tropit

A while back, I was asking all of you what the deal was with throwing out most of your bread starter every day (discard.) Now I know. My DH bought me the book TARTINE BREAD, by Chad Robertson and I've been trying my hand at making his Country Bread. He does everything the opposite that I have learned about making sourdough bread. He makes his starter with 50/50 white/whole wheat flour and throws out 80% of it every day, so that it does not accumulate acetic acid, which makes the bread sour. He does not keep his starter in the fridge for the same reason. He wants sweet sourdough bread. His dough is very hydrated, almost to the point of running through your fingers, he does not knead it, nor does he put flour down on his table/bench. All of this is very new to me.

He's in Nor Cal, so I have tried his bread at restaurants and it's amazing. It sells for $25/loaf at his SF bakery and it's just gorgeous with a dark, crunchy crust and a soft, large-holed crumb inside. I'm trying to make it this week. It's time consuming if you have to start with making new starter, so I don't think I'll be doing this every day. I'll let you know how it comes out. Please let me know if you've tried making it. Tips and suggestions are welcome.

You can find his recipe here:
https://tartinebakery.com/stories/country-bread

Lena1952

I’ve made regular sourdough bread for years but haven’t even heard of this method. Sounds interesting but I’d hate the wasteful part of it even if it is only flour😬 Please let us know how it turns out.

tropit

Me too. I've been making sourdough bread most of my life and up until now, I've never thrown out any starter. It just get's refreshed/fed and put back into it's jar. The good news is that you can use the discard to make other things. Pizza dough is an easy one to use it for.

The reason that he throws out 80% of the starter every day is because he doesn't want the acetic acid to build up and make the bread sour. He doesn't want sour sourdough bread. He wants a un-sour loaf that is made from is still natural yeasts and not commercial yeast.

Lena1952

I understand his reasons but personally I like the sour taste. But I am just as sure I would like his style bread as well. Since I’ve never met a bread I didn’t like😬

peaceandjoy

When I kept an active starter (I no longer do; although I have some that was dried in the cupboard, in case I want to get back into it without having to make a new starter), it resided in the refrigerator until 2 days before baking. I only kept 20 g on hand.

By using such a small amount, and feeding 5 or 10 x to get the amount I wanted for whatever i was baking, my starter was not sour. I fed only when I was going to bake, every 10-14 days. Building large volumes was never a problem.

There are several FB groups for sourdough. I was in a couple, but as I was baking less and they are quite active, I've left them. Many are quite devoted to the Tartine method

tropit

Hi PeacandJoy,

That's pretty close to how I normally make my sourdough bread, but we do like to let it get sour. I have to say that I'm not doing so great working with this Tartine Country Bread recipe. It's very detailed and I'm afraid that I've missed doing a couple of steps. I have family here and everyone has taken over the kitchen. My starter got moved around and lost it's oomph. I think that I may have to start over.

tropit

I don't like to give up, but my Tartine Country Bread just isn't working. I'll go back to my own style, but perhaps take a couple of good tips away from the Tartine recipe. I'll try the recipe again when I once again have the kitchen to myself and the time to baby the bread along.

tropit

BTW, I used up all of that starter by incorporating it into my own bread recipe and adding a packet of instant yeast. So there was no loss. Came out great. I'll try the Tartine recipe again in the Fall.