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BEGINNER'S SOURDOUGH BREAD

This was the recipe I followed for my very first sourdough loaf - although a bit tight textured. Ok maybe that's over critical but in reality, I was very proud that after 2 DAYS of work (can you believe it actually took me that long), I managed to pull this edible thing out of the oven. It had been proved, fed, watered, lightly kneaded, stretched and cooked in a casserole dish yet it still survived. Starting out can be especially daunting so here's a step-by-step guide with everything you need - including a schedule which for people like me, is a blessing.


I had the classic lead up to my first loaf: previous weeks full of endless research when I finally felt my baby sourdough starter and I were ready to take on the big guns. I had only just managed to keep it alive for 3 weeks so far with some serious diverting from the feeding routine! How on earth was I suppose to make bread from this half-fed natural yeast?

Conclusion: it's not too bad and definitely worth it with the amazing smell of freshly baking bread once it has finished cooking.


There's something so special about performing the whole process from scratch (even making your own rising agent) yet brings joy to the whole family.



STARTER - this is a mix of flour and water that naturally ferments. You feed it indefinitely and use what you need when you make your bread, keeping some back for your next loaf.


Feeding


The ratio if 1:4:4 - starter : water : flour. As long as you stick to this ratio, nothing too bad can happen!

  1. Remove all but 20g from your starter jar (with the discard, see my cracker or pizza recipes or alternatively just bin/compost it).

  2. Add 80g water and stir in the starter.

  3. Add 80g strong bread flour and stir to combine.


Storing in the fridge: this is for those of you who only bake once a week or a couple of times a month. Your starter needs to come out of the fridge to feed then leave your starter, once fed, on the counter for around 3 hrs before returning to the fridge until next week.


Storing on the worktop: the same process but you need to feed your starter once or twice a day. Morning works well because then it becomes part of the morning routine. Expect your starter to rise at 4hrs after feeding then fall back to the original height after around 8-12 hrs.



SOURDOUGH RECIPE



  1. This is an AMAZING schedule that I followed for my first bake! It really helped having it on a diagram.

Source: The Perfect Loaf









i. LEVAIN - 8:00am

38g mature sourdough starter (100% hydration)

76g white bread flour

76g lukewarm water


Mis everything above in a clean jar in the morning and store on the side at a temperature around 22-24℃ for 5-6 hours. Keep an eye on how the levain is progressing - when it's ready to use, it will be expanded, bubbly on the top + sides and smell a little sour. The photo is my levain at around 1pm just before I use it.




ii. Autolyse - 12:00am


773g white bread flour

165g plain flour

603g water


Using your hands, mix all the flour into the water in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave somewhere warm for 1 hour. The final temperature of the mixture should be 25℃.


iii. Mix - 1:00pm


Autolyse from step ii)

Levain from step i)

18g fine sea salt


Add the levain and salt ingredients to your autolyse. Using your hands to mix everything together throughly, adding a little extra water if it is too stiff. At this point your dough should be around 25℃. Cover and leave somewhere warm ready for the bulk fermentation.


iv. Bulk fermentation - 1:00pm to 5:00pm


Bulk fermentation is the main proving stage for sourdough and required usually 4 hours at 24-26℃.


Once you have mixed your dough together, leave for 30 minutes. Perform 3 stretch and folds, spaced out by 30 minutes.

A stretch and fold is a way of strengthening and stretching the dough to enable it to hold its shape. Each set consists of 4 folds, North South East and West. Wet your hands with water to prevent sticking and the lift up one side (North) of the dough with both hands. Stretch the dough up vertically just so that your can fold it oven the rest of the dough. Turn 90° and repeat. Do this for East, South, West and leave for 30 minutes.


After that third set of stretch and folds, let the dough rest for the remainder of the bulk fermentation time - strengthening the flavour and aerating it.


At the end of the bulk fermentation, your dough should've risen by 20-50% and may have some bubbles on top.




v. Divide & pre-shape - 5:00pm


Lightly flour your work surface and dump out the dough. With a sharp knife, divide the dough in half. Flour your hands and gently pull one half of the dough towards you. Cup the dough and try to round it out, making a ball. This action will develop tension on the top of the dough by forming a tight circle.


Let the dough relax for 25 minutes.

vi. Shape - 5:30pm


Re-shape your dough into a ball in the same process as step v). Place the two balls in a towel lined bowl lightly floured with space for it to grow, bottom seam side up. Flour the bottom of the dough as well. Put a bag around the bowls, ensure the bag doesn't touch the top of the dough, to ensure it doesn't dry out.


vii. Rest + Proof - 5:30 to 9:30am (next day)


Let the dough rest on the side for 30 minutes before placing the bagged bowls in the fridge for about 16 hours until the following day.


During this time, the overall fermentation rate slows but the flavour continues to develop.


viii. Bake - next morning at 9:30am


Preheat your oven with a casserole dish or le Creuset pot inside at 225℃.


Remove your bowls from the fridge and unwrap it. Cut out a large piece of parchment paper so it fits over the top of your bowls but also inside your casserole dish. Invert the bowl with the parchment paper on top so the top of your dough comes out facing up. Remove the bowl and flour the top.


Score the loaves with a knife down the middle or in a fancy pattern if you're feeling adventurous. This is a very necessary step because otherwise, your loaf with crack wherever the tension is weakest which is normally at the sides and this doesn't looks as pretty,


While wearing an oven mitt, remove your casserole dish from the oven and carefully place the dough inside. Return to the oven with the lid on and bake for 20 minutes. This ensures the steam released goes back into the loaf and makes it rise with the sourdough signature air bubbles. After this period, remove the lid but keep the dough within the pot and cook for a further 30 minutes. To check if your loaf is fully cooked, the temperature inside should be 97℃ and when you knock the bottom it should sound hollow.


Repeat this whole process with the second loaf.

Wait for 1-2 hours to cool before storing or eat straight away - best served toasted!

CONCLUSION


If you've made it this far, then WELL DONE!!! You will be fully rewarded when you sniff that first loaf and cut into it for your first taste.


Enjoy and let me know how it goes!

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