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sourdough-bread.md

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Sourdough Bread

Notes

  • Makes two large 9x5 loaves.
  • This recipe was prepared and tested at ~6200 ft. elevation and may require adjustments elsewhere. The original video is here. It is still a good visual reference for the techniques described below.
  • The best bread is made when the sourdough starter is very active. Feed it roughly four hours before using it.

Ingredients

  • 1200g bread flour
  • Extra bread flour for kneading surface
  • 24g salt
  • 300g sourdough starter
  • 840mL room temp (or slightly warmer) water
  • Extra 1-2 cups of hot water for baking steam

Tools

  • Whisk
  • Firm rubber spatula
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Two 9x5 loaf pans
  • A clean dish towel
  • Bread lame or similar razor-sharp blade

Prep

  • It helps to measure things out ahead of time.
  • You will want a very tiny amount of olive oil at a time when your hands are quite messy. Set some aside in a tiny bowl before you begin.

Directions

  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together bread flour and salt.
  • Add water and mix with a firm rubber spatula until all flour is incorporated and you have a firm dough. Allow this to rest for at least half an hour, to allow the flour to fully absorb the liquid, covered with a clean dish towel.
  • Add sourdough starter. Stir together with a firm rubber spatula until loosely combined, scraping down the walls of the mixing bowl all the while.
  • Turn out onto a well floured surface. Knead, minimally reflouring the surface as needed, until the dough passes the "window pane" test. That is, with your fingers slightly oiled, you can pick up the dough and let it stretch under its own weight. When you do, and the dough doesn't rip immediately, but you can still see light through the stretched out dough, you have kneaded enough.
  • Clean your hands. Clean the mixing bowl and dry it. Lay a dish towel over the top of the bowl and sprinkle quite a bit of flour over it. Place the dough lightly on the towel so it sinks into the bowl and rests. Fold the corners of the towel over the dough.
  • Prove four hours, kneading briefly every hour, just until the dough becomes stiff again.
  • Cut the dough in half. These are to become your two loaves. For each loaf:
    • Fold the long piece of dough in half so it's a little closer to round.
    • Go around the dough, folding the outside edge to the center and pressing down, then rotating an eighth of the way and repeating. Do this about 16 times, or until you've made two revolutions of the dough.
    • Place the dough seam side down on the counter. With your hands cupped behind the dough, firmly press down as you scrape the entire loaf toward you. This works best if the surface is not very well floured. Rotate the dough one quarter revolution and repeat. Do this about 16-20 times, or until you've made 4-5 full turnings of the dough. This process smooths out the underside of the dough (seals the seam) and stretches out the top layer of dough.
    • Perform the above step a couple extra times without rotating to help elongate the dough into something more like a loaf shape.
  • Once you've prepared both dough halves as described above, place them into two loaf pans lined with parchment.
  • Prove 1-2 more hours still.
  • Arrange the oven racks so that one is about in the middle and the other is a level beneath it. Set a large baking dish with a rim in the oven on the lower rack.
  • Preheat to 350F.
  • Using a bread lame or similar blade, score the loaves. Don't be afraid to cut pretty deep. This is art, but it also helps the bread spread open as it cooks, allowing yeast gas to escape without warping the surface of the bread.
  • Pour the extra hot water into the preheated baking sheet. It will immediately steam and bubble, so be careful. Place the loaf pans on the rack above the water. The steam also contributes to an unwarped loaf top.
  • Bake 55 minutes.
  • You may cut into the bread as soon as it's cool enough to handle, but don't put the loaves directly into a storage bag. The loaf will let off steam, which will condense inside the bag and then soak back into the bread crust. This is gross. Leave the bread out overnight so it fully cools, then bag it.