This week’s recipe test: a total flop (but a great learning moment!)

This sourdough discard soda bread test was a flop, but I learned a lot and can't wait to test a new idea!

🍞 This week started with a recipe testing flop.

Flops are the behind-the-scenes recipe versions that never make it to the blog. They’re the ones that looked promising, but something didn’t work out. Sometimes it's the flavor that's off, the texture fails, or it just doesn’t bake the way I hoped. This one looked okay at first…until I sliced into it.

Let’s dig into what went wrong, because with gluten-free baking, every flop is a chance to learn something new!

Here’s a peek at the loaf from the outside. When you look at the bread from this angle, it appears to have a nice, tender crumb. But crumb is the keyword here. Just look at the cutting board. So. Many. Crumbs.

This bread completely fell apart when sliced. No matter how gentle I was, it just crumbled. Not exactly the texture I was going for. In this test, I used King Arthur Measure for Measure Gluten-Free Flour Blend and 2/3 cup of my gluten-free sourdough discard (1:1 flour/water). I loosely based the recipe on my well-loved Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread recipe.

I had visions of making this recipe summery with fresh blueberries—and maybe switching to cranberries in the fall. But for now, this dough needs a few more tests before it’s blog-ready.

The sourdough discard soda bread dough

Here’s what the dough looked like just before baking. On the left, you can see it after mixing and resting. At first glance, it looked fine. I let it rest for 10 minutes (a helpful step when working with gluten-free flours, especially rice flour, so it can absorb some moisture and soften). Then I shaped it and popped it in the pan.

But if you look closely, there were a few warning signs.

Notice the little dry bits stuck to the top of the bowl? And those small cracks in the dough surface? Both of those are clues that the dough needed more liquid.

That’s a tip I wanted to share: if your gluten-free dough is looking a little dry or cracked, especially before shaping, add more liquid. A tablespoon or two can make a big difference. I should have trusted my gut and adjusted the dough. Lesson learned!

Even though this loaf didn’t turn out, I wanted to share the process anyway. These are the real moments behind the glossy blog photos—and they’re often the most helpful.

I’ll keep you updated when I do another round of testing for this recipe. Hopefully, next time I’ll have a sliceable loaf to show you!

Until next time,

❤️ Sandi