and barely started to recede. It shouldn’t have fully collapsed yet, but there should be some dimpling and valleys starting to form in the starter. Of course, these are just the signs I look for in a mature 100% hydration wheat-based starter. If I were using a stiffer starter (which I actually use more often) then I judge by different signs. And if you were to use an all rye starter, then the signs might be different as well (I rarely use all rye starters so I’m not familiar enough with them to describe the signs).So for me, under typical room temperatures it takes about 8-10 hours or so for my starter to reach peak (determinant upon inoculation size). And it’ll stay within peak condition for a couple hours or so. For scheduling convenience, it usually works out that my starter is 12 hours old when I add it to the mix. Sometimes that’s within peak range, sometimes it’s a little past peak. But either way is perfectly fine so long as the starter is still healthy and hasn’t started to turn proteolytic (where the gluten begins dissolving and the starter turns to goo).And keep in mind, you don’t actually have to use a mature starter. Some bakers prefer to use a young starter. I’d say that young starter is becoming more common than mature starter these days thanks to the popularity of Chad Robertson’s Tartine bread. But you have to be careful with young starter because it requires a very active starter — often times newer bakers haven’t yet learned to accurately judge the health and activity of their starters. For them, it’s often best to err on the side of maturity.Regarding the best way to get rye into the mix, I think for this method that adding the rye to the starter is the way to go. Premixing the dough always creates the risk of unwanted enzymatic activity and spontaneous fermentation. These processes are an inevitability once water and flour come together. That’s why I like to chill the dough and include the salt — both will slow those processes so that they don’t run rampant. If they do run rampant, then you can get effects ranging from mild off-flavors all the way to full on gluten degradation that causes the dough to become weak and shaggy.Both wholemeal and hydration have an effect upon these processes. The higher the amount of wholemeal in the dough, the higher the enzymatic and wild fermentation activities. Same with using a higher hydration. Since this is a soft dough that includes a high portion of wholemeal, it’s already at a higher risk for things to go wrong. Rye is even more enzymatically active than whole wheat, so adding it to the premix will only increase that risk even further. That’s why I suggest adding it to the starter. But be aware, for those same reasons the rye can increase the rate at which your starter ferments. A combination whole wheat and rye starter can ferment very fast. So “maturity” might be reached in significantly fewer hours. That’s just something you’ll have to learn to determine for yourself based on experience.I hope I’ve answered your questions, and if you have any more feel free to ask anytime. Good luck!Cheers!TrevorReply
      • Rustum saysAugust 23, 2016 at 7:48 AMTrevor,thank you for taking the time to reply so comprehensively. It’s very helpful. And it all makes sense to me.I had learnt from WeekendBakery in the meantime, yes, that there are different absorption indices between North American and European flours. I would not know where to start to find out what SA flours are like – trial and error, I suppose.I actually baked WeekendBakery’s Tartine style bread, just to get another benchmark and as comparison. (They use a poolish made from rye starter, but with whole wheat and bread flour; and their whole wheat in the dough makes up a far smaller percentage than in the dough in your bread.) Of the two, I prefer yours (more whole grain), so I think this is the bread I want to perfect. Their recipe is a bit quicker on the day of baking, yes, but requires attention at short intervals, and since they require a poolish developed over-night, one may as well follow your recipe with over-night pre-mix development.The small rye proportion (the bit in the poolish) in WeekendBakery’s recipe is not enough rye for me either. The taste I got from adding 50g rye to your recipe… I’m prepared to take disappointments along the way. So, I’ll play around some more with your recipe (and report back). I know where I made the big mistakes – I won’r repeat them.As for starters and when to use them: thanks, that’s also very helpful. I think I can now reasonably predict the behaviour of my whole grain and my rye starter. I think that is a good 🙂Thanks again for the response.RustumReply
