I spent a god portion of the spring trying to make good sourdough bread. I made many good loaves, but was never quite happy. A lot of them had semi-burnt bottoms. One tasted great and was great on the inside but didn't brown up the way I expected. They were all eatable, but not what I had imagined.
Yesterday, I made my best loaf to date. It plumped up beautifully and had a soft crust which I have never had. What was the difference? First of all, I put rice on the bottom of my Dutch oven under the parchment paper (a trick I learned on Facebook). Also, I used a recipe from a book and times everything exactly as written. I think part of my problem was the source of my recipes. I had one from TikTok and a few I found from a Google search. I don't know if the recipes were bad. It's possible this is just the recipe that clicks the best for me.
I am loving the process of learning to make sourdough. There are so many things I can do with the starter. I'm excited to see what I make next.