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  • Thanks for the pointers from those on here re. pizza. Embracing full covid-cliches I have a rye starter going great guns.

    First effort following doves farm recipe was disaster - laborious ferment prove and then a really sticky dough - over proved and stuck to cloth. Knocked back and did another prove with (turns out) way too much flour . Then I forgot about it and baked it for 2 hrs. Much cross.

    Any pointers on a good basic recipe / workflow for baking a sourdough - without it impacting a whole day !. Are there overnight options ?

  • Similar to DJ, I've gotten much more relaxed about precise timings etc; IME sourdoughs at 60+% hydration are much less fussy about precise timings. My normal routine is usually to feed my starter in the afternoon/early evening sometime, and when it's looking happy make up an overnight sponge (with about 40% of the flour and all of the water). Next morning add the rest of the flour and the salt, and mix together with a dough whisk. Give it a quick stir about every 15 minutes for the next hour or so, and once the gluten's come together do a stretch and fold every hour or two. Depending on how it's rising (which is very dependent on ambient temperature), I'll either shape it, let it proof in the banneton, and bake it in the evening, or do a couple of stretch and folds and put it in the fridge for a retarded overnight bulk proof. In that case I usually take it out first thing, put it in a banneton, and give it a couple of hours before baking it late morning/lunchtime.

    It's a long process, but the actual hands-on time is maybe 30-40 minutes overall, and while the loaves aren't always brilliant, they're never less than acceptable (i.e. pretty darn decent) from a taste/crumb perspective.

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