Simple Sourdough Bread
It may not seem so simple to you but some sourdough recipes take literally hours and days. This one is pretty straight-forward!
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 80 grams sourdough starter see above for link on how to make your own
- 1/2 tsp dry yeast optional
- 370 grams warm water
- 1 tbsp honey
- 470 grams bread flour
- 5 grams salt
Instructions
- {timing: first night at 4pm} Take your sourdough starter out of the fridge (assuming you fed it before you put it in), and let it come to room temperature on your counter (it should rise to double where your 'marker' is - see photo above with elastic band)
- {timing: first night at 6pm} By 6pm, the starter should have risen; take out 80 grams and place it in a large bowl, feed remaining starter and place it back in the fridge. Stir together the starter, yeast (if using), honey and water in a bowl, distributing the mixture while mixing together. Add flour into the bowl (sift it in if possible), mixing well, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let sit for one hour.
- {timing: first night 7pm} Add the salt to the dough mixture in the bowl. Combine the dough using a wet hand and folding the dough over from the bottom to top and "pinching" the dough (the Ken Forkish method I talked about above)
- {timing: first night 8pm} Repeat the above method, cover and rest for another hour
- {timing: first night 9pm} Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, your dough should have doubled in size (warmer kitchen would take less time and a cooler one, more time); give the dough one more turn and pinch, cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
- [timing: next morning 7am} Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface (the dough will relax when you take it out of the bowl). Taking one section of dough at at time, fold the sections over the rest of the dough until you have a tight ball shape. Then tighten the dough by pulling it towards you by cupping the dough with both your hands. Place a piece of parchment onto your work surface and gently transfer the dough to the paper and gently place into another similar sized bowl to your baking pot. Set aside for another 2 hours or until it is doubled again.
- {timing: next day- bake 9am} This recipe uses a dutch oven for baking. Preheat your oven to 500ºF with a rack in the center of the oven. Put the dutch oven with the lid on the rack while the oven preheats. Once the oven has reached the right temperature, quickly pull out the oven rack with the pot and remove the lid to a heat-proof area and then take the dough and carefully lift it, transferring it to the dutch oven. Cover the dutch oven and place it back in the oven. Lower the temperature to 475ºF and bake, covered for 30 minutes then uncover and bake for another 20 minutes (check the bottom for too much browning in case your oven runs hot). When done, tilt the bread out of the dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing.