How to Test Your Flour's Hydration Capacity

Knowing how to test the hydration capacity of your flour is a useful little trick that can save you time and ingredients in sourdough baking.

How much water can your flour hold, and why is it important to know this? In a word, how much water can you add to your loaf and it still be able to keep its shape?

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Every Flour is Different

Each flour has a different capacity for holding water. The higher the protein content, the easier it will hold higher hydration amounts. All-purpose flours hold less water than bread flour or high-protein bread flour. Even one all-purpose flour to the next will have different capacities, depending on protein content.

Whole wheat flours are considered “thirsty” flours, and can hold more water.

The best way to figure out what the hydration capacity of your flour is, is to do a little test. If you’re unfamiliar with baker’s formula, what follows is a quick explanation to make sure we’re all on the same page.

Baker’s Formula

When baking bread, especially sourdough and artisan breads, you will often hear bakers talking about their ingredients in percentages. This is called baker’s formula, or baker’s math.

If you’re just getting into sourdough, and even for all other baking, here is another prompt to start using a kitchen scale if you are not already.

Why You Should Use a Baking Scale

In baker’s formula, the flour in the recipe is always the 100%. Every other ingredient’s percentage is calculated from the flour’s weight. For example, a bread recipe that calls for 1000g of flour and 700g of water, means that it has 70% water, or 70% hydration.

Ingredient weight / Flour Weight x 100 = %

700g water / 1000g flour x 100 = 70%

This can be done with any or all ingredients in a bread recipe and is very helpful for understanding the recipe. You will start to notice that certain kinds of bread have lower hydration, like bagels, while others have quite high hydration, like ciabatta. You’ll be able to get a feel for what the dough will feel like and how the bread will turn out, without ever having made the recipe.

Hydration can vary widely in sourdough baking. Generally speaking, any recipe that calls for under 70% hydration is considered low hydration. Beginner recipes often hover around 65% hydration. Lower hydration means less tacky dough and easier to work with and shape. For an intermediate to experienced baker, 70-80% is usually a happy spot. Anything above 80% is usually considered high hydration and needs special handling and stronger flours.

To brush up on your sourdough lingo, read here.


Testing a Flour’s Hydration Capacity

  1. Measure out a small amount of desired flour into several small bowls. 20g is a good amount in each bowl, keeping it small and manageable, but still a decent enough chunk to work with. You can test different flours side by side. Keep all the bowls labeled or use different colors/styles, so the different flours don’t get mixed up.

  2. Decide which hydration levels you’d like to test with the flour. Start with a hydration you feel the flour can hold comfortably, probably under 70%, then work your way up from there. Increments of 5% usually work nicely.

  3. Calculate how much water to add, and mix into each bowl.

  4. Thoroughly mix each bowl, kneading and working until a smooth dough has formed. If you don’t want to continue kneading a bunch of tiny pieces of dough, you can let them sit, covered, for several hours and check back.

  5. Once the tiny bits of dough have had a chance for adequate gluten development, by kneading or by sitting, it’s time to check each one. You will probably have already noticed how each bowl of dough acts a little differently.

Now to Determine Which Hydration Levels the Flours Like

It’s easiest to start with lower hydration levels. The bit of dough should look smooth and feel elastic. It should pass the window pane test. If it doesn’t, the dough may need more time to sit or more kneading.

Work your way up the bowls, stretching, kneading, feeling as each bit of dough gets looser and stickier. You may notice as you work with the higher hydration bits that the dough will start to show some little tearing as you stretch it. Once the tearing becomes more noticeable, the dough doesn’t seem to be able to hold much shape, and the dough doesn’t pass the windowpane test, you have probably gone past the limit for that particular flour.


Two Flours Tested Side by Side

Here I tested out the hydration capacity of Kirkland Signature Organic All-Purpose Flour and King Arthur Bread Flour side by side.

I had five bowls for each kind of flour. Each bowl contained 20g of flour. I used a precision scale, but this isn’t necessary. The hydration levels were:

  • 65% (20g flour, 13g water)

  • 70% (20g flour, 14g water)

  • 75% (20g flour, 15g water)

  • 80% (20g flour, 16g water)

  • 85% (20g flour, 17g water)

Each bowl was kneaded briefly, then left to sit for several hours. I inspected them after the initial kneading, later in the day, and again the next day. Each piece was stretched and shaped into a ball, and prodded plenty.

Conclusion:

Kirkland Organic All-Purpose Flour

This AP flour seemed to find its sweet spot around 75% hydration. The dough with 80% hydration tore easily and couldn’t quite seem to build up enough gluten to hold any kind of shape. Based on this, I would stay under 80%, maybe even under 75% for Kirkland Organic All-Purpose Flour.

Interestingly enough, shortly after I performed this experiment, a well-known sourdough master, Tom Cucuzza of The Sourdough Journey shared a post of a loaf he made. He said he used 90% Kirkland Organic All-Purpose Flour, and 10% whole wheat flour, and mentioned that he thought the Kirkland flour holds 80% hydration well. I found that highly interestingly, since in my own experience Kirkland flour is optimal at not much higher than 75%, as I found in this little test, beyond dozens of other loaves I have made with this flour. However, he also mentioned, and I have also seen others talk about, how Kirkland’s Organic All-Purpose Flour can yield inconsistent results. I can only guess, but perhaps being such a large chain with stores across the country, maybe they’re sourcing wheat from many different areas and fields, and thus, differing results. Their bags mention they are “mininum 11.5%” protein content, so presumably, some bags may contain higher protein and be able to hold those higher hydrations better, as some bakers have found.

King Arthur Bread Flour

The King Arthur Bread Flour did better at 80% hydration. It only started to lose its shape and show more signs of tearing at 85% hydration. Based on this, I would say the King Arthur Bread Flour can comfortably go up to 80%, perhaps a bit higher, but would need some high-protein flour mixed with it to go higher with good results, perhaps some King Arthur Sir Lancelot flour. I don’t normally prefer eating breads with hydration higher than 80% because of the larger holes.


Why Increase Sourdough Hydration?

Sourdough made with higher hydration is usually made for its open, lacey crumb. This particular structure is harder to achieve and thus one of the signs that “you’ve made it” in the sourdough world. While desirable aesthetically, many people (including myself) prefer a tighter crumb.

If you’re hoping for an open crumb or just want to play with a higher hydration for the fun of it, the method described in this post is a much easier way to test how much water your particular flour can hold rather than just making whole loaves and potentially having them not turn out, wasting time and ingredients.

Hydration Test Gone to Starter

Inadvertently, I left these bowls on the counter in nice summer weather for 2-3 days, trying to decide what to make with them. (I hate waste, I also don’t have a lot of free time between 3 small children.)

In the delay of deciding and formulating a recipe, these dough balls starting fermenting and turning into starter! I could’ve fed them and had 10 new bowls of starter, but one can have too much starter, you know! I turned these into some loaves of bread, instead.

I made some Honey Oat Sourdough Loaves, and they turned out great. They were super tangy from all the fermenting flours from the hydration test, a touch sweet from the honey, and a bit nutty from the oats. Honestly, to this day they might be one of my favorite loaves I’ve made.


Explore Italy: Livorno

Terrazza Mascagni

Livorno is a city on the coast of Tuscany with a large and impressive checkered seaside promenade. As luring as that may sound, Livorno is at the bottom of my list of favorite places I’ve visited. Now, it’s still Italy and charming, but in a country full of world class beauty and charm, this is one place I won’t be urging you to visit.

More Explore Italy posts:

Livorno in a nutshell

Location: Tuscany, Italy

Best known for: Its harbor, seafood, and seaside checkerboard-pattern promenade

Days needed to explore: 1+ - Livorno is small enough that a day trip is ample to explore this city.

What to see and do:

  • Terrazza Mascagni - the checkerboard promenade by the sea

  • Fortezza Vecchia - the old fortress standing at the edge of the Medici Port

  • Fortezza Nuova - the newer red brick fortress built during the Medici period to defend against pirate attacks

  • Quartiere Venezia - an area in the middle of the city made in the style of Venice, with canals, bridges, and such.

  • Il Mercato delle Vettovaglie - a large covered market with more than 200 booths of fish, fruit, vegetables and more to browse

Established: “Livorna” is first mentioned in 1071, and was inhabited by Etruscans, ruled by the Romans and Medici, and is now the capital city of the Province of Livorno.

Places to eat:

  • Da Gagarin di Chiappo Giuliano - for a typical Livornese snack, try the 5e5 “torta di ceci” or sandwich made with chickpeas

  • Il Frataio 1920 Antica Friggitoria - head to the friggitoria off of Piazza Cavalotti and follow your nose from there to get some fresh fried donuts

Typical foods to try:

  • Il Cacciucco - a very typical fish stew featuring inexpensive local fish varieties, cuttlefish, and octopus, to use up the “un-sellables” from the market.

  • Nettare di Capraia - a local amber colored honey

  • Torta di Ceci - the flat, savory chickpea cake typical to the region. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, it’s surprisingly satisfying!

Gazebo Terrazza Mascagni

Why I like Livorno

I like Livorno mostly because I don’t love Livorno. I know that makes no sense. Of all the places I’ve been to in Italy, I think Livorno would come the least recommended. And yet, I had such a good time here, and only good memories.

I originally wanted to see Livorno because I thought I had read another expat (Girl in Florence) writing about how well she liked Livorno, a good alternative to the ever busy Cinque Terre. I’m not sure if I mixed Livorno up with another town or I just completely missed her drift, but I found the two with very little in common aside from both being in Italy and both being on the coast.

Let me start by saying that I went on a day trip here. During the off season. On a Sunday. When it was rainy. If you could combine all of the elements to make an Italian city seem closed, those would be it. Tada, I managed to experience Livorno in as close to a closed, vacated, uninhabited state as possible, pre-Covid. So really, if you have been or decide to visit Livorno, it’s almost certain you will at least have a somewhat better impression than I do. You see, off season is nice, but in smaller towns it doesn’t always feel as full or fun. On Sunday, most businesses are closed. Then you add rain on top of that and ciao, nobody’s out and about.

We had a great time walking around, circling and circling trying to find somewhere, anywhere to eat. Laughing because nowhere was open. Trying to find a grocery or small store, anything, open. Laughing because of course they’re all closed on Sunday. Walking around to see what shops might be open. None, because it’s Sunday and it’s raining. Laughing some more. And of course, being Italy, when small shops are closed they often have those metal garage doors they pull down so you can’t even see what’s there normally, just a street of locked metal pull-down doors. Giggling some more at the wet, abandoned streets. Seeing some big building, probably important. Closed, and what a lovely fence around it. Not. Laughing some more. My biggest regret was not being able to visit the Mercato delle Vettovaglie. I had heard it was a great market, not so dissimilar from the Mercato Centrale in Florence that I love so well.

Now, the promenade is truly lovely, but I was also struck by how random it feels. The aquarium is just off to one side, with a gravel area around it, and the promenade just kinda starts. It goes on in all its elegance, then ends. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme to it. It feels like it deserves some beautiful gardens or walkways that lead up to it, not gravel and randomness. Perhaps in the summer when it’s not raining they have events or gatherings there.

Cisternone

Piazza della Repubblica

Terrazza Mascagni looking out towards the Porto di Livorno


Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Also known as MMM Cookies, or Magical Marvelous Memorable Cookies.

These cookies are sweet, salty, and have little crunchies in them from granola and pecans. Many people pick them up thinking they’re just a normal chocolate chip cookie only to ask, “hey, what’s in here?” when they realize there are some delightful little sweet and salty add-ins dotting the chocolate chip landscape.

The recipe that inspired these cookies is called “Magical, Marvelous, Memorable Cookies”. I like to think of the pretzels as magical, the pecans as marvelous, and the granola as memorable. Irony of ironies, I could never remember the whole title and would always forget “memorable.” I decided to give them a little bit easier and more descriptive name. While I do enjoy the original more whimsical one, it is harder to remember and gives no indication as to what is in these cookies or what they will taste like.

Cookies that unite

Somehow, their everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-esque ingredient list works really well together. They unite people, when you think they would divide, especially when they include things like pretzels and nuts. I’m not normally one to like pretzels in my desserts. The pretzels are one of my favorite parts. My mom doesn’t like nuts in her cookies. She likes the pecans in these.

Granola? In cookies?

The recipe calls for granola, which might seem ambiguous in light of all of the different kinds of granola out there, store-bought and homemade. Use whatever kind you’d like! Yes, each time the cookies will be a bit different, but as long as you like the granola you’re using, the cookies should turn out delightful. It doesn’t even have to be pure granola. Recently I’ve been using Post Great Grains Crunchy Pecan and it works very well.

Likewise, pecans are one of my favorite nuts in dessert (if I want nuts), but you can use your favorite nut here, if you don’t have or don’t want to use pecans.

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Recipe inspired by Food52


Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup / 225g Butter, softened OR 3/4 cup / 169g Neutral-flavored cooking oil

  • 3/4 cup / 150g Granulated sugar

  • 3/4 cup / 150g Brown sugar

  • 2 Eggs

  • 2 tsp / 10g Vanilla extract

  • 2 1/4 cup / 270g All-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp Baking soda

  • 1 tsp Salt

  • 1 cup / 170g Semi-sweet chocolate chips

  • 1 cup / 120g Granola or granola-like cereal

  • 1/2 cup / 50g Pecans, chopped

  • 1/2 cup / 20g Pretzels, crushed

Directions:

Oven 375°F / 177°C. 1 or 2 ungreased cookie sheets

  1. In bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. If using oil, simply mix oil and sugars.

  2. Beat in eggs and vanilla, until thoroughly combined.

  3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

  4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.

  5. Stir in chocolate chips, granola, pecans, and pretzels until evenly distributed.

  6. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges start to turn golden and centers still look a bit soft.

  7. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet to cool completely.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • Any variety of pretzels can be used, as long as they can be broken into small pieces. Sticks or tiny twists (mini) are probably the easiest to work with.

  • The options for what kind of granola to use in these is almost endless. You could use store-bought or homemade, any flavor you like.

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield 24-30
Author
Prep time
25 Min
Cook time
10 Min
Total time
35 Min

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip Cookies with the addition of pretzels, pecans, and granola. The ingredients might sound a bit "everything but the kitchen sink" but surprise everyone with just how tasty they are.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Oven 375°F / 177°C. 1 or 2 ungreased cookie sheets
  2. In bowl of a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. If using oil, simply mix oil and sugars.
  3. Beat in eggs and vanilla, until thoroughly combined.
  4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
  5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.
  6. Stir in chocolate chips, granola, pecans, and pretzels until evenly distributed.
  7. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until edges start to turn golden and centers still look a bit soft.
  8. Allow to cool for a few minutes before removing from cookie sheet to cool completely.

