I've made many no knead breads but my husband kept asking me to make sourdough bread, so finally after a few unsuccessful starters I got one right and I am now a sourdough bread maker.
Actually I have now made three successful starters which I named Heidi, Polly and Isabel. Heidi I keep at home, Polly I make a work and Isabel I share to those that want to make sourdough bread. I've baked with all three and all were perfect.
Now when I say perfect, sometimes they crack not just where I slash it, but the crack elsewhere, but all are soft and delicious inside with an amazingly crunchy crust.
Sour dough bread making though easy, does require a lot of time. So this is a recipe you need to start in the morning the day before you want to bake the bread.
What it means when your starter has hit its peak is the highest point your starter will grow to before it starts to fall back down.
I like to use two plastic shower caps to cover my bannetons as it makes life easier.
Sourdough baking is so rewarding, once you've baked that loaf with a few simple ingredients, no preservatives, you just can't go back to store bought bread,
I will be adding photos and videos to this page to make sourdough bread making even easier. But I have tried to explain it as best I can for now.
Good luck and start baking today.
Actually I have now made three successful starters which I named Heidi, Polly and Isabel. Heidi I keep at home, Polly I make a work and Isabel I share to those that want to make sourdough bread. I've baked with all three and all were perfect.
Now when I say perfect, sometimes they crack not just where I slash it, but the crack elsewhere, but all are soft and delicious inside with an amazingly crunchy crust.
Sour dough bread making though easy, does require a lot of time. So this is a recipe you need to start in the morning the day before you want to bake the bread.
What it means when your starter has hit its peak is the highest point your starter will grow to before it starts to fall back down.
I like to use two plastic shower caps to cover my bannetons as it makes life easier.
Sourdough baking is so rewarding, once you've baked that loaf with a few simple ingredients, no preservatives, you just can't go back to store bought bread,
I will be adding photos and videos to this page to make sourdough bread making even easier. But I have tried to explain it as best I can for now.
Good luck and start baking today.
Recipe
Makes 2 loaves
Start the recipe 1 day before you want to bake bread
Sourdough starter
1 cup bread flour
Just under 1 cup room temperature water
1kg bread flour
750g warm water
20g salt
10-15ml water, extra
Extra bread flour, for dusting
You will need
2 x banneton baskets
1 cast iron pot
First thing in the morning.
Take your sourdough starter out of the fridge. Discard about half. Feed it with 1 cup bread flour and a little less than 1 cup water. Give it a good mix so no dry flour is left, place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. If your jar does not have a lid, just place a paper towel on top secured with a rubber band. Leave it on your kitchen bench for 2 hours.
After 2 hours or when you think you have one hour left for your starter to hit it's peak. In a large bowl add your 1kg bread flour and 750g warm water. Give it a good mix so there is no dry flour left. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, leave for one hour on your kitchen bench.
Once your starter is at it's peak, add 220g of your starter to the flour and water bowl. You need to mix it in well using the stretch and fold method. It will be sticky. To do this, take a section of the dough furthest from you and stretch it up and fold it onto itself towards you. Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat the process. You need to do this about 10-15 times. Add 20g salt and about 10-15ml water. Mix it in with about 10 stretch and folds. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile feed your starter with 1 cup bread flour and a little less than 1 cup water, mix it in. Cover and place in the fridge until you need to bake bread next time.
After 10 minutes, you need to stretch and fold your dough. Set a timer for 10 minutes and start stretching and folding for 10 minutes, the dough will be sticky. This is the hardest part and yet it's not hard. Once the timer goes off, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave for 1 hour.
After 1 hour your dough may have done nothing or it may have started bubbling and expanding. Both are fine, your kitchen environment will determine how quickly things start to happen. If your kitchen is warm things will happen quicker, if it's cold it will take longer. No matter what your dough is doing you will do 4 stretch and folds now. Take a section of the dough furthest from you and stretch it up and fold it onto itself towards you. Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat the process. You need to do this about 4 times. Cover and leave on the bench for 1 hour.
Now you will repeat this process every hour until your dough has doubled in size, has bubbles and is wobbly when the bowl is gently shaken. This could take 2-3 hours, it could take 4-6 hours, this is why you need to start this in the morning so you have time for this to happen.
So your dough is wobbly, is bubbly and has doubled in size. Now dust your kitchen bench with bread flour. Pick up your bowl and let the dough gently fall out of the bowl onto the flour. Using a metal scraper with a quick confident action, cut the dough into two roughly equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, using your scraper lift the ends of the dough and drag them to the centre of the dough, you are trying to form a tight dough ball. You want to have the smooth side on top now. Repeat with the other piece of dough. Leave both on the counter uncovered for about 10 minutes to relax.
Generously flour 2 banneton baskets.
After 10 minutes, dust your dough with flour. Now using your scraper flip one dough ball over on your bench.
Now you will now gently stretch out the dough to form a 30 x 20cm rectangle, no need to measure, just roughly. I like to gently stretch it from underneath, pulling it out to shape it. Try not to squish it or you will knock out all the bubbles you spent hours forming.
Now take one long end and fold it over 2/3 of the way towards the other long end. Then take the other long end and fold it over to form a kind of rectangle log.
Now grab a short end with both hands and quickly and confidently start to roll up the dough as tight as you can. You will end up with and round/ovalish shape. Grab your scraper and flip the dough into your banneton, the bottom of the dough will now be the top in the banneton. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Dust both doughs with flour. Cover both bannetons loosely with shower caps. Leave on the bench for 1 hour.
After 1 hour the dough should have expanded/relaxed a bit. Dust with flour again. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day place your cast iron pot in the oven Preheat the oven to 260C/240C fan forced for 30-40 minutes. Leave the dough in the fridge, we want it fridge cold going into the oven.
