Wow. To think I almost CTRL+W'd this when I saw the duration. Usually 30 minute videos have more hot air than even my underfermented doughs do. This is some proper German efficiency right here. Learned more in 30 minutes than I've done in all my frustrated deep dives.
Can't believe how I can obtain such knowledge as this, for free. Your explanations, graphics and warm personality makes it a joy to watch. Thank you very much for sharing your expertise with the rest of the world.
I so appreciate the shot of you scraping the dough off your hands after the first mixing! That's the kind of thing that a lot of people would cut out, but I've always thought it meant I was doing something wrong when all the dough stuck to my fingers during that step. Thanks for showing the whole process, even the messy bits! Now I know I'm not the only one!
My grandmother and grandfather were from the Kaliningrad region so I have "Prussian" roots too and have always instinctively scraped my hands. "It's in our blut".
Yes, that's why I use a Danish whisk. It's only needed to incorporate the flour in the liquid. When the dough begins to release from the whisk it's nearly ready to rest. Keep moving the dough with the whisk until only a few bits stick to the whisk.
Thanks a lot! When I saw a 30+ minute video about baking one loaf of bread, I was like “how much padding and fluff they put in it, a recipe video should be 5 min tops, I’ll have to scroll through it and play at rapid speed”, but yours turned out to be so information dense I had to replay several segments. This is quality.
Danke Hendrick! This is the easiest recipe I've ever made. I'm retired from making bread in a grocery store. I made batches using 50lb bags of flour. Nothing I made there was close to this method, and it tasted bland. This bread is just what I want.❤
This is the most complete and clear instruction video for making sourdough bread that you have made. Master Video. I like the chapter time stamps so you can watch the instructions you need over and over. Thank you! The blisters on your bread are fantastic. Give us this day, our daily bread. The bread of life is amazing.
Your providing thorough explanation with background theory or reasoning helps me understand and work with sourdough baking with some room of flexibility and adjustment as needed. Many thanks for sharing !!!
After finding this video and watching it multiple times, it happened! Oh my God! I FINALLY made a loaf that got oven spring and a nice ear! My decorative scoring got a bit out of hand (too deep) but I'm sure I will get better at it. I'm SO excited! Can't wait to try a slice. Thank you SO much Hendrik-you're the best!
I like the so called perfect oven spring sourdough, crispy crust, soft and moist in the middle, but I also like the crunchiness and flavor of my over fermented frisbees.
I've only had one that didn't rise more than maybe 2"- we sliced it into two big pieces (top and bottom), and made a giant muffuletta sandwich with meats and cheeses from a Polish deli. Warmed it open face in the oven, then closed it and crisped the crust. Best sandwich we ever ate, and we ate it for four days. 🤣😂 Huge, thick, amazing.👍👍
Just baked a loaf today after watching your videos. I started the journey about 3 weeks ago and this was the 6th loaf I have made. This was the first loaf that turned out well. The stiff starter was a game changer.
Just baked this loaf, my first sourdough, my first bread, actually. Fantastic recipe and guidance, it turned out beautifully. My wife and I were so impressed. What a delicious breakfast, freshly baked bread! FYI in England, baked using Wessex Mill's Wessex Cobber Bread Flour. And my sourdough starter made from organic rye flour - it's called Rye Reynolds.
What was really helpful for me is that while my starter bacame active but not yet "mature", I made things like flat bread, English muffins, naan, then later on focaccia and ciabatta . It really helps with getting to know my flour and environment. I got used to handling high hydration dough and i learned how things should look and smell like at different stages. It made my first "real" loaf much easier and less imitating.
I failed so hard last year and came back to it this year. Made a starter with proper measurements, followed your steps with some small modifications. From flat bread with one huge air bubble, I'm now getting fluffy bread with a hearty crust!
I work in a pharmacy in a hospital for 41 years now, This 5 de Mayo it is 41 years,,but I love cooking and now baking bread and I love wearing a Chef's uniform.The hat looks great on you.Thank You.
I’m baking my bread right now following your video. I’ve been baking sourdough breads for some months now, they do taste perfect everything, and the crumb looks good as well but somehow the dough always kept being very very sticky and hard to work with. I was quite often disappointed as they turned out pretty flat most of the time.. to be honest the dough has been way easier to work with following your instructions and tips so I’m hoping the bread will pop as well!! Thank you so much for informing us ❤️ lots of love from the Netherlands
THANK YOU SO MUCH! After multiple attempts, including two with your recipe, I finally had success. I actually got an ear!!! The loaf was soft but chewy. The crust was wonderful. And the larger air pockets were evenly distributed, except for a few that collected near the bottom, along the side edges. I used a bread stone covered with a giant stainless steel bowl, and a cast iron skillet below. (I forgot to spray the loaf. Oops!) This was my best sourdough. So far! Now, to buy a t-shirt!!!
I just came across your channel and I really like your concise explanations and the science and math you use. Makes things so clear. Also thank you for specifying kitchen temperatures it really helps baking here in a tropical climate.
10 years trying to get a reliable sourdough recipe. Maybe 1 in 10 loaves would be good. After your masterclass every loaf is perfect. I'd almost given up. Thank you so much. Love your tutorials.
After watching a few of your videos over and over again, as I am a novice at sourdough, I am so excited because step by step, my dough was as you had explained. My stiff dough too! so happy! thank you!!! I really feel confident to make and maintain my Lucy, as this is what i call her. Blessings
Today I made my second attempt at baking sourdough bread using this video and it came out wonderfully, just like yours! Most bread baking videos just don't manage to really explain how it works, but yours does. Thanks so much!
Excellent! After almost 5 months I re-watched this video and now (with 5 months more experience) I think I understand most of what you are talking about! Thanks again for your excellent work and sharing this wonderful knowledge with others! You are a great human being!
