Basic But Beautiful Sourdough Bread Recipes

THE BEST BEGINNER SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the starter and water.
• Stir in the flour, and then add the salt.
• Use a fork to mix everything together until it becomes stiff- then switch to your hands to bring the dough together in a rough ball (Remember: don't overmix! This is supposed to be a no-knead-style wet dough.)
• Keep the rough dough in the bowl, cover it, and let sit for 30 minutes.
• After this resting time is complete, stretch and fold the dough a few times to form it into a ball. (See the video for a walk-through on how to do this.)
• Cover the dough with a clean dish towel and let it rise in a warm place overnight or until doubled in size (or about 8 hours). I like to make the dough before bed and leave it in my turned-off oven (I leave the oven light on) to rise overnight.
• The next morning (or after 8 hours), turn the dough out on your counter. Fold it over a couple of times to tighten it into a ball, then let sit for 15 minutes.
• After this resting period is complete, gently shape the dough into a ball once more place into a well-floured proofing basket or a bowl lined with a well-floured dish towel. Remember: don't add too much flour and do not knead the dough!
• Cover and rise for 2-3 hours, or until doubled.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal in the bottom of a Dutch oven (optional, but this helps the bottom not to scorch).
• Tip the loaf out of the proofing basket onto a sheet of parchment. Lower the parchment into the Dutch oven.
• Place the lid on the pot and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the lid and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until the loaf is deeply browned and crispy on top. (For a less crusty finish, bake for the entire time with the lid on.)
• Move to a cooling rack and allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing it.

EASY SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients in the bowl and stir until it is a chunky, loosely combined dough.
• Dump the dough onto a work surface and knead the dough with your hands until the dough is smooth. (Essentially, you are massaging the dough by stretching and pushing. This will help develop the gluten.) At this stage, it will be wet and sticky. Don't add more flour or your finished bread will be dense and heavy. The dough will stick to your hands and feel messy but if you get your hands wet it won't stick as easily.
• Place the dough into an oiled bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a towel and let it sit at room temperature for 3 to 6 hours (see notes) or in the refrigerator overnight. (A longer proof time in the fridge will give the bread a more tangy, sourdough flavor.)
• Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knock the air out of it then form it into a round ball. (See notes)
• Place the ball of dough into a proofing basket or any container that is the shape that you want your bread to be shaped. (See notes)
• Let the dough rise again a second time for 3 to 6 hours** at room temperature until doubled in size. (Or you could let it rise in the fridge overnight for 12 to 15 hours-see notes).
• Pre-heat the oven to 450°F. When the oven is hot, tip the loaf of bread into a dutch oven or onto a baking sheet. Make a slash in the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

BASIC BUT BEAUTIFUL SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Pour the sponge in a bowl and add the sugar, salt and oil or margarine.
• Mix well and then knead in the flour a half-cup at a time.
• Knead in enough flour to make a good, flexible bread dough- you may use slightly more or less than the three cups indicated, depending on how runny your starter is.
• Just keep adding until it looks like any other bread dough.
• You can add the flour by hand, with an electric mixer, a bread machine on dough cycle or a food processor.
• Find a warm place and let the dough rise, covered loosely by a towel (I use my airing cupboard but a slightly warm oven works well too-- don't keep it on, just turn it on for a moment to warm it up before turning it off and putting the dough in).
• If you're using a bread machine's dough cycle, let it rise in the machine.
• Note that sourdough rises more slowly than yeast bread.
• Just let it keep going until it's doubled in bulk.
• Punch the dough down and knead it a little more.
• Make a loaf and place it on a lightly greased baking sheet.
• Slit the top if you like, and cover the loaf with a paper towel and place it in a warm place to rise again, until doubled in bulk.
• Place the pan with the loaf in your oven, and then turn your oven to 350 F or 190 C and bake the bread for 30-45 minutes.
• Do not preheat the oven.
• The loaf is done when the crust is brown and the bottom sounds hollow when thumped with a wooden spoon.
• Turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack or a towel and let it cool for an hour before slicing.

BASIC ALL PURPOSE SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• See the videos and photos above for target dough consistency, expansion during the rising periods, and shaping and scoring techniques.
• Early in the day, build 100g sourdough starter by feeding 30g starter with 35g flour and 35g water. Allow this to ripen over the next 3-6 hours. When the starter is at least double in size, it is ready to use in your dough.
• Mix the dough ingredients together in a large bowl. Cover, let the dough sit for about 15 minutes, and then stretch and fold the dough, forming it into a smooth ball.
• Cover the dough and let it rise (bulk ferment) until it has almost doubled in size. At warm temps (low 80s) my dough doubled in 4 hours. Colder dough may need twice or more that time.
• Flour your work surface and scrape your dough out of the bowl and onto the flour.
• Shape your dough into a boule, sandwich loaf, or whatever shape you prefer.
• While the dough rests on it's seam for a minute or so, flour your proofing basket. If you don't have a proofing basket, you can use a colander or bowl lined with a well-floured tea towel. If using a loaf pan, oil it or line it with parchment paper.
• Place the dough in your proofing basket seam-side up, or in your loaf pan seam-side down.
• Cover and let the dough rise again (final proof) for about 30 minutes at room temperature and then refrigerate the dough overnight (8-16 hours). You can also leave the dough at room temperature for longer (1-2 hours) and then bake it without the refrigeration stage. For baking in a loaf pan, let the dough rise almost completely before refrigerating it (1-2 hours) or bake it same-day.
• Artisan Style Bread Baking Instructions
• Preheat your oven and baking vessel at 500F for 30 minutes.
• Flip the dough out of the proofing basket and onto a sheet of parchment paper or the base of your hot baking vessel, score, cover, and return the vessel to the oven.
• If your baking vessel is a ceramic cloche, bake at:
• 500°F for 20 minutes, lid on
• 450°F for 5 minutes, lid on
• 450°F for 5-10 minutes, lid off
• If your baking vessel is cast iron, bake at:
• 500°F for 15 minutes lid on and then place a baking sheet under the cast iron on the same shelf
• 450°F for 10 minutes, lid on
• 450°F for 5-10 minutes, lid off
• When baking is complete, the bread should have an internal temperature of at least 205F and it should sound hollow when you knock on the bottom of the loaf.
• Loaf Pan Baking Instructions
• Preheat your oven to 375F for about 15 minutes.
• Brush the top of the dough with water and place it in the oven on the middle shelf.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes, turning the pan halfway if the bread is browning unevenly. To firm up the bottom and sides of the loaf, take it out of the loaf pan for the last 5-10 minutes.
• When baking is complete, the bread should have an internal temperature of at least 200F.
• Brush the still-warm crust with butter or oil to keep it soft.
• Ideally, these loaves should cool for about 2 hours before slicing but I completely understand if you want to dive right into your steaming bread.