Notes

  • Any variety of pretzels can be used, as long as they can be broken into small pieces. Sticks or tiny twists (mini) are probably the easiest to work with.
  • The options for what kind of granola to use in these is almost endless. You could use store-bought or homemade, any flavor you like.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

268

Fat

15 g

Sat. Fat

3 g

Carbs

31 g

Fiber

1 g

Net carbs

29 g

Sugar

17 g

Protein

3 g

Sodium

180 mg

Cholesterol

14 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 cookie from a 24-cookie batch.

no chill chocolate chip cookies, everything but the kitchen sink cookies, magical marvelous memorable cookies
dessert
American
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Cold Retard: Does It Matter How the Dough Is Covered?

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When it comes to the retard, or overnight slow ferment in the fridge for sourdough, you might be wondering what to put your loaves in and how to cover them.

The best practice is to put them in banneton baskets or other similar proofing baskets, but other bowls or such can be used in a pinch, as long as the dough can easily be gotten out the next morning for baking. The dough is in its final shape at this point and shouldn’t have to be pried from a container or it will lose its shape. If you have some clean linen cloths, you can line your bannetons or bowls with those.

Now what to cover them with? Plastic? That is the first guess, since you usually want food well covered to retain freshness, flavor, and moisture.

Perhaps you’ve seen some of the sourdough bakers around covering their bannetons with cloths, rather than plastic. Is there anything to it? Wouldn’t your dough dry out if you cover it with just a cloth?

Covering dough with plastic

Many, maybe even most bakers I know cover their dough for the retard with plastic. Whether it’s a large ziploc bag, a grocery bag, a shower cap, or a plastic cover made specifically for covering bread dough, there are many different ways to effectively cover your dough with plastic.

You’ll want to keep the plastic from touching the dough to avoid it sticking, but other than that use what plastic you wish. I would stick with food grade plastic since it is in such close proximity to food and runs the risk of coming in direct contact with food. For this reason I’m a little leery of shower caps since they’re made of cheap and sketchy plastic, although the ones I’ve linked are supposed to be food grade. I would also double check grocery store bags to see if they are indeed food grade.

Plastic will keep your dough moister and stickier as it keeps in all the moisture. Depending on your dough hydration level and inclusions added, this may be beneficial or detrimental to your bread.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that plastic keeps in heat better, so if your dough is very warm or is verging on over proofed, avoid using plastic so the dough can cool down quicker in the fridge. I’ve seen an instance where a baker was bulk fermenting her dough very well, but during the cold retard her loaves were still managing to over ferment. It came to her attention that her loaves were over fermenting because she was covering them with plastic in the fridge! Once she switched to a different covering, her loaves were fine.

Covering dough with cloth

Whether or not you line your bannetons with cloth, you can also choose to cover your dough with cloth. You can use an elastic linen covering, or if you line baskets with a larger square cloth, just fold it over your dough to cover.

That last option is what I do. I might be in the minority, but I find it preferable. It’s not plastic, it uses just one cloth for lining and covering the dough, and it keeps my bannetons clean all at the same time. I also don’t have to worry about retained heat and possible over-proofing. Does my dough dry out? It forms a light skin, but it doesn’t seem to affect the bake or oven spring at all. Sometimes the cloth can leave some imprints in the top of the dough as it slowly rises in the fridge, if anything is pressing down on it. As you can see in the photos below, the cloth helped to smooth out the dough where the plastic-covered dough retained signs of shaping and “clasping” more.

A big part of the success of the cloth covering will be what type of air circulation your fridge has. If the air circulation includes fans and rapid moving air, you may find your loaves dry out excessively, too much for using just cloth. I’ve seen others perform a similar experiment where their loaf that was covered in cloth turned quite stunted compared to the loaf covered in plastic.

A Side-by-Side Experiment

My fridge doesn’t seem to dry out my loaves much. I baked two loaves side-by-side, one having done its retard in plastic and the other in linen. The results were basically the same. If anything, the cloth covered loaf did a touch better, but see for yourself in the photos.

Both loaves are identical in recipe and method. The inclusions are green olives and feta. Both were shaped with the tri-fold caddy clasp method.

dough covered in linen, after 12+ hour retard

dough covered in plastic, after 12+ hour retard

plastic covered loaf on the L, linen-covered on the R

crumb of the plastic-covered loaf

crumb of the linen-covered loaf

So much of baking sourdough comes down to your own environment. As usual, I would encourage you to experiment yourself. Either try a different way of covering than you normally do to see the results, or do it side-by-side as shown in this post.

Avoiding the Sourdough Dark Bottom Crust

Olive and Feta Loaf using the cookie sheet method for a lighter bottom crust

Sourdough is often synonymous with tough, crusty bread, big air holes that let butter and jam drip through, and burnt bottoms.

While the first two can certainly be true of sourdough bread, it does not have to be that way, and is usually done so by preference of the baker. However, I can’t say I’ve ever met a baker or sourdough consumer who raves about the dark, sometimes downright burnt, bottoms.

The dark bottom is a part of the beast of baking sourdough bread, as the bottom of the bread is in direct contact with the baking vessel in ovens at rather high temperatures for long periods of time. Fear not! There are several simple solutions to avoid this, and no need to have dark bottoms. You probably have all 3 main solutions right in your kitchen.

I’ve tried all 3 of the following bottom-crust savers, and all three are valid. Each has their pros and cons. You may find you prefer one method over the other, but that may not be the same as the next sourdough baker. I’d encourage you to go ahead and try them all to see which you like!

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Cookie Sheet

Italiano Loaves using the cookie sheet method

Perhaps the simplest method of the three, all you have to do is place a cookie sheet below your dutch oven or baking vessel in the oven. You can place the cookie sheet on the rack below your dutch oven; the dutch oven does not have to be directly on the cookie sheet.

The photo you see here features two of my “Italiano” loaves using the cookie sheet method. Despite the color difference, they were both baked at the same time for the same length of time. The darker one has parmesan cheese and herbs in it, while the lighter has only herbs. I can also tell you, something about the lighting of the photo made the darker loaf look extra dark, almost too dark. But looking at it in real life, it actually looked nicely golden, not dark at all. So, that’s important to note, as well as different kinds of loaves will still get a bit more color when using the cookie sheet method.

(I knew of the cookie sheet trick long before I tried it, because I erroneously thought the dutch ovens had to be ON the cookie sheet. That wouldn’t work for me since I usually work with two dutch ovens side by side and wouldn’t quite fit on a single cookie sheet, and two cookie sheets don’t fit side by side in my oven. Ha.)

Pros: The cookie sheet method is great because most everyone has a cookie sheet, cookie sheets are reusable, and it works with a consistent level of color on the bottom without being too dark.

Cons: The cookie sheet method is not as great because it can potentially make your cookie sheets dark and stained, and if it’s not centered under your dutch oven part of the bottom crust can still over bake . I’ve had loaves where half was dark and half wasn’t, just because I didn’t realize the cookie sheet wasn’t under the entirety of my dutch oven.

If you bake sourdough frequently and enjoy this method, you could consider delegating an old, already stained cookie sheet to be the sourdough cookie sheet, or just get another cheap one for such a purpose.

Tinfoil

Two Cheddar Jalapeño loaves using the tinfoil method, irregular color due to uneven crumpling of tinfoil

This method simply involves crumpling up some tinfoil to cover the bottom of the dutch oven. There is a bit of a learning curve, as you learn how big a piece of tinfoil to use and how much to crumple up.

If too little a piece is used or not crumpled enough, the bottom will darken all the same. If the tinfoil is crumpled too much, the bottom of the loaf may not darken or even develop a crust at all!

Once, when I exaggerated how much I crumpled the tinfoil, the bottom came out practically still as pale as the dough. The rest of the loaf was golden and baked perfectly, but the bottom was pale and sad. So, the tinfoil method can be taken too far!

Two Cheddar Jalapeño loaves using the tinfoil method, irregular color due to uneven crumpling of tinfoil

Pros: The tinfoil method is great because most everyone has tinfoil, the tinfoil can be reused many times, and its effect is adjustable.

Cons: The tinfoil is not infinitely reusable, and results can be inconsistent depending on how the tinfoil is crumpled.

Rice

Another household staple that can be easily used to avoid dark bottoms. Sprinkle the bottom of the dutch oven with a handful or two of rice before lowering your sourdough into the oven. You’ll want to be sure to use parchment paper under your sourdough for this method, rather than a reusable silicone bread sling. Otherwise rice may attach and bake itself onto any bit of bread that is hanging over the sling.

You only need a handful of rice to start seeing results, but if you still want lighter bottoms you can use a bit more rice, 2-3 handfuls or enough to almost cover the bottom of the dutch oven.

Pros: Rice is a household staple, and the bottom color of crust is slightly customizable depending on how much rice you use.

Cons: Rice can only be reused a few times before it eventually becomes too dark and burned and must be tossed out. Depending on the amount of rice used, and how often it needs to be changed out, it may be the most expensive method. Not as friendly to use with reusable silicone bread slings.

More Tips for Avoiding Dark Bottom Crusts:

  • Consider lowering oven temperature. If you bake above 450°F / 232°C, this could be contributing to dark or extra dark bottoms. Play around with lower oven temperatures. The Sourdough Journey recently did an experiment with baking identical loaves at different temperatures, one at 450°F / 232°C, the other at 500°F / 260°C. I was pleasantly surprised to find his results showed improved oven spring with the loaf baked at 450°F / 232°C rather than at 500°F / 260°C, since I bake at 450°F / 232°C but had been wondering if I should be baking or rather preheating oven to 500°F / 260°C.

  • Check the quality of your parchment paper. Cheaper, thinner, parchment may contribute to darker bottoms. Look for “Heavy Duty” or “Professional Grade” rather than always the cheapest option.

  • Use a lighter pan. If baking in dark cast iron or similar baking vessels, try out something lighter in color, if possible. I use navy blue Tramontina brand dutch ovens, with light insides, and with any of the methods above, can still get very nice bottom crusts. I prefer to use a dark color for my breads, since they tend to get so spattered and stained up and are difficult to clean thoroughly. While the inside is light and gets stained, at least the outside hides any stains!


Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies are very much like a classic chocolate chip cookie, but with two important differences: They have butterscotch chips and dark chocolate chips instead of the classic semi-sweet. Also, a sprinkling of sea salt on top gives these an extra little sweet and salty kick.

The orange and dark chocolate give these an autumnal, even Halloween look. I love that a simple, quick to make cookie can still look subtly festive without having to make cutout cookies with icing and such.

A Note on Chips:

These cookies call for butterscotch chips. I recommend checking the ingredients of butterscotch chips before buying as some brands include artificial colors. While butterscotch chips may not be the most wholesome thing on the market, some options are still better than others. I’ve found butterscotch chips at Aldi that use natural coloring and for one of the better prices, too!

While any flavor of chocolate chips can be used in these, milk, semi-sweet, or dark, I really enjoy dark chocolate chips or chunks. The bitterness from the dark chocolate helps to cut the sweetness of the butterscotch chips while also complimenting the sea salt.

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Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 24-30 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 cup / 168g neutral-flavored cooking oil

  • 3/4 cup / 150g sugar

  • 3/4 cup / 150g brown sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 tsp / 5g vanilla extract

  • 2 1/2 cups / 300g all-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 cup / 170g butterscotch chips

  • 1 cup / 170g dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

  • sea salt, for sprinkling, optional

Directions:

Oven 375° / 190°C. 1 or 2 ungreased cookie sheets.

  1. In a large bowl, combine oil, both sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well with a spoon for about 30 seconds - 1 minute.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

  3. Add dry ingredients along with butterscotch and chocolate chips to wet ingredients. Mix until well combined.

  4. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are just starting to turn light golden brown and centers look mostly set.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • While cookie recipes never include notes about needing to add more flour, like bread recipes often do, I often find it necessary to add more flour to get the consistency I like. If you can see cookie dough spreading in the bowl after mixing, rather than staying mostly in a mounded shape, it’s probably too soft. Add 1/4 cup flour at a time until desired thickness is achieved. If in doubt, you can always bake off a test cookie. Scoop out enough dough for just one cookie onto cookie sheet and bake, adding more flour if cookie spreads too thin. Conversely, if cookie is too thick and doesn’t spread much at all, next time add less flour.

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield 24-30
Author
Prep time
15 Min
Cook time
10 Min
Total time
25 Min

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chewy cookies with dark chocolate, butterscotch, and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Oven 375° / 190°C. 1 or 2 ungreased cookie sheets.
  2. In a large bowl, combine oil, both sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well with a spoon for about 30 seconds - 1 minute.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Add dry ingredients along with butterscotch and chocolate chips to wet ingredients. Mix until well combined.
  5. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are just starting to turn light golden brown and centers look mostly set.

Notes

  • While cookie recipes never include notes about needing to add more flour, like bread recipes often do, I often find it necessary to add more flour to get the consistency I like. If you can see cookie dough spreading in the bowl after mixing, rather than staying mostly in a mounded shape, it’s probably too soft. Add 1/4 cup flour at a time until desired thickness is achieved. If in doubt, you can always bake off a test cookie. Scoop out enough dough for just one cookie onto cookie sheet and bake, adding more flour if cookie spreads too thin. Conversely, if cookie is too thick and doesn’t spread much at all, next time add less flour.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

235

Fat

11 g

Sat. Fat

2 g

Carbs

31 g

Fiber

1 g

Net carbs

30 g

Sugar

15 g

Protein

2 g

Sodium

193 mg

Cholesterol

15 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 cookie if recipe makes 24.

no chill cookies, chocolate chip cookies, butterscotch chip cookies, sea salt cookies, crackly cookies
dessert
American
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Sourdough Tools: The Essentials for Beginners

What are the tools you need to get started making your own sourdough bread at home?

Not much, honestly! Part of the beauty of sourdough is its simplicity. It’s extremely simple to make, needing only flour, water, salt, and some sourdough starter (which itself is made from just water and flour). There are many, many factors that will affect your bread, which is where it can get complicated and scientific, but it is a beautiful and addicting process that I hope you embark on and enjoy!

If you’re brand new to sourdough, maybe you’ve never made a loaf before or not even entirely sure what it is, I’ll walk you through what you need to get started. As already stated above, you probably already have everything!

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Sourdough Ingredients:

  • Flour - either all-purpose flour or bread flour. Small percentages of whole wheat and other types of flour can be added in, as desired. For the sake of simplicity, it’s nice to start out with 1 - 2 flours.

  • Water - sourdough likes spring water, filtered purified water, bottled water…it doesn’t do as well on distilled water, tap water that has been treated, or hard water.

  • Salt

  • Sourdough starter - you can purchase one, find a friend who will share with you, or start your own. Soon I’ll put up a little guide to starting your own starter. It’s very simple, but sometimes can require a little troubleshooting. You only need flour and water.

