u/medmac_2112

I’ve been practicing with poolish loaves for a while with the goal of diving back into sourdough soon, but honestly, this loaf was so good I’m not sure I’m ready to switch! Extremely crispy crust, fluffy crumb, and amazing rise.

POOLISH
45g flour
45g water
Tiny pinch active dry yeast

Fermented overnight at room temp

DOUGH
All the poolish
1/8 tsp active dry yeast
400g organic bread flour
285g water
10g salt

2 sets of stretch and folds
1 set of coil folds

8 hour total bulk fermentation

12 hour cold proof

Preheated oven to 500F, then baked at 475 in a Dutch oven, 25 mins with lid on and 10 mins with lid off, internal temp was 211

96h cold fermented dough, 64.6% hydration, baked in Breville Pizzaiolo

10+ years in the making, one of my biggest unfulfilled dreams finally came true: seeing Rush live for the first time. I had the upmost privilege of attending four shows across New York City and my hometown of Toronto, and I can confidently say they were every bit as tight, powerful, and heartfelt as I expected!

My first show was Night 2 at MSG and I came in completely blind. I told myself that if I was seeing my heroes for the very first time, I wanted to do it the old-fashioned way and avoid spoilers completely, which was a very tall task for me! However, it most definitely paid off as I was not expecting them to open with effin XANADU which was a surprisingly remarkable choice, and I was elated to see the entirety of 2112 performed. My first impressions of the whole band were absolutely exceeded and Anika wonderfully honoured Neil’s parts whilst still making them her own. I also had a great vantage point of the full stage production from being halfway down the floor. Howard’s lighting style is so recognizable and I love that it has hardly changed from previous tours, but the production absolutely stood the test of time in 2026 especially with the large LED wall and rising screen complementing the lights beautifully, as well as all the pyros throughout.

Next was Toronto and I got to attend Nights 1 and 4, as well as a last minute snag of “obstructed” front row side seats in Night 3, which felt more like a private Geddy show than anything and it was insane! These shows had a different vibe in the air compared to New York, with the hometown crowd delivering a beautiful welcome to the band after over a decade. Some of my unique highlights from this run of shows were Time Stand Still with Aimee Mann and Natural Science on Night 1, all of Moving Pictures on Night 3, and The Pass on Night 4. My main setlist disappointment was no representation of Power Windows at all, but I still felt like the set was a good overall “best of Rush” celebration and I can’t blame them for the songs they selected. Love that La Villa Strangiato, Dreamline, Bravado, DEW, Red Sector A, Bangkok, The Garden, LTTA, and many others are getting the love they deserve!

Geddy and Alex truly have not lost a step, and Anika and Loren fit right in like a glove. While Neil may have not been physically present, it really felt like he was there in spirit with the numerous tributes and speeches towards him throughout the shows. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate my favourite band after all these years of thinking it would never happen, and I can’t wait to see how the tour continues on!

Went to NYC for a few days to see Rush, but also had time to hit a few pizza spots. Here is my review of each slice in order of appearance!

Upside Pizza - Nolita
Great cheese to sauce ratio and the addition of fresh mozz is really nice. Nice tangy sauce too. The slice was either slightly over-reheated or wasn’t the freshest as the crust was a bit drier than I would’ve liked, but great flavour throughout.

L’industrie - Little Italy
Was awesome to finally try L’industrie after hearing all the hype. Despite it not being the original Williamsburg location, it most definitely delivered. Topped lightly so the parm and basil on top still doesn’t make it too heavy, and a perfect crisp in every bite. Unfortunately I wasn’t the hungriest when eating this slice so I think that affected my enjoyment a bit, but the slice itself was a perfect artisanal take on the NYC slice so I can’t really fault anything.

Joe’s Pizza - Carmine Street
A lot of people like to say Joe’s is overrated or overhyped, but I personally don’t agree with that. Sure there’s nothing outrageously special or extraordinary about the pizza, but that’s what makes it so good imo. They’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. Instead they strive to make a perfect no-frills slice that’s easy to eat while walking and doesn’t make your hands greasy in the slightest. It’s super light so you hardly even feel it afterwards, and the crisp is simply perfect across the board. I had it 3 years ago too and they haven’t lost a single touch!

