Introduction
Baking your own sourdough bread offers a plethora of benefits beyond just enjoying its delicious flavor. Firstly, it allows you to control the ingredients, ensuring the highest quality and avoiding additives or preservatives found in store-bought loaves. Additionally, sourdough bread boasts superior nutritional value compared to commercial bread, as its fermentation process enhances digestibility and nutrient absorption. Moreover, the act of baking sourdough can be a therapeutic and rewarding experience, fostering creativity and mindfulness. It also connects you to a rich tradition of bread-making, promoting a deeper appreciation for food culture and heritage. Finally, the satisfaction of crafting a perfect loaf from scratch, coupled with the joy of sharing it with loved ones, makes baking sourdough a truly fulfilling endeavor. The following recipe came out of our farm-to-table cookbook called Foodie Farmers: A Culinary Journey from Farm to Table.
Sourdough Starter
A sourdough starter is a living, symbiotic culture of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria that serves as the leavening agent in sourdough bread baking. It consists of a mixture of flour and water left to ferment at room temperature, providing an ideal environment for the proliferation of microorganisms. As the starter ferments, wild yeast naturally present in the flour and surrounding environment metabolize the sugars in the flour, producing carbon dioxide gas and ethanol as byproducts. This gas is trapped within the dough, causing it to rise and giving sourdough bread its characteristic airy texture. Additionally, lactic acid bacteria present in the starter produce lactic acid through fermentation, contributing to the distinct sour flavor of sourdough bread. Regular feeding with fresh flour and water is essential to sustain and propagate the microorganisms in the starter, ensuring its vitality and ability to leaven bread.
You can use any flour you like: all-purpose, bread, spelt, whole-grain, rye, etc. The water can’t have yeast-killing chlorine in it, so use room temperature bottled water if you have city water on tap. Start by mixing equal parts flour & water by weight into a container with a lid. It’s best to use a kitchen scale set to grams for the most accurate measurement. 75 grams of each is a good amount to start your starter. Once mixed, loosely cover the container and leave at 70° F (21° C) for 24 hours. The following day, feed the starter by adding another 75 grams of flour & 75 grams of water and mix thoroughly. On the third day, discard 150 grams of your starter (there are many recipes that use this discard, so don’t throw it away) and add another 75 grams of both the flour & water. Repeat this process every day for the next week, 10 days total from the start. At this point, your starter should double in size within two to three hours of feeding it. Now you can refrigerate your starter until ready for use. We recommend feeding it at least once a month to keep it healthy. You’ll need to feed the starter for two days after removing it from the refrigerator prior to using it for bread. Rather than discarding half of your starter, half will go back into the fridge and the other half will go in your recipe. That’s it! An endless, free supply of wild yeast to make the best breads ever!
Sourdough Bread
Combine 100 grams of active starter & 325 grams of warm water together in a large bowl until it looks “milky”.
Mix 500g flour & a teaspoon of unrefined sugar together to incorporate, then add to the bowl along with the 12 grams of kosher salt dissolved in 25 grams of water. Mix together with a dough whisk, fork, or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough has formed. If your dough is too sticky to work with, add the remaining flour 1 Tbsp at a time and mix well until you reach a workable consistency (not too sticky but not too dry).
Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rest for about an hour.
How to do stretch and folds
After an hour, start a series of “stretch and folds”: with wet hands gently pull the dough upwards, fold in towards the middle of the bowl, press the dough into itself, rotating the bowl 90° clockwise, & repeat until you are back where you started. Repeat every hour for the next 3 or 4 hours. This will help improve the texture of your bread and will replace kneading the dough. After you have completed the stretch and folds, allow the dough to do a bulk rise and ferment for 6 to 10 hours.
You can place the dough in the refrigerator and allow it to ferment for up to 48 hours. This will make for a tangier sourdough. If you do this, remove it from the refrigerator and let it rise on the counter for several hours before baking to come to room temperature and finish rising.
After the bulk rise has finished, gently remove the dough from the bowl. Tuck the edges of the dough into the center again and place it on the counter. Let rest for 10 minutes. Using your hands, gently pull the ball of dough towards you letting it grip the counter. Rotate the ball slightly and continue until you have done all sides and you are left with a tight ball.
