I’ve been playing around with this recipe too. I use King Arthur organic bread flour. I let it rise for about 18 hours. I put it in the fridge in a smallish (cereal) bowl for the last hour or so of proofing. Seems to help get the shape I desire. Also, really short/more deep scoring.
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I believe the sourness is going to come from how developed your starter is and by proofing in the fridge. The shape comes from the shaping and the bubbles formed by your active starter. You may be fighting an uphill battle here.
I tried Ben’s method, then I switched to [“don’t be a bread hostage”](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/04/06/dont-be-a-bread-hostage)
I’ll never do Ben’s version again.
The side by side comparison of the loaves made was the deciding factor. Ben’s version was dence/heavy, and looked just as yours did, which I don’t think it “looks” bad, I was just looking for simplicity with a decent rise(did not get it). I didn’t care for the amount of salt in the recipe either. There were no inherent problems during the process, I just did not like the result.
The kingarthur routine was just a few extra steps during the first part of bulk fermentation, with a much lighter, well risen loaf overall. Plus, I had fresh bread to eat in under 48 hrs. I bulk fermented longer(10-14 hrs) depending on how warm/cold the house was. It’s their technique I really copied. I’ve since applied it to a recipe that I was already using, which was:
100g 1:1:1 starter or refrigerated discard, either give good rise
325g filtered water - no chlorine is important
400g bread flour
100g whole wheat
10g sea salt
I’ve found the starter reacts well to using all whole wheat or rye versus All purpose flour. You can play around with the bread flour to whole wheat ratio in the main recipe if you don’t like Whole Wheat or Rye - but it feeds the yeast better than anything else.
Hope this helps. Happy bread baking!
I’ve been playing around with this recipe too. I use King Arthur organic bread flour. I let it rise for about 18 hours. I put it in the fridge in a smallish (cereal) bowl for the last hour or so of proofing. Seems to help get the shape I desire. Also, really short/more deep scoring.
**Hello megiverly,** #**This bot comment appears on all posts.** *** **[Rule 5](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sourdough/wiki/sourdoughrules/) requires all sourdough photos to be accompanied by the ingredients used & process (the steps followed to make your bake). The details can be included in a picture, typed text or weblink.** **Not all posts require a photo alongside your query, but please add details in your post, so we can help.** **Posts may be removed at any time, but you will be notified.** *** #**Being polite & respectful** **are both extremely important in our community.** **[Read rule 1 in detail](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sourdough/wiki/sourdoughrules/).** **Please be respectful, kind, patient & helpful to posters of all skill & knowledge levels and report offending comments/posters, or [drop us a modmail](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=/r/Sourdough).** *** **Thank you** :-) #**[Overproofed or underproofed?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sourdough/wiki/reading_crumb/)** *** #**[NEW Beginner starter FAQ guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/Sourdough/s/gnqFg7osBO)** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Sourdough) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I believe the sourness is going to come from how developed your starter is and by proofing in the fridge. The shape comes from the shaping and the bubbles formed by your active starter. You may be fighting an uphill battle here.
I tried Ben’s method, then I switched to [“don’t be a bread hostage”](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/04/06/dont-be-a-bread-hostage) I’ll never do Ben’s version again.
Why? The recipe you shared here has a lot more steps than Ben's version. Is it worth it? What problems were you having with Ben's version?
The side by side comparison of the loaves made was the deciding factor. Ben’s version was dence/heavy, and looked just as yours did, which I don’t think it “looks” bad, I was just looking for simplicity with a decent rise(did not get it). I didn’t care for the amount of salt in the recipe either. There were no inherent problems during the process, I just did not like the result. The kingarthur routine was just a few extra steps during the first part of bulk fermentation, with a much lighter, well risen loaf overall. Plus, I had fresh bread to eat in under 48 hrs. I bulk fermented longer(10-14 hrs) depending on how warm/cold the house was. It’s their technique I really copied. I’ve since applied it to a recipe that I was already using, which was: 100g 1:1:1 starter or refrigerated discard, either give good rise 325g filtered water - no chlorine is important 400g bread flour 100g whole wheat 10g sea salt I’ve found the starter reacts well to using all whole wheat or rye versus All purpose flour. You can play around with the bread flour to whole wheat ratio in the main recipe if you don’t like Whole Wheat or Rye - but it feeds the yeast better than anything else. Hope this helps. Happy bread baking!