Sourdough Bread. Everyone Else is Doing It, Why Aren't you?

Honestly, this is somewhat complicated and takes a week to complete, but it's really gratifying if all goes according to plan...

Well you've probably heard all the talk online for the last 6 months about sourdough starter and making sourdough bread, and either you've made a loaf or you can't figure out why anyone would go to all the trouble to do this. Even Obama has had a run at making sourdough starter (honestly, it didn't look to good). And tell you this, it's much, much easier to buy a loaf of sourdough from a market or nearby bakery; they are pretty good quality and inexpensive. But it's not nearly as satisfying as when you pull that perfect loaf from your oven for the first time!

Oh, and you're going to need some good butter. The expensive stuff. Trust me, it's worth it. And one more thing...these pictures were all taken in my kitchen last week!

Making bread is relatively straightforward; you mix flour, water, salt and yeast together and let it sit for a while. Then you bake it. Making sourdough is not like this. There's about 50 steps to get a finished loaf, and if you screw one up you're probably going to be unhappy with the results (as I was the first time I tried it).

Last week after I explained the entire process to my brother in law, he asked me "why do you do this???". I really had to think of a logical answer, but I do enjoy challenging myself. However, if you follow the directions ( and don't give up after the first try), you'll end up with something like this (this is from the 4th batch that I made):

You'll have to admit that the sourdough from the market doesn't look like that!

Let's get started, it's gonna take some time to digest all this (but then you get to digest some sourdough bread).

My method calls for cooking the bread in a Dutch oven (an enamel-covered cast iron pot) with a heavy lid. This method traps the steam escaping from the baking bread, which is essential to forming the the crisp crust. I have two of these pots, so I can bake two loaves at once.

There are only 4 ingredients; water, salt, flour & sourdough starter. Let's talk about the starter first.

Sourdough Starter

You're going to need a specific type of yeast for this, and it's normally bought or passed on by a friend. Since once you have some starter, you have some forever (with the proper maintenance). I bought mine online on eBay, there were more than 100 for sale (and since you can make as much as you want, you could sell yours there as well if you like). There is a process to making your own with just flour and water, but I prefered the heirloom strains available online (some were from startered more than 100 years old, and passed down through generations).

Mine came to me freeze-dried, with instructions on how to bring it back to life. Basically you feed it (flour and water) for 3-7 days, and once it's ready, you bake with some and save some for the next time. I'm not going to get into how to feed and maintain your starter; when you get yours it should have detailed instructions. One important note: you'll know when your starter is ready to use when a teaspoon of it floats in a glass of water. If it doesn't float, you need to feed it and try again in a couple hours.

Make sure you remember to put some starter aside before you make your first loaves, you'll want to freeze it to use for next time.

Making the dough

This is simple, but you need to be very precise! I weigh all my ingredients (even the water), that way I can get exactly what the recipe calls for. You just add the water to a mixing bowl, add the starter and then add the flour. Now I'll be honest; you can mix this by hand, but if you have a stand mixer and a dough hook, that's the way to go!

Once the dough is mixed, you're going to let it sit for an hour to autolyse. What is autolyse you say? Here is what happens when you let the dough rest right after mixing:

• The flour fully hydrates. This is particularly useful when working with whole-grain flour because the bran softens as it hydrates, reducing its negative effect on gluten development.

• Gluten bonds begin developing with no effort on the part of the baker, and kneading time is consequently reduced.

• Carotenoid pigments remain intact, leading to better color, aroma, and flavor.

• Fermentation proceeds at a slower pace, allowing for full flavor development and better keeping quality.

• The dough becomes more extensible (stretchy), which allows it to expand easily. This leads to easier shaping, greater loaf volume, a more open crumb structure, and cuts that open more fully.

You're actually going to let the dough rest for a total of about 22 hours before baking, so you need to time this right. You don't want the bread to be ready to put in the oven at 2:00 am (unless you like baking in the middle of the night). I like sleeping at 2:00 am, so I normally start this at around 2:00 pm the day before, so I can plan on baking the next day at around noon. Since I normally make 6 loaves at a time, that means I'm baking for at least 3 hours once I actually put the first loaves in the oven (I bake 2 at a time).

After the first autolyse period, you're going to stretch the dough 5 times over the next few hours, then you'll refrigerate it for 12-15 hours. After that you'll divide the dough and let it rest on your counter before a final rise in the refrigerator. The recipe calls for a banneton (this is a basket with a cloth lining you use to rise the dough in), but I have been using a bowl with a little flour and it's worked great.

Then it's into the oven for 45 minutes before it cools and ends up getting eaten immediately.

