Hi ES, sourdough flavor development is a complicated subject, because it turns out many aspects of starter maintenance and dough production can affect the final flavor of your sourdough bread. We tend to emphasize maintaining your starter in a consistent way that develops a healthy population of both wild yeast and friendly bacteria. This generally means allowing for a day or two of twice a day feedings at room temperature prior to baking bread, particularly if you generally store your starter in the refrigerator and plan to make a recipe that doesn't call for added yeast. These revival feedings help to restore the activity level of your starter and will give you the best chance at a great rise and flavor in your bread. When it comes to fine-tuning the flavor of your bread, this is best done during the preferment and dough phases of development. Whole grain flours tend to develop more sour flavor, so sticking to white flour in the preferment and dough stages may help reduce the sour flavor in your bread.
November 1, 2019 at 12:17pm
In reply to Sometimes my bread is quite… by Es (not verified)
Hi ES, sourdough flavor development is a complicated subject, because it turns out many aspects of starter maintenance and dough production can affect the final flavor of your sourdough bread. We tend to emphasize maintaining your starter in a consistent way that develops a healthy population of both wild yeast and friendly bacteria. This generally means allowing for a day or two of twice a day feedings at room temperature prior to baking bread, particularly if you generally store your starter in the refrigerator and plan to make a recipe that doesn't call for added yeast. These revival feedings help to restore the activity level of your starter and will give you the best chance at a great rise and flavor in your bread. When it comes to fine-tuning the flavor of your bread, this is best done during the preferment and dough phases of development. Whole grain flours tend to develop more sour flavor, so sticking to white flour in the preferment and dough stages may help reduce the sour flavor in your bread.
Barb