River Cottage

And for the record time was tight so I used a breadmaker (gasp) to mix the sponge and to mix/knead the dough. Sorry purists, mea culpa. R

Never tried making sourdough before. Now baked my second loaf following this recipe "to the letter". Starter (named Pete after Stinky Pete the Prospector in Toy Story - yes it was reallly stinky for several days to start with!) was 9 days old for the first, 10 days for the second. Good results from both except both proved doughs slumped flatter than expected on turning out onto preheated baking surface (large heavy paella pan!). Still good enough to call a loaf rather than a flatbread, and the taste & quality of the crumb is excellent.
Next time I'm going to try final proving/baking in conventional loaf tins to avoid the slump. Also going to leave the sponge for longer - 10 hrs before so trying 24 hrs next. R

OMG. I have just made my very first Sourdough loaf using Hugh's recipe. My starter was 8 days old and the bread has turned out beautifully. I haven't even tasted it yet, but I am so excited. I am half the day kneading, rising and proving, but it was worth it. It looks gorgeous. It rose perfectly. I am in love. I have another spong waiting for tomorrow. All I can say is follow his instructions, and you will have beautiful bread. Yay hey...

made my first ever sourdough loaf today used spelt as a starter and added strong white bread flour at the sponge stage and spelt at the bread making stage. Starter had been on the go for 9 days. Followed the instructions closely, Although it tastes lovely and the texture is good, I tried to be cleaver and make it a round loaf it has spread outwards rather than upwards. Its about an inch thick, last time I made bread was 40 years ago at school, Do you think I had it too wet ? Any advise would be much appreciated! I am detrmned to get this right LOL

Hi, has anyone tried this sourdough with kamut (khorasan) flour, or have any feedback whether it will work, or tips to help it? I would love to get into using my big bag of kamut for it!

Cheers, Amelia

Just for the record, Clarrykitten, my starter absolutely thrives on tap water. Perhaps it depends on which part of the country you live in. I live in Devon and not a user of bottled water.

Began my starter a couple of weeks ago and finally made my first loaf today it's totally yummy, got another one on the go now because I don't think it will last long in my house! I've also been using tap water in my starter and it works just fine.

My first loaf done!!! Delicious!

You can't use tap water to make sourdough. it contains chlorine and other antibacterial agents that will slowly kill your starter. Use spring water and rye flour and it will be fine. I put a variety of flours in mine once it has developed. You can use a tsp of honey when you come to the loaf stage but its not essential.

I have tried the recipe for the first time this week. The starter evetually took off all foamy and yeasty and smelled nice. But when I mixed up the sponge everything seemed to slow right down and the loaf didn't seem to rise well. Did two loaves, one mixed strong white flour, spelt and rye; one just rye. The rye one rose even less well. Any advise about what I need to do to get the dough rising well?