Bread from Sourdough Starter


Summary (not brief)

  1. At night, measure the water and rye flour needed for feeding the starter. In a large bowl, measure the flour and salt for your bread recipe. In a separate container, measure your water.
  2. The next morning, in a small mixing bowl, measure the starter from the refrigerator. Mix it with the water and rye flour from last night. Move to a tall glass jar. Mark the height of the starter so you can know when it has doubled.
  3. After the starter has doubled, measure from it the starter needed for the bread recipe and return the remaining to the mother starter in the refrigerator.
  4. In your large bowl of flour and salt from last night, slightly mix and create a center cavity. Add the measured active starter with the water from last night into the center. Using your hand, slowly break up the starter and mix it with the water. Keep mixing until all the flour is incorporated and you have a smooth dough and there is no loose flour. Scrap your hand/fingers clean. Cover the bowl. Rest 30 minutes.
  5. First stretch and fold. Cover. Rest 30 minutes
  6. Second stretch and fold. Cover. Rest 30 minutes
  7. Third stretch and fold. Test for a window pane. If it fails, then cover and rest for 30 minutes. Fourth stretch and fold. Test for window pane.
  8. If it passes the window pane, then cover and rest for about an hour until double gains 25% growth
  9. Turn out dough on the counter, and preshape dough by gently pulling edges to the center. Flip and scrap to form a tight ball. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
  10. Flip dough over and final shape into batard or boule
  11. Use rice flour to dust the bread proofer basket and drop the dough into it. Cover with a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator overnight up to 36 hours.
  12. Preheat the oven to 475°F with an upside down cast iron skillet or flat griddle or baking stone. Boil a couple liters of water.
  13. When the oven is fully preheated for an hour, pull the dough from the refrigerator and uncover. With rice flour, lightly dust the dough and place on a pizza peel.
  14. With rice flour, top the dough and score as you see fit.
  15. Place the dough in the oven. Add a tray for water and fill it with boiling water.
  16. Bake for 20 minutes
  17. Turn the oven down to 375°F. Bake for 20 minutes.
  18. Carefully take out the bread and cool on a drying rack for 1 hour before slicing

Preparation

  1. Measure the water for feeding the starter and the bread. Leave them out on the counter for several hours or overnight to allow the chlorine in city water to aerate out. Use separate containers for each of them.
  2. Measure the flour for feeding the starter and the bread. Allowing the flour to come to room temperature will help the feeding and fermenting of the bread.

Making the Dough

  1. Feed your starter
    See the ratio section for starter. It depends on how much you need and how much time you can give to the starter process.
    1. Cooler kitchen (<70°), bake with 200g of active starter. Starter will take longer to double
    2. Warmer kitchen (>80°), bake with 100g of active starter
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add ready starter.
  3. Add the water and break up the starter
  4. Add the flour and salt. Mix together to form the dough. After the first mix, rest 30 minutes.
  5. First Fold.
    Using the mixing bowl, work around the dough pinching ¼ piece with your hand, stretching it out and folding it back over the dough. Repeat 3 more times in quarter turns of the dough. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to rest for 30 hours at room temperature.
  6. Second Fold.
    Using within the mixing bowl, stretch and pull ¼ of the dough around the bowl. Cover with a clean cloth and leave to rest for 30 hours at room temperature.
  7. Third Fold and Window Pane
    Repeat stretch and fold technique. Test window pane.
    1. If the dough fails then let it rest covered for 30 minutes. Do a fourth stretch and fold. Test the window pane again. Repeat until it passes.
    2. If it passes, then cover it for a bulk ferment for at least an hour. The goal is to see a 25% growth. This period is one time developing the sour taste of sourdough bread.
  8. Pre-shape
    Turn out your dough upside down onto the counter. 1 kg flour is typically 2 loaves, therefore, divide it into two with the flat side of your dough scraper. From each of the four corners of the dough, pull a side out very slightly laying it back on the dough. Flip the dough over and shape into a tight ball without tearing it. Cover and rest on the table for 1 hour.
  9. Final Shape.
    The aim is to create a tight structure without degassing the dough too much. Be delicate with the folds but still creating tension. Slide your dough scraper underneath and turn the dough upside down. Let it relax into a circle.
    • Shaping into a batard
      Pick and gently pull the edges, stretching out very slightly to form a rectangle. Fold over each of the short sides to the center. Gently roll up the dough. Tuck in the ends. Use the dough scraper to pull towards you forming a smooth skin
    • Shaping into a boule
      Pick and gently pull the edges, stretching out very slightly to form a square. Lift each corner , one at a time, and fold over to the center. Flip the dough over. Use your scraper to form a tight skin
  10. Dust it the banneton basket with rice flour. Place shaped dough in the basket seam side up.
  11. Final Rest.
    Using a large plastic bag, add the basket. Rest in the refrigerator. This stage typically creates complex flavors and develops the crumb. Overnight to 36 hours.

Baking your bread

  1. When you are ready to bake, add an upside down cast iron skillet or baking stone or steel. Preheat the oven to 475°F. Let the oven thoroughly preheat for an hour. Have a tray available to add to the oven to hold boiling water.
  2. Boil water in a kettle.
  3. Sprinkle rice flour on the dough. Turn it out onto peel. Remove the banneton. Brush light dusting of rice flour on the dough and score in the top with a grignette. Brush off excess from the peel and slide it onto the baking stone or cast iron. Pour the hot water from the kettle into the tray to create steam and shut the door.
  4. Bake for 20 minutes at 475° F. Do not open the door.
  5. Turn the oven down to 375°F and cook for 20-25 minutes. The bread should sound hollow when you tap the bottom of it. Optionally, poke a thermometer in the bottom of the loaf and cook until the bread is 205°-210° F.
  6. Let the bread rest at least 1 hour before cutting it

Feeding your Starter


Bread Recipes



References













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