by realcoolchris » Sat Jul 11, 2009 6:26 pm
The making of sourdough bread, like that of mayonnaise, is always invested with an unnecessary degree of difficulty.
First get your starter going. Keep it in an airtight box in the fridge and feed it every couple of weeks with flour and water.
When you want to make a loaf, take the starter out the night before and add a tablespoonful of the starter to roughly 175g flour and 75g water (1 third boiling water & 2 thirds at room temp will give you the correct temperature). There's no need to be very precise - you want a thickish dough but not too dry. Cover & leave overnight till it's active - full of bubbles and growing.
Use this Dan Lepard recipe- 300g white bread flour, 250g wholemeal, 50g rye flour, 10g salt, 250g of your sourdough ferment and 275g water.
Mix together and then knead for 10-15 seconds every 15 minutes. DL does this about 5 or 6 times but my bread usually gets 3, maybe 4 kneadings.
Spreads small amount of oil on the worksurface and knead onto that, so that the percentage of flour/water doesn't change.
Keep the dough in a covered bowl between kneadings and then let it rise in the bowl until roughly doubled in size. This depends very much on the ambient temperature; it can take just a few hours in summer or quite a few hours in winter.
When risen, shape into a loaf, put onto a floured tray and again leave to double in size. Spray with water, slash the top with a razorblade and bake in a hot oven for 40-50 mins. I use 240 deg C but I like a dark loaf. You can turn it down to 200 for the last 20 mins of cooking.
The important thing is not to believe all the myths about how hard it is to make sourdough; sure, it's slower and trickier than with bread yeast but you don't need greater skill; just more patience