I know that some sourdough bakers keep their starter in the refrigerator and only feed when they plan to bake to prevent having discard. For those who have discard, what are some of your favorite things that you've baked? I've dehydrated some starter for backup (you can never be too careful), we (my children and I) have made discard herb crackers, discard garlic parmesan crackers, Beethoven muffins (Beethoven's favorite fruit?......... ba- na- na- nah's), an apple fritter focaccia, waffles, cherry cream cheese danish, chocolate covered (dehydrated) strawberry scones, chocolate covered (dehydrated) raspberry scones, peach scones, mini cinnamon roll bites, apple cinnamon pull-apart bread and peaches and cream cheese danish. I saw a post that someone made on social media yesterday of some Oatmeal Cream Pies and plan to make some of those later this week.

Today, I baked a BEAUTIFUL loaf of sourdough. This time, I baked in a cast iron (similar to a DO, (extra deep cast iron) with a sheet pan over it because I don't currently own a true DO). I'm finding that I am not a super huge fan of this baking method. It was pretty, it has a good ear, nice oven spring as far as I can tell. My only issue is that the crumb is still a little more gummy than I would like for it to be. I know that a homemade sourdough bread is NEVER going to be exactly like fresh bakery bread, however, I know there has to be something more than this. I loved the look of the crust. I used the same recipe as the last few... 165g starter, 400g water, 15g sea salt and 650g bread flour. I kneaded by hand for 10 minutes, bulk fermented for 9 hours on the counter in a 72° kitchen (was 50- 60% raised) and cold proofed overnight in refrigerator. Opinion please... the only thing I did different was the cooking vessel. Preheated to 500°, reduced to 475° when bread went in, baked covered for 35 minutes with steam pan on bottom rack then removed lid, baked 25 minutes at 450°.

This pain au levain didn’t turn out the best so while I know it’s not going to be a high score 😞 these are the loaves that benefit most from the BreadScore feedback! I’m happy with the oven spring but am wondering if it’s under proofed (I think slightly) or also just a shaping issue?

I used Khorasan flour with Za'atar and Thyme Levain: ➢ 6 grams - Starter at peak (100% hydration) ➢ 30 grams - Water ➢ 61 grams - Khorasan flour DOUGH Fermentolyse ➢ 97 grams - Khorasan (stiff starter) ➢ 275 grams - Water ➢ 421 grams - Khorasan flour Mix ➢ 31 grams - Water ➢ 10 grams - Salt ➢ 16 grams - Extra Virgin Olive Oil ➢ 40 grams - Za'atar ➢ 10 grams - Dried thyme and some fresh thyme leaves Other ➢ Hemp seeds for topping

Good morning and happy Sunday! What are your go-to flours? It would be helpful for me to understand what baking flours most of you use as I put together content, recipes, etc. For instance, I always have on hand King Arthur bread flour, organic Costco all-purpose flour, and organic Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour. Of course, I also have a few other flours around such as a rye flour. So if you can just drop those in the chat, that would be really helpful. Thank you 🙏 Also, our JUNE RECOGNITION CALL is coming up this Tuesday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. EST. Don't miss the live call when I'll announce our latest group of certified bakers for each level along with our member of the month and new community members. You'll find the log-in link on the Calendar tab and at the top of the Community page. And if you can't join us live, be sure to catch the recording!