I’d like to thank you for all your great work! You are being so helpful !!! Thanks to you I FINALLY made two PERFECT breads !!!! After so much trouble, my god it was worth it 🔥 so to all of you out there struggling, don’t give up guys 😝 and again, thank you for this amazing channel 💜
Ein richtiger bakenmeister! Great communicative, friendly, and scientifically-informed personality! I feel like this gentleman offers a humble approach to encouraging novice bakers a chance to succeed. A kind teacher may fortuitously help along a learning process toward successful expression of Love-Joy-Happiness in a baker's heart. Am sure taste of prepared food often reflects the emotional state of its preparation. Multo bene!!😂
Taking a sample was the game changer for me, I don't know why I had never thought of it! turns out that my dough doubles in about 5 hours, I gave it that long this time and my word the ear was almost touching the top of the dutch oven! I am blown away, thank you! I did however opt for the method of adding a couple ice cubes instead of water as it seemed to perform a bit better and the steam stayed for a bit longer giving me a more malleable crust on the finished result! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hendricks !!!! You are a great teacher... humorous and funny 😄... Kudos to you. I have been able to pick a lot of golden nuggets, great tips well executed and easy for the beginners. I see that there is a quasi science to sourdough starter making and how the fine adjustments can make a big difference on the final product. Great Job !!! All the way from The Caribbean Sean... Puerto Rico where is the tropical breeze is always blowing and the crystal clear waters ever so inviting !!!! I am seriously considering starting a small Levian Bread hobby business. Who knows where it will take me to,,,😊
What amazing instruction and information. Thank you! I've thrown away more loaves than I care to think of following other's instructions ... today, I got an almost great loaf. Our 10-year-old son luvs it and that's a big plus. I really enjoy the science behind the bread. Thank you so much!
The science behind what you put together for all of us- is extraordinary! I can't believe you went this far to explain all of this for us. Thank you very much, I LOVE it!
Henrik! I see so many grumpy people way down in the feed! I thoroughly enjoy your en-depth explanations and your desire to educate people in the art of sourdough! Just wanted to encourage you in all you do. Your videos and humorous speech are delightful to me personally! Thanks so much!
this is so so so comprehensive, with precise check points at every stage so that we know what went wrong and why. I have a fan oven that drives me crazy, your solution is almost the same as what I am doing now. Also I agreed there is ni need to buy so many expensive tools to make a successful dough, all is technique along with observation of gluten and yeast activities. I wish by the 11th I do sourdough I will not fail with a “well controlled” setting. My failure after I watched this is, over fermentation and too much starter used. Thank you so so much Hendrik, you are fabulous !
clear and easy to follow video. i like to "dissolve" my stiff starter in the water first, then add flour and salt. seems to help in distributing it evenly.
i’ve struggled so hard to make sourdough but this video was the first one that actually helped me make a perfect loaf!! this was so extremely helpful and you are the BEST!
I used your tips and recipe and in 6:20 really came in handy! Such a blessing cus no doubt temperature really affect on how the dough develops. I live in Malaysia and no it’s like summer all year round… so decreasing the starter from the recipe works like charm! May you will be constantly blessed with this continuous knowledge that you have share globally 🌹
with this video's steps (but a different recipe) i baked my best loaf this morning. i'm currently eating it as is, with nothing on it, not even butter. this is hands down the best loaf i've ever baked.
I love the white board explanations for things. It helped me do alot of experimentation. Also, the showing of the proper gluten "stretchiness" was very helpful. I wasn't using enough flour and my dough was tearing. Thank you!
Thank you. By far, the best all-in-one tutorial. Really appreciate you covering all the different scenarios so I can better pinpoint where I went wrong and how to fix it. Otherwise, it'd be an almost endless trial and error of messing with so many different factors. And you're looking more and more comfortable in front of the camera. Love the jokes!
Great video, loving your channel! You could update the video with advice about exactly how to prepare the starter for using it. Like feed and then use after 8 hours or when it's at its peak etc. Would be good to include here
Man, I love you. Never found those technical information that are absolutely necessary for dominating the bread making instead of following others recipes.
Thank you so much for this video!!! I was able to bake a perfect bread following these instructions after struggling for months....HUGE THANK YOU❤❤ and it is so efficient and simple, love it!
Thank you so much for all this wonderful information! I was failing miserably and getting so discouraged. Watching your video and then baking another loaf was my first.success! Thank you!!! I didn't even use a stiff starter, but thought I'd try it anyway.......and it still turned out great :D I'm in the process of converting my starter to a stiff starter and I can't wait to try again!
Danke schoen for this fantastic guide Hendrik! It's amazing that you've provided so much detail yet the underlying method is so simple! My Opa immigrated to Canada in the 1950s and his first job was as a baker, making the rye bread and rolls that were special to the region of Germany he was from. I've recently began to pick up his trade and your guides will certainly help me to bake some bread that is geschmeckt!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I have been following you from Portugal since January when I started my own starter. I have been struggling with the oven spring until TODAY!!! Thanks for ALL your help and videos.
Thank you for keeping it real! I am watching your video while I am sick and not feeling well, it uplifted me. 😊 Thank you for sharing your sourdough wisdom, May God bless you 🙏
Thank you for your videos and for making sourdough baking so accessible! I was so frustrated by all the folks telling me I had to buy expensive flour and fancy gadgets to succeed at making sourdough. Then I found your channel, followed your advice for a stiff starter and this video, and got a beautiful loaf using the flour I could afford and the basic tools I already had in my kitchen (your oven set-up is genius and totally worked!). Thank you thank you thank you!