        • Trevor Wilson saysAugust 30, 2016 at 7:26 AMI think you’ve got the right idea — find a recipe you like, then make it over and over again with slight adjustments until you hone in on a recipe/method that works best for you. In my experience, that’s the quickest and most efficient method of learning to bake — especially when it comes to making sourdough. Good luck with your experimentations. Be sure and let me know how they turn out, or if you have any additional questions. Cheers!Reply
          • Rustum saysSeptember 1, 2016 at 9:42 AMHi Trevor,I am still tweaking. But this baking bug is a terrible affliction – I am obsessed. I have now converted your recipe to its baker’s percentages, so I can better track the reduction of water.Second loaf’s dough at 69% hydration was still quite wet (I had to interrupt/retard bulk fermentation because I had to go to a meeting, as well). Again the bread didn’t spring well, but had a far better, more open crumb than my first loaf. It was delicious.(What I didn’t report originally is that I’m using fine rye – the only I could find at my local shop. That no doubt messes with the hydration as well.)I’m starting my third loaf today, 65% hydration. Wish me luck!Reply
            • Trevor Wilson saysSeptember 1, 2016 at 4:28 PMI know what it’s like when you get bit by the baking bug. Once that addiction sets in it’s all over. But as far as addictions go, it could certainly be a lot worse. At least this one is fun! Good luck!Reply
              • Rustum saysNovember 13, 2016 at 3:33 AMI just want to say I’m still here, still baking. I’m using another recipe (https://aramon65.wordpress.com/2016/07/29/italian-peasant-bread/), but using a rye sourdough (90g) instead of instant yeast (and only in the poolish/biga). I tweak it often, varying the whole wheat, leaving out the corn meal, but it’s still a mainly white flour bread. Using many of your tips and insights. The bread is lovely – only 2 out of 10 I’ve baked so far have been less than stellar. Soon I will try upping the whole wheat and use your autolyse method alongside the poolish. Thanks for the inspiration that led me to baking my own bread!Reply
                • Trevor Wilson saysNovember 16, 2016 at 6:54 PMHey Rustum, good to hear from you! Sounds like you’re starting to get into a nice groove. Once you find a good recipe to work with and then start adjusting it one small thing at a time then you know you’re making real progress. And you’ll find that the more you play around with a recipe, the more it starts to become your own. I’m glad you’re moving towards your own bread and your own style. That’s how it should be done.Cheers!
                • Rustum Kozain saysNovember 20, 2016 at 5:54 AMFinally joined Instagram (rastim2095). Here’s a pic of one of my breads:https://www.instagram.com/p/BNB3ylHhQuE/?taken-by=rastim2095
15. evren bingol saysSeptember 15, 2016 at 4:50 PMAmazing crumb for how little the hydration is. At the bakery we push it to 90% with over night autolyse.
    Quick question is there a reason why you don’t mix the levain with water? Or is it just a personal pref.
    Looks really good.Reply
    • evren saysSeptember 16, 2016 at 12:21 AMI take that back. I see the autolyse. I should have read it better. Still amazingReply
      • Trevor Wilson saysSeptember 18, 2016 at 5:47 PMThanks Evren! In my experience, open crumb is 80% proper fermentation and dough handling. You can get some pretty great crumb even at lower hydrations so long as you nail those two aspects of the process. High hydration can’t correct for improper fermentation or handling, but it can definitely magnify the results if fermentation and handling are good. I consider hydration as part of the other 20%.Cheers!TrevorReply
16. leona kadir saysOctober 9, 2016 at 1:29 PMI tried this yesterday. it was a lovely dough. i proved it very carefully, i felt it was really well proved but got very little oven spring and it was quite a dense crumb and not at all airy like yours. i baked in a dutch oven. i really don’t know what went wrong.. so bummed.Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysOctober 15, 2016 at 2:35 PMHi Leona, typically bread that is dense and doesn’t spring much in the oven is bread that was underproofed. Judging the degree of proof in dough can be very tricky — it’s a skill that takes time to acquire. A good rule of thumb is to make sure that the dough has risen in volume at least 30% during the bulk proof, though 50% might be better.As far as judging the final proof, when in doubt you can always try the “finger poke” test. It’s not foolproof, but it’s certainly better than just guessing. Push your finger into the loaf about a half-inch or so. If the dough springs back very quickly then that means it’s not yet ready to bake. If it doesn’t spring back at all (or worse, deflates) then that means it overproofed and should’ve been baked earlier. If the indentation slowly springs back to place then that means that the dough is just right.I hope that helps. Better luck next time.Cheers!Reply
