Barrick Baking Co.

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I started making sourdough about 5 years ago, and I made quite a few bread-flavored bricks in the beginning🙈

But a couple of changes along the have completely transformed my loaves.

First, I had to let my starter get strong. It’s easy to jump the gun and use your starter as soon as you’re seeing bubbles, but using it too early leads to loaves that look more like frisbees than bread.

Second, I had to learn to read my dough and understand fermentation. You can have the world’s strongest starter and the best recipe, but if you don’t know how fermentation works, it’s going to be hard to make good bread.

Learning what the dough should look and feel like is key for knowing when your bread is fully proofed.

And the best way to learn this is to practice! You’ll have some flops along the way- and that’s okay!

Here are things to look for:

🥖your dough should be puffy and somewhat jiggly. If it’s super firm, it’s not done
🥖 it shouldn’t be overly sticky. If you touch it, your hands should come away relatively clean (unless you’re working with high hydration dough- which I don’t recommend as a beginner😅)
🥖It should have risen. Not all sourdough should double in size, but it should definitely have risen noticeably.
🥖There should be bubbles. No bubbles = no bueno
🥖it should be able to hold its shape, but it should also be extensible. You should be able to shape it without it tearing super easy or turning in a puddle the second you let it rest

If you’re new to sourdough and looking for tips like this, be sure to follow along!

And if you need help with your starter, I have a course that dives into how to keep your starter strong and reliable! You can find it under “links” in my profile✨

Is there a learning curve to fresh milled flour? Yes. But is it as hard as it seems? I would say no (and that’s coming from someone who left her mill in the closet for 2 years because she was intimidated 🙈).

Choosing the right grains (hard for breads, soft for things that don’t need to build gluten- like cookies and muffins), is the first step.

And choosing a recipe meant for fresh-milled flour will make things easier, too. Once you’re comfortable, you can adapt your existing recipes!

Allowing your dough or batter to rest helps the flour absorb the liquid in the recipe and it helps gluten begin to develop.

These principle are really all you need to get started baking with fresh milled flour!

Share with a friend who needs some fresh milled flour tips✨