I have to try your stiff starter trick. Sounds great. My 100% hydration starter was actually pretty stiff anyway (not like I see in many TH-cam videos where it freely flows out of a bowl when you're making the dough. I have to grab mine with a spoon OR (here's a tip), since you are mixing all your ingredients together anyway, mix part of the water with the starter and use a spoon to get it lose from the container. It's much easier and leaves your container relatively clean. But your stiff starter is also pretty clean since it's basically like a fermented dough to begin with. Maybe when you say it's a bit annoying to work with, you could just dump it in the water, manually split it and press it with your fingers and then drop the water with the starter inside the flour. I can also leave some tips from my experiences: 1. If you are afraid of razor blades, you can actually buy a scalpel from a medical shop. I have no.22 scalpel and it's much easier and safer to work with than razor blades. Make sure you clean it without touching the blade with your hands, of course. Just use a kitchen sponge with a bit of detergent and then use the scalpel on the sponge just you would use a knife to apply butter to a piece of bread. Does the trick :) 2. I know the 4 main ingredients are flour+water+salt+starter, and nothing else, but what you can do is have a bowl of olive oil nearby instead of water when kneading/stretch-folding. I'm talking like very-very little, maybe like a shot glass or even less. This won't affect your bread at all and can be used instead of water on your hands so that the dough doesn't stick. It makes the whole process much-much cleaner and less frustrating for beginners. And that's because oil stays on your hands as opposed to water that will just get off after you touch your dough 2-3 times. 3. After you are happy with how your starter is going, I found that keeping it in the fridge won't ruin everything if you feed it again overnight (more than 1:5:5 or 1:5:3 if you want stiff starter). This means less waste than just keeping it constantly alive and throwing away discard. What I normally do is let's say a recipe calls for 100g of starter. I will actually make 110g and grab a teaspoon full of peaked starter in the morning to replenish what I took out last night to make it. That way, your fridge starter is always fresh, because it came from the last bread you baked and it's at its peak are close after. So for 1:5:5 = 10g:50g:50g = 110g and the 10 leftover is exactly what I took out to make it in the first place. 4. You are probably going to want a pizza stone anyway (explained in next tip), but don't go buying overpriced and advertised pizza stones. You can actually use granite plaques from your home-depot type of stores that sell construction materials. These granite blocks can be any size you want and are used for decoration on buildings or pavements and they work the same as a pizza stone. 5. Besides bread, sourdough pizza is the best thing you could do. You can even do it with the same dough and even save energy. make 1600g dough, divide it into 800+400+400 when it's proofed, then shape the bread like you normally would and then shape the 2 smaller boules. The next day you start preheating the oven and planning on starting with the bread. While the bread is baking you can take your pizza dough, stretch it and prepare it (don't add ingredients yet). Once your bread is baked, the stone will still be very hot, you'll want it hotter so turn your oven at max for like 10 minutes while you add ingredients to your first pizza. It takes about 5-8 mins to bake depending on temperature, that's when you add ingredients for second pizza if that's the case. In conclusion -> Excellent pizza for lunch, bread for sandwiches later, less energy used for the oven, same dough to begin with, less time in the kitchen, gives you something to do (prepare ingredients for pizza) while bread is baking :)
Just startend folowing a copple of days ago. Couse i had trubles with my bread. Thank you for explaining! I Just needed getting back to basic recept in this video. Also coil fold is been added to my system. And i baked today 2 beautyfull breads.
Vielen Dank for this video!! I recently switched to a stiff starter because my 1:1 just wasn't working as well and it changed the game completely!! I immediately got the best bread I've ever baked in my life and haven't looked back since. One tip for you: as you mentioned, the stiff starter is a little bit harder to combine with the rest. I always combine room temp water and the stiff starter first, let it sit for a minute or two and then add the flour. This way the starter has dissolved almost completely into the water and you don't get lumps of starter in your dough. :-) Happy baking
Thank you for this tip! Question for you: Can you keep a stiff starter going (just like you would a regular starter that's equal parts water and flour) by feeding it 10g of previous day's stiff starter, 25g of water and 50g of flour? And do you leave it on the counter or keep in the fridge?
@@mikesorcinelli1194 It never came to me that that might not work... haha. That's pretty much, what I do, especially in the colder months. I just add the water to the scraps in my jar, shake very well and let it dissolve for a while before I add the flour. Since I'm only baking for one, I store it in the fridge for later use. Extra Tip: If you ever need to leave the starter for a longer time, make it even more stiff and store it in the fridge. That way it's good without feeding for several weeks.
@@Julia-lj8bc As soon as I converted to a stiff starter, it's like my starter died or something. When it was the equal parts water/flour starter I had crazy bubbling and doubling in size. When I started converting it to a stiff starter, it's like it died. I have zero activity now. Any ideas what I might have done wrong?
I like to mix my starter with my water before adding the flour and salt. It’s easier to incorporate the water and starter first. Great vid about the stiff starter.
I think I have a Bread Code addiction! I just took a loaf out of the oven that I think is the closest to a perfect loaf for me! I keep following this video but this time I added in the autolyse. I autolysed for about 35 minutes and then proceeded with the remainder of the instructions. Usually my attempt at decorative scoring fails. This time I have a beautiful ear, decorative scoring looks like a decoration and not like I carved the bread open. SO happy! I wish that I could add a photo to this comment.
Thank you , thank you 🥰 the first time I have an ear on my bread after I watched your videos and I made my dutch oven, it helped to have an ear on my bread and my bread extended a lot, Thank you🥰🙏
"Excuse my German!"?? As I would say to people (Germans) when I was there: "Thank you for speaking my language, Because, I CAN'T speak yours!" (And the woman shot back: "well, you won the war!) Only issue is that I super fed my SD starter b4 I realized that it ONLY used commercial yeast!! Wonderful, informative video! Two days ago I made your Sandwich Poolish Bread -with 2 year expired yeast packet!! - So GOOD!! Hard to stay away from it! Thank you sooo much!
you're an amazing instructor! I loved how you said mixing by hand is such an eye opening experience because of course, you cannot learn such a natural process without using all your senses :)) best
As for the tiny piece of dough (approx. 12 g) that I use to keep an eye on whether the dough has risen enough: as soon as it has doubled in volume (= time to shape the bread), I put the little jar with the control dough in the fridge. When it is time for baking again (usually a week later, but sometimes shorter or longer), I use this as the basis for my levain. Works fine and I don't have to worry about feeding this tiny starter between bakes. Even after two weeks in the fridge it performs great. EDIT: Today I learned that this way to do it is called pâte fermentée.
Thank you so much! I've just started making sourdough. My first boule, I used an amalgamation of about five different recipes/instructions, refrigerated for approx 12 hours. Rested at room temp for about 30 minutes, scored and baked on a stone with ice cubes around the dough and my stainless dutch oven bottom on top. It came out great! Blisters, nice crumb...if I'd watched your videos FIRST, I'd have scored it differently. Next time! 🥰 You are soooo helpful (and have such a great attitude). Thanks again for being so generous. I had wondered about the lack of salt in some of your tutorials; I find it makes a huge difference in the taste of the bread. Theoretically I guess it should slow the fermentation, too, but does it? Fascinating, this bread stuff.🤓👍🏻
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I just had a slice of my first entirely successful sourdough bread! Tastes perfect, great oven spring, bread had evenly distributed, mostly small holes (except for one big butter catcher right in the middle), great, chewy crust! I even got a small ear! (It would have been bigger if I had read your directions on scoring first. Oops.).
