SOURDOUGH LOAVES
RECIPE :
- 425g unbleached all-purpose flour
- 75g whole wheat flour
- 360g of 80-90 degree water
- 10g sea salt
(I always double it so i can make two loaves)
TOOLS :
this should go without saying, but i’ll say it anyway because i remember when i first got started with sourdough i would watch all the videos, read all the blogs, and it all made it seem like i needed all these special tools to make loaves.
i’m here to say YOU DO NOT NEED SPECIAL TOOLS TO MAKE A LOAF OF SOURDOUGH BREAD.
the tools i have collected throughout the three years of making bread are whats in the image below, but i have made loaves without any of them(expect the scale), and so can you :) i am listing out my favorite tools here to simply add value to those looking to expand their sourdough skills and who make it enough to warrant these purchases!
DIRECTIONS:
put your bowl on a basic kitchen scale and add your active starter to a bowl.
then you’ll add water and combine those together with your hands or spatula(i always use my hands because you can
better feel when it’s all combined)until it’s milky and combined fully.
now add your flour.
remove the scale and mix the starter, water, and flour together with your hands until fully incorporated - 2 to 3 minutes.
now cover the bowl with a towel or plate and let it sit for 1.5-2 hrs on your countertop.
after your 1.5 hr rest, add your salt on top evenly.
wet your hand or add about 20 g of water and pinch the salt to combine.
now we will do a stretch and fold knead on the dough for about 3 minutes. where you will literally grab one end and fold it in half and repeat on all four sides for the remainder of the time.
put the plate or towel back on top of the bowl
2 hours later and the dough is looking strong and is ready to be shaped
dump the dough onto a clean counter and divide the dough in half.
stretch to a rectangle, fold over the sides and roll it up & push it away from you and pull it towards you to build tension in the loaf.
after your first shape, you will leave the loaves on the counter uncovered for 20 minutes. after that, you’ll shape one more time.
the dough remembers the shape the second time around. be more gentle this time around as you shape
then place into the proofing baskets and let sit covered in the fridge for about 2 hours(check after the one-hour mark to make sure it’s not over proofing).
preheat your oven to 500 degrees with your dutch oven inside — when it’s preheated for about 45 minutes to an hour, turn it down to 450 and you can begin to score your loaves.
once you do your deep score you need to make sure you get it into the dutch oven and into the oven quickly.
after 25 minutes you’ll remove the lid and put it back in for another 15-20 minutes(or until it’s as gold as you like) and then you can take it out and let it rest for at least 1 hour — but i like to let it sit for 2 hours before cutting into it.