Thread: Sourdough Bread

Yeast Sourdough

The prepared starter...



To make the ferment or starter, pour into a large bowl, 3 cups of warm water, 1 ½ tbsp dried yeast (not breadmaker yeast) and 1 tsp sugar.
When the yeast is fluffy, add 3 cups of flour. Mix in well with a spatula until you have a smooth mix.
Cover with gladwrap and leave in a warm place for at least 8 hours…how the ferment works will depend on the temperature of course. If for some reason you want to leave making the bread for a day or two, just put the bowl in the fridge and the ferment will slow down.
So it has done its thing, so to make a loaf.



Nearly there...




Start by removing the bowl from the fridge so it can come to room temperature. If you are using it without chilling, you can get on with the loaf straight away.
With a spatula, gently stir the ferment for a few times just to smooth it out a bit, then place in a bowl, 1 ½ cups of the ferment, 2 cups of flour and ¾ tsp salt. Use some wholemeal flour as part of the mix if you like. You could also add say a good tablespoon of olive oil…most people would use Extra Virgin but I personally like using pomace oil…it has more character to it. Anyway oil or not, stir well, then empty bowl on to the workbench. Sprinkle just a skiff of flour on the bench…and start working on the dough adding another few skiffs of flour as the dough takes up the flour…this dough is a strong dough and most cakemixers simply would not cope with it…you need to knead the dough for 10 minutes…there are no short cuts with this…you can be a bit rough with it, like hold it up and drop it on to the bench a few times every so often…just hang in there and all of sudden you are aware of the change in the dough…it has become smooth and elastic…the test for reaching the right point in kneading is if you press your index finger into the dough, the dough will bounce back, not a bounce like a ping pong ball exactly…you’ll see.
When the dough bounces back, oil a bowl, roll the dough a bit in the oil so it doesn’t dry out, cover with a teatowel and leave to rise for at minimum of 1 ½ hours, in other words until it has basically doubled. Give it a gentle knead, then place in a oiled tin or on an oiled baking tray and again leave to rise to double its size.



Have the oven at 200c for the first ten minutes, then turn down the heat to 160c and bake until done.
The ferment is enough for three batches, or one really big loaf!!

Out of the oven...



This is a really nice bread.