17. Nahid saysNovember 8, 2016 at 11:27 AMAfter the last Proof for 2-4 hours, the dough should be doubled? What’s the sign that the dough is ready to bake?Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysNovember 12, 2016 at 7:05 AMHi Nahid, it won’t be doubled. There are many subtle signs that will tell you when the loaf is ready to bake, but it takes time and experience to learn to judge them properly. The quickest and easiest method is to use the “finger poke” test. Poke your finger about a half-inch or so into the loaf. If the dough springs back quickly then the loaf is too young and needs to proof a bit longer. If the indent doesn’t spring back at all (or worse, if the loaf deflates a bit) then that means the loaf is overproofed and should’ve been baked earlier. If the indent just slowly springs back into place (or almost into place) then the loaf is just right and ready to bake. The finger poke test isn’t foolproof, but it’s usually close enough to do the job. You’ll find that over time, you’ll need to rely on the finger poke test less and less as you develop your own ability to judge degree of proof.Cheers!TrevorReply
18. Josh saysNovember 30, 2016 at 8:17 AMWhat kind of whole wheat flour do you use? Does it include the bran and the germ?Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 5, 2016 at 11:06 AMHey Josh, I use several different brands of whole wheat, but King Arthur is the most common for me. They all include the bran and germ. In fact, bran and germ are what put the “whole” in whole wheat, so by definition whole wheat flour must contain all the bran and germ. Cheers!TrevorReply
19. Rawhaan saysDecember 10, 2016 at 12:29 PMHi Trevor,Thanks so much for all the great videos. They’re really helpful. My question is, how sour is the loaf. Im a bit of a beginner but I have made enough loaves to understand what my preferences are, so in search of the perfect whole wheat recipe, I’d like to know if these loaves are actually sour or not. It seems like 90g of starter or less seem to be less sour. I made a loaf with 279g of starter and it was a really nice flavor and I prefer a more sour loaf.Im still learning so I dont quite understand if it is a longer ferment that makes it sour or more starter. So I have been looking for a recipe that’s enough for one loaf and lots of nice air pockets. Yours seems like the perfect one. But alas, is your loaf sour?Thanks so much for your help!RawhaanReply
    • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 14, 2016 at 11:01 AMHi Rawhaan, this loaf can be more or less sour, depending upon your preferences. As I usually make it, it’s less sour. I like sour bread, but high portion whole grain breads can sometimes stray a bit too sour for my tastes. For that reason, I rarely refrigerate high percentage whole grain breads (though I do make exceptions from time to time). Refrigeration increases sourness. So if you would like a more sour loaf, simply retard this loaf in the fridge after you shape it, then bake it the following day. Not only will you get a more sour loaf, but the crumb will also tend to be a bit more open as well. Win win.As for how much starter to use — there are many differing opinions. Some think that using more starter makes for a more sour loaf. Others think that using less starter and a longer fermentation will make it more sour. My own opinion falls into the latter group. I’ve personally done side by side comparisons with the same recipe, one made with more starter and one made with less (and a longer fermentation) and found that the smaller amount of starter combined with the longer fermentation made for a significantly more sour loaf. But that’s my own personal experience. If someone tells me they get a more sour loaf by using more starter, I have no reason to disbelieve them. There are just too many variables at play to say that one way is the ONLY way to get a certain result. Whatever works best for you is what works best.Good luck!TrevorReply
20. Debby saysDecember 18, 2016 at 8:36 AMHey Trevor, thanks for the recipe and the method here,I really love your videos and your method of premixing the flour overnight has really helped my dough because I like using whole grains as much as possible.I have a question – if this was a wetter dough, how do I know if I have mixed or kneaded it enough? Does it have to pass the usual windowpane test? Following your recipe gave me a wetter dough for me – I will of course adjust next time, but I am also curious to know if I had kneaded the dough enough.Also, a more general question here: if my dough keeps sticking to my proofing towel (which I have lined with flour and semolina) is that likely to be a sign of (a) dough was not developed enough / not strong enough, (b) dough was not shaped well enough, (c) towel just needed a lot more flour, (D) I need a better towel, or (e) something else?Thanks in advance and please keep posting your videos!!Reply
    • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 21, 2016 at 4:39 PMHey Debby, even a wet dough should be able to pass the windowpane test if the gluten is well developed, though it’s more delicate and a bit trickier to handle while doing so. Personally, I never use the windowpane test. So long as the dough is smooth, supple and cohesive then that’s usually enough evidence for me.As for your dough sticking to the proofing towel, it could be any one of the issues you brought up. I would have to be there in person and see for myself what’s going on in order to make an accurate determination. But in general, the first place to look is the towel itself. Is it 100% cotton (fine weave, not terrycloth) or 100% flax linen? If not, then you may need to find a better towel. The second place to look is to the flouring. I strongly recommend using rice flour instead of wheat or semolina. Rice flour provides the best anti-sticking properties you’ll find.Once you have those two issues sorted out, then it may be that you’re having difficulty with the dough development or developing surface tension during shaping. And one other thing to consider, often times people will proof their loaves in a towel lined bowl rather than a traditional basket because that’s all they have. But proofing in a bowl doesn’t allow the dough to breathe. The surface will sweat and that can cause sticking. So if you’re using a bowl rather than a basket that could be the problem right there. Better to use a colander since the perforation allows the dough to breathe. I hope that helps!TrevorReply
21. Harris saysDecember 23, 2016 at 6:24 AMHi,
    I have made some 50% WW breads but with lower hydration (67-70%).
    My question regards the starter %. Is it 11% to flour or am I wrong? Isn’t that too little for 3-6 hours of fermenting?
    I thought that with around 20% starter you have fermentation of about 4-6 hours (with white bread flour). So in my receipts I used around 8% for 12 hours BF all night.
    So how does 11% starter ferments in such a little time?ThanksReply
    • Trevor Wilson saysDecember 26, 2016 at 12:00 PMHey Harris, you can’t really make blanket statements about how long a certain percentage of starter should take to raise a loaf of bread. The problem is there are many other variables that affect rising times: temperature, starter health/activity, dough quality, flour type, dough tension, hydration, etc. In warmer weather, this loaf of bread can be ready in substantially less time than you see here — 2-4 hours bulk and 1-2 hours proof, even with the same amount of starter.I tend to use small amounts of starter, compared to most bakers I see, because I like the qualities that derive from a longer slower rise. However, I usually keep a very active starter so if I were to use larger amounts of starter the fermentation times would be too quick for my liking. In order to get a 12 hour overnight bulk from my dough I would need to use a tiny tiny amount of starter — maybe 1% to 2% preferemented flour, at most — and still I would need somewhat cool temperatures to help out. Otherwise, my dough would over ferment terribly.Often times, the need for really long proof times (despite decent temperature and normal starter amounts) is a sign that your starter isn’t fully active. A vigorous starter should at least double in volume (if not triple) within 8 hours of refreshment. Slow rising starters make for slow rising dough (and can often compromise the quality of that dough).So to answer your question, the reason this loaf proofs in such little time considering the small amount of starter is because the starter was very active. And in fact, I actually consider this a rather slow bulk as the weather was cold and the dough a bit sluggish. Under better conditions this dough rises even quicker.TrevorReply
22. Jafar K. saysJanuary 26, 2017 at 3:42 PMHi Trevor,I’ve send a post to you but I can’t see that myself and that’s why I am writing again.
    First of all thank you very much for your recipes and instructions as they are resulting very good breads.
    Secondly I have 2 questions:1. Baking bread with sourdough results good breads but I don’t why they are getting stale very fast after just 2-3 hours. It is strange but if I buy bread from stores remains fresh at least for 2-3 days but my breads are getting stale after just some hours and max half a day. Do you know why?
    2. Adding seeds: Is there any ratio between flour, water and seeds if we like to add sesame seed, Flax seed, sunflower seed, etc.?I follow your youtube channel and your website and wish you best of luck. Thank you again.Regards from Norway.
