What it says on the tin: here you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions as well as instructions on how to care for your starter and captain your own doughy adventures.
Nope, at Adventures in Dough we believe in Flour to the People! Our research and experience shows that most people struggled making their first loaves as they were using the wrong flour, which can greatly impact the rise. As you can see below, all flour is not created equal and using the wrong flour for anything other than its intended purpose can have unexpected and disastrous (yes, disastrous) results.
It has a lot to do with the protein (gluten) content, and a little to do with how fine the flour is. Take a look below:
| Flour Type | % Protein | |
| high-gluten | 14-15 | bagels, blending with other flours |
| whole-wheat | 14 | hearth breads, blending |
| bread | 12-13 | traditional bread, bread machine, pizza |
| all-purpose | 9-12 | everyday cooking, quick bread, pastries |
| self-raising | 9-12 | biscuits, quick breads, cookies |
| pastry | 8-9 | pie crusts, pastries, cookies, biscuits |
| cake | 5-8 | cakes – with a high ratio of sugar to flour |
As you can see, the right protein content is important for the right use. If you use a cake flour for your sourdough you’ll walk away with a droopy flat loaf and a raised fist cursing the person who ever thought it was a good idea to create a protein-reduced “cake” flour.
At Adventures in Dough we recommend a flour thats just under the 12% protein range, and if you buy one of our full starter kits, that’s exactly what you’ll get.
What do you recommend I purchase for epic baking?
Good question. There are a few things that will make baking easier, faster and more reliable. We’ve listed our recommendations, in order, below.
First and foremost is a good kitchen scale. You’ll struggle to get consistent results and a good understanding of dough if using measuring cups and tablespoons. Basic kitchen scales are not expensive: you can grab a great one here if you are in the UK, or here for the US.
Secondly, if you really want to bake bread and get a proper crunchy crust you will need a fit-for-purpose baking dish. A dutch oven is a great all-round dish that wont cost the earth, and can also be used for rich casseroles, as well as kick-ass sourdough loaves. We can recommend this one for the UK, and this for the US.
If you are feeling flush for cash, we can also recommend the Brovn. It’s pricey but is a beautiful piece of kitchenware that allows you to watch the bread rise and also doubles as a pizza stone. You can grab one here.
As the name suggests, these really help with the proofing of the bread and mean you don’t need to mess around with towels and colanders when proofing. They also have the added bonus of creating the really beautiful lines on the top of your loaf. A basic one of these with an included cloth cover is fine, you can grab one here (UK) or here (US).
Let’s face it, baking is hot work. At some point you are probably going to burn your hands and shout expletives (most likely at the same time). You can protect yourself from the former by buying a good pair of gloves that won’t cost the earth. Here you can get some in the UK, and here in the US.
If you’re serious about getting a crispy pizza base then you really need a pizza stone. Without it you’ll struggle to be able to get the dough hot enough to get a crispy base and that wonderful CRUNCH as you bite in. You can try using a baking tray but let’s face it, it just won’t work as well (or look as good). Pizza bases aren’t too expensive, and you can pick up a good stone here in the UK, and here in the US or a good tray here (US) & (UK)