Few adjustments for this attempt…

  1. I am using a kitchen scale to measure instead of cups. This is a more reliable and exact way to make sure I have the most control.
  2. I kept the same recipe that my friend uses and just converted it to grams to see if that would make a difference too.
  3. I changed my flour brand. It is still Semola but it’s by a different brand. Seems much finer than the previous so maybe this will turn out better?
  4. I fed my starter twice before using it to bake and when I fed my starter I used a different ratio – 1:10:10 (better to leave for 12 hours according to my research).
  5. When I would leave my starter or dough to rest, I would keep it in the microwave with the door left open so the light inside stayed on. This is so the temperature stays consistent and warm (about 25˚ C).

So after I fed my starter and it reached it’s peak, I measured out the ingredients for the bread which is 10 g of starter, 442 g of water, 11 g of salt, and 500 g of flour. The same recipe as before. Then after a good mix, I covered it in a damp tea towel and did 4 sets of stretch and folds. In between each stretch and fold I would leave it for 15 mins. Eventually it got a bit less sticky and then I left it covered until the next day!

The next day when I went to shape it, I see that my dough has expanded nicely however it had signs of over-proofing! Again!! With the poke test the indents didn’t spring back, it was very flat and sticky and it seemed to have risen over 50%. Frustrated because I didn’t want to bake a heavy dense bread again, I looked to instagram for support. Turns out, you can make focaccia bread with overproofed sourdough!

Spirits high again, I followed this recipe on pivoting to focaccia bread. I oiled my dish, spread out my dough, let it rest for just over 2 hours, then added more oil, did the dimpling, and added rosemary and flakey salt! When I took it out of the oven it looked so pretty and smelt so good I was so excited. It tasted okay… It was moist which was good and the rosemary and salt were super yummy but it was a bit sour (shocker).

I am happy with how this turned out! I am excited to try and make focaccia one day with a proper recipe and excited to try sour dough again….