    JafarReply
23. Carol Mahon saysFebruary 7, 2017 at 4:11 PMI am curious about your whole wheat starter and young starter. Do you feed a white starter with whole wheat to make it a whole wheat starter or do you just mix the whole wheat flour and water and use it when it becomes active and that makes it a young starter? I thought it took weeks to develop the sourness. I just discovered you recently and I have been getting a lot of new insights, which I appreciate. Thank you!Reply
24. Kim saysFebruary 23, 2017 at 12:07 AMHello Trevor, I love your videos; they are fun and exciting to watch, you make baking bread look so effortless but we know better, (lol) . I was wondering if you would share a recipe for creating sourdough starter and whole wheat starter; it would be greatly appreciated and I am sure I speak for all bread lovers when I say we are looking forward to your next exciting video. Thank you, all the best! ?Reply
25. Jersey Pie Boy saysFebruary 23, 2017 at 7:49 PMHi Trevor,I’m such a great fan of your work and videos…so helpful! Recently did a 50/50 loaf and it worked pretty nicely for my first time with that blend.One aspect I’m struggling with is how long, or more specifically to what volume the bulk rise should be done. Several times I thought I had it right, only to put the dough in the banetton expecting a long fridge proof…and needed to bake an hour or 2 or 3 later. Yesterday I thought I might be a little under on bulk, put the loaf in fridge overnight and baked 12 hours later. That loaf was 74% WW , the rest bread flour. It was okay, but denser results than I’ve gotten with same recipe with longer bulk. I’ve seen some videos where the bulk is shaped when it’s still very wet…and the results are great. Others, where the loaf seems far dryer, like the one in the 50/50 video, and that’s a great loaf too. So, I’m a little lost….Should the dough be jiggly and bubbly? If it’s that wet, should it have had more folds?? Or am I a little confused on that? ( I vote yes) Thanks!Reply
26. Chris saysMarch 14, 2017 at 9:52 AMHi Trevor,I’m a bread novice, started late last year with a simple instant yeast recipe and then found your site and embarked on a sourdough adventure. My first pure sourdough was not too bad considering my dough skills are poor, practice is clearly compulsory. Anyway, the reason for commenting here, I’ve been looking at a variety of bread making videos the last few days, and there are some horrible bakers out there, they’ve made me realise just how good your site and videos are. So thanks for taking the time to share your skills, it makes a difference.Cheers
    ChrisReply
27. Cindy saysMarch 29, 2017 at 12:59 AMHi Trevor,I finally got an entire day off and was home the entire day for the first time in three months since I’ve tried to bake your bread.So I was able to follow your instructions to the letter instead of having to modify it and retard the loaf at various stages and all that stuff.It turned out pretty good and was the best loaf I have ever made. Still not great but it was super tasty.Can you give some tips about how we can make bread if we’re not home for very many hours in the day.Thanks so much for your siteReply
    • Trevor Wilson saysApril 9, 2017 at 9:39 PMHey Cindy, I know I’m getting to this a bit late — and based on your latest posts it seems that you’ve already figured this one out for yourself. As you’ve discovered, it’s really just a matter of learning to adjust proof times via starter and/or dough manipulation. That can be done with adjustments in temperature (especially refrigeration), the amount of starter you use (more starter equals faster rise, and vice versa), and even things such as hydration (stiffer dough tends to rise slower) or flour strength (stronger flour also rises slower).So really, it’s just a matter of experimenting to find out which variables can be manipulated in which ways so that you get a good result within the schedule you have. It’s not something that can be accurately prescribed from afar — it’s something each baker must figure out for themselves based on their own circumstances. And it seems you have, so well done!TrevorReply
28. Joan Palacio saysApril 23, 2017 at 11:15 AMHi Trevor! First of all, congratulations for your nice work with bread education!
    I have tried succesfully your method “how to get an open crumb with stiff dough” and finally I decided to go for 50/50 whole wheat bread. I have tried 3 times, and 3 times I have failed.
    The 2 first times I have problems with a too sticky dough that cannot handle and cannot rise on oven. First time with 75% hydration and second time with 65%, So, in the 3rd time I tried with 60% hytradion. The dough was more stiff and could maintain the shape but it couldn’t rise as yours in the oven. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Maybe my bread wheat isn’t strong enough to rise the bread while baking?