Thank you soo much for your videos and for this great recipe. I used 50% whole wheat and 50% all purpose flour and the results were amazing!!! I only added a lamination step (just because I like doing it) . Thanks again for all the tips and explanations your videos are very clear and the results are just as you describe.. thanks again!!
Thanks for the detailed video and a lot of useful information. Tomorrow I will try to bake my first bread. Also, thank you for the book, I am reading, studying, everything is very clear and fascinating! THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for everything you are saying in this video, it’s very informative, but most of all thank you for explaining different ways the crumb may look and the reason. I’ve ended up with such results, but didn’t know what is the reason and how to correct it. Now I know 😊
Thanks for updating your master instructions, Hendrik. The video is very clear. I noted you only did one coil fold; I will try that, along with creating a stiffer starter. My kitchen was really cold over the winter here in NW Spain, and I often didn’t get the fermentation I wanted. Now that the days are warmer I think I will have more success. Thanks so much for sharing your passion with us!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You gave me hope to continue with my dough and starter. 😄 we also don’t let anything go to waste. I guess countries which went through many years of war leave their people with particular traits. Never thought of it until you mentioned it. We do the same thing 😁.
Thank you, Hendrik. I am a new subscriber.I have just started bread making. Your channel is very informative. I learned a lot. Currently, I am growing my sourdough. When it is strong enough, I will try one of your recipes. Good luck to you and once again thank you for sharing such useful tips.
Excellent vid - I've been following you from the begining years ago, and this vid is as good as many of the other vids done by other bakers! Congrats - well done!!
So many variables to consider.im glad and grateful you explain this in depth,because as you said and I experienced, of you just follow recipes ,it's very rare it works out
Thank you for all your Videos, Henrik. It took a long time until I finally managed sourdough bread baking. Your videos helped a lot on this journey. I will now transform my standard sourdough starter to a stiff starter. Looking forward to the results.
I am thinking of doing the same and I saw the posted conversions. I wondered if a stiff starter needs daily feedings and what can be done with the discard? Maybe add 50% water to the discard to use in recipes as the hydration level is half? Thoughts?
@@CelesteHolbrookRN I'd just regardless dump it in the stiff starter jar. Then when making a dough out of it you have to knead a bit more. No need for daily feedings, just once before you use it.
@@the_bread_code thank you! This is super helpful. I appreciate the response. I'm trying to watch all the videos and understand. I'm anxiously awaiting Bread Pit. He'll go with my current collection. It's fun to try different starters. :) I'll try the stiff starter, I'd be happy to not do daily feedings.
Thank you very much for all the amazing videos!! I know how much time and effort it takes to have a perfect video! And all the information that you share is so valuable!! Thank you!thank you!!
Hi! The explanation at the beginning about hydration levels, protein percentage, and yeast and bacteria has helped me so much! No wonder i was having so many issues blindly following 80% hydration level when I first started. I am curious what protein percentage is in the flour you used, seeing as though you used 80% hydration level in your recipe?
I've had a problem with not getting good oven spring on my bread using other recipes and methods. I think I may have been using too much starter for season I was baking in! I am currently rehydrating my starter after a year of not baking anything with it. Very excited to give your method a try.
French and Italian may know how to bake, but Germans are the masters of instruction. Danke.
Awwwww.... what a beautiful compliment 😍🍞🥐
And don’t forget the white board wer schreibt der bleibt 🤦🏼♀️🥰
I zoned out after about two minutes
You wont make it in life if you zone out on a bread video.... 😅@RadioNul
Making my first sourdough! Good video!
Wow. To think I almost CTRL+W'd this when I saw the duration. Usually 30 minute videos have more hot air than even my underfermented doughs do. This is some proper German efficiency right here. Learned more in 30 minutes than I've done in all my frustrated deep dives.
Glad to help!
You should watch his video on how to make the perfect starter. Precision at its best!!!
I MADE the perfect starter. And, along with the 30-minute video, had my first success, after a dozen failures.
Can't believe how I can obtain such knowledge as this, for free. Your explanations, graphics and warm personality makes it a joy to watch. Thank you very much for sharing your expertise with the rest of the world.
I so appreciate the shot of you scraping the dough off your hands after the first mixing! That's the kind of thing that a lot of people would cut out, but I've always thought it meant I was doing something wrong when all the dough stuck to my fingers during that step. Thanks for showing the whole process, even the messy bits! Now I know I'm not the only one!
My grandmother and grandfather were from the Kaliningrad region so I have "Prussian" roots too and have always instinctively scraped my hands. "It's in our blut".
Yes, that's why I use a Danish whisk. It's only needed to incorporate the flour in the liquid. When the dough begins to release from the whisk it's nearly ready to rest. Keep moving the dough with the whisk until only a few bits stick to the whisk.
You aren't kidding. I'm at that point in my breadmaking where I need those details he gives too.
You can easily avoid the dough sticking to your hands by using the correct techniques. E.g. the Rubaud method.
I feel the same
Thanks a lot! When I saw a 30+ minute video about baking one loaf of bread, I was like “how much padding and fluff they put in it, a recipe video should be 5 min tops, I’ll have to scroll through it and play at rapid speed”, but yours turned out to be so information dense I had to replay several segments. This is quality.
Danke Hendrick! This is the easiest recipe I've ever made. I'm retired from making bread in a grocery store. I made batches using 50lb bags of flour. Nothing I made there was close to this method, and it tasted bland. This bread is just what I want.❤
This is the most complete and clear instruction video for making sourdough bread that you have made. Master Video. I like the chapter time stamps so you can watch the instructions you need over and over.
Thank you! The blisters on your bread are fantastic. Give us this day, our daily bread. The bread of life is amazing.
Thank you very much Glen!
