Fermentation Support Forum

Hello friends,

I just made my first sourdough bread with the starter I made from scratch and based on taste and texture I think it turned out really well.

It doesn't look as nice like a loaf as I'd like it to though. It kind of burst on the sides and has a thick crust on top- mostly because I wasn't able to "slice an X" on top like the recipe suggested. After it rose (which wasn't super noticible after 6 hours) It was really sticky and the dough stuck to the knife instead of getting cut in an X... I also don't know if I kneaded it enough... Any thoughts?

I used the basic sourdough recipe from cultures for health.com here https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn ... ough-bread

I'm literally self taught here... No background knowledge other than some basic baking experience. I did add extra flour because I added all the water at once (oops) and needed that to be able to knead it. That was probably good though because adding more flour is the basic advice for cooking at altitude- I live at almost 10,000 ft here in Quito.

TIA for your advice and input!

Danielle S.

https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn ... sourdough/
try this too, minimal kneading , no need for butter - I use silicon tray
Next time I will try the x cut

Hi Danielle,

When scoring my loaves, I use a razor blade. I've never been able to get a knife sharp enough! I bought a multipack of razor blades on Amazon, and a wooden coffee stirrer (like you might find in Starbucks) which fits inside the razor blade to create a Lame.

I also do my second rise in the fridge, which keeps the dough cool and firm and makes it much easier to score as the dough keeps its shape. I take it straight from the fridge, score, and into the hot oven.

I found this video useful on why/how to score at a shallow angle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVdcDJmkYaI

And you're not limited to scoring in an "x" shape either... check out this instagram account with some amazing scoring patterns! https://www.instagram.com/sourdough_nouveau/

Hope that helps!
Jamie