Sourdough Tools

Getting Started

To make a basic loaf of sourdough bread, you’ll need:

Simple, right? With these things, you can make sourdough bread. It is more than possible, and a good place to start before investing in more tools. It may not be the perfect loaves you see in bakeries or in pictures, but even if you start with allll the tools, your first loaves probably wouldn’t be perfect anyway.

*It IS possible to make sourdough without a scale or Dutch oven. However, the vast majority of recipes are by weight, as this is key to understanding sourdough. So while there are a few kind souls out there who have shared sourdough recipes that include weight and cups/teaspoon measurements, it is really worth getting a scale. You can find inexpensive ones for less than $15. Same goes for a dutch oven. Starting without one may offer more discouraging results than encouraging. Yes, you definitely can bake sourdough straight on a pizza stone, baking steel, or even a cookie sheet, but it’s trickier to get the proper amount of steam for optimal bread when you open bake like this. Starting with a dutch oven eliminates one more variable you may have to work with.

Not to mention, with both a scale and dutch oven, they are multi-purpose. Even if you don’t continue with sourdough bread, scales offer more consistent results for baking, and dutch ovens are wonderful for cooking.

If using a scale doesn’t appeal to you, for sourdough or any baking, consider reading this article to understand the benefits to baking with a scale.

There is not much between you and your first loaves of sourdough bread. Honestly, sourdough baking may seem intimidating, but if you can take that first step and simply try it, a whole new world of fun will be open to you, not to mention fresh, homemade, healthier bread.


Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all'Americana - Four Cheese Pasta

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi is an Italian dish, luxuriously creamy yet deceptively simple to make. It simply requires boiling pasta, melting four different cheeses into some milk, then tossing the pasta in the cheesy sauce. Voila. Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi.

Italian version coming soon.

This is essentially the same dish, but Americanized. Instead of simply melting cheese into milk, this version takes the roux route. A few more ingredients, a touch more time, but more foolproof and able to be more inexpensive. Allow me to elaborate.

More flexibility on the cheeses

Because the Italian version melts cheese straight into milk, you have to be more mindful of which cheeses you’re using lest you end up with gummy chunks of cheese in the sauce. The cheeses used are often taleggio, Parmigiano reggiano, gorgonzola, and gruyère. Other alternatives include brie, pecorino, grana padano, fontina, emmental, Edam, stracchino or robiola.

Do you know what all of those cheeses have in common? They are all specialty cheeses, highly unlikely to be found in the cheese aisle at any grocery store. If you’re lucky, your grocery store might have a specialty cheese section where you can find all or some of these. Otherwise you’ll have to go to a specialty cheese place to find them. This makes this dish both expensive and elusive to make.

Enter, the Americanized version. When you make a cheese sauce with a roux, it’s more forgiving of which cheeses you add. Now, I still wouldn’t be reaching for fresh mozzarella, but it frees you up to use a combination of four different cheeses that might not normally work in the Italian version.

That said, two cheeses that seem to be classic in quattro formaggi, whether it’s the pasta or the pizza: Gorgonzola and Parmigiano. Sure, use the American made parmesan (just not the plastic-y pre shredded or grated kind though, ok?) rather than exclusively Parmigiano, but still use some kind of real parmesan. The other two cheeses you can be more flexible with. Sometimes I’ll use Asiago or mozzarella (low moisture, not fresh), Monterey, cream cheese, or other inexpensive yet decent melting cheeses.

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Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all’Americana

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb / 500g short pasta of choice

  • 2 Tbsp / 28g butter

  • 2 Tbsp / 15g all-purpose flour

  • 2 cups / 474g milk

  • 2 oz / 57g low-moisture mozzarella, shredded

  • 2 oz / 57g parmesan, shredded

  • 2 oz / 57g Gorgonzola crumbles

  • 2 oz / 57g cream cheese

  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, generously salt; cook pasta according to package directions, just 1-2 minutes less than stated cooking time.

  2. In a medium-large pot over medium heat, melt better. Add flour, stirring for 1-2 minutes until flour is absorbed and lightly toasted. Add about 1/4 cup of milk, whisking briskly. When milk is mixed in and mixture has thickened, add in another 1/4 cup milk, whisking constantly. Continue adding in milk slowly, whisking all the while. Bring to a simmer.

  3. Add in cheeses and stir until melted and smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

  4. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup water. Add pasta to cheese sauce and mix to evenly coat pasta. Add some reserved pasta water as desired, to thin out and create an even creamier sauce, mixing for a couple more minutes until sauce coats and clings to pasta.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • The four cheeses can be swapped out, however to stay tastefully close to the Italian version, keep the Parmesan and Gorgonzola.

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all’Americana
Yield 4-6
Author
Prep time
5 Min
Cook time
25 Min
Total time
30 Min

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi all’Americana

Four Cheese Pasta inspired by the Italian classic "Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi" with an American twist: made with a roux and cheeses that can be interchanged more easily. This dish is luxurious and cheesy, and easy enough for quick weeknight meals.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, generously salt; cook pasta according to package directions, just 1-2 minutes less than stated cooking time.
  2. In a medium-large pot over medium heat, melt better. Add flour, stirring for 1-2 minutes until flour is absorbed and lightly toasted. Add about 1/4 cup of milk, whisking briskly. When milk is mixed in and mixture has thickened, add in another 1/4 cup milk, whisking constantly. Continue adding in milk slowly, whisking all the while. Bring to a simmer.
  3. Add in cheeses and stir until melted and smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup water. Add pasta to cheese sauce and mix to evenly coat pasta. Add some reserved pasta water as desired, to thin out and create an even creamier sauce, mixing for a couple more minutes until sauce coats and clings to pasta.

Notes

  • The four cheeses can be swapped out, however to stay tastefully close to the Italian version, keep the Parmesan and Gorgonzola.

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 4 servings.

four cheese pasta, quick easy weeknight meal, dinner party pasta, Italian cheese pasta, pasta ai quattro formaggi
dinner, pasta
Italian, American
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Adding Inclusions to Sourdough Bread

Last updated October 8, 2024

Sourdough bread is delicious, but once you start playing with flavors and inclusions, a whole new world opens up. From cheddar jalapeño, pesto, or rosemary garlic, to double chocolate, lemon lavender or pumpkin, the options are endless.

The three main questions when it comes to inclusions are how much to add in, when to add them in, and how to add them in.

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How much to add?

There is a general rule of adding not more than 20% of your flour weight in inclusions.

This is a good place to start, but certainly not where you have to stay. There is also confusion on this rule, as some say it’s 20% of the flour weight while a few say it’s 20% of the total dough weight. I actually read the latter way when I first started adding inclusions, and I must say everything turned out fine, for adding more than I was “supposed” to. Really fine, actually.

The best way to find out how much you should add is to try it out in your dough and environment with the inclusions you have in mind. You can start with 20% of flour weight, and work form there. Too much really only exists when your loaf starts getting too flat (for your tastes) or the flavor is too strong.

I noticed from the moment I learned the 20% rule that what seemed like every. Single. Recipe for flavored sourdough included more than the 20% rule, and I was really wondering why have a rule at all if everyone is going to break it anyway?

Cheddar Jalapeño with different percentage inclusions

I’ve played around with different percentages and found that I like 30% of flour weight. Anything above 30%, and my loaves start to get flatter than I prefer. Lower than 30%, and I don’t get enough of the inclusions. I like to use Kirkland’s (Costco) all-purpose flour (protein 11.5%) because it is organic, but I could probably push the inclusion percentage a bit more if I were to use King Arthur’s Bread Flour (protein content 12.7%). Stronger flours and lower hydrations can help hold more inclusions.

As with anything sourdough, there are many variables that go into this conclusion, so you’re welcome to try out 30% but also don’t be surprised if that’s not your favorite. It depends on what the inclusions are, how strong your flour is, how well the loaves are fermented, etc.

For some visuals, I baked off 4 different loaves, all cheddar jalapeño, but each with a different percentage of inclusions. First I went all out and did 48% and 36%, then another batch with 35% and 30%. I love lots of cheese in my bread, so didn’t prefer to go below 30%.

First batch with 48% and 36%:

36% (left) and 48% (right)

36%

48%

Second batch with 35% and 30%:

Scoring to help differentiate between loaves: a wheat stalk with 3 spikes on each side and one with five on each side, for 35%. The 30% loaf had just one wheat stalk with three spikes.

35% (left) and 30% (right)

30% (left) and 35% (right)

35% (left) and 30% (right)

30% (left) and 35% (right)

It’s fairly easy to see the dough with the most inclusions is the flattest, while the dough with the least is the highest.


When to add in inclusions?

Inclusions can be added at 3 points, really. Which one you choose depends largely on what you are adding.

  1. They can be mixed in right when you mix your dough.

    This is best for smaller amounts or lighter inclusions, such as citrus zest, extracts, sugar, cocoa powder, etc. Heavier inclusions such as cheese chunks or even spices like cinnamon can have a negative effect on the bulk fermentation and it’s best to wait.

  2. They can be added during bulk fermentation (during stretch and folds or coil folds)

    I often do 4 sets of stretch and folds and find the sweet spot for adding in inclusions is the 2nd or 3rd set. This gives them time to get decently incorporated while still giving the dough a leg up in bulk fermentation. When I have too many things going and don’t get the inclusions added in until the 4th stretch and fold, the inclusions don’t get dispersed quite as well.

  3. They can be added in during the shaping.

    If you do a pre-shape, you can add them in then. If not, then you can add them in while you fold and roll your dough into its final shape, before placing it in its banneton.

For a small example of what it looks like to add inclusions in at different times and how that affects the final loaf, here are two loaves of pesto bread.

One has mixed the pesto in right at the beginning, with all the other ingredients.

The other, the pesto is laminated in instead of doing a 4th set of stretch and folds.

Lamination created a bit of a swirl effect, but it was harder to work with. Any time the oily pesto would pop through during shaping, the dough wouldn’t want to hold its shape, and it was difficult to shape it with the proper surface tension. You can see that I had difficulty shaping it by it’s slightly flatter profile, compared to the other loaf.

Mixing pesto in at the beginning creates a loaf with pesto evenly distributed, and was much easier to work with. In fact, the oil in the pesto getting mixed straight in even made the crumb a bit more tender, and was really lovely.

Taste overall was very similar, but for ease of making and the extra tender crumb, I would definitely just mix pesto straight in at the beginning rather than laminating.

While this is certainly not indicative of all inclusions, it’s a small insight into when and how you add inclusions can affect the final loaf.


How to Incorporate Inclusions?

How you incorporate inclusions depends on when you add them.

If making a chocolate espresso loaf, for example, you’d just mix in cocoa powder and espresso at the same time you’re kneading everything else together for your dough.

Otherwise, for chunkier things like cheese, fruit, etc, you can add them in during stretch and folds/coil folds as mentioned above or you can laminate them in.

To add during stretch and folds:

Start by sprinkling about a 1/4 of the inclusions over your dough in the bowl, then performing one stretch and fold/coil fold, stretching dough over inclusions and gently pressing dough into dough in other side to seal it shut. Sprinkle another 1/4 of inclusions on top and repeat a stretch and fold. Continue two more times until all inclusions have been added and each side has been stretched and folded.

If performing coil folds, it’s a similar idea, adding a little at a time while you pick up and coil your dough down, doing your best to get the inclusions evenly dispersed.

laminating dough

To add during lamination:

Lamination is a technique used in sourdough to strengthen the dough and is a great time to add in inclusions.

Spreading pesto over dough before folding back up

Start by lightly misting a clean workspace, then stretching the dough in as large and thin a rectangle as you can, being careful not to tear the dough. Evenly sprinkle inclusions over dough, then fold dough several times to get a tight and neat little ball again.

Lamination is my favorite way to get evenly distributed inclusions. I enjoy the lamination process, but it does take a bit extra work to clean a work space before and after rather than just adding the inclusions straight into the bowl with the dough for a stretch and fold. Lamination also isn’t as friendly when working with large batches of dough.

Tips for success when adding inclusions:

  • Play around with the percentage you like. It might not be the same for all inclusions!

  • If your loaf is going flat, you might have exaggerated with the amount of inclusions. Otherwise, rule out any other factors such as a weak starter, under or over fermented dough, lack of proper gluten development, lack of proper shaping, etc.

  • Using a stronger flour (higher protein content) can help to hold inclusions better.

  • Keep in mind that some inclusions will add moisture to your dough. You may want to lower dough hydration accordingly. I find great success with lowering hydration to under 70% when working with heavier and wetter inclusions such as cheese and fruit.

  • Some inclusions will affect the fermentation. Fruit and sugar will cause dough to ferment faster, so start checking your dough earlier than you normally would.

  • Try to keep inclusion chunks away from the outside of the dough when it bakes, otherwise they can burn. This is especially true of sugary things like fruit, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc. You can help this by simply sticking any outside pieces back under and into the dough when doing the pre and/or final shape.

  • I would recommend against using silicone bread slings for sourdough with any kind of messy inclusions, and stick with parchment paper. The slings are designed to just barely cover the bottom of loaves, avoiding leaving any kind of indentations on the bread. However, the edges of the loaf then often come into contact with the dutch oven, which can bake cheese, fruit juices, etc. right onto your dutch oven. Not fun to clean. Using parchment paper will skip the mess and keep your dutch ovens cleaner.


Explore Italy: Viareggio

Last updated November 3, 2024

Viareggio is an active town on the coast of Tuscany synonymous with beaches and Carnevale. This is the place to go for one of the largest Carnevale celebrations in Italy and beyond.

More Explore Italy posts:

Viareggio in a nutshell

Location: Tuscany

Best known for: Seaside access and beaches, Carnevale

Days needed to explore: 1+ Most people go to Viareggio for the beach or Carnevale, not so much the town. If you do explore the city, a day is plenty, but then again, one beach day might not be enough. In that case Viareggio is always an option to stay and take day trips from.

What to see and do: Viareggio is a very popular destination or seaside “escape” from the cities during the summer. In the late winter Viareggio hosts one of the largest and most lavish Carnevale celebrations in Italy.

Established: Viareggio is first mentioned by name in the 12th century, regarding a wooden tower built along the sea as a means of defense. It sprung up in importance when it became the sole sea port of for the Republic of Lucca in the 16th century. It was during this time that the Lucchesi built the still-present Torre Matilde to help defend against pirates.

Viareggio’s history is speckled with hardships, from originally being very marshy with mosquitos and malaria running rampant, battles and pillages, and the pestilence, to a large part of the city burning down in 1917, to being bombed during World War II. Despite all of this, Viareggio has always rallied and is today well known for its lavish Carnevale festivities as well as its beautiful beaches.