I agree. I've been searching yt over and over devouring all things bread and this video I finally understand so much more. Thank you so very much.
Your providing thorough explanation with background theory or reasoning helps me understand and work with sourdough baking with some room of flexibility and adjustment as needed. Many thanks for sharing !!!
After finding this video and watching it multiple times, it happened! Oh my God! I FINALLY made a loaf that got oven spring and a nice ear! My decorative scoring got a bit out of hand (too deep) but I'm sure I will get better at it. I'm SO excited! Can't wait to try a slice. Thank you SO much Hendrik-you're the best!
I like the so called perfect oven spring sourdough, crispy crust, soft and moist in the middle, but I also like the crunchiness and flavor of my over fermented frisbees.
🤣🤣🤣
Frisbee is exactly what I just made!!
I've only had one that didn't rise more than maybe 2"- we sliced it into two big pieces (top and bottom), and made a giant muffuletta sandwich with meats and cheeses from a Polish deli. Warmed it open face in the oven, then closed it and crisped the crust. Best sandwich we ever ate, and we ate it for four days. 🤣😂 Huge, thick, amazing.👍👍
Thanks for the schemes, specially for the one at 19:28, very useful.
Just baked a loaf today after watching your videos. I started the journey about 3 weeks ago and this was the 6th loaf I have made. This was the first loaf that turned out well. The stiff starter was a game changer.
Just baked this loaf, my first sourdough, my first bread, actually. Fantastic recipe and guidance, it turned out beautifully. My wife and I were so impressed. What a delicious breakfast, freshly baked bread!
FYI in England, baked using Wessex Mill's Wessex Cobber Bread Flour. And my sourdough starter made from organic rye flour - it's called Rye Reynolds.
What was really helpful for me is that while my starter bacame active but not yet "mature", I made things like flat bread, English muffins, naan, then later on focaccia and ciabatta . It really helps with getting to know my flour and environment. I got used to handling high hydration dough and i learned how things should look and smell like at different stages. It made my first "real" loaf much easier and less imitating.
I'm glad I'm not the only person who obsessively scrapes all the dough off my hands to make sure that none goes to waste
I failed so hard last year and came back to it this year. Made a starter with proper measurements, followed your steps with some small modifications. From flat bread with one huge air bubble, I'm now getting fluffy bread with a hearty crust!
I work in a pharmacy in a hospital for 41 years now, This 5 de Mayo it is 41 years,,but I love cooking and now baking bread and I love wearing a Chef's uniform.The hat looks great on you.Thank You.
I’m baking my bread right now following your video. I’ve been baking sourdough breads for some months now, they do taste perfect everything, and the crumb looks good as well but somehow the dough always kept being very very sticky and hard to work with. I was quite often disappointed as they turned out pretty flat most of the time.. to be honest the dough has been way easier to work with following your instructions and tips so I’m hoping the bread will pop as well!! Thank you so much for informing us ❤️ lots of love from the Netherlands
THANK YOU SO MUCH! After multiple attempts, including two with your recipe, I finally had success. I actually got an ear!!! The loaf was soft but chewy. The crust was wonderful. And the larger air pockets were evenly distributed, except for a few that collected near the bottom, along the side edges. I used a bread stone covered with a giant stainless steel bowl, and a cast iron skillet below. (I forgot to spray the loaf. Oops!)
This was my best sourdough. So far! Now, to buy a t-shirt!!!
I just came across your channel and I really like your concise explanations and the science and math you use. Makes things so clear. Also thank you for specifying kitchen temperatures it really helps baking here in a tropical climate.
10 years trying to get a reliable sourdough recipe. Maybe 1 in 10 loaves would be good. After your masterclass every loaf is perfect. I'd almost given up. Thank you so much. Love your tutorials.
After watching a few of your videos over and over again, as I am a novice at sourdough, I am so excited because step by step, my dough was as you had explained. My stiff dough too! so happy! thank you!!! I really feel confident to make and maintain my Lucy, as this is what i call her. Blessings
Today I made my second attempt at baking sourdough bread using this video and it came out wonderfully, just like yours! Most bread baking videos just don't manage to really explain how it works, but yours does. Thanks so much!
Outstanding explanations, graphics and flow charts. Very technical and detailed as I would expect from a fellow German. A thank you from K. Meyer.
Excellent! After almost 5 months I re-watched this video and now (with 5 months more experience) I think I understand most of what you are talking about! Thanks again for your excellent work and sharing this wonderful knowledge with others! You are a great human being!
I’d like to thank you for all your great work! You are being so helpful !!! Thanks to you I FINALLY made two PERFECT breads !!!! After so much trouble, my god it was worth it 🔥 so to all of you out there struggling, don’t give up guys 😝 and again, thank you for this amazing channel 💜
Ein richtiger bakenmeister!
Great communicative, friendly, and scientifically-informed personality!
I feel like this gentleman offers a humble approach to encouraging novice bakers a chance to succeed. A kind teacher may fortuitously help along a learning process toward successful expression of Love-Joy-Happiness in a baker's heart. Am sure taste of prepared food often reflects the emotional state of its preparation.
Multo bene!!😂
Taking a sample was the game changer for me, I don't know why I had never thought of it! turns out that my dough doubles in about 5 hours, I gave it that long this time and my word the ear was almost touching the top of the dutch oven! I am blown away, thank you!
I did however opt for the method of adding a couple ice cubes instead of water as it seemed to perform a bit better and the steam stayed for a bit longer giving me a more malleable crust on the finished result!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Wow. 5 hours is quick. You might want to use less starter then 🤗
Hendricks !!!! You are a great teacher... humorous and funny 😄... Kudos to you. I have been able to pick a lot of golden nuggets, great tips well executed and easy for the beginners. I see that there is a quasi science to sourdough starter making and how the fine adjustments can make a big difference on the final product. Great Job !!! All the way from The Caribbean Sean... Puerto Rico where is the tropical breeze is always blowing and the crystal clear waters ever so inviting !!!! I am seriously considering starting a small Levian Bread hobby business. Who knows where it will take me to,,,😊
What amazing instruction and information. Thank you! I've thrown away more loaves than I care to think of following other's instructions ... today, I got an almost great loaf. Our 10-year-old son luvs it and that's a big plus. I really enjoy the science behind the bread. Thank you so much!
