Amber Eisler

Hey, David. It's great to be here.

Hey, David. It's great to be here.

Yeah, definitely. So when I first started teaching sourdough, most of the people were either retired engineers or health food enthusiasts. But sourdough is definitely having a moment. And we are seeing people from every walk of life baking sourdough. And there are people that see these images on social media, bubbly dough and beautiful crust. And they're like, yes, I want that.

Yeah, definitely. So when I first started teaching sourdough, most of the people were either retired engineers or health food enthusiasts. But sourdough is definitely having a moment. And we are seeing people from every walk of life baking sourdough. And there are people that see these images on social media, bubbly dough and beautiful crust. And they're like, yes, I want that.

Oh, that's hard to say, David. Humans have been baking sourdough for thousands of years. If it was that hard, we would have given up a long time ago. But getting that perfect balance of crust and crumb and the texture, you can spend a lifetime perfecting your loaf.

Oh, that's hard to say, David. Humans have been baking sourdough for thousands of years. If it was that hard, we would have given up a long time ago. But getting that perfect balance of crust and crumb and the texture, you can spend a lifetime perfecting your loaf.

Yeah. So you really have to pay attention to temperature. And this could go either way. Sometimes the dough is too cold. Sometimes it's too warm. So I just think about how I react to temperature. When I'm cold, I just want to curl up into a ball and hibernate. I don't want to do anything. I don't rise to the occasion.

Yeah. So you really have to pay attention to temperature. And this could go either way. Sometimes the dough is too cold. Sometimes it's too warm. So I just think about how I react to temperature. When I'm cold, I just want to curl up into a ball and hibernate. I don't want to do anything. I don't rise to the occasion.

But you know, when I'm at a nice, comfortable temperature, I'm at my best and the sourdough is the same. So check in. What is your room temperature? What is your dough temperature? How does that change over time? And don't just kind of set your dough and forget about it. You got to keep checking in with it. See how it's doing. Feel the dough.

But you know, when I'm at a nice, comfortable temperature, I'm at my best and the sourdough is the same. So check in. What is your room temperature? What is your dough temperature? How does that change over time? And don't just kind of set your dough and forget about it. You got to keep checking in with it. See how it's doing. Feel the dough.

Really use your senses to see how the dough is reacting.

Really use your senses to see how the dough is reacting.

Oh, I feel like I'm going to get in trouble no matter how I answer that one. There's a range of right. And I think there's room in the world for that really super dark bake. That is just a real depth of flavor. It's like caramelization. There's definitely a range, but I do notice that students tend to just be afraid that their bread is going to burn. And as a result, they really underbake it.

Oh, I feel like I'm going to get in trouble no matter how I answer that one. There's a range of right. And I think there's room in the world for that really super dark bake. That is just a real depth of flavor. It's like caramelization. There's definitely a range, but I do notice that students tend to just be afraid that their bread is going to burn. And as a result, they really underbake it.

And the consequences of really underbaking your bread are that you have too much moisture that has not baked off. And so as soon as you pull that bread out of the oven, that crispy crust softens right up. So you don't have that crisp crust that you're searching for. Totally. When I'm looking at a loaf of bread, I'm looking at the score mark right where I've made a cut on the top of the bread.

And the consequences of really underbaking your bread are that you have too much moisture that has not baked off. And so as soon as you pull that bread out of the oven, that crispy crust softens right up. So you don't have that crisp crust that you're searching for. Totally. When I'm looking at a loaf of bread, I'm looking at the score mark right where I've made a cut on the top of the bread.

I really want to see color in that score mark. I don't want to just look at the top to make sure that I'm getting really nice color.

I really want to see color in that score mark. I don't want to just look at the top to make sure that I'm getting really nice color.

Yeah, I'm looking at the deepest part. So the ear is going to get color on it real fast, right? But I'm looking where the score mark merges with the rest of the loaf.

Yeah, I'm looking at the deepest part. So the ear is going to get color on it real fast, right? But I'm looking where the score mark merges with the rest of the loaf.