Typical foods to try:

  • Tordelli - derivative of tortelli, which are very, very similar to ravioli. Fillings can vary but the sauce is always a meat sauce

  • Scarpaccia - a zucchini cake that is so named for resembling an old shoe. There are two varieties, sweet and savory, but it is the sweet or “dolce” version that is purely Viareggina

  • Cacciucco alla Viareggina - a very typical fish stew featuring inexpensive local fish varieties, cuttlefish, and octopus

  • Pasta alla Trabaccolara - a poor man’s dish using more of those inexpensive fish varieties: Red mullet, scorpion fish, European Hake, and others.

  • Spaghetti con le Arselle / Spaghetti con i Nichi - spaghetti with wedge shells (small clams)

Why I like Viareggio

Viareggio reminds me of sunburns and crowded beachs, a little mini adventure/escape from the hot cement city to the salty seaside.

I grew up in Michigan, just a few minutes drive from Lake Michigan where the water is as many shades of blue as the Mediterranean, so I am no stranger to beautiful water and beaches. Ironically, I’ve never been much of a beach person, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like my key beach days each summer. Florence has no beach, and while there are lakes just a short drive away, not having a car meant the quickest way to get to the beach was taking the 45 minute train to Viareggio. This is close enough to make it feel attainable, yet far enough that it usually happens just once or twice a summer, realistically.

Viareggio is mostly private beach, meaning you have to pay to get in. The public sections are mostly a part of the National Park. Most go for the private anyway, and if you want to experience the beach like the Italians, you should try the pay-for-beach at least once. It’s usually somewhere around 30euro per umbrella, which comes with two beach chairs. If you have more than 2-3 people in your party, plan to pay for multiple umbrellas. Rate is for the whole day, however long you plan to stay. Note the picture above, as you may not be all that close to the beach. A boardwalk will take you down to the sea, often with a little faucet where you can rinse sand off before heading back to your umbrella. There are designated areas for changing. It’s still hard for me to pay for a spot on the beach, but Viareggio is a very Italian experience that feels like an adventure.

More than half the beaches in Vaireggio are private, but there are some free public beaches. One such free beach, is Spiaggia alla Lecciona inside the natural reserve. I’ve read there is a path, stroller friendly, through the pine forest to the beach. However, getting there requires a car, so not an option if you take the train from say, Florence. I believe there are some other free beaches, but they’re often overcrowded or not as easy to get to, so even for someone like me who loathes paying for water access,it becomes inevitable to pay to keep a beach day as relaxing as possible.

Overall, while I in no way dislike Viareggio, it is not amongst my favorites. I’ve been a couple times during the summer, and I think it would be interesting to go during Carnevale. Other than that, it’s checked off my list and there are many other places in Italy that I enjoy more than Viareggio and many, many others I would still like to see.


Is an Autolysis Necessary for Sourdough Bread?

When I first started making sourdough loaves at home, I wanted to have as much success as possible right from the get go, so I started by using as many techniques and tricks as I could, rather than starting with a basic recipe and adding in techniques as needed. Spoiler alert, my bread wasn’t perfect, and I ended up working in the opposite direction. Rather than adding in more things to make my bread better, I started taking out certain steps and techniques one by one, to see if they were really serving their purpose, or just wasting my time.

One such technique was the autolyse method. Some of the people I respect most in the sourdough world use an autolysis. So I did, too. It wasn’t until one day, reading another respected sourdough person who went off on a bit of a rant, that they claimed that autolyse isn’t necessary, and in fact they do not recommend it. As they said, autolysis is a process developed and intended for breads made with commercial yeast, whose rise time is shorter and would benefit from an autolysis. Since sourdough bread has much longer fermentation times, autolysis isn’t as beneficial, or so this person was saying. I haven’t been able to locate any one reliable source that states anything as clearly as “autolysis was developed for commercial bread products and yeast, not so much sourdough”, but let’s run with it for the purpose of this mini experiment.

This intrigued me, and in a way, relieved me. I’ve heard many a baker explain and laud the praises of an autolysis, and yet, I secretly did not enjoy the autolysis process. It just felt…cumbersome. Adding on more time. Harder to mix the dough. More on that later.

King Arthur has an interesting article on using an autolysis, including experiments with both sourdough and instant yeast. Their article tends to give confirmation toward an autolysis being the most beneficial for commerical yeast over sourdough.

On the other hand, Maurizio of The Perfect Loaf does a similar experiment, but with his loaves showing a marked difference with autolyse. He also really gets more into the science of autolysis and explains it very well.

What is an autolysis?

Autolysis (noun) - Autolyse (verb)

Simply, an autolysis is simply mixing flour and water together and letting them sit for a period of time. The water helps to activate some of the enzymes in the flour, developing gluten, before adding other ingredients which can have an effect on gluten. Adding salt “tightens” the dough, and adding the starter commences fermentation. When just flour and water are combined, they are free to act in a way they otherwise wouldn’t when salt and starter are present.

While I had already been wanting to experiment and see what the difference might be between a loaf that got an autolysis and one that didn’t, I felt spurred into action when that knowledgeable sourdough person said they don’t recommend autolysis. Now I knew that, should I decide to not always faithfully autolyse, I wouldn’t be alone in that camp.

I’ve now done this experiment two separate times. In my first experiment the result didn’t feel overly conclusive to me, as there were several other factors going on that affected the fermentation and bake. It didn’t feel safe to say one way or another if the autolysis was the reason for the differing outcomes, but now that I’ve done this experiment twice, I feel a little safer in sharing my results.

Before we finally get into my little mini experiment, a couple of things to note:

  1. Sourdough is highly dependent on environment, ingredients, etc. so while I hope you find the results below interesting and informative, I would encourage you to do your own experiments for your own kitchen environment!

  2. The results below are tested solely on unbleached white flours. One of the benefits of autolysis is that it can help break down bran, so may show more benefits in breads that use some percentage of whole grain flours.


Autolyse vs No Autolyse #1

Method:

  • Both loaves were made with 100% Kirkland organic all-purpose flour, 71% hydration, 1.6% salt, 20% starter.

  • For the autolyse loaf, water and flour were mixed together and let rest for 1 hour before adding in salt and starter.

    For the No-autolyse loaf, all ingredients were mixed together.

  • Both loaves got 3 sets of stretch & folds

  • Autolyse loaf temped at 74°F, while No-autolyse loaf was at 77°F after the 1st set of stretch & fold and 75°F by the end of all stretch & folds.

  • Both loaves bulk fermented for 8 hours, pre-shaped for 35 minutes, then final shape for 35 minutes before into fridge for cold retard overnight.

  • Both loaves were baked in dutch ovens in oven preheated to 450°F for 35 minutes with lid on.

Observations:

Mixing the Flour and Water for the autolysis is not my favorite. I don’t enjoy using the autolysis technique when making bread for this reason. Unless working with high hydration doughs, which I don’t often go higher than 75%, it takes a few minutes to adequately mix the flour and water. Usually a bit of water is reserved from the autolysis to help mix in the salt after the autolysis is done. This means you’re mixing the dough without it having its full hydration, thus a stiffer dough. Then after autolyse, trying to mix just salt, a bit of water, and starter into an already formed and fairly stiff dough is not easy and may not get mixed in as well.

The Autolyse Loaf gets an advantage in gluten development. Because of the thorough mixing just mentioned above in order to incorporate all ingredients after the autolysis, the dough gets a leg up in gluten development. The No-autolyse loaf dough comes together easily and thus doesn’t require the same amount of mixing. During the stretch & folds this was quite apparent, with the Autolyse dough already showing good gluten-development and the No-autolyse loaf still being quite loose and elastic. By the end of the third stretch & fold set, however, the doughs felt quite similar; the No-autolyse loaf had mostly caught up.

Despite Bulk Fermentation starting at the same time for both doughs, they were not the same temperature. The reason for this is simple, and I really should’ve taken this into account for this experiment. I was using water that was slightly warmer than room temperature. When the bulk of the water is added for an autolysis, the time the dough is resting allows the water to cool to room temp, so by the time you add the starter and bulk ferment starts, everything is nicely at room temperature. Without doing an autolysis, the warmer water is added right in with the starter and all other ingredients, so the dough and bulk ferment temperature starts a bit warmer, although it will inevitably cool to room temperature over time. Because of this, my doughs had differing temperatures and thus different projected bulk ferment times.

Both loaves slightly over-fermented. Using the wisdom and work of Tom Cucuzza from the Sourdough Journey, I usually reference his chart for bulk fermentation times and rise %, although my starter does tend to ferment slightly faster than said chart. Despite my (even written down) projected bulk ferment times for each dough and times to start checking them, time got away from me and my three young children were needing me. By the time I was able to get to the dough it was already almost 2 hours after when I had originally planned to start checking the dough, and 1 hour after the realistic time of when it probably would have been ready. I pre-shaped both doughs at the same time since they were both already slightly over, with the No-autolyse being a little more over-fermented than the Autolyse dough.

Conclusion:

Despite some of the above noted variables, I loosely concluded that including an autolysis did not provide a noticeable difference in end product due to over-fermenting the dough. I decided to repeat this experiment, and specifically to get the doughs fermenting at the same temperature with a better targeted bulk ferment so it might be more obvious the effect of autolyse on the crumb rather than fermentation problems.


Autolyse vs. No-Autolyse Experiment #2

Autolyse on left, No-Autolyse on Right

Method:

  • Both loaves were made with 100% Kirkland organic all-purpose flour, 71% hydration, 1.6% salt, 20% starter.

  • For the autolyse loaf, water and flour were mixed together and let rest for 1 hour before adding in salt and starter.

    For the No-autolyse loaf, all ingredients were mixed together.

  • Both loaves received 2 sets of stretch & folds.

  • Autolyse Loaf temped at 77°F at beginning of bulk ferment, 75°F by end of second set of stretch & folds, then 76°F again at end of bulk ferment.

    No-Autolyse Loaf temped at 76°F at beginning of bulk ferment, 75°F by end of second set of stretch & folds, then 78°F by end of bulk ferment.

  • Both loaves bulk fermented for a total of 6 hours 10 minutes. Autolyse loaf had a rise of approximately 70% while the Autolyse loaf rose approximately 45-50%. (Very much eyeballing that, so take that with a grain of salt.)

  • Both loaves were pre-shaped and rested for 20 minutes, then final shape into bannetons, rested 10 minutes, and into fridge for cold retard overnight.

  • Both loaves were baked in dutch ovens in oven preheated to 450°F for 35 minutes with lid on.

Autolyse Loaf (wheat design to mimic an "A" for Autolyse, if you will

No-Autolyse Loaf, wheat design mimicking an "n"

Observations:

Intersetingly, temperatures varied quite a bit between the 2 loaves. Despite being very careful this time around to use all ingredients at room temperature, the temperature varied not only between the two loaves but also at different times. Sure, it’s late summer so my kitchen ends up a few degrees warmer by mid and end of day, but the two loaves did not reflect this consistently. This leaves me with more questions unanswered than answered.

Why did the Autolyse Loaf end up 1 degree warmer still at start of bulk ferment? You would think, if perhaps the water from the measuring cup I was using was 1 degree warmer, the 1 hour that the dough sits to autolyse would be more than enough to bring the dough to room temperature. And IF the water was 1 degree warmer, the No-Autolyse Loaf would have ended up the 1 degree warmer since it gets all of its water at the beginning of bulk ferment. Not to mention, I used a large measuring cup of water, measured out for the Autolyse Loaf, and that water also sat out on the counter for an hour. It doesn’t get any more room temperature than that!

Moreso, why did the No-Autolyse Loaf end up a few degrees warmer by end of bulk ferment? The two bowls were side by side, no drafts or sun or any other factor that I am aware of would have heated up or cooled down one dough over the other. The Autolyse Loaf maintained temperature at 76°F while the No-Autolyse Loaf increased temperature by 3 degrees during bulk ferment. Fascinating. Its rise clearly reflected the warmer temperature, as it was significantly puffier than the Autolyse Loaf.

Despite the difference in rise % between the two loaves, I ended bulk ferment at the same time. I was trying to maintain absolute consistency between these loaves in method, rather than guessing different bulk ferments, pulling them at different times based on rise, temperature, and time. The bulk ferments were intended to be identical after all, as the doughs were made identically save autolyse, but the temperature fluctuations threw me for a loop!

The crumb ended up quite similar. Noting the difference in rise % and temperature between the two doughs, they still ended up with a very similar crumb. Reading the crumb and trying to ignore that information, I would not have guessed that.

Crumbshot, No-Autolyse Loaf on left, Autolyse loaf on Right

The Autolyse Loaf ended up with a slightly wonky shape. While overall I don’t think it has too much bearing on this experiment, it still bears noting. As you can see in the overhead shot of the Autolyse Loaf both before and after baking, its shape is not symmetrical. This is possibly due to shaping error, or also likely, the linen lining the banneton was pressing into the dough on one side and left an impression. I tend to think this caused the rise during the cold retard to more easily expand on the side where the linen wasn’t holding it down.

Conclusion:

Four loaves of bread is hardly conclusive. Again, and always with sourdough, there are variabilities. My home kitchen is not temperature controlled, sometimes life and children pull me away, among so many other nuances. However, I still enjoyed this experiment and thought you might find it interesting as well, so I thought it still worth sharing.

Overall, I think I will find myself skipping autolysis more often now, but will still include it in some instances.

Happy baking, friends!


Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Last Updated September 28, 2024

Ranch. The quintessential American dressing and dip. It’s white and creamy, tangy, and flavorful from the herbs and garlic.

Many Americans use Ranch on everything from their pizza and chicken tenders to their vegetables and salads. Some feel very strongly about it, they must have it to eat certain foods. In Italy, I had some American friends who would always request big jugs of Ranch if anyone was coming over to visit them.

Once when I was in Austria in a supermarket, I saw some bottles of salad dressing, one of which was named “American.” Why of course, if in America we have Italian dressing, French dressing, then other countries would have an American dressing. And yes, it was white and creamy so I can only surmise that it was some version of Ranch.

I like Ranch, but have never really understood the hype around it. I’d rather eat my pizza and taste pizza rather than eat pizza and taste Ranch, you know? Especially when you look at the ingredients in a bottle of Ranch or even Ranch packets that you make at home, the ingredients are not the best.

That’s where homemade Ranch comes into play. Not only is it super simple to make, but you know exactly what ingredients are going into your dressing, and it tastes fresher and better. After making this, you may never go back to store-bought again!

Use Ranch on salads, as a dip for vegetables, and yes, even on your pizza or however you like it best! I just made a quart of this the other day and mixed some with Frank’s Hot Sauce as a dressing for some buffalo pasta salad, yum!

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Recipe from my mama


Homemade Buttermilk Ranch

Makes about 1 quart

  • 2 cups mayonnaise

  • 1 cup buttermilk

  • 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

  • 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

  • 1 tsp salt, or to taste

  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder

  • 1/4 tsp finely chopped fresh dill

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a quart jar or container with a lid and shake well to combine.