The science behind what you put together for all of us- is extraordinary! I can't believe you went this far to explain all of this for us.
Thank you very much, I LOVE it!
Henrik! I see so many grumpy people way down in the feed! I thoroughly enjoy your en-depth explanations and your desire to educate people in the art of sourdough! Just wanted to encourage you in all you do. Your videos and humorous speech are delightful to me personally! Thanks so much!
this is so so so comprehensive, with precise check points at every stage so that we know what went wrong and why. I have a fan oven that drives me crazy, your solution is almost the same as what I am doing now. Also I agreed there is ni need to buy so many expensive tools to make a successful dough, all is technique along with observation of gluten and yeast activities. I wish by the 11th I do sourdough I will not fail with a “well controlled” setting. My failure after I watched this is, over fermentation and too much starter used. Thank you so so much Hendrik, you are fabulous !
That sound of you cutting into the loaf at 28:00 is the sort of sound that makes me happy. Lovely brittle crust
clear and easy to follow video. i like to "dissolve" my stiff starter in the water first, then add flour and salt. seems to help in distributing it evenly.
Just made this bread. Great recipe! I have been baking sourdough for a few years and these loaves are the prettiest loves I have ever baked. Thanks.
You are such a great teacher. Thanks to you, I have been able to bake much better sourdough bread than ever.
i’ve struggled so hard to make sourdough but this video was the first one that actually helped me make a perfect loaf!! this was so extremely helpful and you are the BEST!
I used your tips and recipe and in 6:20 really came in handy! Such a blessing cus no doubt temperature really affect on how the dough develops. I live in Malaysia and no it’s like summer all year round… so decreasing the starter from the recipe works like charm! May you will be constantly blessed with this continuous knowledge that you have share globally 🌹
with this video's steps (but a different recipe) i baked my best loaf this morning. i'm currently eating it as is, with nothing on it, not even butter. this is hands down the best loaf i've ever baked.
I appreciate your humor! Love it! Thanks for making sourdough so much simpler and understandable!
i’m going to try this bread recipe
i watched ALOT videos abt sourdough bread, but this video is the BEST recipe i have found.
I love the white board explanations for things. It helped me do alot of experimentation. Also, the showing of the proper gluten "stretchiness" was very helpful. I wasn't using enough flour and my dough was tearing. Thank you!
Thank you. By far, the best all-in-one tutorial. Really appreciate you covering all the different scenarios so I can better pinpoint where I went wrong and how to fix it. Otherwise, it'd be an almost endless trial and error of messing with so many different factors. And you're looking more and more comfortable in front of the camera. Love the jokes!
Great video, loving your channel! You could update the video with advice about exactly how to prepare the starter for using it. Like feed and then use after 8 hours or when it's at its peak etc. Would be good to include here
Man, I love you. Never found those technical information that are absolutely necessary for dominating the bread making instead of following others recipes.
Thank you so much for this video!!! I was able to bake a perfect bread following these instructions after struggling for months....HUGE THANK YOU❤❤ and it is so efficient and simple, love it!
I love the idea of the small jar and dough sample to help with proofing. You make more sense in helping to bake the perfect loaf! Thanks so much!
This is my go to recipe for making sourdough bread, with clear and easy to follow directions. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for all this wonderful information! I was failing miserably and getting so discouraged. Watching your video and then baking another loaf was my first.success! Thank you!!! I didn't even use a stiff starter, but thought I'd try it anyway.......and it still turned out great :D I'm in the process of converting my starter to a stiff starter and I can't wait to try again!
Danke schoen for this fantastic guide Hendrik! It's amazing that you've provided so much detail yet the underlying method is so simple! My Opa immigrated to Canada in the 1950s and his first job was as a baker, making the rye bread and rolls that were special to the region of Germany he was from. I've recently began to pick up his trade and your guides will certainly help me to bake some bread that is geschmeckt!
Oh wow. That's amazing to hear. I bet they turned out to be very popular. Very different style of bread!
Made my first loaf last yesterday and baked it this morning and it turned out amazing. Thank you for your videos!
Amazing 🤩
Making my second ever loaf and this video has cleared up and helped So much! Excited to get it in the oven later today! Thank you!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I have been following you from Portugal since January when I started my own starter. I have been struggling with the oven spring until TODAY!!! Thanks for ALL your help and videos.
Thank you!
Thank you for keeping it real! I am watching your video while I am sick and not feeling well, it uplifted me. 😊 Thank you for sharing your sourdough wisdom, May God bless you 🙏
Thank you for your videos and for making sourdough baking so accessible! I was so frustrated by all the folks telling me I had to buy expensive flour and fancy gadgets to succeed at making sourdough. Then I found your channel, followed your advice for a stiff starter and this video, and got a beautiful loaf using the flour I could afford and the basic tools I already had in my kitchen (your oven set-up is genius and totally worked!). Thank you thank you thank you!
I have to try your stiff starter trick. Sounds great. My 100% hydration starter was actually pretty stiff anyway (not like I see in many TH-cam videos where it freely flows out of a bowl when you're making the dough. I have to grab mine with a spoon OR (here's a tip), since you are mixing all your ingredients together anyway, mix part of the water with the starter and use a spoon to get it lose from the container. It's much easier and leaves your container relatively clean. But your stiff starter is also pretty clean since it's basically like a fermented dough to begin with. Maybe when you say it's a bit annoying to work with, you could just dump it in the water, manually split it and press it with your fingers and then drop the water with the starter inside the flour.
I can also leave some tips from my experiences:
1. If you are afraid of razor blades, you can actually buy a scalpel from a medical shop. I have no.22 scalpel and it's much easier and safer to work with than razor blades. Make sure you clean it without touching the blade with your hands, of course. Just use a kitchen sponge with a bit of detergent and then use the scalpel on the sponge just you would use a knife to apply butter to a piece of bread. Does the trick :)
2. I know the 4 main ingredients are flour+water+salt+starter, and nothing else, but what you can do is have a bowl of olive oil nearby instead of water when kneading/stretch-folding. I'm talking like very-very little, maybe like a shot glass or even less. This won't affect your bread at all and can be used instead of water on your hands so that the dough doesn't stick. It makes the whole process much-much cleaner and less frustrating for beginners. And that's because oil stays on your hands as opposed to water that will just get off after you touch your dough 2-3 times.
