Sourdough bread is a slow fermented bread that is made from culture yeast also called as the sourdough starter that you make at home. Thus, making the sourdough starter is relatively simple and all you need is all purpose unbleached flour and water. If you need the right proportions for feeding, use 30 grams of flour along with 30 grams of water which equates to ¼ cup of flour and ⅛ cup water!
Feeding your sourdough starter regularly for the first 14 days while regularly discarding is very important! Discarding the starter helps make a strong culture for your sourdough bread.
We bake this bread in an dutch oven, however there are many hacks to making sourdough bread and creating that steam in the oven will help with the oven spring and help your bread rise!
We love this bread for its tangy flavor, chewy texture & crisp crackly crust! Making a perfect sourdough bread had always been exciting and the bake turns out to be different every time!
PRO TIPS:
- Making your own sourdough starter at home is very simple however your starter does require regular discarding and feeding. Regularly discard and feed your starter with 30 grams flour and 30 grams water
- With the discarded sourdough starter, you can make cookies, muffin, cakes, brownies, pancakes or waffles. The list goes endless!!
- I use this trick to know if my starter is activated, the starter will be concave on the top, also when you drop into a bowl of water, the starter will float to the top indicated the starter is active for use
Sourdough Bread
Course: BreakfastCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Difficult4
servings15
hours40
minutes15
hours40
minutesSourdough bread is known for its tangy flavor, chewy texture & crisp crackly crust! Making a perfect sourdough bread had always been exciting and the bake turns out to the different every time!
Ingredients
3 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups water
½ cup sourdough starter
1 tsp salt
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour and water using a wooden spoon
- This mixture will be shaggy and very sticky, cover with a tea towel and let this sit on your kitchen counter for about 45 minutes to an hour. This phase is called the autolyse stage
- Now, to this mixture add the activated starter, salt and combine this well together in the flour mix and let it sit for 30 minutes (To know if your starter is activated, the starter will be concave on the top, also when you drop into a bowl of water, the starter will float to the top indicated the starter is active for use)
- Start the stretch & fold process and for the next 2- 2 ½ hours stretch and fold this mixture every 30 minutes for about 4-5 times
- Once you have finished the stretch & fold stage, it’s time for the dough to bulk rise which would take about 5-6 hours depending on room temperature. The texture of the dough will change during this stage
- Once the sourdough has bulk risen, slowly move this to a working station. Try to avoid using flour at this stage and with gentle hands pre-shape the dough without letting the air get out. Shape the dough to a tight ball by using the stickiness of the dough to create the tension
- Bench rest for about 15 minutes
- Finally shape this dough by creating a nice tension by the top! And let this proof one last time in a bread basket for about an hour. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if preferred before placing the dough (Prepare your bread basket by lining with flour all over to ensure the dough does not stick to the bread Banneton). Alternatively, you can place this dough in the fridge to slowly ferment overnight. (Timing this bread is very important)
- Test the dough by using the poke test and check if passed. The dough should spring up in a few seconds after the light poke
- Preheat the oven along with the dutch oven in at 500F, that may take some time to preheat
- Flip the dough to the work surface or parchment paper, score the bread with a sharp knife or blade and bake in a dutch oven for 20 mins with the lid on at 500F and thereafter reduce the oven temperature to 450F and bake for another 15 minutes without the lid
- Remove from the oven and rest the sourdough bread on a wire rack for 2 hours and slice using a bread knife after cooled
PRO TIP
- Making your own sourdough starter at home is very simple however your starter does require regular discarding and feeding. Regularly discard and feed your starter with 30 grams flour and 30 grams water
- With the discarded sourdough starter, you can make cookies, muffin, cakes, brownies, pancakes or waffles. The list goes endless!!
- To know if your starter is activated, the starter will be concave on the top, also when you drop into a bowl of water, the starter will float to the top indicated the starter is active for use
Go check out https://whenyourhungry.com/category/bread/ for some more bread recipes
You know what else will go with this, that’s right something to dip this Sourdough Bread in. Hummus would be a great dipping option. Do check out our Roasted Red Pepper Hummus by clicking on the link below
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus – When You’re Hungry (whenyourhungry.com)
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