  2. Serve or refrigerate.

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch
Yield 24
Author
Prep time
10 Min
Total time
10 Min

Homemade Buttermilk Ranch

Creamy, tangy, homemade Ranch is healthier than its store-bought counterpart and as simple as mixing together 7 ingredients.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a quart jar or container with a lid and shake well to combine.
  2. Serve or refrigerate.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

133.34

Fat

14.29 g

Sat. Fat

2.37 g

Carbs

0.64 g

Fiber

0.01 g

Net carbs

0.62 g

Sugar

0.6 g

Protein

0.51 g

Sodium

226.03 mg

Cholesterol

8.94 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 24 servings of approximately 2 Tbsp each.

homemade buttermilk ranch dressing, ranch veggie dip, creamy American dressing, tangy vegetable dip
snack, condiment
American
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Using All-Purpose Flour vs. Bread Flour in Sourdough Bread

When it comes to making sourdough bread, does it matter if you’re using all-purpose flour or bread flour?

Simple answer: yes.

Longer answer. It depends.

It comes down to the protein content in bread, how much gluten can be developed, and how much hydration it can handle. Not all flours that parade under the name “all-purpose” are equal, nor are all flours that parade under the name “bread flour” equal.

It also depends on what you want out of your bread. Different flours will yield different results, but that doesn’t necessarily make them “bad.”

If any of the terms in this article feel foreign or you’ve just forgotten what they mean, check out this article on Sourdough Terminology, in alphabetical order.

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Protein content in flour

The main difference between flours of different names is their protein content. The higher the protein content, the stronger the flour, and usually the better for making bread. In the US we have basically five different categories of flour, as far as protein content goes:

  • Cake flour is the most delicate flour, usually with a protein content of 5-9%. It is made with soft red or white wheat of a fine grind.

  • Pastry flour is another more delicate flour with a lower protein content, 8-10%. This flour will give you flaky and tender pie crusts, cakes, etc. It is made from soft red or white wheat with a fine grind.

  • All-purpose flour is more middle of the road with a moderate protein content, anywhere from 8-12%. Can be used for the widest range of baked goods while still yielding good results, if not always the most tender crusts or highest rising breads. All-purpose is made from hard red wheat or a blend of hard and soft wheats.

  • Bread flour has a higher protein content, 11-13% and suitable for breads where you want higher rises and higher hydration levels. It is milled usually from hard spring wheat.

  • High-protein bread flour is bread flour with the highest protein contents, 13 or 14% or higher, best for pushing the limits for high hydration breads and open crumbs. It is milled from hard spring wheat.

There doesn’t seem to be an industry standard for flours, at least here in the States, as you can see with the percentage range for each kind of flour.

Even when using the same kind of flour from the same brand there can be noticeable discrepancies when baking bread with different bags of flour.

While variabilities exist across some brands, others are just as good at maintaining consistency. A good example of this would be King Arthur. Their protein content is proudly labeled on each bag of flour, tested, and trusted by consumers, myself included.

There is also an overlap with all-purpose and bread flour. Some all-purpose flours have a higher protein content than bread flour. At the end of the day, it’s more important to know what the protein content of the flour you’re using is than if it’s labeled as all-purpose or bread flour.

Another thing to consider is where in the world you are. For example, I’ve heard from some Canadians that their all-purpose flour is consistently around 13% or even higher in protein. That’s better than most bread flours here in the US! Let’s not even get into trying to buy flour in certain other countries, where they sell flour more by variety and grind than labeling it for its purpose. That’s how flour is sold in Italy, and I had a lot to learn about flour when I first moved there! I couldn’t even bake off a simple batch of chocolate chip cookies without first learning about soft and hard wheat and grind 00, etc…and in another language. If you find yourself in a similar situation, I wrote a couple articles on that to decipher the flours in Italy, and honestly, it’s not bad information to know if you’re really going to get into bread making and understanding how flours work beyond labels. This one will walk you down the flours that are sold in Italy, while this one walks you through the kinds of wheat grown.

Which to Use for Making Sourdough?

If you’ve been making sourdough bread and are happy with your results, then it probably doesn’t matter so much which one you’re using.

However, if you’re looking for a higher oven spring, a rounder belly, a stronger dough to hold inclusions, or wanting to play with higher hydration doughs, you should consider trying a flour with a higher protein content.

Loaf made with Bread Flour (L) and Loaf made with AP Flour (R)

The Side by side comparison

For a visual, I made two loaves of sourdough side by side, identical in every way, except for one uses all-purpose flour and the other uses bread flour.

The process went like this:

  • One loaf used exclusively Kirkland Signature Organic all-purpose flour (Costco brand, 11.5% protein content). The other loaf used King Arthur Bread Flour (12.7% protein content.)

  • 72% hydration, 20% starter, 1.6% salt

  • All ingredients were mixed well together for each loaf.

  • 30 minute rest, then 4 sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes.

  • Bulk ferment lasted a total of 7 hours 20 minutes with dough temperature starting at 75°F / 24°C at the beginning and trending downwards at 73°F / 23°C by the end of stretch and folds.

  • Pre-shape for 20 minutes, then final shape before placing into fridge for retard overnight.

  • Next morning, baked loaves in oven preheated to 450°F / 232°C with dutch ovens for 35 minutes with lids on and steam.

As you can see in the photos, the end result immediately gives away that the bread flour loaf got a better oven spring, a bigger and smoother belly.

The AP loaf, while not ugly, is a little lower, a little flatter. If you look at the belly, you can see signs where the dough tore, spreading more sideways than fully upwards. The gluten just couldn’t be built up quite strong enough to get the same rise as the bread flour.

All-Purpose Flour

bread flour

All-purpose Flour

bread flour

As far as working with the dough, I could see similar tearing happening even from the beginning. While doing stretch and folds, the bread flour dough came together smoothly and beautifully. The AP dough, while still smooth, would show signs of micro tears as I was working with it. It’s possible the Kirkland organic AP would do better with a slightly lower hydration, but these loaves aren’t high hydration by any means, 72%.

All-purpose flour

Bread flour

The crumb is curiously different, with the bread flour loaf having a few larger bubbles. I liked the evenness of the AP crumb.

As far as these two loaves go in this mini experiment, the bottom line is they were both delicious loaves of homemade bread. It would be up to you to decide if you prefer the more aesthetic, higher rise of the bread flour, or if you put more importance on eating organic flour, for about the same price.

all-purpose flour

bread flour


S'mores Cookies

Last Updated September 22, 2024

An ode to the sweet, summer campfire treat, these cookies are full of nostalgia and summer goodness.

Graham crackers are ground into a flour to make soft and chewy graham cracker cookies, speckled with milk chocolate and pops of marshmallows that get all toasty in the oven.

There are a couple of different ways to make these cookies, depending on if you prefer to whip up cookies using ingredients you probably already have on hand, or if you don’t mind planning a bit ahead to make it as close to a real s’more as possible.

The Chocolate

Classic s’mores call for Hershey’s milk chocolate. The thin, milk chocolate 1.55oz bars. Not thick ones, not the minis given out at Halloween. For some reason, s’mores need that specific thickness and size of Hershey’s. For this reason, to get the closest to classic s’mores as possible, use the 1.55oz Hershey’s milk chocolate bars.

For a slightly more convenient option, use milk chocolate chips. It’s still milk chocolate, even if it doesn’t have the unique taste of Hershey’s milk chocolate.

In a pinch, you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips in these, but those options are not as s’mores-esque as milk chocolate.

The Marshmallows

Classic s’mores call for regular sized marshmallows, but cutting up marshmallows is sticky and not so fun. Mini marshmallows are the way to go. Here I do highly recommend you do not skip nor forget to line your cookie sheets with silpat or parchment paper, as any marshmallows that come into contact with the cookie sheet while baking will want to stay attached for life. The marshmallows get all chewy in the cookies and delicious, so can be worth any potential mess.

S'mores cookies made with milk chocolate chips and dehydrated marshmallows

Another option is to use dehydrated marshmallows. They still give the marshmallow flavor without getting too sticky. They might not be as readily available as regular or mini marshmallows, but they have become more mainstream than when I first discovered them years ago. My local Meijer grocery store carries them! If you aren’t able to find them locally, they can be found on Amazon if all else fails, although probably more expensive than a grocery store.

The Graham Crackers

You’ll want to use classic, or regular graham crackers for these, or whatever you’d normally use to make s’mores. They lend a subtle, but buttery graham flavor to the cookies that completes the trio of s’mores flavors. They’ll need to be ground up to make fine crumbs, almost flour-like in consistency, or at least as fine as you can get them. Using a food processor is quickest, but you can also grind them up with a rolling pin.

If you’re thinking that adding 18 sheets (270g), of graham crackers feels like a lot, especially when the recipe already calls for 2 cups of flour, rest assured it is the correct amount. In fact, when I first began playing with this recipe I started with less graham crackers because I thought it might be too much. It wasn’t, and I was able to easily square off the recipe with using an even two packages (9 each) of graham crackers.

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S’mores Cookies

Makes about 26-32 cookies

Cookies and 2 year old drawings in the background, does it get any sweeter?

  • 3/4 cup / 169g neutral-flavored cooking oil

  • 3/4 cup / 150g sugar

  • 3/4 cup / 150g brown sugar

  • 3 eggs

  • 18 sheets / 270g graham crackers, finely ground

  • 2 cups / 240g all-purpose flour

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 cup / 175g milk chocolate chips OR 4 (1.55oz bars) Hershey’s milk chocolate candy bars, roughly chopped

  • 1 cup / 50g dehydrated marshmallows OR 2 cups / 114g mini marshmallows

Directions:

Oven 375°F / 190°C. Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

  1. In a large bowl combine oil and both sugars. Beat in eggs.

  2. In a separate bowl whisk together Graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir in marshmallows and chocolate just until combined.

  3. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls evenly spaced onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden and centers look set.

  4. Allow cookies to cool just for a few minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cool completely.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • The use of mini marshmallows in these can cause a sticky mess if not handled carefully. Try to keep marshmallows on the top and center of cookies and away from bottom and edges, so as to stick less to cookie sheet. Don’t skip the parchment or silpat! Remove cookies from cookie sheet as soon as they’ll hold up, just a few minutes.

S'mores Cookies
Yield 26-32
Author
Prep time
25 Min
Cook time
10 Min
Total time
35 Min

S'mores Cookies

Graham crackers are ground into a flour to make soft and chewy graham cracker cookies, speckled with milk chocolate and pops of marshmallows that get all toasty in the oven. An ode to the sweet, summer campfire treat, these cookies are full of nostalgia and summery goodness.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Oven 375°F / 190°C. Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper or silpat.
  2. In a large bowl combine oil and both sugars. Beat in eggs.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together Graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gently stir in marshmallows and chocolate just until combined.
  4. Drop by generous tablespoonfuls evenly spaced onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 7-10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden and centers look set.
  5. Allow cookies to cool just for a few minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cool completely.

Notes

  • The use of mini marshmallows in these can cause a sticky mess if not handled carefully. Try to keep marshmallows on the top and center of cookies and away from bottom and edges, so as to stick less to cookie sheet. Don’t skip the parchment or silpat! Remove cookies from cookie sheet as soon as they’ll hold up, just a few minutes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

227.73

Fat

9.98 g

Sat. Fat

2.05 g

Carbs

30.67 g

Fiber

0.59 g

Net carbs

30.08 g

Sugar

13.51 g

Protein

2.35 g

Sodium

231.19 mg

Cholesterol

18.89 mg

Nutritional information is approximate, based on 26 servings.

s'mores cookies, toasted marshmallows, Hershey's milk chocolate, graham cracker cookies, summer dessert
dessert
American
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Sourdough Terminology

Last Updated September 20, 2024

honey Oat Loaf

Sourdough is a whole world. It practically has its own language! This can sometimes lend beginners to feel like they’re foreigners visiting a new country.

Stretch and Folds?? Why are you exercising your dough? What is stitching? Now you’re taking your dough’s temperature? Does it have a fever?? If you’ve ever had similar thoughts, this article might just be your new Rick Steve’s guide to sourdough.

I was a dabbler in sourdough for years. I first started my own starter in 2017 (one of the actually 2 that my mom and I made that year is still the main one I use!), and went on to start different starters in America and Italy, 3 more times. I spent a crash course day apprenticing in a sourdough bakery with a wood burning oven in the States, made the sourdough bread in the bakery I worked at in Florence, and all along was regularly making sourdough pizza and focaccia at home and of course the myriad of discard recipes that goes along with keeping a starter happy with regular feedings.

I say “dabbled” because at no point did I feel I had mastered sourdough or was 100% well versed in sourdough science. I was learning new things constantly, and still am!

It wasn’t until recently that I decided to buckle down and do something that I hadn’t yet done: master a classic sourdough loaf in my own home kitchen. Of course, I had made some loaves occasionally, edible but nothing too pretty, and nothing so encouraging as to prompt me to continue and perfect it. I tried to replicate what we did in the bakery, but my home environment was different enough and I didn’t feel like putting the time into troubleshooting.

Whether you’re new to sourdough or just looking for a refresher, I jotted down all the sourdough terms I could think of to decode the process for you. Some are official terms, others are more of a casual sourdough lingo, and ever more are emerging in the online communities!

If you continue with sourdough, with or without this list you’ll probably end up coming across these terms, but this list is meant to make it so. much. easier. for you to get a leg up in the game. Ear up? Heh heh. Sorry. Sourdough pun.

Ok, sourdough terminology crash course here you go! In alphabetical order in case you want to use this like your new sourdough dictionary. :)

Quiz to follow. Just kidding.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!


Acetic Acid

A byproduct of fermentation.

Active starter

Lively, refreshed starter, fed in the last 12 hours and that at least doubles in volume: ready to be used in a recipe. Also known as “mature starter” and “ripe starter”

Acidic Starter

Starter that is not fed often enough or not given enough to eat at feedings can go acidic.

An acidic starter is weak and smells extra sour. If not feeding regularly, be sure to keep starter in the refrigerator as it can start going acidic within just a day or two at room temperature. Starters also stay happier and less acidic when given a higher feeding ratio, such as 1:5:5 or 1:10:10.

See also “feeding ratio”

Aliquot Method

A method for determining when bulk ferment is done.

This is done by taking a small amount of dough to fill up half of a 2oz container (such as the small plastic condiment containers that often come with take-out) and waiting for the dough to roughly double. It’s much easier to tell when in a small container than in a large bowl of dough, and the main dough also stays undisturbed.

All-purpose flour (AP flour)

A blend of flours meant for multi-purpose uses. Usually a blend of soft and hard wheats for anything from cakes to bread.

Not all all-purpose floors are created equal, so it would be important to know the protein content to know how well it would perform in sourdough bread. King Arthur’s All-Purpose flour has a higher than usual protein content at 11.7%, thus making it a good choice for sourdough and other breads, but not so much for pie crusts.

Alveolar Structure

The more technical term for “crumb” when talking about the inside structure of baked bread.

Ash Content

The mineral content of flour, as measured by burning the flour down to ashes, and measuring what is left.

Flour is usually 1.5 - 2% ash. The more whole grain the flour, using more of the germ, bran, and endosperm, the higher in ash content. Yeast feeds on the minerals, so more fermentation activity will be seen with whole grain flours, or flours with higher ash content.

Autolyse

A step sometimes included in sourdough recipes to activate the enzymes in the flour. It usually involves just flour and water mixed together before any other ingredients are added. An autolyse usually lasts anywhere from 20 minutes to 12 hours.

Including an autolyse aids in proper hydration of the dough, developing gluten and extensibility without kneading, and optimizing flavor in the bread.

Baker’s Formula

The breakdown of a recipe’s ingredients into percentages.

This is always based on the flour’s weight, which is the “100%”. The other ingredients’ percentages are calculated based on the flour’s weight by taking the weight of an ingredient and dividing it by the weight of the flour. If a recipe calls for 500g of flour and 350g of water, divide 350 by 500, then multiply by 100 to get the water percentage. 350 / 500 = .7

.7 x 100 = 70

The water percentage in that recipe would be 70%.

Baker’s Schedule

An overview of the recipe according to time, often used in sourdough or recipes that take many hours/days to execute.

This is helpful to get a quick idea of a time frame for when you will want to start the recipe and when it will be done, rather than having to scan the whole recipe to figure out times and how they will work in your schedule. A sample baker’s schedule is given, so you know what it would look like to start that particular recipe at say, 8am. Sometimes 2 sample schedules are given, depending on if the recipe has different options for certain steps to be longer or shorter, or even just what it might look like to start the recipe at 8am, and another example of what it would look like to start it at 8pm.

Banneton

A French term for the special baskets for proofing bread, often made of natural cane from the rattan plant, although they also come in silicone and other materials.

Banneton is also known as a brotform or bread proofing basket.

Bassinage / Bassinage Method

Coming form the French term meaning “to bathe” or “drench in water”, this method adds water at different times during the process.

Some of the water is added in the initial mixing of the dough, the rest is added later during bulk fermentation when the gluten has had a chance to strengthen. This allows flour to handle more water than if it was added all at once, and can be helpful for making higher hydration doughs.

Bâtard

An oval shaped loaf. From the French word for bastard, since it is an unusual shape for bread, neither long like a baguette nor perfectly round like a boule.

Belly

The part of a baked sourdough loaf that rises and pushes through the scored part during baking. The “belly” stretches from the score to the “ear”, or where the ear would be.

A big, rounded belly is an indication of a good loaf: good oven spring, a proper score, and generally a good process starting from a healthy starter all the way through to baking.

Bench Scraper

A baker’s tool used for easily cutting and handling dough, cleaning counters, among other things.

Biga

A preferment used in many traditional Italian breads.

It’s not necessarily sourdough, active-dry or instant yeast are used. It has a lower hydration than a levain, closer to stiff starter.

Blisters

The small bubbles that form on surface of the crust of sourdough as it bakes.

Often seen as desirable (at least in the US), blisters are achieved through proper fermentation of the dough, a cold ferment, and utilization of steam while the bread is baking.

Bloom

The rise of the bread in the oven through the scores or slashes.

A loaf with a nice bloom must have oven spring with appropriate scoring. Without these, the loaf won’t be able to bloom and won’t have a nice belly or much height.

See also “oven spring” and “belly”

Boule

A round loaf. From a French word meaning “ball”.

Bread flour (BF)

Flour with a higher protein content, ideal for making bread and other baked goods that require development of gluten.

Bread sling

A piece of silicone or parchment used for easy transfer of loaves into a Dutch oven.

You can get them round or oval, depending on loaf shape. You can buy them or make your own.

Bread Proofing Basket

A basket used for proofing bread to help it keep its shape.

While any appropriately sized food-safe basket could be used, there are specific baskets made for this purpose. Bread proofing baskets are often called bannetons or brotforms.

Brotform

A German term for the special baskets for proofing bread, often made of natural cane from the rattan plant, although they also come in silicone and other materials.

Brotform is also known as a banneton or bread proofing basket.

Bulk Ferment

The long ferment/rise of dough that begins when levain/starter is added to the dough and ends when the dough is shaped.

Bulk Ferment Container

Any container that is big enough to hold the dough and give it room to double, while being able to perform stretch and folds or coil folds.

Bunny Profile

The profile of a loaf of sourdough when sliced that resembles a bunny, often indicative of a nicely fermented dough and a good oven spring.

Caddy Clasp

A shaping technique.

This technique to shape dough into its final shape was invented by Wayne Caddy and uses minimal movements, squeezing rather than rolling or folding, to shape the dough and achieve surface tension.

Challenger Pan

A cast iron pan designed for bread baking, similar in idea to a dutch oven.

Closed Crumb

The inside structure of the bread having mostly small or tiny holes.

See also “fine crumb” and “tight crumb”

Coil Folds

A special way of developing gluten in sourdough. Usually done by wetting hands, then pulling the dough upwards from the middle until the ends detach from the bowl, allowing gravity to pull the ends down, then folding the dough back down into the bowl. This is repeated a few times during each coil fold.

Commercial Yeast

Wild yeast that has been harvested into fast-acting yeast, including instant yeast, active-dry yeast, and fresh yeast.

Crumb

The texture and appearance of the inside of baked sourdough bread.

Crumb shot

The classic sourdough shot where the loaf gets sliced in half in the middle, then the bottoms get held together for a picture of the inside.

Danish Whisk

A type of whisk made with a coiled metal end, used especially for mixing bread doughs

Decorative score

Mostly shallow scores done purely for decorative design, often with a UFO lame. See also “score” and “expansion score”

Desired Dough Temperature (DDT)

The temperature you want your dough to be by the time you are done mixing and ready for fermentation.

In order to achieve the DDT, you’ll have to take into consideration each of the ingredients’ temperatures, as well as other factors such as the heat from friction of kneading dough. See also “Friction Factor”

Double edge razor blade

Razor blade with two sharp sides.

This is the kind needed for lames, but more deadly to wield by hand for scoring.

Dough dump

When dough is turned out or dumped out onto the counter after it has finished bulk fermenting, ready for weighing and shaping.

A dough that comes out cleanly from the bulk ferment container can be a sign of a properly fermented dough. If it’s too sticky, it can signal under or over fermented dough, or even just a more humid environment.

Doughpression

The depression one feels when a batch of sourdough bread goes wrong. Life loses its glimmer, one might feel more irritated towards those around them, and wonder if they should give up on baking altogether. An increase in time spent Googling “what went wrong” may ensue until the next, successful batch of bread dispels any doubt that was threatening your existence.

Term coined by Sarah Grunewald.

Dough Scraper

A flexible, usually plastic tool used to scrape dough out of bowls.

Dutch Oven

A cast iron pot with a lid used in sourdough baking to recreate the steam environment bread needs to expand properly.

Dutch ovens come in various sizes (measured in quarts) and can be round or oval, usually oven safe up to at least 450°F (check the brand’s recommendation), but be sure to check the handle on the lid is also oven safe up to the same temperature as the pot.

Dutch ovens can range in price from under $50 to over $400 for brands like Le Creuset. If you’re purchasing a dutch oven specifically for sourdough bread, I wouldn’t go for the higher end ones as they inevitably end up with speckles on them from baking at high heat repeatedly. I would also encourage you to consider darker colors since they don’t show stains as much.

Ear

The flap of dough that rises upward while baking. This happens only when the loaf has been both properly fermented and scored. Usually seen as the holy grail of signs of a good loaf. Basically, you have arrived.

Einkorn

Einkorn is a type of hulled wheat.

Einkorn is higher in nutrients than other kinds of wheat, and has a certain makeup than can lend it to be easier to digest and easier on the systems of those with gluten sensitivities.

This hull needs to be removed from the grain before it can be consumed, which makes for a lengthier processing time, and thus raising the cost to produce.

Enzyme

Simply put, enzymes are proteins.

There are two principal kinds present in flour: protease and amylase. These get to work essentially helping gluten to form while also creating an extensible (stretchy) dough.

Expansion score

The principal scoring done on a bread to control the rise and expansion of the bread, usually about 1/2” deep.

See also “score” and “decorative score”

Feeding ratio (i.e. 1:5:5)

The ratio of flour and water added to feed starter.

The first number is the starter, the second two flour and water. The flour and water are usually equal to keep the starter at 100% hydration (most common hydration). To feed a starter at the 1:5:5 ratio as above, you would take one part sourdough and feed it five parts water and five parts flour. For example, 20g of starter plus 100g of water and 100g of flour. You would then have 220g of starter.

Ferment/fermentation

“the chemical breakdown of a substance by bacteria”

If you simply leave bread dough to rise, this is often referred to as the ferment or fermentation.

It’s the good bacteria in yeast/sourdough starter feeding on the sugars in flour. As it eats it releases carbon dioxide. The gas gets stuck in the strong gluten strands of the dough, thus rising the bread. The longer dough ferments, the more flavor it will develop. This is why long fermentation times are highly sought after, up to 72 hours.

Fermentolysis/Fermentolyse

A slang term combining the words “ferment” and “autolyse” or “autolysis”.

Simply put, autolyse is just flour and water, where fermentolyse is water, flour, and starter.

This is where some confusion can be found, as these terms and their definitions are not consistently used. Some include salt, or rather ALL ingredients in their fermentolyse, others say fermentolyse is all ingredients except the salt. Once sourdough starter has been added, fermentation has begun, and really should be calculated as part of the bulk ferment time, but not all include a fermentolyse in their bulk ferment calculation.

Final Dough Temperature (FDT)

The temperature of your dough when you are done mixing it and right before bulk fermentation begins, taken with an instant read thermometer.

This temperature helps you to gauge how long your dough should bulk ferment for. Hopefully, your final dough temperature is the same as your desired dough temperature.

See also “Desired Dough Temperature”

Fine crumb

Bread dough with lots of small or tiny holes. Also known as tight crumb, dense crumb.

This can be a sign of under-fermented bread, or other things. While not usually seen as the most desirable crumb, some do prefer a fine crumb because it makes for better toast: no butter or jam falling through bigger holes.

Other times, a fine crumb is desired, as in bagels.

See also “closed crumb” and “tight crumb”

Float test

Putting a small amount of fed starter in a bowl of water to see if it floats. If it does, this indicates the starter is active enough and ready to be used in a recipe.

Flour mill

A machine for grinding wheat berries into flour.

Friction Factor

The variable of friction creating heat while mixing dough in a mixer or even by hand which in turn affects a dough’s final temperature.

When going for absolute consistency, you’ll want your dough rising at a certain temperature (Desired Dough Temperature or DDT, see above). There is an equation for this taking into consideration some of the most important factors, such as friction, ingredient temperature, and room temperature. Water’s temperature is the most easily manipulated, so the equation is used to figure out what temperature water to add to achieve the DDT.

Each mixer has a friction factor. In order to arrive at the DDT you’ll need to know the friction factor for your specific mixing machine. For example, using a Kitchen Aid 7 quart to knead bread dough for 3 minutes on speed 1, then 4 minutes on speed 2, will give you a friction factor of about 22°F - 24°F. Likewise, kneading dough by hand for about 8 minutes is a friction factor of about 6°F - 8°F.

Gliadin

One of the primary proteins found in wheat flour, along with glutenin. Gliadin is primarily responsible for the extendibility of dough, allowing bread to rise.

Gliadin appears to be one of the main environmental triggers for celiac disease.

See also “Glutenin”

Gluten

A naturally occurring protein in wheat and other flours that helps provide structure to bread. Without activating gluten by kneading and agitating the dough, dough can’t rise and bread will be very flat and gummy.

Glutenin

One of the major factions of proteins that makes up wheat flour, along with gliadin. Glutenin is responsible for the strength and elasticity of dough. 47% of the protein in wheat flour is Glutenin.

See also “Gliadin”

Heel

The end of a loaf of bread, mostly crust.

High-hydration dough

A dough that has a particularly high percentage of water in the recipe, usually 80% or higher.

High Protein Bread Flour

Any bread flour that has higher than 12.5% protein would be considered high-protein.

Hooch

A slang term for alcohol, sometimes used to refer to the brownish black that forms on the top of neglected starter or discard.

Alcohol is a by-product of fermentation, and sourdough starter is a ferment. When the bacteria in the starter has eaten everything up and is “hungry”, this brownish/black liquid, sometimes called hooch, forms on top as a way of protecting itself. It’s not harmful and can either be stirred back in or poured off, as long as there is no mold or other signs the starter is failing/died.

Hydration

The amount of water/liquids in bread dough.

The hydration in sourdough is usually referred to in percentages, which is based off of the flour’s weight in the recipe. The hydration of a dough affects many things, from how easy it is to handle to its crumb.

See Baker’s Formula

Inclusions

Dough add-ins, such as cheese, nuts, fruits, spices, etc.

It’s generally recommended that the weight of inclusions not exceed 20% of the total flour weight. Too many inclusions and they can weigh the dough down too much or affect the fermentation. For a loaf that calls for 500g of flour, that means you can safely add up to 100g of inclusions.

Internal Temperature

The internal temperature of bread or dough as read by a quick read thermometer.

Knead

The act of working or agitating dough to develop gluten.

Lame (Pronounced LAHM)

A tool for scoring bread.

See also “UFO Lame” and “Stick Lame”

Lamination

Spreading dough out very thinly.

This technique is used for other types of bread, including croissants. In sourdough this is to develop gluten and is also a way of adding in inclusions.

Lava rocks

Porous rocks from volcanoes, often artificial.

These can be used to help create steam in a home oven for sourdough. Watch out for lava rocks with chemicals and artificial dyes, you’ll want to either wash, boil, and bake them before using alongside food, or buy ones already deemed safe for food.

Le Creuset

A high end brand of enameled cast iron cookware and kitchenware.

Their prices can be hefty, but the pieces will last a lifetime and beyond, and can sometimes be found on sale or for a good price at their outlet store or even HomeGoods!

Levain

Levain is an offshoot of sourdough starter: Some starter combined with flour and water.

Levain and sourdough starter are terms often used interchangeably. Technically, they are not the same, and using the terms interchangeably can create some confusion. But with careful attention, if you look at the context you can often see what a recipe intends, if they actually mean starter or if it’s truly a Levain that is being made.

Also not to be confused with feeding starter; levain is made from starter and is very much like a feeding, but the difference is that all of the levain will be added into dough and eventually baked. Starter is maintained and while part is taken to make things, such as a levain, the main starter always remains.

Lievito madre

Italian for “mother yeast” and what Italians call sourdough.

