MY TRIED AND TRUE SOURDOUGH RECIPE
Sourdough Saturday - April 6th, 2020
Total time: 5 hours (non-continuous) the night before baking and 5-6 hours the morning of baking. This recipe makes two loaves of bread. These loaves freeze exceptionally well.
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Materials:
Kitchen Scale
Large Bowl
Fridge
Large Sharp Knife (or razor blade)
Dutch Oven or large pot with a tight lid
Parchment Paper – two squares about 10 inches square
Two average sized mixing bowls
Two dish towels
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Ingredients:
1000 grams unbleached all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
30 grams salt
286 grams of very active sourdough starter (scroll down for my recipe)
700 grams of lukewarm water
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Directions:
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Pour all of your water into a large bowl and then add the sourdough starter. Using your fingers, mix together the starter and water until the starter is pretty much completely dissovled in the water.
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Add 1000g of unbleached all-purpose flour into the water and starter mixture and combine well with a silicone spatula (or your hands). Once the flour is completely mixed in, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 45 minutes.
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After resting for 45 minutes, sprinkle the salt evenly across the top of the dough and fold it into the dough. You can do this by taking the dough from the side of the bowl, lifting under it and pulling it across the top of the dough. Repeat this around the bowl 8 times until you can no longer see salt on the surface of the dough. Cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
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After resting 30 minutes, repeat the same folding and stretching process as we did with the salt, but only 4 times around the bowl. Stretching the dough helps to develop the gluten and form the bread. Repeat step 4 three more times, for a total of four stretch and folds.
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After stretching and folding the dough 4 total times, your dough should have developed a good gluten structure. Re-cover your dough and allow to sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours. This allows the dough to rise before going into the fridge overnight.
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After resting for 2-3 hours, your dough should have risen quite significantly, if it hasn't your room is probably slightly cooler than average, and I recommend leaving the dough for another 30-45 minutes. At this point, you should tightly wrap your bowl in saran wrap or foil and place it in the fridge for 10-12 hours (usually overnight).
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First thing in the morning (or after the 10-12 hour refrigeration), remove your dough from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about 90 minutes or until it comes to just about room temperature. I usually take the dough out right when I wake up and then by the time I am done with my morning routine the dough is ready to go.
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Once your dough has come to room temperature (and risen even more), turn the dough out of the bowl onto a completely unfloured work surface. Lightly sprinkle the top of the dough with flour.
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Take a bench scraper (or long knife) and cut your dough into two even sized halves. Try and get these dough pieces as even as possible, but if they are slightly uneven, there is no need to worry.
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This is where the 'shaping' process begins. This step, known as the 'pre-shape' helps to get the dough into the 'boule' shape that we all know and love. After cutting it in half, your dough should be in two long-ish pieces with a larger bit toward the middle. Working with one piece, start by pushing the skinny end of the dough up and around the cut side toward the other skinny end of the dough. Then pull, in an almost circular motion, the dough back toward you. This process can be tricky to get down, and even after a year of baking I still struggle to get it right sometimes. Repeat this process of turning the dough and pulling it back toward you about 3 times until you have a rough circle of dough. Repeat this process with the other piece of dough and then cover both pieces with a damp dish cloth. Let them rest for 30 minutes.
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While the dough is resting, prepare your bannetons or bowls that will be used for the dough's final fridge rest. I use cane bannetons coated in a mix of white rice flour and all-purpose flour. If you don't have bannetons, don't fear. You can use a glass or plastic bowl lined with a dish cloth. Lay the dish cloth flat on your work surface and generously cover the middle of it with all-purpose flour. Once the flour is on there, rub it into the dish cloth leaving some loose on the surface. Then place the dish cloth into the bowl with the floured part in the middle, ready to hold your shaped loaves.
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After resting for 30 minutes, your dough should still be in a rough circle, and we will now do the actual shaping. Repeating the same process as before, pulling the dough around in a circle toward you, work until the dough has a skin across the top, and when you push your fingertip lightly into the dough it quickly bounces back.
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Once the dough is shaped, use a bench scraper or knife to get the dough off the counter and flip the floured side into your hand (this sounds tricky, but you've got this). Gently place the dough into your prepared banneton or dish cloth lined bowl and cover it tightly with flour. Repeat for the other loaf. Place the dough into the fridge for 2 hours.
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About 30 minutes before your 2 hour mark, place your dutch oven into the oven and preheat it all to 475 degrees Farenheit.
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Once your dutch oven has been heating for 30 minutes, it's time to prepare your dough for the oven. Tear off a piece of parchment paper about 12 inches long. Take one banneton/bowl out of the fridge and uncover it. Take your parchment paper and place it over the dough. With your hand on the dough, gently flip the banneton/bowl over, allowing the dough to rest in your hand. Set the dough down and if the dish cloth stayed on the dough gently peel it off.
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Take a razor blade or small, sharp knife and score the bread. Do this by making a quick, quarter-inch deep cut in the dough from the top to the bottom. This cut will allow steam to exit the bread without splitting it.
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Once your dough is scored, remove your dutch oven from the oven and open the lid. Quickly set your dough (on the parchment paper) into the dutch oven and put the lid back on. This process should be as quick as possible (while still being safe) to ensure all of the steam from the bread is trapped inside the dutch oven.
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Bake at 475 degrees Farenheit for 42 minutes, then remove the lid, lower the temperature to 450 degrees Farenheit and bake for 14 minutes.
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Remove the dutch oven and place the loaf of bread on a cooling rack.
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Reheat the dutch oven to 475 degrees Farenheit for 15 minutes and then repeat steps 14-18.
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Allow your bread to cool completely before enjoying, as the cooling of the bread allows time for the crumb to set.
Thank you for joining me on this sourdough adventure, and comment below with any questions. I love to see pictures of other loaves, so be sure to share in the comments below.
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Making
the
Dough
Rising
Divide
and
Bench
Rest
Shaping
the
Dough
Final
Shape
and
Bake