Sourdough Bread

 

Ingredients (one good size loaf/two good size loaves):

309g organic unbleached white bakers flour

70g organic wholemeal flour

264mL bottled/springwater at 33C

7g sea salt

72g starter

Essential Equipment:

Digital scales

Dough scraper

Digital thermometer

Proofing basket

Method:

7:00am - Feed starter

1. After feeding your starter for three square meals the day prior (7am, 1pm, 9pm), feed starter first thing in the morning at 7am for use at 2pm. A starter that is ready should look alive and frothy, resembling a pancake in the frypan that has bubbles all over the surface. A clever way to test if it's ready is to drop a spoon full of starter into a glass of water. If it floats, it is ready to use.

1:15pm - Make autolyse

2. Mix the white and wholemeal flour together with your hands. Add the water at 33C and mix with dough scraper or hand until well-combined. Cover with beeswax cloth/clingwrap and stand in a 25C area for at least 30minutes.

2:00pm - Make dough and bulk prove (5hrs in total)

3. Sprinkle 7g sea salt over the mixture and add 72g starter ontop. Dip your hands into warm water and poke all your fingers deeply into the mixture and keep doing so to incorporate the salt, starter and flours together. Proceed to pinch and turn the mixture for 1-2 minutes until everything is incorporated. Leave to stand for 30minutes covered with beeswax cloth/clingwrap and stand in a 25C area.

2:30pm - Stretch and Fold #1

4. Take off the beeswax cloth and you should notice that the dough has risen slightly and will be a lot more elastic. Pull and stretch a side up as high as you can with your fingertips and fold over to the other side of the mixture. Turn the bowl at a 90 degree angle and complete a total of four times like wrapping a parcel. Cover again with beeswax cloth/clingwrap and stand in a 25C area for 30minutes.

3:00pm - Stretch and Fold #2

5. Repeat step 4.

3:30pm - Stretch and Fold #3

6. Repeat step 4.

4:00pm - Stretch and Fold #4

7. Repeat step 4. Leave to stand until the mixture has had a total of five hours to bulk prove.

7:00pm - Rest loaf

8. Remove the mixture from the bowl onto a floured surface. If you are using double quantity, use a big knife to divide mixture into two and apply the rest of recipe to each loaf. Using the dough scraper, turn the bottom of the loaf in circular motions until you have the shape you want. Place a large glass mixing bowl over the top and rest for 15minutes. Remove bowl and rest for a further 10minutes.

7:30pm - Shape loaf

9. Lightly dust surface of loaf with flour and spread evenly across surface with your hands. Loosen the edges of the loaf with dough scraper and carefully flip upside down so unfloured surface is facing up. Lightly pull the dough to make a rectangle shape. Stretch the bottom edge and pull it over half of the dough. Stretch the left side and pull it into the middle and stretch the right side and pull it all the way over to the other edge. Finally pull the top half, stretch it over and and pull it all the way to the bottom edge. Gently flip your dough over so the seam side is facing down. Using your hands, pull the dough into itself and towards you, rotating it, pulling it into itself and towards you until it forms a nice tight shape. 

7:45pm - Proofing basket - Final Prove

10. Dust a proofing basket with rice flour. Place dough into the basket seam side up. Place into a large plastic sleeve and tightly close. Place in fridge and leave for 15-16 hours.

11:00am - Preheat dutch oven

11. Set oven to 260C and place cast iron saucepan with a lid inside.

11:50am - Score

12. Remove loaf from proofing basket seam side down. Score two deep cuts along the left and right long edge or a few diagonally across the middle with a knife or razor.

12:00pm - Bake

13. Place seam side down into roasting hot dutch oven and place inside oven for 20minutes at 260C. Remove lid and bake for another 25min at 240C.

12:45pm - Bread is ready!

Remove from oven and dutch oven and allow to cool.

Note: To make kalamata olive sourdough, scatter pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half and patted dry, on top of the dough when it's stretched out to a rectangular shape in step 9.

***Watch Full YouTube clip by Joshua Weissman here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eod5cUxAHRM***