Any Italian bakery, pizzeria, or restaurant that wants to advertise that they use or make sourdough, will mention “lievito madre” and often the length of fermentation, 24, 36, 72hr, etc.

Maillard reaction

This is the browning action that happens to certain baked goods when cooked at high heat; roasting, baking, searing, etc.

It not only gives color but a distinct flavor. It’s an organic chemical reaction when amino acids and reducing sugars react to create melanoidins.

Examples of the Maillard reaction in action would be the browned edges of pepperoni on a pizza, the browned crust on bread, even that browned toasty flavor from the beans of your favorite morning beverage: coffee.

Mature starter

A well-developed, established, and active starter, usually fed in the last 12 hours and ready to be used in a recipe.

See also “active starter” and “ripe starter”

Medium-strength bread flour

A flour with a protein content generally between 11-12%.

Flour in stores won’t be labeled as “medium strength bread flour”, but if you know what protein percentage you’re looking for, you should be able to find that information hopefully on the brand’s website if not on the package. A good and reliable example would be King Arthur’s all-purpose flour which is 11.7% protein and is clearly marked on their bags of flour.

Open Crumb

The inside structure of a sourdough loaf with big, open holes evenly dispersed throughout the bread.

Open Bake

Baking bread in an oven without being inside a dutch oven or similar vessel.

Oven-spring

The amount a loaf “springs” up or rises in the oven.

Over-fermented

Dough that has risen or fermented for too long.

Over-fermenting can be used to talk about the dough rising too much at any point, but technically over-ferment refers to the first rise, or bulk ferment. See also “over-proofed”

Signs of over-fermenting include dough that has risen more than double during bulk ferment and dough that becomes sticky and hard to work with.

The poke test during bulk fermentation is debated on whether it’s accurate or not.

Over-proofed

Dough that has fermented/proofed too long.

Over-proofed dough is dough that has fermented too long in its final shape (i.e. in a banneton), but over-proofed and over-fermented are sometimes used interchangeably. See also “over-fermented”

Signs of over-proofing include a poke test where the indent doesn’t fill back in, a loaf that deflates when dumped out of a banneton, deflates or spreads when scored, sticky dough that catches the lame, and a less than desirable oven spring.

Parchment paper

Also known as baking paper, parchment paper is a non-stick and grease-proof paper with many purposes in the kitchen. It is made up of silicone coated cellulose and is oven safe up to 420°F - 450°F / 216°C - 232°C, depending on the brand.

Parchment paper comes precut in various sizes or in rolls, white (bleached) or brown (unbleached).

Pâté Fermentée

French for “fermented dough”, pâté fermentée is another kind of preferment.

When making sourdough, at the end of the bulk ferment a third of the dough is reserved to leaven the next batch of bread. When the next batch is done bulk fermenting, again a third would be reserved in the fridge for up to 3 days until the next batch needs to be leavened.

Poke test

A test to determine if dough is done proofing and ready to bake.

Simply poke your finger into the dough, then remove it. If the dough springs back immediately, the dough is under-proofed. If the dough springs back slowly and doesn’t quite fill in completely, the dough is nicely proofed and ready for baking. If the dough doesn’t spring back at all or just a tiny bit, it is over-proofed and should be baked immediately.

How far should you poke your finger in? Anywhere between 1/4” and 1”, depending on who you ask. I personally feel 1” is too far. Since we don’t usually have a ruler handy for a poke test, poking a finger in as deep as the nail bed is probably my favorite practical bit of advice on the subject. To prevent your finger from sticking, wet or flour it before poking.

The poke test’s reliability is debatable when dough is cold, or if using to determine if bulk ferment is done.

Poolish

A French preferment consisting of flour, water, and a small bit of commercial yeast.

It’s usually equal parts flour and water (100% hydration) and left to ferment for 12-18 hours or so before being used in a recipe. It helps to create depth of flavor in breads but is not quite as tangy or sour as sourdough bread.

Pre-shape

A gentle shape given to dough after bulk ferment and before final shaping. The dough sits in this “pre-shape” usually just 20-30 minutes before the final shaping.

This pre-shape helps the dough to hold its shape better when it is actually shaped.

Proof

The ferment or rise of dough in its final shape before baking.

Pullman Loaf Pan

A bread/loaf pan with a lid, for making square bread, Texas toast, Pain de Mie, also known as Pullman Bread, and more.

Ripe starter

Bubbly, ready to use starter that has been fed in the last 12 hours. See also “active starter” and “mature starter”

Retard

A long, slow ferment in the fridge, often overnight or longer.

Retard means “to slow down” in French, as the fermentation process gets slowed down in the colder temperature.

Rice flour

Flour made from rice; this is a popular choice for lining bannetons and liner cloths to keep the dough from sticking.

Rubaud Method

A method for hand-mixing sourdough. This involves cupping one hand, sliding it under the dough in a bowl, and lifting and stretching it up before releasing. This is repeated any times moving your hand around the bowl to evenly work all the dough. This helps to build gluten while also aerating the dough.

Rye flour

One of the many flours chosen to add depth of flavor to loaves. Rye flour is nutritious and has a lower gluten content than wheat flour.

Rye flour comes in a few main varieties, depending on how much flavor and nutrition you’re going for. Just like regular wheat, the more of the rye kernel that is used, the more whole grain and flavorful it will be. Kernels are made up of the endosperm, the bran, and the germ.

White Rye, or Light Rye uses only the starchy endosperm part of the kernel, resulting in the lightest flavor.

Medium Rye contains bran which gives it a slightly darker color and a more robust flavor.

Dark Rye is the darkest, most pungent of the rye flours. It’s also the heaviest, and can weigh down your baked goods making them dense. However, dark rye can be an inconsistent product across different producers. According to King Arthur, some producers sift out some of the bran. or don’t use as much of the endosperm.

Pumpernickel flour is the one to get if you’re looking for a truly whole grain (endosperm, bran, and germ) rye flour. Pumpernickel is also known as “rye meal” or “whole rye flour”.

Scale/scaling

Weighing ingredients on a scale, or converting a recipe to yield more or less.

Score/scoring

Slicing bread about 1/2” or so deep to help control the rise.

This is best done with a sharp razor blade such as on a lame, but a sharp knife can also be used in a pinch.

Seam

After shaping dough into its final form, there will inevitably be a seam. The seam always ends up on the bottom of the loaf where you can’t see it. If using a normal loaf pan, the seam side goes down. If using a banneton to proof dough, the seam side always goes up since the bread will be flipped out of the banneton before baking.

Single edged razor blade

A razor blade with one sharp edge; the opposite edge is dull and made for holding.

This kind of razor blade cannot be used on a lame, but can be useful if you don’t have a lame and would like a safer option for hand scoring dough.

Sourdough

Bread made with natural yeast. No commercial yeast is needed.

This is the original and most ancient way of making bread. Commercial yeast was first sold in the 1800’s and greatly sped up the bread making process from a multi-day process to simply a multi-hour process. Now commercial yeast is the most prevalent kind of yeast in the USA. See also “commercial yeast” and “wild yeast”.

Sourdough Discard

The portion of sourdough starter that you discard before feeding it.

Sourdough starter needs regular feedings to stay active and bubbly. Before feeding, a portion is usually “discarded” or put aside so as to keep the amount of sourdough starter at a manageable quantity.

Sponge

An umbrella term for preferments.

Biga, poolish, and Levain, for example, are all preferments.

Sprouted flour

Wheat berries that are left to sprout before being milled into flour.

Sprouted flour is sometimes selected for sourdough and bread making because of its nutritious properties. Sprouting softens the wheat berry and makes it easier to digest.

Spurtle

A long, thin wooden stir stick.

Traditionally used in Scottish cooking of porridge and other liquidy foods, a spurtle works wonderfully for stirring sourdough starter and reaching into tall containers.

Starter

The natural yeast mixture that is maintained and fed with simply water and flour. A bit is used to naturally leaven bread, and the rest is kept on the counter or fridge with regular feedings and discards to keep it active and healthy.

See also “sourdough starter”

Stick Lame

A tool made for scoring bread.

A stick lame consists of a long handle with a metal end which holds a double-edged razor blade at a curved angle, allowing the bread to be scored in such a way as to get an ear.

Stiff starter

A sourdough starter that has a lower hydration, and thus, is stiffer.

Stitch/stitching

Once dough has been placed upside down (seam side up) in a banneton, the dough is often pinched on one side and stretched over to the other side and pressed down to stick. This is done multiple times all the way down a bâtard shape on both sides or around for a round boule, in a manner similar to stitching.

Stitching helps to create surface tension for a loaf.

Stretch and Fold

A gentle sourdough kneading method. Usually 2-4 sets of stretch and folds are performed to help develop gluten, often 30 minutes apart.

When dough has been mixed and is resting in a bowl/bulk ferment container, one edge of the dough is taken and stretched up as far as it can go without ripping, before being folded down to the opposite side. The opposite side is then taken and stretched and folded over. Finally, the opposite two sides are stretched and folded over as well.

In all, 4 stretch and folds at N, S, E, W will be performed to be considered one set of stretch and folds.

Surface tension

The taught, tight surface of dough in its final shape.

Surface tension is created by using certain techniques of rolling, dragging, sliding, and stitching the dough as and after you shape it.

Surface tension is important for helping loaves to rise upward and not outward.

Sweet stiff starter

Sourdough starter that has a lower hydration, and also with some sugar added to it to help reduce the acidity of the starter. It is used primarily in sweet breads.

See also “stiff starter”

Temperature method

Taking the temperature of dough at key moments to understand and time the sourdough process.

Dough temperature is often taken at the beginning of bulk ferment, at each stretch and fold, sometimes during the remainder of bulk ferment to help determine how fast the dough is fermenting and how long bulk ferment should last.

Tight crumb

Bread with small or tiny air holes, rather than large or airy holes.

While not the most desirable crumb structure for classic sourdough bread, some prefer this for its ability to hold jam, butter, etc. better.

See also “closed crumb”

Tramontina

A brand offering enameled cast-iron bakeware such as Dutch ovens frequently used for sourdough baking. A more affordable option than some.

Tunneling

The large holes seen in under-fermented bread.

Often in sourdough, dough that is not too severely under-proofed will take on s pyramidal shape with a mostly tight crumb that has large holes running through it, or tunneling.

UFO Lame

A round lame used for scoring smaller and more intricate designs.

Under-proofed

Bread that was not given enough time to ferment or rise, often manifesting in a loaf that doesn’t obtain full height with a dense, tighter crumb, or a tight crumb with large holes called tunneling.

Wild Yeast

As opposed to commercial yeast which you would buy from the store, wild yeast comes from the environment and is found virtually everywhere.

If you give wild yeast food, it will grow. This is how sourdough starter is made. When you mix food (flour) with water (a vessel), the wild yeast will eventually form and grow into what we know as a sourdough starter. Continue to feed it, and it will continue to be happy and grow.

Wild yeast differs around the world, which is why, no matter where you get your starter from or where you take it, it will eventually turn into the wild yeast native to your location. There is a reason why San Francisco sourdough has such a unique flavor that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world!

Windowpane test

A test to determine if sufficient gluten has been developed in bread dough.

Take a small piece of dough with wet or floured fingers and stretch into a thin square. If you’re able to stretch it thin enough to let light through in a windowpane-esque way, gluten has been well developed and passes the test. If it rips before stretching sufficiently, not enough gluten has been developed.


New Sourdough Series

Welcome to the brand new, sparkly sourdough series!

This little corner of Jennyblogs will feature all things sourdough, or sourdoughnt…ahem. Sourdough recipes, sourdough experiments, tips and tricks, discard recipes, and very possibly more than you ever wanted to know about sourdough.

Worry not, there will still be plenty of dinner recipes, desserts, and all of my other favorite recipes sprinkled with some Italy content coming your way! Sourdough will just be one more element on here.

This blog is an ever-evolving platform. What started as a personal way to share updates on life and ministry when I first moved to Italy in 2016, with occasional dessert recipes, turned into mostly dessert recipes. Then came in more savory and dinner recipes, then Italy content. 2019 was around the time I started to get a little more serious about blogging, getting more intentional about what I was doing. I had to start editing my writing realizing, hey, it’s not just my family and friends reading this anymore, but thousands of strangers. Inevitably, once I became a mamma some mom content started to sneak in (although I have stayed true to my word and not turned this into a full blown mom blog! Although I totally see the temptation there, baby thoughts take over a tired and completely-in-love mama’s brain), it stayed primarily recipes with some Italy content. Now, the next addition begins, with some sourdough content.

I started dabbling in sourdough back in 2017. I started my own starter for the fun of it and went from there. I didn’t get too serious about it until more recently. Years ago I spent a day apprenticing at an artisan sourdough bakery, then started working with it at a bakery I worked at in Florence, both of which piqued my interest even more and made me appreciate how much more there was to learn. These last several months I have been intensively working with sourdough, from classic loaves to cinnamon rolls, most days of the week; making, taking notes, studying, troubleshooting, experimenting, in the moments between wiping the toddler’s sticky fingers, nursing the baby, answering the preschooler’s questions, and all the other demands of life. As with any craft you’re learning to master, there have been frustrating moments, but there have also been the moments of immense satisfaction of seeing hard work come to fruition. While I do not yet confess to be a sourdough master, I am learning, learning, learning, and I would be honored if you’d join me in this sourdough journey. I’m excited, and hope that some of these articles, recipes, and resources will help make sourdough more enjoyable and attainable for more people!

Whether you’re still entirely unsure of what sourdough exactly is or you’ve already made hundreds of loaves, I hope you’ll stick around for some sourdough content!

Some sourdough recipes to get you started, with so many more to come!

Favorite Blueberry Muffins

My favorite blueberry muffin recipe, right here! It is my go to, super easy recipe.

I love these because they only dirty one bowl and one measuring cup. In fact, even though I primarily use a scale for baking, this is one recipe I always use a measuring cup for some of the liquids because it’s so simple, and takes into consideration that eggs can vary in size while keeping liquids consistent. If you’re wondering what I mean, you’re just going to have to read the recipe below. :)

Read: Why You Should Use a Baking Scale

These muffins are also very versatile for making different kinds of muffins, chocolate chip, raspberry, almond poppyseed, and on and on. I really only use different muffin base recipes when they have elements that change the composition, like banana, pumpkin, peanut butter, etc.

My kids are little and muffins make for great snacks, breakfasts, lunches, or whenever! This recipe is also easy and quick enough for when they want to help, which tends to slow the process wayyyy down. Ah, I love my eager little helpers.

Use up some sourdough discard

These muffins are also fabulous for using up some sourdough discard. In fact, with my sourdough habit and my children’s love for muffins, I’ve probably been making this recipe 1-2 times per week recently! A blueberry muffin for you, and a lemon poppyseed muffin for you!