Sourdough Bread Recipe (makes 2 loaves)

Weigh all the ingredients if possible:

• 525 grams water, 80°, (2.22 cups)

• 20 grams salt or 1 tablespoon

• 200 grams very active starter - make sure it floats (1 cup)

• 700 grams all purpose Flour (bread flour is best, I use King Arthur Bread Flour), (5 1/2 cups)

Make sure your starter is ready to use (this can take up to a week or more of feeding). Test the starter by putting a teaspoon of it into a glass of water; it should float. If it doesn't feed it and try again in a couple hours.

Pour the water into a large bowl. Add the ripe starter to the water and mix thoroughly with a whisk or by hand until the floating cloud of starter is mixed completely into the water. Add the flour to the leavened water and mix with a stand mixer to form a shaggy dough ball. Or, just mix with a spatula until it forms a dough, and finish mixing with wet hands. It's going to look like it needs a lot more mixing, but don't over do it. The dough texture will change a lot during the autolyse phase.

Autolyse:

Let it rest (autolyse stage) about an hour. This stage can be extended without worry up to four hours. After autolyse, add the salt to the bread dough. Use wet hands (the dough is very sticky at this stage) to pinch and stretch the dough gently until the salt is mixed into the dough. 

After an hour, using your wet hands, pull the dough from under the dough ball up and stretch it gently as you pull it over the dough ball top. Release. Repeat this process as you give the bowl quarter turns until the dough is stretched and pulled from each quarter of the bowl.

Over the next 2 hours repeat the stretch and fold every 30 minutes for a total of five times. The dough will change from a slimy ropy mass to a billowy dough with many air pockets and definite body as you stretch and fold it. Do not punch the dough down at any time! Those air bubbles create the excellent crumb and flavor you're looking for. The dough should become an elastic, resilient dough that passes the window pane test (it should be somewhat transparent while being stretched before it breaks). If your dough is still breaking before it goes transparent when pulled, do another stretch and fold.

After you have stretched the dough 5 times, allow the dough to bulk rise in the bowl at room temperature an hour or so until it rises by about 30 percent. Cover the bowl of dough with a plastic bag or plastic wrap and set it in the fridge for 12 to 15 hours. It should continue to rise slowly, so give it room in the bowl.

Divide and bench rest the dough:

Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit on the counter in the bowl for two hours or until the dough reaches room temperature (or pretty close). The dough will soften and gently rise slightly as it warms. 

On a clean, unfloured counter or cutting board, pour out the dough into a large mass. Flour the top of the dough lightly but evenly. Divide it into 2 piles.

Being careful not to overwork the dough, form each half into a dough ball. The most efficient way to do this is to use the counter as your pivot point. Scrape in a circle around the dough (leave it unturned, flour side up). The unfloured counter will hold the dough center and create tension as you circle the dough with the scraper forming a ball. Repeat to form two dough balls. The dough edge should be round and the dough ball should have some form and resilience to it. 

Let the dough balls rest for 20 to 30 minutes. They will spread out but should not fall off at the edge of the pancake. If they do, reform the loaves and bench rest them again to build the structure of the dough better.

Final Shape and Rise:

Gently slide the dough scraper under one of your dough balls and flip it over so it rests on the floured side. Now gently stretch and pull the dough over from the bottom to 1/3 up the loaf. Stretch and pull the dough from the sides to the dough middle. For the final stretch take the dough from the top of the ball and pull it all the way down to the bottom. Form a seam, pinching the seam as necessary. Place the dough seam side up in your rice floured, cloth lined banneton or lightly floured bowl. Rise in the fridge 2 to 4 hours. 

Baking:

Set your dutch oven with it's lid on in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat oven to 450° for at least 30 minutes. Keep the formed loaf in your basket or bowl in the fridge until you actually need to place it in your preheated dutch oven; cold dough will aide the oven spring.

Remove one dough ball from the fridge, and the place the dough in your preheated dutch oven. You do this by placing high-heat safe parchment paper over the bowl, then you turn the bowl upside down so the dough falls gently onto the parchment paper. Score the loaf with your lame knife, a razor blade or very sharp knife; scoring helps the dough rise better. Now pick up the scored loaf with the edges of the parchment paper, if using, and gently and carefully place it into your extremely hot dutch oven.

Put the lid on the dutch oven and return it covered to your preheated oven. Bake 30 minutes at 450°. Now remove the lid (steam should come out). Hopefully the bread is a light golden color with a nice rise and set crust. Bake an additional 10-15 minutes uncovered or until the loaf thumps hollowly and the surface gets dark (caramelized darker than you are probably used to) and the scored areas look shiny. To tell if your bread is properly done, use your digital thermometer and insert it into the center of the loaf, it should read about 205°.

Remove the dutch oven and place the finished loaf on a cooling rack. Do not cut it for at least an hour to set the crumb.

Return the dutch oven (with its lid on) to the oven at 450° and preheat for 15 minutes. Then repeat the process with the remaining loaf.