Sourdough bread

I grew up eating homemade sourdough bread. My dad got bitten by the sourdough bug (metaphorically, of course), and eventually built up a little business selling his extra loaves to colleagues and neighbours. He installed a second oven in the basement, doubling his output to four loaves a day.

But despite a university degree in economics, the numbers just didn’t add up. After shelling out for raw ingredients, and putting in hours of labour that started at dawn, he was grossing about $8 a day. It was the 1970s, but still…

At the height of his home-bakery career, dad had seven ice cream buckets full of sourdough starter he used in rotation. I take a very different approach, keeping only a cup of starter in a jar in the fridge. When it’s time to bake, I measure out what I need, give it a feed to replace what I’ve used, and pop it straight back into the fridge.

Dad made long, flattish loaves which he slashed diagonally, but I’ve taken to baking round loaves in my Le Creuset casserole. I use a digital kitchen scale to measure the flour, water and starter. A dough scraper is useful, and I have also bought a pair of round bannetons to proof my loaves.

But none of that is essential – what is really needed is the right attitude. You have to recognise that the starter is calling the shots, not you. Sometimes your first feeding needs eight hours, another time it might take eighteen.

While you can’t hurry the process along, you can slow it down. If your bread hasn’t finished rising when it’s time for bed, just pop it in the fridge overnight. The slow rise improves the taste anyway.

In terms of timing, I usually do the first feeding after breakfast, the second feeding before bed, and then make the dough and bake the bread the following day. But it’s pretty common for me to form the loaves and pop the bannetons in the fridge for a slow rise overnight, before baking them the following morning.

Apart from being delicious, studies have shown that sourdough bread is good for you. The bacterial fermentation alters the starch, making it slower to digest (good for avoiding spikes in blood sugar). It also breaks down the gluten to the point that some coeliacs can eat sourdough bread without a problem. Read this article in the Guardian on sourdough bread if you want to know more.

Sourdough bread
(makes two loaves)

First feeding:

• 70g sourdough starter
• 70g warm water
• 70g white bread flour

Second feeding:

• 200g sourdough starter
• 200g warm water
• 200g white bread flour

Bread dough:

• 600g sourdough starter
• 500g water
• 400g white bread flour
• 400g wholewheat bread flour
• 1 Tb salt

1. Measure 70g of your reserved sourdough starter into a small bowl.
2. Feed your reserved starter with 35g of white flour and 35g of warm water to replace what you’ve used. Stir to combine and return to the fridge until the next time.
3. For the first feeding, add 70g of warm water and 70g of white bread flour to the 70g of starter, and stir to combine. Cover with a lid or clingfilm and leave until it is full of bubbles and has a nice sour taste (usually 12-24 hours).
   
4. For the second feeding, transfer the starter (which should weigh about 200g) into a medium-sized bowl. Add 200g warm water and 200g white bread flour and stir to combine. Cover with a lid or clingfilm and leave until it is full of bubbles and has a nice sour taste (usually 6-12 hours).
   
5. Transfer the starter (which should weigh about 600g) into a large bowl. Add 500g water, 400g white bread flour and 400g wholewheat bread flour. Mix well to combine (I use my hand for this). The dough will be quite wet at this stage, so leave it for half an hour to allow the flour to absorb some of the liquid.
   
6. Add the salt and mix well to combine. Tip the dough onto a flat surface and give it a working over.
   
   I prefer to stretch, rather than knead, it. Pull the dough into a long sausage shape, then fold the ends into the middle. Turn the dough and repeat several times. (The dough may still seem a bit wet, but avoid adding more flour if possible to keep it nice and elastic. Just use your dough scraper to get it off the work surface and your hands and back  into the bowl.)
   
7. Return the dough to the bowl, using a scraper to free it from the work surface if necessary. Leave it to rest covered for 15 minutes, then stretch again.
   Do this once more, then leave until doubled in size (usually three to six hours, but maybe more in the winter).
   
8. Carefully tip the dough onto a floured surface. Cut in half and shape into two tight loaves, being careful not to press the air out of it. Place in well-floured bannetons, dust the top of the dough with flour and leave to rest for a couple of hours (or overnight in the fridge if you prefer).
   
9. Place a heavy casserole with a lid (such as a Le Creuset) in the oven and heat to 500°F (250°C). Transfer the first loaf into the pot, cover and bake for 25 minutes.
   
   Remove the lid and bake for a further 20 minutes until the loaf is a rich brown colour and the crust is crisp. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool.
   
10. Return the casserole to the oven and allow to reheat for half an hour. Bake the second loaf the same way.
    

Tags: bread, sourdough, vegetarian