    I’m using a 100% rye starter. autolysis (first on fridge and then overnight in the kitchen), Any ideas?Thank you for advance!Reply
29. Diane saysMay 11, 2017 at 2:33 PMReally enjoyed the 50/50 sourdough! A much less fussy method than what I had been using and great results! Crumb might have been a tad more open, but think that was due to my less than perfect final shaping…will work on that. Just found your website and am looking forward to trying more of your formulas, particularly the pan sourdough!Reply
30. Mordy saysMay 21, 2017 at 6:25 AMHello Trevor,
    First, want to thank you again for your great blog, and for sharing your tremendous skills.
    I have been baking this bread many times, trying to improve my performance…
    In the last 2 loaves I encountered the following –
    In the bulk Fermentation, the dough almost doubled itself.
    In the final rise, the loaf riched to the edge of the basket… But, it didn’t have
    any oven spring, the size of the loaf was the same before and after baking.Any ideas?
    Thanks in advance
    Mordy.Reply
31. Shelley saysJuly 31, 2017 at 9:41 PMFantastic! I admit I was sceptical about the crumb, and my dough was wetter or looser than yours. But I plopped it into the Dutch oven and voila! Best bread I’ve made yet (weekend baker of three years ish). Fantastic crumb and texture nice and chewy and great flavour. Than you!!Reply
32. Shelley saysAugust 9, 2017 at 8:49 PMHi
    I don’t know if you have time to answer all the comments on your posts, but here goes…I have made this 50/50 bread now three times, and each time I get a smooth stretchy dough, good oven spring and a great open chewy crumb. What I have a problem with is my dough is very loose. It shapes up beautifully, but after the pre shape, shape and when I take it out of the proofing bowl too, it immediately spreads right out flat. This makes it very challenging to get into the DO to bake, as you can imagine. Once there it springs up and bakes nicely, but I’d really like to get a smaller higher loaf out of it. For today’s dough I did more S&F’s during the first proof, hoping to strengthen the gluten more, and the dough was lovely, smooth and stretchy for me, but it still spread right out flat, worse than the 85% low innoculation dough I was making previously…any ideas?Reply
33. Gloria Whitchurch saysAugust 28, 2017 at 11:46 PMI have a nephew, that is a brand new ‘newbie’ to sourdough, and would love to give him this loaf as a beginning! It is so good, and is so easy- it would certainly encourage him to continue on, but he does not have a scale yet, and this whole recipe has no alternative measurements.I am aware that cups, TB, or oz. are not nearly as good as a grams or Kilo, but is it possible to get a cup based conversion for this recipe?Thank you highly, and it certainly is on my ‘every day’ list of breads to enjoy now!Reply
34. Aruna saysSeptember 11, 2017 at 8:45 AMHi,
    Your videos are absolutely great. Next, I would like to try this strategy for sure. Being in Mumbai (humid 30C weather), we don’t get spelt so would likely sub with whole wheat.
    In the meantime, I tested a passed on enriched recipe with butter, 40% levain and 25% WW.
    In this case,when I use Levain at its peak, found it is super active right after 1h autolyse. I had massive trouble with over active status of bulk fermentation (2h) to extent it was difficult to shape. Just left it to rise in fridge for proofing.
    What would be your suggestion in such a case? Should I BF in fridge? Should I autolyse without starter OR should I do 1:1:1 fresh feed of peak levain and use it after 1-3h ( at autolysis)?Reply
35. Michael saysSeptember 28, 2017 at 7:47 PMHi Trevor,
    I have a question for you. I am new to sourdough and very excited to learn and master this craft.
    I followed this recipe of yours precisely however, my dough came out very wet and extremely sticky. After 6 hours it doubled in size but does not keep shape at all..
    What might be the reason in your opinion ?My guess is because my starter was more runny than yours.. Is that the case ?Grateful for any insightReply
36. joe_n saysJanuary 7, 2018 at 2:01 AMHi Trevor,
    I had my best ever loaf today with your 50% ww recipe!
    I went back and forth from the YouTube and the dough for each step on
    how to handle the dough.
    I used a 2nd identical loaf pan on top of the bread to trap steam.
    It is a heavy pan and it works well.
    I have never had an oven spring like today’s!! I know why you are smiling when you take the top off the Dutch oven in each video.
    A couple of subs–My starter was not quite ready so, additionally, I added 3/4 tsp SAF yeast. I used half/half strong flour and AP-had no bread flour. They are different at the grain store that I buy from.
