Home Design & Decor

Finally sliced into this homemade sourdough, and I’m loving the golden crust and soft, airy interior. It may not have giant bakery-style holes, but the texture looks perfect for sandwiches, toast, and soaking up a little butter. What do you think—would you be happy with this crumb, or keep chasing a more open loaf? 🍞🔥

Tried a darker, heartier sourdough this time, and the crust came out beautifully caramelized with a rich color all the way through. The crumb is tight, moist, and packed with flavor—perfect for toast, sandwiches, or a bowl of soup. Would you call this rustic perfection, or do you prefer a loaf with a more open crumb? 🍞🔥

This cinnamon swirl sourdough turned out better than I imagined—beautiful layers, a soft airy crumb, and just the right amount of sweet cinnamon goodness in every slice. Perfect toasted with a little butter or enjoyed straight from the cutting board. What’s your favorite thing to pair with cinnamon swirl bread? 🍞✨

Fresh out of the oven and finally cut into this homemade sourdough! The crust has a beautiful golden color, and the crumb turned out soft, even, and perfect for sandwiches or toast. Still working toward those big artisan-style air pockets, but I’m pretty happy with this loaf. How would you rate this crumb structure for a homemade sourdough? 🍞🤔

Finally sliced into my homemade loaf, and while the crust turned out beautifully golden, the crumb is a lot tighter than I was hoping for. Still smells amazing and tastes great, but I’m chasing those big airy holes you see in bakery sourdough. What would you change on the next bake to get a more open crumb? 🍞🤔

Why isn’t my dough less sticky after stretch and folds? This is my dough about 5 hours after starting stretch and folds. I am doing the clock method to stretch and fold until the dough is no longer stretching. It is still relatively sticky although when stretching it will come off of the bowl as a whole piece. Videos I’ve seen that show the bowl is ready for BF who’ll have it be less sticky with a dome at the top. I am leaving a damp tea towel over it. My home is about 77F. Should I just let it be for awhile and then shape and stick in the fridge overnight?

After multiple failed loaves, am I finally on the right track? Finally getting closer... but how can I improve this loaf?
Crumb read please!

Recipe:

450g bread flour
270g water
100g starter
10g salt

Process:

30 min autolyse
Added starter and salt
4-5 stretch & folds every 30 min
Bulk fermented until nearly doubled and jiggly (4h)
Pre-shaped, rested 30 min
Final shape
Overnight cold proof

Based on the crumb, would you consider this underproofed, properly proofed, or overproofed? What clues are you seeing?

I'd also love any suggestions on what I could improve next time regarding hydration, fermentation, shaping, dough strength, or oven spring.

Is my starter still good after 3 months in the fridge. Hello, I started my sourdough starter at the end of december and usually I fed it everyday day, sometimes leaving it in the fridge for a few weeks at max.
Last time I baked was at the end of March or beginning of april. Now I took it out of the fridge and it looks like this. I am not sure if it‘s still edible or modly.
It‘s completely made out of Rye Flour.

My best loaf yet! Hi fellow bakers! I’ve baked my best loaf to date and I’m really proud of it. I’m really happy with the distribution of different sized holes throughout the bread, but some of the larger holes are quite deep. Is this a shaping issue? If so how can I mitigate that in future loaves. My process is below!
450 KA bread flour
50 whole wheat
350 water
100 g starter
autolyse
add starter and salt 1hr later
three rounds stretch and folds
bulk ferment 9 hours at 75 degree dough temp
pre shape and final shape
cold re**rd for 13hrs
bake covered for 25 min and uncovered for 20 min at 455 degrees

Thanks!!

What went wrong? Seems a bit gluey round the edges close to the crust, I followed my usual method which normally works but wondering if somehow over or underproofed it this time? Or not baked long enough?