Sourdough Loaf
A super easy reliable sourdough test loaf
Servings 1 loaf
Ingredients
- 120 gm Sourdough Starter active and recently fed
- 285 gm Water 25-28c temp adjust qty slightly depending on flour
- 400 gm Bread Flour get the flour to room temp overnight
- 9 gm Salt
Instructions
- Your starter should be active and vigorous. Feed it again last thing in the evening of the day before you want to bake and leave in a warm place overnight. It should double in size by the time you mix it into the dough the following morning
- Early morning (6-8 hours after feeding starter) mix together all ingredients. Mix well by hand or use a stand mixer for 5-10 minutes for better results
- Mix well, scrape down bowl and rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold the dough, then rest for 30-40min. I do a coil fold at each stretch.
- Stretch and fold 3 more times. Followed by a final 30 minute rest.
- Preshape the dough with a coil fold then rest uncovered another 15 minutes.
- Do a final coil fold trying to avoid degassing the dough then load into floured bannetons (I use rice flour to prevent sticking), with the seam side up (ie the top of your loaf is at the bottom of the banneton to pick up that nice rattan shape). At this point you can roll in seeds such as sesame poppy etc.
- Allow to proof another 3-4 hours until almost doubled in size then refrigerate overnight.
- 1 hour before baking get your oven preheating to 250c. It needs a full hour to heat the baking stones and dutch oven properly.
- Bake time, transfer out dough to parchment paper. Score with a bakers lahm, then load via some parchment paper into the screaming hot preheated dutch oven. Spritz well with water then quickly cover to trap the steam and return to oven.
- Bake for 20 minutes with lid on. Remove lid and bake another 15-20 minutes until desired level of scorch is reached.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool FULLY on a wire rack. Don't be tempted to slice into your newly baked loaf of bread till it's cool. It's still cooking while it's cooling down and your patience will be rewarded if you wait.
Notes
This recipe yields 814gm of dough at 75% hydration, enough for one decent size loaf.I usually double this recipe and bake two batards in my oval dutch oven. I prefer oval rather than the round boule shape as when sliced they fit better in my toaster.
You need an active starter for this dough. Buy one, find a baker friend and get given some, or make your own.
I usually feed my starter twice before baking. Once 2 days before mixing and then on the evening before the mix day to ensure it's at full robustness when introduced to the dough.
General rule of thumb with feeding a starter. Stir well, discard half and then add equal qty by weight of flour and water to maintain hydration at 100%. After feeding and baking you can store your remaining starter in the fridge to slow it down, but don't forget about it. It's alive remember and if you neglect it like any living thing it will die or become sick.
Dough temperatures are important. A good quality probe thermometer is invaluable for bread baking. I also have a homemade proofing box which keeps things around 25c degrees. It's made a huge difference to my baking results.
If you dont have bannetons you can use a normal metal loaf type tin lined with a well floured piece of fabric. Use Rice flour rather than wheat flour to dust the liner well in order to prevent the dough sticking to it.