    This will be my go to bread.now- it doesn’t need any additions at all. A BIG BIG Thanks to you for all the detailed instructions and demos.
    I didn’t see a way to loadpictures directly here. so I posted pictures at —
    https://alaunts20.wordpress.com/2018/01/06/t-w-50-whole-wheat-sourdough-loaf/Reply
37. Arlo saysFebruary 11, 2018 at 5:07 PMI’m very happy with how this loaf turned out in that it’s beautiful to look at and the crumb, for a novice baker, is nicely open. Your video was very helpful.I am however wondering how to get more depth of flavor. It’s not at all sour and just not that flavorful in general. I used KAF bread flour for the white, and Giusto’s fine whole wheat (sold bulk at Whole Foods). My starter (combo whole wheat/rye) was fed twice in the 24 hours before baking. Any suggestions?Reply
38. anina marcus saysApril 3, 2018 at 11:15 PMI am curious why you add the starter later rather than at the begining mixing with the water? What is the reasoning behind this? I am a passionate baker… a grainaiac. thanks..Reply
39. Fred saysMay 1, 2018 at 9:30 PMHi Traves, love this bread I did add 50g of wheat germ to your recipe. why I’m not getting oven spring with my bread?Reply
40. Den saysJune 1, 2018 at 5:49 PMHeyIn your post you mention that it takes 12h to your starter to go ripe. But what’s the ratio and temp? At home, when it’s 24-25 C, with a 1-6-6 starter (10g of preferment, 60g flour, 60g water), it takes me 10 to 12h to get a ripe starter (flour mix : 50% white, 40% whole, 10% whole rye). It looks active and in good health to me. But my issue is that I still have a levain that makes tiny bubbles. Nothing with big and bubbly as you get. Is it me who has too much expectation?Reply
41. Susan L saysJune 22, 2018 at 2:56 AMTrevor – loving your style man! I struggled with lots of Tartine style sourdough recipes until I came across yours. Been making your Champlain Sourdough and have moved on to your whole wheat sourdough now as I prefer eating more wholegrain, and it’s so lovely and light. I’m really glad to see your techniques going global, you deserve it! Next stop a world tour? Belfast would welcome you 🙂Reply
42. Svetlana Mateeva saysJune 30, 2018 at 5:22 PMRespect for this statement:
    “But when you have perspective and understanding, you have power — the power in knowing what to do
    under what circumstances and why. That’s far more useful than a simple hand technique here or there.
    With this power comes versatility, adaptability and confidence. When you lift the veil on the mysteries
    of baking — when you clear the fog — you suddenly gain insight and clarity into the entire process. The
    variables are exposed. It ceases to be guesswork, and instead becomes craft.”Reply
43. Aisha saysOctober 10, 2018 at 10:57 AMHey I really like your video and your explanation. But I did not relly got it with the starter. I do my own sourdough starter today is day 3 and I think I’m good to go. I can start if my starter is active. But if I pre mix my Ingredients except the starter I put it in a fridge for how long? And how long it can stay in room temperature over night. Is 10 hours ok? And if I have my starter in the fridge should I take it out with the pre mixed ingredients, feed it or not feeding? I did not understand the step. Is your starter out of the fridge and did you discard some of the starter and feed it let it rest room temperature for 12 hours same hours like the pre mixed ingredients? Or do you put it out of the fridge next morning?? Can you explain… thank youuuReply
44. Aisha saysOctober 13, 2018 at 1:53 PMCan you PLEASE please make a sourdough starter STEP by step?
    I tried with whole wheat, with rye, ap flour…. 7-10 days… NOTHING happened…Reply
45. Barry Daly saysOctober 28, 2018 at 8:10 PMHi Trevor,
    Could you do the overnight autolyese with mainly white bread flour sourdough?Reply
46. Mordy saysDecember 26, 2018 at 2:26 PMHi,
    I baked this loaf several times, in the baked loaf the slashe dont create wide gap like yours. Is it an indication for too long final proof?Reply
47. Mordy saysDecember 26, 2018 at 3:20 PMHi Trevor,
    I noticed that when I flip the loaf from the basket, it doesnt hold itself…not like a pancake, but it gradually flatten. Any idea why?Reply