Sourdough, version 4, aka version Mel
This is my personal favorite.—it is a combination of the sourdough recipe from Nancy Beykirch with the Tartine method. It is sour but the texture is also great.
Leaven:
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup water
2/3 cups bread flour
Combine ingredients and let sit 12 hours.
Then, combine the leaven (mine was about 290 grams)
860 grams white flour
100 grams wheat flour
700 grams water
22 grams salt
You mix this then let it sit for 40 minutes. Then, you put it in a big bowl and let it rise for 5 hours. For the first 2-3 hours, turn in every 30 minutes where you pull the dough to the opposite side, rotate the bowl by 4ths, do the same thing. Then, you put it on a floured surface. This dough is sticky, so you might need a good deal of flour. divide and shape into 2 loaves, then let sit 30 minutes. Then, kind of reshape them and put them in a pot. Let them rise for 3 hours. Then, score them. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, then lid off the dutch oven for the final 20 minutes.
700 grams of water is 3 cups exactly
ReplyDeleteyou want to bake this on a higher rack and put a cookie sheet beneath it or the dutch oven burns the bottom
ReplyDeleteI have made this with all wheat flour instead of white, and it’s fine (however, keep the leaven and starter white flour).
ReplyDeleteThe dough is too sticky for me as it is written, so I add more flour to the dough so it’s easier to work with.
You do need a cast iron pot with a lid to make the bread
Sometimes I make the bread, turn it 4 times over the course of an hour, and then just let it rise in the fridge overnight. From there, I take it out and resume with the shaping step.
I also double the leaven portion often to make it more sour
ReplyDeleteTO MAINTAIN STARTER:
ReplyDeleteEvery 7-10 days, pour off any you don’t want, and then add equal amounts of flour and water to the starter in whatever amount the starter is i.e. if you have 4 Tbs. of starter, add 4 Tbs. of water and 4 Tbs. of flour. Stir, and let it sit until it looks frothy, about 8 hours. Put it in the fridge.
WHEN YOU WANT TO MAKE BREAD:
SOURDOUGH BREAD—makes 2 large boule loaves
Leaven:
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup water
2/3 cups bread flour
Combine ingredients and let sit 12 hours.
Then, combine the leaven (mine was about 290 grams)
860 grams white flour
100 grams wheat flour
700 grams water
22 grams salt
You mix this then let it sit for 40 minutes. Then, you put it in a big bowl and let it rise for 5 hours. For the first 2-3 hours, turn in every 30 minutes where you pull the dough to the opposite side, rotate the bowl by 4ths, do the same thing. Then, you put it on a floured surface. This dough is sticky, so you might need a good deal of flour. divide and shape into 2 loaves, then let sit 30 minutes. Then, kind of reshape them and put them in a pot. Let them rise for 3 hours. Then, score them. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, then lid off the dutch oven for the final 20 minutes. Put a cookie sheet on the rack underneath the dutch oven so it doesn’t burn the bottom of the bread.
NOTES
I have made this with all wheat flour instead of white, and it’s fine (however, keep the leaven and starter white flour).
The dough is too sticky for me as it is written, so I add more flour to the dough so it’s easier to work with.
You do need a cast iron pot with a lid to make the bread
Sometimes I make the bread, turn it 4 times over the course of an hour, and then just let it rise in the fridge overnight. From there, I take it out and resume with the shaping step.
Ok, so if you put it in the fridge overnight, it needs way longer to rise in the pans. Mine took 4-5 hours to get where it was nearing the edge of the dutch oven. Also, I put more flour into the mixer so that it wasn't sticking to the sides of the Bosch and it made it way easier. I also think 1 batch of leaven is adequate. The ratios don't necessarily need to be increased.
ReplyDeleteOk, in the Le Crueset pan, you need to OIL it or it sticks really bad. Next, I have stopped decreasing the flour with a 3./4 cup leaven and instead decrease the water by 1/4 cup and that way it's a better texture. It cleans the side of the bowl and I don't need to add much flour to it when I shape it for it to stay put with its shape. I also raise these for the final 3 hours in the oven after I put it on keep warm and then turn it off. You can bake them together at the same time. And, I increase the salt to 28 grams.
ReplyDeleteI do a 1 cup leaven, 2 1/4 cups water, and about 1025 grams of flour. The kamut flour makes the top crack in a not cute way. The downstairs oven works much better.
ReplyDeleteI only do 1/2 cup flour per leaven batch, not 2/3.
ReplyDelete