3. After you are happy with how your starter is going, I found that keeping it in the fridge won't ruin everything if you feed it again overnight (more than 1:5:5 or 1:5:3 if you want stiff starter). This means less waste than just keeping it constantly alive and throwing away discard. What I normally do is let's say a recipe calls for 100g of starter. I will actually make 110g and grab a teaspoon full of peaked starter in the morning to replenish what I took out last night to make it. That way, your fridge starter is always fresh, because it came from the last bread you baked and it's at its peak are close after. So for 1:5:5 = 10g:50g:50g = 110g and the 10 leftover is exactly what I took out to make it in the first place.
4. You are probably going to want a pizza stone anyway (explained in next tip), but don't go buying overpriced and advertised pizza stones. You can actually use granite plaques from your home-depot type of stores that sell construction materials. These granite blocks can be any size you want and are used for decoration on buildings or pavements and they work the same as a pizza stone.
5. Besides bread, sourdough pizza is the best thing you could do. You can even do it with the same dough and even save energy. make 1600g dough, divide it into 800+400+400 when it's proofed, then shape the bread like you normally would and then shape the 2 smaller boules. The next day you start preheating the oven and planning on starting with the bread. While the bread is baking you can take your pizza dough, stretch it and prepare it (don't add ingredients yet). Once your bread is baked, the stone will still be very hot, you'll want it hotter so turn your oven at max for like 10 minutes while you add ingredients to your first pizza. It takes about 5-8 mins to bake depending on temperature, that's when you add ingredients for second pizza if that's the case. In conclusion -> Excellent pizza for lunch, bread for sandwiches later, less energy used for the oven, same dough to begin with, less time in the kitchen, gives you something to do (prepare ingredients for pizza) while bread is baking :)
Great video!❤
Could you kindly recap the timing of the all process?
Thanks in advance 😊
Just startend folowing a copple of days ago. Couse i had trubles with my bread. Thank you for explaining!
I Just needed getting back to basic recept in this video. Also coil fold is been added to my system. And i baked today 2 beautyfull breads.
Vielen Dank for this video!! I recently switched to a stiff starter because my 1:1 just wasn't working as well and it changed the game completely!! I immediately got the best bread I've ever baked in my life and haven't looked back since. One tip for you: as you mentioned, the stiff starter is a little bit harder to combine with the rest. I always combine room temp water and the stiff starter first, let it sit for a minute or two and then add the flour. This way the starter has dissolved almost completely into the water and you don't get lumps of starter in your dough. :-) Happy baking
Thank you for this tip! Question for you: Can you keep a stiff starter going (just like you would a regular starter that's equal parts water and flour) by feeding it 10g of previous day's stiff starter, 25g of water and 50g of flour? And do you leave it on the counter or keep in the fridge?
@@mikesorcinelli1194 It never came to me that that might not work... haha. That's pretty much, what I do, especially in the colder months. I just add the water to the scraps in my jar, shake very well and let it dissolve for a while before I add the flour. Since I'm only baking for one, I store it in the fridge for later use. Extra Tip: If you ever need to leave the starter for a longer time, make it even more stiff and store it in the fridge. That way it's good without feeding for several weeks.
@@Julia-lj8bc As soon as I converted to a stiff starter, it's like my starter died or something. When it was the equal parts water/flour starter I had crazy bubbling and doubling in size. When I started converting it to a stiff starter, it's like it died. I have zero activity now. Any ideas what I might have done wrong?
I like to mix my starter with my water before adding the flour and salt. It’s easier to incorporate the water and starter first. Great vid about the stiff starter.
Once you mix the stiff starter with water then it is no longer stiff. What advantage is the stiff starter except a reduction in overall hydration.
Really eye opening video! Thanks for the amount of effort you put in to put this together and then sharing it with us.
I think I have a Bread Code addiction! I just took a loaf out of the oven that I think is the closest to a perfect loaf for me! I keep following this video but this time I added in the autolyse. I autolysed for about 35 minutes and then proceeded with the remainder of the instructions. Usually my attempt at decorative scoring fails. This time I have a beautiful ear, decorative scoring looks like a decoration and not like I carved the bread open. SO happy! I wish that I could add a photo to this comment.
Thank you , thank you 🥰 the first time I have an ear on my bread after I watched your videos and I made my dutch oven, it helped to have an ear on my bread and my bread extended a lot, Thank you🥰🙏
"Excuse my German!"?? As I would say to people (Germans) when I was there: "Thank you for speaking my language, Because, I CAN'T speak yours!" (And the woman shot back: "well, you won the war!) Only issue is that I super fed my SD starter b4 I realized that it ONLY used commercial yeast!!
Wonderful, informative video! Two days ago I made your Sandwich Poolish Bread -with 2 year expired yeast packet!! - So GOOD!! Hard to stay away from it!
Thank you sooo much!
Just made first loaf with starter instructions and starter course video-- came out great! Thank you so much!
This video is perfect for me. Your instructions are easy to follow. I must be part German because I need all the details.😊
you're an amazing instructor! I loved how you said mixing by hand is such an eye opening experience because of course, you cannot learn such a natural process without using all your senses :)) best
As for the tiny piece of dough (approx. 12 g) that I use to keep an eye on whether the dough has risen enough: as soon as it has doubled in volume (= time to shape the bread), I put the little jar with the control dough in the fridge. When it is time for baking again (usually a week later, but sometimes shorter or longer), I use this as the basis for my levain. Works fine and I don't have to worry about feeding this tiny starter between bakes. Even after two weeks in the fridge it performs great.
EDIT: Today I learned that this way to do it is called pâte fermentée.
Very nice information. Does the flavor isn't very sour with this method?
@@sevillavieira No, I haven't noticed an overly sour taste.
@@dacs1973 Excellent, thanks.
