Pro tip: a kitchen scale and a timer fixed my flat sourdough loaves

My sourdough was coming out flat and dense for months, no matter what I tried. Last week, I finally got a cheap digital scale and started weighing my flour and water exactly, not using cups. I also set a timer for my bulk ferment to 4 hours at 72 degrees, no guessing. The next loaf had a perfect, open crumb. Has anyone else had a specific piece of gear or a strict time rule that finally made a tricky recipe work?

2 comments

2 Comments

richardknight1mo ago

Absolutely, a scale was the game changer for me too. My hydration was all over the place with cup measures. Getting a cheap probe thermometer was the other half of the puzzle. My kitchen is way colder than I thought, so my bulk ferment times were way off. Now I check the dough temp and adjust the time, and my loaves finally have some spring.

campbell.evan1mo ago

So you're telling me, @richardknight, that you were just blindly letting dough sit in a mystery-temperature room for hours? That's like trying to bake by throwing stuff at the wall and hoping it sticks. My old kitchen was so cold I could have used my dough tub as a mini fridge.

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