Once your oven has preheated take one dough out of the fridge. Uncover, dust the top with bread flour. Either using baking paper or a silicone mat place the paper or mat over the banneton. Flip the dough onto your bench and gently pull off the banneton. Dust the dough lightly with flour, now using a bread lamb or a sharp knife, gently slash the dough gently down the centre of the dough, do not go deep, a light slash.
Place in your preheated pot using the baking paper or silicone mat as a handle, put the lid on and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 230C/210C fan forced and take the lid off and bake a further 30-35 minutes.
Once baked remove from the pot, place on a cooling rack without the mat or baking paper and allow to cool completely.
Now you can bake both breads on the same day or I like to keep the other dough for the next day, I've even left it for 3 days (as we didn't eat the first loaf fast enough), it was just more sour.
Start the recipe 1 day before you want to bake bread
Sourdough starter
1 cup bread flour
Just under 1 cup room temperature water
1kg bread flour
750g warm water
20g salt
10-15ml water, extra
Extra bread flour, for dusting
You will need
2 x banneton baskets
1 cast iron pot
First thing in the morning.
Take your sourdough starter out of the fridge. Discard about half. Feed it with 1 cup bread flour and a little less than 1 cup water. Give it a good mix so no dry flour is left, place lid on top, do not screw it shut, just pop it on top. If your jar does not have a lid, just place a paper towel on top secured with a rubber band. Leave it on your kitchen bench for 2 hours.
After 2 hours or when you think you have one hour left for your starter to hit it's peak. In a large bowl add your 1kg bread flour and 750g warm water. Give it a good mix so there is no dry flour left. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, leave for one hour on your kitchen bench.
Once your starter is at it's peak, add 220g of your starter to the flour and water bowl. You need to mix it in well using the stretch and fold method. It will be sticky. To do this, take a section of the dough furthest from you and stretch it up and fold it onto itself towards you. Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat the process. You need to do this about 10-15 times. Add 20g salt and about 10-15ml water. Mix it in with about 10 stretch and folds. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile feed your starter with 1 cup bread flour and a little less than 1 cup water, mix it in. Cover and place in the fridge until you need to bake bread next time.
After 10 minutes, you need to stretch and fold your dough. Set a timer for 10 minutes and start stretching and folding for 10 minutes, the dough will be sticky. This is the hardest part and yet it's not hard. Once the timer goes off, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave for 1 hour.
After 1 hour your dough may have done nothing or it may have started bubbling and expanding. Both are fine, your kitchen environment will determine how quickly things start to happen. If your kitchen is warm things will happen quicker, if it's cold it will take longer. No matter what your dough is doing you will do 4 stretch and folds now. Take a section of the dough furthest from you and stretch it up and fold it onto itself towards you. Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat the process. You need to do this about 4 times. Cover and leave on the bench for 1 hour.
Now you will repeat this process every hour until your dough has doubled in size, has bubbles and is wobbly when the bowl is gently shaken. This could take 2-3 hours, it could take 4-6 hours, this is why you need to start this in the morning so you have time for this to happen.
So your dough is wobbly, is bubbly and has doubled in size. Now dust your kitchen bench with bread flour. Pick up your bowl and let the dough gently fall out of the bowl onto the flour. Using a metal scraper with a quick confident action, cut the dough into two roughly equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, using your scraper lift the ends of the dough and drag them to the centre of the dough, you are trying to form a tight dough ball. You want to have the smooth side on top now. Repeat with the other piece of dough. Leave both on the counter uncovered for about 10 minutes to relax.
Generously flour 2 banneton baskets.
After 10 minutes, dust your dough with flour. Now using your scraper flip one dough ball over on your bench.
Now you will now gently stretch out the dough to form a 30 x 20cm rectangle, no need to measure, just roughly. I like to gently stretch it from underneath, pulling it out to shape it. Try not to squish it or you will knock out all the bubbles you spent hours forming.
Now take one long end and fold it over 2/3 of the way towards the other long end. Then take the other long end and fold it over to form a kind of rectangle log.
Now grab a short end with both hands and quickly and confidently start to roll up the dough as tight as you can. You will end up with and round/ovalish shape. Grab your scraper and flip the dough into your banneton, the bottom of the dough will now be the top in the banneton. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Dust both doughs with flour. Cover both bannetons loosely with shower caps. Leave on the bench for 1 hour.
After 1 hour the dough should have expanded/relaxed a bit. Dust with flour again. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day place your cast iron pot in the oven Preheat the oven to 260C/240C fan forced for 30-40 minutes. Leave the dough in the fridge, we want it fridge cold going into the oven.
Once your oven has preheated take one dough out of the fridge. Uncover, dust the top with bread flour. Either using baking paper or a silicone mat place the paper or mat over the banneton. Flip the dough onto your bench and gently pull off the banneton. Dust the dough lightly with flour, now using a bread lamb or a sharp knife, gently slash the dough gently down the centre of the dough, do not go deep, a light slash.
Place in your preheated pot using the baking paper or silicone mat as a handle, put the lid on and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes reduce the oven temperature to 230C/210C fan forced and take the lid off and bake a further 30-35 minutes.
Once baked remove from the pot, place on a cooling rack without the mat or baking paper and allow to cool completely.
Now you can bake both breads on the same day or I like to keep the other dough for the next day, I've even left it for 3 days (as we didn't eat the first loaf fast enough), it was just more sour.
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If you follow the steps you will enjoy sourdough bread that is light and fluffy inside with a beautiful crunchy crust.
Enjoy!
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