Thank you so much! I've just started making sourdough. My first boule, I used an amalgamation of about five different recipes/instructions, refrigerated for approx 12 hours. Rested at room temp for about 30 minutes, scored and baked on a stone with ice cubes around the dough and my stainless dutch oven bottom on top. It came out great! Blisters, nice crumb...if I'd watched your videos FIRST, I'd have scored it differently. Next time! 🥰
You are soooo helpful (and have such a great attitude). Thanks again for being so generous.
I had wondered about the lack of salt in some of your tutorials; I find it makes a huge difference in the taste of the bread. Theoretically I guess it should slow the fermentation, too, but does it? Fascinating, this bread stuff.🤓👍🏻
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I just had a slice of my first entirely successful sourdough bread! Tastes perfect, great oven spring, bread had evenly distributed, mostly small holes (except for one big butter catcher right in the middle), great, chewy crust! I even got a small ear! (It would have been bigger if I had read your directions on scoring first. Oops.).
This was a real game-changer for my baking. Thank you!
Your vedio tempts me to take a full course in baking bread..I love the art of baking ❤
Awesome video, especially I like the idea of a tray in the oven upside down, because I don’t have a dutch oven. Thanks a lot!
This is an excellent video…and you are an excellent teacher. Gratitude 🙏!
Wow, it answered some of my questions. Oven time, liner on the banneton, and my stiff starter. Thank you so much. Take care of yourself. 🤒🤧👨🍳🍞🥖
Great!! Thank you, excellent presentation! It was a pleasure to watch and learn more details!
Brochen!!!! I grew up eating brochen rolls. ❤❤❤ I was born in Germany, raised in Colorado. brochen...I haven't heard that word in years!❤😊
Thank you soo much for your videos and for this great recipe. I used 50% whole wheat and 50% all purpose flour and the results were amazing!!! I only added a lamination step (just because I like doing it) . Thanks again for all the tips and explanations your videos are very clear and the results are just as you describe.. thanks again!!
minute 15:00 is simply a miracle! Thank you for sharing and explaining it. I can't do this at all even with much less hydration. I have to work on it.
Amazing video. Thank you so much for your generosity in passing on all this knowledge.😍
Thanks for the detailed video and a lot of useful information. Tomorrow I will try to bake my first bread. Also, thank you for the book, I am reading, studying, everything is very clear and fascinating! THANK YOU!
It looks amazing. I started my starter 2 days ago, so I'm going to try making my first loaf. Wish me luck...
Thank you so much for everything you are saying in this video, it’s very informative, but most of all thank you for explaining different ways the crumb may look and the reason. I’ve ended up with such results, but didn’t know what is the reason and how to correct it. Now I know 😊
Hello from Ohio🇺🇸!
Thank you very much for the videos. I'm new at baking sourdough bread
Hi, i want to thank you so much for all of your videos and explanations! This is so much work and experience that you share! Greetings from Bulgaria!
Thanks for updating your master instructions, Hendrik. The video is very clear. I noted you only did one coil fold; I will try that, along with creating a stiffer starter. My kitchen was really cold over the winter here in NW Spain, and I often didn’t get the fermentation I wanted. Now that the days are warmer I think I will have more success. Thanks so much for sharing your passion with us!
Du bist der Weltmeister!!! Dankeschön. Grüße aus Argentinien.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You gave me hope to continue with my dough and starter. 😄 we also don’t let anything go to waste. I guess countries which went through many years of war leave their people with particular traits. Never thought of it until you mentioned it. We do the same thing 😁.
Thank you, Hendrik. I am a new subscriber.I have just started bread making. Your channel is very informative. I learned a lot. Currently, I am growing my sourdough. When it is strong enough, I will try one of your recipes. Good luck to you and once again thank you for sharing such useful tips.
Good luck!
Excellent vid - I've been following you from the begining years ago, and this vid is as good as many of the other vids done by other bakers! Congrats - well done!!
Vielen Dank - auch wenn Umwege bekanntlich die Ortskenntnis beim Brotbacken erweitern - das beste Video zum Thema auf YT. Un grand merci.
Just made my first loaf of sourdough and it's the best bread i've had so far. Much love dude
So many variables to consider.im glad and grateful you explain this in depth,because as you said and I experienced, of you just follow recipes ,it's very rare it works out
Thank you 🤗
Thank you for all your Videos, Henrik. It took a long time until I finally managed sourdough bread baking. Your videos helped a lot on this journey.
I will now transform my standard sourdough starter to a stiff starter. Looking forward to the results.
I am thinking of doing the same and I saw the posted conversions. I wondered if a stiff starter needs daily feedings and what can be done with the discard? Maybe add 50% water to the discard to use in recipes as the hydration level is half? Thoughts?
@@CelesteHolbrookRN I'd just regardless dump it in the stiff starter jar. Then when making a dough out of it you have to knead a bit more. No need for daily feedings, just once before you use it.
@@the_bread_code thank you! This is super helpful. I appreciate the response. I'm trying to watch all the videos and understand. I'm anxiously awaiting Bread Pit. He'll go with my current collection. It's fun to try different starters. :) I'll try the stiff starter, I'd be happy to not do daily feedings.
Thank you very much for all the amazing videos!! I know how much time and effort it takes to have a perfect video! And all the information that you share is so valuable!! Thank you!thank you!!
Thank you for this simple step by step video. This enabled me to bake my first sourdough bread. Loads of love!
I would say: Loads of loaf.
I followed your instructions fairly closely and produced a terrific loaf of bread, Danke Schoen. from Atascadero California.
Hi! The explanation at the beginning about hydration levels, protein percentage, and yeast and bacteria has helped me so much! No wonder i was having so many issues blindly following 80% hydration level when I first started. I am curious what protein percentage is in the flour you used, seeing as though you used 80% hydration level in your recipe?
8 mins in and MIND BLOWN 😮😮😮😮. Also could you please do more on spelt. I mill my own spelt.
You're amazing and you have a special place in heaven for putting so much effort into this.
I've had a problem with not getting good oven spring on my bread using other recipes and methods. I think I may have been using too much starter for season I was baking in! I am currently rehydrating my starter after a year of not baking anything with it. Very excited to give your method a try.