Perhaps you would like the satisfaction that comes from providing your family a superior loaf, or you are looking to save some money – in any case, making Sourdough is a simple process.  It will take time and devotion, but that’s what makes it so special.

This recipe is inspired by the Sourdough recipe in Paul Allam and David McGuiness’ book Bourke Street Bakery.  As it does take a fair amount of time, it makes sense to get a fair amount of output.  For me this is about three to four loaves.  It is good fresh for a couple of days and then toasted for quite a few more.  If you would like to get the crunch back, put the loaf, wrapped in foil, in a low oven for about 15 minutes. You can also store a loaf in the freezer as it keeps very well.

You don’t need much equipment for this venture. If you have an automated baking machine, all the better, not to cook the loaf, but to help you with the kneading.  Yoke Mardewi, author of Wild Sourdough, suggests this and it works very well. Of course, you can always use muscle power!

You will need some mature sourdough starter for this recipe.  Please see my post How to Make a Sourdough Starter for details.

Sourdough Bread

Makes 3-4 free form batons (loaves).
Timeframe – start this process 2 days before baking.

Day 1 – Strengthen the Starter

Your starter may have been sitting in the fridge for a while, so it will need to be “woken up” and fed before it can be used to produce a gorgeous loaf. The process takes about 2-3 minutes for each of three feeds, so this is a very small time commitment.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups good quality plain flour, ideally organic
1 1/2 cups non-chlorinated water or spring water

Method
Start in the morning. Remove your sourdough container from fridge. Feed the starter with 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water.  Stir well with spoon and replace lid.  Leave at room temperature.  Repeat the feeds twice more, at around 6 hour intervals.  Leave at room temperature overnight.

Day 2 – Shape the Loaves and Prove

The starter will now be bubbly and will have risen in the container.  It should have a pleasant yeasty smell.

You will need around 3 hours for the full process, so keep close to home.  I often combine this process with other domestic tasks – or possibly making cheese, which also takes about the same amount of time.  I am assuming that you are using some kind of machine to help with kneading, if kneading by hand, just double the times.

You will need a large tray to contain the dough while it is proving and a large clean tea towel or baking paper. A scale will also be helpful for measuring the quantities.

Ingredients
600g (1lb 5oz) prepared sourdough starter
600ml (20fl oz) non-chlorinated water, or spring water
1.14kg (2lb 8oz) bakers flour
2 tablespoons non-iodised salt or fine sea salt

Method
Start this process in the morning.  Place a large bowl on the scale and measure out the sourdough starter.  Do not use all the starter.  Ensure that you have at least 3 tablespoons left in the container.  This will be used for making your next batch of sourdough.  Add two heaped tablespoons of good flour and 3 tablespoons of water and mix well in the container.  Leave at room temperature for about 1/2 hour and then place the container in the fridge.

Add water and flour to the starter in the large bowl.  Mix with a large wooden spoon, until mixed together.  It will be a rough dough at this stage.  Scrape the dough into the bowl of the baking machine or electric mixer.  If your bowl is too small for the amount of mixture, you may need to divide the mixture in half and process each half separately.

The next step is to knead the dough.  Set the baking machine on the mix only (usually pasta) setting or use the slow mix setting with dough hook on the electric mixer. Mix the dough until well combined and then increase the speed to form a smooth dough.  In total the time is about 7 minutes.  Cover the bowl loosely with cling wrap and rest the dough for 20 minutes.

Add the salt to the dough and mix the dough for about 7 minutes.  Test the dough to see if it has sufficient elasticity.  Take a small ball of dough and roll in your palm.  Stretch out the dough between your two hands. If it stretches well and quite thinly and does not break, it is ready.  If it is too delicate, continue to mix for a few more minutes and then test again.

Lightly grease a large bowl with oil spray. Remove dough from mixing bowl and place into the large greased bowl.  Cover with cling wrap and a tea towel.  Place in a warm spot to rest for 1 hour.

Scrape out the dough from the bowl onto a large bench.  Press down and stretch the dough to form a large rectangle. Fold the dough into three, by lifting and folding one end of the dough to the centre and then pull the other end on top. Repeat in the opposite direction.  It should look like a folded parcel.  Place the dough back into the large bowl and cover with cling wrap and tea towel.  Place in a warm spot for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the proving tray.  Cover a large tea towel well with flour. Place in the base of a large tray.  Pleat the tea towel to form furrows. Alternatively, you can use baking paper instead and pleat the paper as for the towel, however, do not add flour.

You are now ready to shape the dough. Here is my suggestion for a free form loaf shape. Using a dough scraper, divide the dough into 3 or 4 equal pieces.  The scales may be helpful here.

To shape the dough, firstly roll the dough into a ball, then shape into a long baton shape.  If using a tea towel, place the dough in a furrow, seam side up (upside down).  For the baking paper, place the dough seam side down.  Repeat with each loaf.

Enclose the tray with a large bag or two as needed.  The plastic bag will encourage a humid environment to develop which allows the dough to rise well.  Place the tray in the fridge and leave until the next morning. Keeping the dough at a low temperature will slow down the development of the yeast.  This allows the flavour and texture to fully develop in the dough.

Day 3: Baking the Bread

The end is now in sight, you can almost smell the bread…
You will need two baking sheets and a spray bottle with water.

Ingredients
Prepared Dough
Fine Semolina or Polenta

Method
The next morning remove dough from fridge and allow 2-3 hours for the dough to come back to room temperature and finish rising.

When you are ready to cook the bread, preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F).  Place the trays to heat in the oven.  If you have a warming oven, this is a great place to put the dough, still covered, while you are waiting for the main oven to heat up.

Remove dough from the warming oven (if using) and uncover.  Sprinkle a generous amount of semolina on the top of the dough.  If using the tea towel method, gently flip over a loaf from the tea towel onto a paddle or board.  Then slide from the paddle onto the heated baking tray.  Repeat quickly with other loaves.  If you have been using the baking paper, just lift the bread with the paper and place directly on the heated trays.  Leave at least 3cm between each loaf for spreading.

With a sharp knife, slash each loaf in 2-3 places to about 2 cm deep.  This will prevent the dough cracking and enhance the look of the loaf.

Quickly spray inside the oven with water, not directly on the dough, but around the sides and roof and base of the oven.  This will create steam and allow the dough to rise quickly in the heat.  Close the oven and cook for 20 minutes. Rotate the loaves, so that they cook evenly and then continue to cook for 10-15 minutes until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the base.

Remove the loaves to a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 1 hour. The loaf will continue to cook inside during this time.

Enjoy!

Photos: Sophia Poulos.  All rights reserved.