Knowledge base

Jargon-free explanations

Short pieces about the things you run into while baking, the plain words behind the baker's terms, and what to do with the part you'd otherwise throw away.

Explainers

What a starter actually is A jar of flour and water where two kinds of tiny creatures live together: wild yeasts a... Why your starter goes quiet around day four Almost every new starter bubbles away on day one and two, and then falls silent. Learning to read your bulk ferment The clock won't tell you when your bulk ferment is done; your dough will. Mould, or just hooch? A dark, thin layer of liquid on top is hooch — alcohol, and completely normal. Why does it smell like nail polish remover? That sharp, chemical smell is acetone, and it means one thing: your starter finished it... Baking in a cold house In winter, kitchens in the Netherlands sit structurally below nineteen degrees, while a...

Discard recipes

Discard crackers The easiest thing you can do with discard, and the tastiest. Discard pancakes The Sunday breakfast after a baking day. Discard waffles Crisp outside, soft inside.

Glossary

Hooch: The dark liquid that can settle on top of a starter.
Bulk ferment: The first, long rise — the whole dough still in one bowl.
Autolyse: Letting flour and water rest on their own, before the salt and the starter go in.
Hydration: How much water is in your dough, as a percentage of the flour.
Levain: The piece of starter you build up specially for one bake.
Discard: The part of your starter you'd throw away when you feed it.
Oven spring: The final surge of growth in the first minutes in the oven.
Shaping tension: The taut outside you build on your dough while shaping.
Retard: Slowing the rise down in the fridge.
Baker's percentage: Everything expressed as a percentage of the flour, which is always 100%.