Ask Allie!

Ask Allie is our advice column, where you can ask all your food-related questions to get digestible answers! No question is off limits!

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I think I am ready to try to make some French baguette with the French sourdough. Would you have any recite for the baguette or other bread using the French sourdough? I have read some recipes on the internet but it was not clear how much of starter should I incorporate in the baguette dough.

— Tiago

Here are all of the sourdough recipes we have posted on our website. We categorize all of our blog posts, so any time you have a category of recipe (or other information like origin stories, seasonal reminders, yogurt recipes, what-have-you), you can Google “positively probiotic sourdough recipes” or whatever the category is, and Google will bring up all of them in a single link like the one I’ve linked above. 

All of that said, I personally tend to make sourdough with larger amounts of sourdough starter. I don’t always do this, but normally yes. There are other schools of thought on this, though, such as the Tartine method, which uses tiny amounts. My brother-in-law bakes using this method, and I don’t think he ever uses more than a couple of tablespoons. Peter Reinhart also offers a number of books on artisan baking, many of which include sourdough, so I might check out which books of his your local library has.

I also recommend checking out Bake with Jack, who offers a number of really detailed and new baker-friendly tips, recipes, and methods. I think if you spend some time looking at the ways different bakers do things, you’ll notice patterns in what everyone does even though they do it differently. Also make sure you’re looking into stretch-and-fold techniques as well as slap-and-fold techniques that can be used instead of kneading, since sourdough breads tend to have higher hydration than breads made with commercial yeast.

I read about your blog on saving back up cultures on the dry part for yogurt. After I spread thinly on a parchment paper, then put in the fridge to dry it, I should put a cover? Since our fridge has many other items, I have to put on somewhat a cover to prevent contamination from other foreign whatever inside the fridge?

— Annlyn

When I dry them in the fridge (usually, bc it’s so humid here in Houston), I put them on a sheet tray on top of everything in the fridge, or I use a bowl also on the top shelf. If I’m worried that something will drop into it, then I use a breathable cover, because it won’t dry if the water can’t get out so you can’t use a proper lid.

I need a recommendation. I am looking for a yogurt for my husband who does not tolerate sour or tart and likes a thicker, creamier yogurt. Any options that are mesophilic are preferred.

— Heather

Our mildest mesophils are sour cream, which can be made with milk as though yogurt. 

Here are the balanced mesophils! I would not advise you get him the fjallfil. It’s pretty funky even though it’s not very sour. Bollnasfil is probably your best bet for his preferences from this list.