Fermento Pizza - Greenwich Village
This new spot is sick! Great flavours in the cheese and 72-hour fermented dough. One critique is that the slice was a bit overtopped near the tip, so the crisp was lacking a bit until getting closer to the crust. Flavour-wise though, just about perfect and I think this shop will continue to be successful despite being located near a bunch of old-school titans.

Upside Pizza - Nomad
This slice had the crust softness that I was missing in the first pie so the sourdough flavour came through much more. I think I enjoyed this slice the most actually since I was hungry and in a great mood coming out of the Rush concert at MSG, but even without that in mind it was just about a perfect slice.

It’s hard to pick a favourite since all these spots do different things so well. They all really impressed me so I’m not even going to pick a favourite. Pizza is great, why even compare? Can’t wait to come back here and try some more spots out.

Came out great, nice light texture and great flavour! Crumb isn’t the most even but I think I just need to work on my shaping a little more.

Anything else I can improve on?

POOLISH
45g flour
45g water
0.05g active dry yeast

Fermented overnight at room temp then in the fridge for another full day

DOUGH
All the poolish
0.5g active dry yeast
400g bread flour
285g water
10g salt

3 sets of stretch and folds
1 set of coil folds

6 hour total bulk fermentation

16 hour cold proof

Baked at 450F/230C in a Dutch oven, 20 mins with lid on and 20 mins with lid off

I wasn’t at the show but after watching this video of UD I noticed two things.

1. This is the first performance of UD since The Resistance tour where the string samples are the same ones from the album and not that electronic synth version of the string part they’ve used since 2011.
2. Dom played the last chorus on his main drum kit which I believe he hasn’t done since Royal Albert Hall 2009 (but someone correct me if I’m wrong).

This is amazing and I’m so glad to see they’re experimenting a bit with their performances again. Those who were there last night were lucky!

I compiled 6 recordings of the high note at the end of the song (with the help of u/Cool_Tomato2104’s post), and here are my findings.

First 4 vids (several US performances):
Clearly all the same playback recording from a new take that’s not from the studio version. This is evident by a barely audible “she’s”, the super clean “niii”, and arguably the biggest tell, that abrupt drop in pitch from a D to around a C# right at the very end. My theory is that Matt wanted to gently break his voice in at the start of the tour until it was more warmed up, hence trying this little playback experiment.

5th vid (Toronto):
Definitely a new vocal take that was recorded live. The “niii” is much raspier and rougher sounding at the very end, and he holds the “gennnn” for a little longer. I was hoping this wasn’t gonna be just another new mimed take for future shows to make it less obvious, so I figured I needed to hear one more show to prove it.

6th vid (Quebec City):
I’m happy to report this is yet another new live vocal take. The “she’s” is much more noticeable, the “niii” is a little rougher than the US recordings but cleaner than Toronto, and he holds the “gennnn” just a hair longer than Toronto as well.

I rest my case. Matt initially used some playback on Cryogen, but now he’s singing it fully live again! As for Plug In Baby, this might not be true, but I’d say this is still a win for Matt and for us.

DOUGH
908 g organic bread flour (100%)
586 g cold water (64.5% hydration)
13 g sugar (1.4%)
2.5 g active dry yeast (0.28%)
15 g extra virgin olive oil (1.7%)
26 g salt (2.9%)

SAUCE
Organic strained Italian tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
Dried oregano
Pinch of salt and sugar

CHEESE
Full fat low moisture mozzarella
Pecorino Romano

PROCEDURE

1. Mix yeast, cold water, and sugar and let bloom if needed.
2. Add flour, stir until shaggy, then let autolyse for 30 mins.
3. Add oil and salt and knead by hand until stretchy and passes the windowpane test.
4. Cover and bulk ferment for 6-8 hours at room temperature.
5. Punch down and divide into dough balls (I do 6 250g balls).
6. Place balls in very lightly oiled containers and cold ferment for 2-4 days (I did 3 this time).
7. Take dough out 1-3 hours prior to baking to come to room temperature.
8. To transfer the dough ball from your container to your floured work surface, put some flour on top of the opened container, flip it over and let the dough fall out on its own. This helps ensure the gas won’t be squeezed out which results in a much airier crust.
9. To stretch the dough, first poke it all over with your fingers while leaving a crust rim, then toss it between your hands to shake the flour off, then use your knuckles to stretch the edge of the dough right before the crust and ensure the middle doesn’t get too thin.
10. Transfer to a dusted wooden peel (I used a 50/50 semolina and rice flour blend) and build your pizza (I do cheese under sauce and brush the crust with EVOO).
11. Launch pizza onto your hot baking surface and bake (I use a Breville Pizzaiolo set to a 725F deck and 550F top, switching to “crust only” halfway through the bake, and bake for 4 mins total).
12. Let cool for a few minutes, slice and enjoy!