Prepare a bread proofing basket or medium mixing bowl by dusting it with flour. If using a bowl, coat it generously with cooking spray or oil it lightly and then flour it well. Place the dough ball, smooth side down (top) into your prepared vessel and cover it with a damp towel. Let the dough rest and do a final rise for about 2 hours. To test the dough to see if it is done proofing, poke the dough with a floured finger. If it indents easily and mostly springs back, it is ready. If it is still firm or hard to indent, allow it to rise longer. If it appears loose, runny, or indents too easily, it is likely over-proofed (bake it anyways); it will still be delicious despite the texture being less desirable.
Preheat your oven to 450° F (230° C) with a dutch oven and lid inside for approximately 1 hour. Gently dump your dough out onto a piece of parchment. Score the top of the loaf with a lame (bread razor) or sharp knife. Once the oven has preheated, carefully remove the dutch oven and lower the parchment paper and dough inside. Place the lid on and insert into the center of the oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for an additional 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Sourdough should reach an internal temperature 200°-210° F (93°-99° C). If you would like a less “crusty” loaf, increase the covered bake time and decrease the uncovered time. Allow bread to cool on a baking rack for a minimum of 1 hour before slicing.
1 loaf - 30 minute total active prep time - 10 to 55 hour inactive time - 45 minute bake time
100 grams active starter 325 grams warm water | 500-520 grams bread flour, depending on the hydration of your starter and stickiness of the dough | 12 grams kosher salt dissolved in 25 grams water 1 teaspoons sugar |
Preparation:
Combine 100 grams of active starter & 325 grams of warm water together in a large bowl until it looks “milky”.
Mix 500g flour & a teaspoon of unrefined sugar together to incorporate and add to the bowl along with the salt water.
Mix together with a dough whisk, fork, or wooden spoon until a shaggy dough has formed. If your dough is too sticky to work with, add the remaining flour 1 Tbsp at a time and mix well until you reach a workable consistency (not too sticky but not too dry).
Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rest for about an hour.
After an hour, start a series of “stretch and folds”.
With wet hands gently pull the dough upwards
Fold in towards the middle of the bowl
Press the dough into itself, rotating the bowl 90° clockwise
Repeat until you are back where you started.
Repeat the stretch and folds every hour for the next 3 or 4 hours.
Allow the dough to do a bulk rise and ferment for 6 to 10 hours. You can place the dough in the refrigerator and allow it to ferment for up to 48 hours. This will make for a tangier sourdough. If you do this, remove it from the refrigerator and let it rise on the counter for several hours before baking to come to room temperature and finish rising.
After the bulk rise has finished, gently remove the dough from the bowl. Tuck the edges of the dough into the center again and place it on the counter. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Using your hands, gently pull the ball of dough towards you letting it grip the counter. Rotate the ball slightly and continue until you have done all sides and you are left with a tight ball.
Prepare a bread proofing basket or medium mixing bowl by dusting it with flour. If using a bowl, coat it generously with cooking spray or oil it lightly and then flour it well. Place the dough ball, smooth side down (top) into your prepared vessel and cover it with a damp towel.
Let the dough rest and do a final rise for about 2 hours. To test the dough to see if it is done proofing, poke the dough with a floured finger. If it indents easily and mostly springs back, it is ready. If it is still firm or hard to indent, allow it to rise longer. If it appears loose, runny, or indents too easily, it is likely over-proofed (bake it anyways); it will still be delicious despite the texture being less desirable.
Preheat your oven to 450° F (230° C) with a dutch oven and lid inside for approximately 1 hour.
Gently dump your dough out onto a piece of parchment.
Score the top of the loaf with a lame (bread razor) or sharp knife.
Once the oven has preheated, carefully remove the dutch oven and lower the parchment paper and dough inside. Place the lid on and insert into the center of the oven. Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the lid and continue baking for an additional 20-30 minutes until golden brown.
Sourdough should reach an internal temperature 200°-210° F (93°-99° C). If you would like a less “crusty” loaf, increase the covered bake time and decrease the uncovered time. Allow bread to cool on a baking rack for a minimum of 1 hour before slicing.
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