murphy.aaron•2mo agoProlific Poster

I finally tried the 'cold oven' method for my sourdough and the difference was crazy.

For the first six months, my loaves from my Portland starter were always flat and gummy... I was putting them straight into a 450 degree oven. Last week I tried starting them in a cold oven and letting it heat up with them inside. The rise was totally different, like a full inch taller and way more open inside. Has anyone else switched to a cold start for sourdough and had it fix everything?

4 comments

4 Comments

ruby_jones2mo agoMost Upvoted

Worry that method might just hide other issues with your dough strength. A hot oven gives a better spring for my loaves because the heat hits it fast. Maybe your starter just needed more time to mature.

the_tyler2mo ago

My starter was flat for months too until I switched to a cold oven start. The slower heat rise gave it time to puff up before the crust set. It fixed my gummy crumb problem completely.

sandraf982mo ago

Portland starter for six months and it was always flat? That's the part that gets me. I would have given up after two weeks of gummy bread. My starter from Seattle took off in like a month. Maybe the cold oven trick just finally gave your dough the gentle push it needed to get going.

kimr741mo ago

Gentle push needed" makes it sound like a magic fix. It's probably just one variable in a long list of things that can go wrong with sourdough. I doubt a cold oven is that serious compared to fermentation time or dough handling.