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Recipe inspired by Inspired Taste


Favorite Blueberry Muffins

Makes about 12 muffins

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups / 240g all-purpose or pastry flour

  • 1/2 cup / 100g sugar

  • 1 Tbsp baking powder

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/2 cup / 113g oil

  • 1 egg

  • 2 tsp / 10g vanilla extract

  • about 1/2 cup / 119g milk

  • generous 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

  • up to 1/2 cup / about 100g sourdough discard, optional

Directions:

Oven 400°F / 205°C. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line with muffin liners.

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

  2. In an at least 2 cup measuring cup, add oil, egg, and vanilla. Add milk until mixture reaches the 1 1/4 cups measure line, this should be around 1/2 cup of milk.

  3. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients along with sourdough discard if using, stirring until just combined. Gently fold in blueberries.

  4. Fill muffin cups almost all the way full. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until tops are springy, no longer wet looking, and/or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Jenny’s notes:

  • If using frozen fruit, add to batter frozen, don’t thaw first. Muffins made with frozen fruit may need a couple minutes more in the oven than muffins made with fresh fruit.

  • If weighing ingredients or you don’t have a measuring cup handy, you can add the wet ingredients to another bowl instead, just add 1/2 cup / 119g milk.

  • Muffins make a great vessel for sourdough discard! I like using about 1/2 cup for a recipe this size, it’s a decent chunk out of my ever-growing discard jar, without the sourdough flavor being too strong. I’ve added 1 cup before, but at that point the sourdough flavor starts becoming more pronounced and you may start getting more than a dozen muffins.

  • Buttermilk can be substituted for the milk. Batter will be slightly thicker.

  • To jazz up the muffins, you can sprinkle the tops with coarse or granulated sugar before baking, if desired.

Favorite Blueberry Muffins
Yield 12
Author
Prep time
15 Min
Cook time
20 Min
Total time
35 Min

Favorite Blueberry Muffins

My favorite easy blueberry muffin recipe: Soft, tender muffins with pops of blueberry.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Oven 400°F / 205°C. Grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line with muffin liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
  3. In an at least 2 cup measuring cup, add oil, egg, and vanilla. Add milk until mixture reaches the 1 1/4 cups measure line, this should be around 1/2 cup of milk.
  4. Add milk mixture to dry ingredients along with sourdough discard if using, stirring until just combined. Gently fold in blueberries.
  5. Fill muffin cups almost all the way full. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until tops are springy, no longer wet looking, and/or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes

  • If using frozen fruit, add to batter frozen, don’t thaw first. Muffins made with frozen fruit may need a couple minutes more in the oven than muffins made with fresh fruit.
  • If weighing ingredients or you don’t have a measuring cup handy, you can add the wet ingredients to another bowl instead, just add 1/2 cup / 119g milk.
  • Muffins make a great vessel for sourdough discard! I like using about 1/2 cup for a recipe this size, it’s a decent chunk out of my ever-growing discard jar, without the sourdough flavor being too strong. I’ve added 1 cup before, but at that point the sourdough flavor starts becoming more pronounced and you may start getting more than a dozen muffins.
  • Buttermilk can be substituted for the milk. Batter will be slightly thicker.
  • To jazz up the muffins, you can sprinkle the tops with coarse or granulated  sugar before baking, if desired.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

224.88

Fat

10.62 g

Sat. Fat

1.09 g

Carbs

26.35 g

Fiber

2.6 g

Net carbs

23.74 g

Sugar

1.9 g

Protein

4.34 g

Sodium

251.77 mg

Cholesterol

14.86 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 1 muffin, including sourdough discard.

sourdough discard recipe, best ever blueberry muffins, favorite muffin base recipe
breakfast, dessert, bread
American
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Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last Updated September 2, 2024

Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies made with semi-sweet chocolate chips

Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies: like classic chocolate chip cookies, but malted. The malt is subtle, but irresistible, and makes the cookies extra tender and chewy.

The Effect of Adding Malt Powder to Cookies

You’d think you could take your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and just add some malted milk powder, right? Not quite. Something about malted milk powder makes cookies thin and spread a lot. If you add less malt powder, the flavor won’t come through enough. Adding more flour to try and offset this will only make the cookies cakey and weird.

To combat the cookies from spreading too much, there are a few key things this recipe includes:

  1. Cornstarch - helps keeps cookies thick and soft

  2. Brown sugar - most chocolate chip cookies call for both white sugar and brown sugar. Cookies made with white sugar spread more, so these cookies only call for brown sugar

  3. Refrigeration - Chilling dough helps cookies to maintain their shape a bit more and get those golden, crispy edges while maintaining a soft, chewy center. While these cookies are already naturally chewier than most thanks to the malt powder, chilling the dough helps them to spread less. While I’m fully aware of the benefits and reasons for chilling cookie dough, I’m also a huge fan of no-chill cookie dough, and most of the recipes on this blog reflect that. I usually want cookies NOW, haha. That said, the chilling for this recipe is important enough that I really do recommend it!

This recipe has been on the blog since its first year, but you would never know it because it was very well hidden at the end of a satire piece I wrote for April Fools. I only recently rediscovered it myself and decided it was high time to give these cookies their own post, their own spotlight, not hidden in some other piece.

So here’s a fresh and clean post for Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies with some fresh photos to boot!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Recipe adapted from Cookies and Cups.


Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 24-36 cookies

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups / 300g all-purpose flour

  • 1/2 cup malted milk powder

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 2 tsp cornstarch

  • 1 cup / 113g butter, softened or 3/4 cup / 169g oil

  • 1 1/2 cups / 300g brown sugar

  • 2 eggs

  • 1 Tbsp / 15g vanilla extract

  • 2 cups / 340g semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips or 2 cups (250g) coarsely chopped malted milk ball candies (Whoppers)

Directions:

  1. Whisk together flour, malted milk powder, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Set aside.

  2. Beat together butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. If using oil, beat to combine. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.  

  3. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Switch to a spoon and stir in chocolate chips.

  4. Cover and chill dough for at least 2 hours or up to 72 hours.  

  5. When ready to bake dough, preheat oven to 350°F / 177°C.  Scoop out dough by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. 

  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges begin to turn golden-brown but centers still look soft.  

  7. Allow to cool for a a few minutes before transferring from cookie sheets to cooling racks or clean counter to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

Jenny's Notes:

  • 2 cups of whoppers is about 2 (5oz) packages of Whoppers

  • Try these cookies with chocolate malt powder for a chocolatey twist!

Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield 24-36
Author
Prep time
20 Min
Cook time
10 Min
Inactive time
2 Hour
Total time
2 H & 30 M

Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies

Soft and extra chewy chocolate chip cookies with an irresistible malty flavor
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Whisk together flour, malted milk powder, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Set aside.
  2. Beat together butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. If using oil, beat to combine. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla.
  3. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Switch to a spoon and stir in chocolate chips.
  4. Cover and chill dough for at least 2 hours or up to 72 hours.
  5. When ready to bake dough, preheat oven to 350°F / 177°C. Scoop out dough by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.
  6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until edges begin to turn golden-brown but centers still look soft.
  7. Allow to cool for a a few minutes before transferring from cookie sheets to cooling racks or clean counter to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

Notes

  • Try these cookies with chocolate malt powder for a chocolatey twist!

Nutrition Facts

Calories

261.15

Fat

12.69 g

Sat. Fat

7.79 g

Carbs

35.23 g

Fiber

0.35 g

Net carbs

34.87 g

Sugar

23.27 g

Protein

2.27 g

Sodium

197.97 mg

Cholesterol

34.61 mg

Nutritional information is approximate and based on 1 serving if recipe makes 24 cookies.

chocolate chip cookies, best ever soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies, malted Whopper chocolate chip cookies
dessert
American
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Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

Bite-sized morsels of chicken and lightly crunchy broccoli pieces tossed in a salty and sweet stir fry sauce makes for a dinner that tastes like take-out, but is actually quite quick and easy.

We eat a lot of chicken and broccoli around here, so it only makes sense that we make a chicken and broccoli stir fry. In fact, the Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry is very much based on this recipe, we just use tofu instead of chicken for meatless meals.

The chicken is lightly battered in cornstarch, which helps to thicken the sauce once it’s added. The sauce is initially just 3 ingredients whisked together: broth, soy sauce, and sugar. Then, the chicken is cooked up, some garlic and ginger are added for aroma, and finally, the sauce. The broccoli is added in just at the very end, and steams up in 2-3 minutes. Tada! Simple enough for all but the busiest of evenings, and delicious to boot.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Recipe from my Mama


Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Serves about 3-4

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup / 237g vegetable or chicken broth

  • 3 Tbsp / 42g soy sauce

  • 2 tsp / 10g sugar

  • 1lb / 454g chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized piece

  • 2 Tbsp / 15g cornstarch

  • oil, for pan

  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 2 cups broccoli florets

  • Red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, sliced green onions, lime wedges, fresh mint, etc. for topping, as desired

Directions:

  1. Combine broth, soy sauce, and sugar; set aside.

  2. Toss chicken with cornstarch.

  3. Generously drizzle an iron skillet or other large pan with oil; place over medium-high heat.

  4. Add chicken, stirring frequently, until internal temperature reaches 165°F / 74°C, about 3-5 minutes.

  5. Reduce heat to low; add ginger and garlic; stir, until fragrant and sizzling, about a minute.

  6. Add in broth mixture and stir occasionally, until starting to simmer.

  7. Add in broccoli, cover, and let sit for 2 minutes for “al dente” broccoli, or a couple more minutes for softer broccoli.

  8. Remove from heat. Serve over rice with desired garnishes.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Yield 3-4
Author
Prep time
15 Min
Cook time
15 Min
Total time
30 Min

Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry

Bite-sized morsels of chicken and lightly crunchy broccoli pieces tossed in a salty and sweet stir fry sauce makes for a quick and easy dinner that tastes like take-out!
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Combine broth, soy sauce, and sugar; set aside.
  2. Toss chicken with cornstarch.
  3. Generously drizzle an iron skillet or other large pan with oil; place over medium-high heat.
  4. Add chicken, stirring frequently, until internal temperature reaches 165°F / 74°C, about 3-5 minutes.
  5. Reduce heat to low; add ginger and garlic; stir, until fragrant and sizzling, about a minute.
  6. Add in broth mixture and stir occasionally, until starting to simmer.
  7. Add in broccoli, cover, and let sit for 2 minutes for “al dente” broccoli, or a couple more minutes for softer broccoli.
  8. Remove from heat. Serve over rice with desired garnishes.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

286.74

Fat

9.11 g

Sat. Fat

1.3 g

Carbs

13.21 g

Fiber

2.07 g

Net carbs

11.14 g

Sugar

1.77 g

Protein

36.45 g

Sodium

1503.43 mg

Cholesterol

98.34 mg

Nutritional information is approximate, based on 1 serving of 3.

chicken stir fry, better than take-out, broccoli stir fry, sweet and sour stir fry, healthy stir fry
dinner
Asian
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Taco Salad

Taco salad is a classic in my family. Seasoned beef, 2 kinds of beans, cheese, tomatoes, onion, and enough lettuce to be able to call this a salad, all tossed in creamy homemade thousand island dressing. It’s delicious.

I’m not sure who was the original genius to decide to turn a taco into a salad and use a mayonnaise and ketchup based dressing, but it works, and it works so well. I highly recommend you make your own thousand island dressing! It’s very easy.

My earliest memories of this salad were probably because it was one of my brother’s favorite meal requests. Over the years it has slowly morphed into the version we make today, which is a bit more wholesome than the original. Where a bag of Doritos used to be used, we now use tortilla chips. Store-bought thousand island dressing has been replaced with this much more flavorful homemade (7 ingredient) thousand island dressing. A packet of taco seasoning has been replaced with our own mix of spices. Sometimes we make it with beef, sometimes we keep it vegetarian for a lighter meal. All in all, we’ve moved this away from processed foods in favor of using more whole foods, and it’s only better for it. What used to be my brother’s taco salad, has become everyone’s favorite taco salad.

Listed below is more or less the quantities of ingredients we use, but this is one of those recipes where you can measure with your heart! In fact, my mom’s recipe doesn’t even list quantities on some things because we just add as much as we want. Want less beans? Use 1 can instead of 2. Love tomatoes? Use more than 2! Is cheese your love language? Use as much as you want! You get the idea, it’s very easy to adjust according to your tastes.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links, Jennyblogs may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. This helps to support Jennyblogs. Where possible, links are prioritized to small businesses and ethically and responsibly made items. For further information see the privacy policy. Grazie!

Recipe from my mama


Taco Salad

Serves 6-8 as a side dish

Ingredients:

  • 2 heads of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped

  • 1 lb ground beef, cooked with 1 packet taco seasoning

  • 2 medium tomatoes, diced

  • 1 small onion, diced small

  • 1 (14.5oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed

  • 1 (14.5oz) can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed

  • 1 1/2 cups Thousand Island Dressing, or to taste, recipe here

  • 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

  • 4 oz tortilla chips or Doritos, lightly crushed

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, toss lettuce, beef, tomatoes, onion, pinto and black beans together.

  2. Just before serving, add dressing and toss to combine. Lightly toss in cheese and chips.

  3. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Jenny’s Notes:

  • Shredded chicken is also delicious in this instead of beef.

  • This salad is also wonderful served without meat, as a vegetarian dish.

  • Ingredient quantities are very much customizable to your liking.

  • If you anticipate having leftovers, only toss chips into the amount you think will be eaten. You can always add more chips, but leftovers with chips get soggy.

Taco Salad
Yield 6-8
Author
Prep time
20 Min
Total time
20 Min

Taco Salad

Romaine lettuce, taco seasoned beef, pinto and black beans, cheese, tomato, onion, and chips all tossed together in a creamy homemade Thousand Island Dressing.
Cook modePrevent screen from turning off

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, toss lettuce, beef, tomatoes, onion, pinto and black beans together.
  2. Just before serving, add dressing and toss to combine. Lightly toss in cheese and chips.
  3. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Notes

  • Shredded chicken is also delicious in this instead of beef.
  • This salad is also wonderful served without meat, as a vegetarian dish.
  • Ingredient quantities are very much customizable to your liking.
  • If you anticipate having leftovers, only toss chips into the amount you think will be eaten. You can always add more chips, but leftovers with chips get soggy.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

594.37

Fat

30.01 g

Sat. Fat

8.4 g

Carbs

73.09 g

Fiber

21.71 g

Net carbs

51.38 g

Sugar

21.54 g

Protein

16.06 g

Sodium

1152.99 mg

Cholesterol

40.54 mg

Nutritional information is approximate. Based on 8 servings, including beef and homemade dressing.

best ever taco salad, vegetarian, summer recipe, side salad, healthy taco salad
dinner
American
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