Sourdough Recipe

basic sourdough bread boule (round)

making the sponge

Before you go to bed (or 8-12 hours before you plan on starting your dough making process), mix 3 cups all-purpose flour & 3 cups water in a large glass or plastic bowl. After giving your chilled starter a quick stir, measure and add 1/2 cup starter to the bowl and stir until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and leave overnight at room temperature (never warmer than 80 degrees!) Proof for 8-12 hours. Check the progress first thing in the morning. You want an active, frothy, bubbly, gelatinous sponge. If the sponge is low-active with a layer of hooch forming, then your sponge already passed the highly active stage and processed all 3 cups of flour during the night If this happens, stir the sponge contents, then measure and discard 1 cup of sponge. Then RE-FEED the bowl a fresh 1 cup flour & 1 cup water mixture. Let it proof another 3-4 hours, watching periodically. Look for the frothy, bubbly active sponge stage and continue with making the dough.

supply list

• Spray bottle of clean water (to spray sides of oven during baking)
• Oven safe dish that fits on the oven floor (to hold water bath)
• Baking sheet or loaf pan for the bread
• Course ground cornmeal to sprinkle on baking sheet
• 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with ½ cup cold water to brush before baking
• Cooking spray or oil & plastic wrap (for rising)

dough ingredients

2 ½ - 3 cups of prepared active sponge

2-2 ½ cups bread flour

1 ½ TBS salt 

the process
 

Place 2 ½ cups of what should be a bubbly, active sponge into your mixing bowl. (If using a mixer, use the hook.) Add (1 ½ cups) bread flour and begin mixing. Once incorporated, let it rest in the bowl for 30-90 minutes before adding more flour. This allows the initial flour time to absorb the sponge liquid.

After first break, add salt and mix. Begin adding the rest of the bread flour in small increments (up to the full 2 ½ cups) until your dough is fairly stiff, still moist, but not overly sticky. If the dough still feels too wet, add additional flour 1 TBS at a time until the right consistency is reached.

At this point, begin kneading the dough using either your hands (no less than ten minutes), or with the dough hook & mixer for 10 minutes on level 2. It will still stick to the bottom, but pull from the sides. At this point, you can tightly wrap your dough in oiled plastic wrap and place in the fridge for up to 48 hrs. When you are ready bake, simply bring your dough to room temperature and proceed to the first rising step. This could take 3-5 hours.

first rise

Spray your rising bowl generously with cooking spray and place the dough in the center, then cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap in a non-drafty, warm space (68°-75° F ; no warmer than 80° F).  Allow dough to rise until doubled (can vary 2-5 hours).  Sourdough is slower to rise than traditional breads. The best gauge is to check that it has doubled in volume. To test: push your finger into the dough ½ inch. If the dough springs back and fills the whole within a minute, then it is not finished rising.

punching down & second rise

Once the first rise has completed, gently push an oiled closed fist in the middle of the dough, working your fist outwards along the sides of the dough.  This process rearranges the gluten strands encouraging a second rise.

Dump the dough onto a clean counter or baking mat fold the dough over on itself a couple times. Begin to round the loaf by pulling the edges around and under itself, tucking and forming a round ball with a smooth outer skin.  Place the shaped round on the counter or mat to rest for 15 minutes while you prepare the baking pans. 

While the rounds are resting, lightly spray your baking sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle the cornmeal over the bottom of the sheet. This will serve as a non-stick bed for your loaf.  Carefully lift your rested rounds and reshape into final loaf.  Cover shaped loaf with oiled plastic wrap for it’s second and final rise. Again, non-drafty area (70°-80°). The second rise could take 1 ½ to 3 hours.

bake

As you see that your loaf is nearing it’s second rise completion, preheat oven for 400°. Place the oven safe dish on floor of the oven and fill with water. Let the oven heat at 400° for at least 30 minutes to insure the oven and the water dish are up to temperature.

Combine cornstarch and cold water into a small sauce pan and heat to lightly thicken. Gently brush your loaf with the slurry before scoring. To score, use a very sharp knife and make angled ¼” cuts across the loaf, being careful not to deflate. Make a 2-3 passes with the knife if necessary to avoid pressing too hard.

Place in the preheated oven. Take your spray bottle and spritz the sides of the oven, all around the loaves 3-4 times every couple of minutes for the first 10 minutes of baking. This will create the signature sourdough crust. After 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 375° and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway thru baking to insure even baking. If you have a thermometer, bread should be 200°-210° degrees in the center when done. Cool on a rack for 30 minutes before cutting.