90g starter
285g water
400g bread flour
10g salt

8 hour bulk ferment, 17 hour cold proof, baked at 450F/232C for 20 mins with lid on and 20 mins with lid off

Tastes quite good, but I’d prefer it maybe slightly less tangy? Bottom is a little hard for my liking too.

Recipe (by Runofthemillkitchen)
90g starter
285g lukewarm water
400g bread flour
10g salt

I took 9g of my fridge starter the night before and fed it with 45g cool water and 45g AP flour, and came back in the morning to see no change. Then by suggestion of u/IceDragonPlay I restirred it and let it rise in a warmer place, and it then doubled a few hours later and I used it. I let the dough bulk ferment for 8 hours from the time I added starter to the flour and water, and did 2 sets of stretch and folds and 1 set of coil folds 45 minutes apart. After these folds, I let the dough sit in a warm place and once the bulk ferment completed the dough was very sticky and difficult to shape. I tossed it in a floured banneton in the fridge for 17 hours and baked in a 450 degree F oven in a preheated Dutch oven, for 20 mins with the lid on and 20 with the lid off.

The bread wasn’t too bad but it was quite sour and tangy tasting and obviously didn’t have the fluffiest crumb, but I am happy to continue and hopefully slowly improve. I’m trying to think of where I went wrong the most. I think it’s either the starter or how I bulk fermented. The starter was given to me last week and has been fed a couple times since I used it in dough, but I’m not entirely confident of its strength especially since it didn’t ferment until I warmed up the kitchen. Also, I thought maybe I didn’t bulk ferment properly since I potentially had it in too warm of an environment hence maybe it rose more than 75% and the gluten weakened. Still not too sure though so I’d love some insight on where I went wrong based on this description and how I can improve my crumb and taste. Let me know if you need any more details!

Hey everyone!

Last Friday I was gifted some 5+ year old starter and I was planning on making my first loaf today. I’m following a recipe that requires an overnight feed so last night I mixed 9g of starter with 45g flour and 45g water and let it sit on the counter overnight in my 68-70 degree F kitchen. As you can see in the photos, it slightly bubbled but virtually didn’t rise at all (it’s been about 9 hours).

The starter was last fed with a 1:3:3 ratio the night my cousin gave it to me, and I let it sit on the counter that night as well to see if it would rise and it did (almost doubled but didn’t appear peaked), then I tossed it in the fridge the next morning and it’s been there since last night.

Is there a way I can still save this starter? Should I make the kitchen a little warmer or put it under heat lamps for the rest of the day and let it keep going? Or toss it and try again with the fridge starter (I have around 130g in there) but feed it a few more times? Any help would be appreciated since I’m still a total newbie with sourdough especially since I didn’t make this starter from scratch. 🙏🙏

Hey everyone! My cousin gave me some sourdough starter and I need some help with how to use and care for it going forward. I’m an experienced home pizza maker with commercial yeast but I’m totally new to the sourdough world so I’m excited to learn!

Before giving it to me, she freshly fed it with a 1:3:3 ratio and put an elastic band on the jar for me to assess peak fermentation. She said I should be feeding and discarding every day and placing it in the fridge if I am not using it for a while, but she herself is also pretty new to the game (she was given a portion of this 5 year old starter just a couple months ago) so I had to consult you guys to fill in some of the gaps.

I know once you get a starter it’s a full on commitment so I want to make sure I do this right. I’d ideally like to stay in my comfort zone and try making pizzas with the starter first before attempting a loaf, and I don’t see myself using the starter anywhere close to daily even when I do begin making bread.

Can any of you experts give me a more complete guide based on this info? Thanks in advance :)

Margherita and vodka pies from Penelope Social in Woodbridge, Ontario

Sourdough crust with 48h cold fermentation

The vodka pie was one of my favourite pizzas I’ve ever had, and I’ve been to Italy and NYC! Dough had the perfect crisp, chew, and airiness with a nice but not overpowering fermenty flavour, and the vodka sauce meshed so well with the pesto and full fat mozz.

Everything else at the restaurant was fantastic as well! Highly recommend visiting if you live in the GTA.