Note: This is a very long post. The discussion strays far beyond what the title suggests. But it’s worth reading in its entirety, in my humble opinion. So if you don’t have 45 minutes or so to spare at the moment (or longer, if you explore all the links), then perhaps just jump ahead to…
Since this challah recipe is a bit different than what you normally might find, I figured I’d just go ahead and explain the biggest difference right up front so that you know why I made certain choices that are maybe out of the norm. I’m not typically a fan of reinventing the wheel, so when…
Well, it’s been a long time since I published a new recipe on my blog. Years, in fact. But this post really isn’t about the recipe, it’s more about the method. As I like to say, “The method makes the bread.” So the recipe is just a simple white sourdough bread with a little whole…
Well, it took me long enough, but I finally released a new book! Mastering Bulk Fermentation and Dough Structure: Open Crumb Mastery Companion. It’s a companion (obviously) to “Open Crumb Mastery.” As you probably deduced from the title, it’s focused specifically on bulk fermentation and building dough structure. Now, I know what you might be…
This was just a short series of Instagram posts sharing some thoughts I had on preshaping. It wasn’t meant to be all-encompassing, but it did examine a few of the benefits and drawbacks of preshaping so I figured it might be of use to some folks who land here. If you are unsure what these…
With this series of Instagram posts I just wanted to share some thoughts on the relationship between dough tolerance and open crumb. Please keep in mind that these posts were strictly focused on a very narrow range of things to consider when seeking an open crumb. In other words, there is much MUCH more to…
This series of posts was intended to point out the fact that simply developing the gluten is not the same as developing the complete dough (see this post for more info on “Instagram Recaps”). “Gluten” and “dough” are often discussed as though they are the same thing, but that’s a misconception that can lead to…
For a long time I have received requests to provide translations of my book, and for a long time I have avoided the issue by simply stating that I do hope to provide them one of these days. While that was absolutely true, the fact is that I really didn’t know how to go about…
So this series of posts focuses on the problem of underfermentation (for more info on these recaps please see this post). And a rampant problem it is. By my own observation this seems to be the most common problem for those bakers new to sourdough. It was a problem that I suffered myself back when…
This Instagram Recap is a compilation of posts I made way back in December and January of 2018/2019 (see this post for more info about these recaps). I made a 10 part series focused on the importance of bulk fermentation and its role in the structural development of a dough. It seemed to me at…