Syzygies Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 In KK Bread Making Tips and Tricks, @Pequod posted about his new Brød & Taylor Sourdough Home, a temperature controlled chamber for ideally maintaining a sourdough culture. That is a long and interesting thread, that devolves into speculation about my cannabis use and so forth. The Komodo Kamado forum has great advice from some very serious cooks, and sometimes that advice draws in visitors who decide to stay and buy a Komodo Kamado, and become valued compatriots. So I thought it would be worthwhile to start a new thread focused on the Sourdough Home. I bought one immediately. The short-term payoff is being able to feed one's starter less frequently without inducing a refrigerator coma, then get it nice and warm for making bread. My first bread this way was a technical flop but the best tasting bread I've made in years. This makes it clear that the long-term payoff is learning to bake with better controls. Sure, people have made wine for centuries before electronics, but they had access to stable temperature caves, and they adapted their methods to reliable conditions. Modern wine is arguably better, in part because one can control conditions precisely. I'm convinced that one can learn to make astounding bread by learning how to use the Sourdough Home to control conditions. The Sourdough Home is not silent, and even in sleep mode a brighter light source than all of my other LEDs combined. If you live in a studio apartment, you'll likely end up pitching it out the window. An internet search reveals that a 3/4 liter "743 Weck Mold Jar" with a wooden lid is an ideal starter container (Amazon). Remove the silicone lid seal, so gases can escape. I like mine. After briefly searching for a bread proofing chamber, I realized that dough for my single loaves should fit in the Sourdough Home itself, if I could find the right container. I got lucky, and found the Airscape Glass Coffee Canister (Medium 7-Inch) with a two quart capacity. It exactly fits the Sourdough Home, with a similar wooden lid and a silicone seal one removes. It looks like a matched pair with the Weck starter jar, as shown in the photos. I've never had much luck with refrigerator dough rises, but the Sourdough Home allows for intermediate bulk proofing temperatures. My goal now is to adapt the idea of Desem bread (as detailed for example in The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book; we already grind our own flour) to the possibilities of this equipment. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 what is your keep temp for once a week feedings and what is the warmup temp? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syzygies Posted April 25 Author Report Share Posted April 25 1 hour ago, David Chang said: what is your keep temp for once a week feedings and what is the warmup temp? Here are screen grabs from their instruction manual, and a link to their blog post with more information: How to Use the Sourdough Home | Brod & Taylor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Chang Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 @Syzygies thanks for the info. i think my dual zone wine fridge can replicate these temps adjustable from 5-18c. it's handy to keep prefrements at different temps and bulk fermentation at higher than normal fridge temps, but i've always kept my starter in the normal fridge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekobo Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 Always good to benefit from your research @Syzygies but I see what you have done here. You have upped the ante. @Pequod suggests one cool thing to buy and you find another two to add to the list. Well done. Let's see if anyone bites. I think I have a sure fire way of swerving this purchase. I have made a promise that I won't even consider getting a Sourdough Home until @C6Bill gets one. I think I'm safe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pequod Posted April 25 Report Share Posted April 25 (edited) That's an interesting idea with the Airscape container. I'd thought of doing something similar for pizza dough, which would benefit from long, slow ferments at above-fridge temperatures. I've also considered something like this with a bit more capacity: Amazon.com: Cooluli 20 Liter Mini Fridge with Temperature Control - Black: Home & Kitchen I don't know anything about that particular model, but it's an example of a portable, adjustable fridge. @tekobo - see what I did there? I saw @Syzygies container and raised him a fridge! Edited April 25 by Pequod 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
