Olive Semi Sourdough Boule Recipes

SOURDOUGH BOULE

Steps:

• Mix the flour and 1 1/2 cups of the water in a large bowl until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl with a lid or plate and let stand until the flour absorbs the water, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Add the sourdough starter, salt and remaining 3 tablespoons water to the dough. Squeeze and twist with your hands until a sticky dough forms (it will be soupy at first, but continue mixing). Knead the dough in the bowl by scooping under the dough, stretching it up and twisting it while you rotate the bowl a quarter turn; slap down the dough and repeat. Continue kneading until the dough smooths out and pulls away from the bowl, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with a lid. Let rest in a warm place, 30 minutes.
• Uncover the dough. Gently reach under the dough with a wet hand, stretch it up as far as it will go without tearing, then fold the dough over itself. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat three times; this is a set of turns. Do another set of turns, then re-cover the bowl and return to a warm place to rest, 30 minutes.
• Do two sets of turns every 30 minutes until the dough has increased in size by one-third and has large bubbles in spots, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 more hours, covering the bowl after each time. After the last set of turns, cover the bowl and let the dough rest another 30 minutes.
• Turn out the dough onto a generously floured work surface. Slide a bench scraper or large spatula underneath and fold the dough in half. Cup floured hands around the dough and gently roll it in a circular motion into a taut ball. Let rest, uncovered, 20 minutes (the dough will flatten a little).
• Line a medium bowl with a clean lint-free towel and dust generously with flour. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour, then slide a bench scraper or large spatula underneath and flip it over. Working gently to not deflate the dough, pull each of the four "sides" of the dough up and into the center, folding the last side to cover the whole top of the dough. Roll the dough over so the seams are on the bottom. Slide a bench scraper or large spatula underneath and gently invert the dough into the towel-lined bowl with the seam up. Cover loosely with the overhanging towel. Let rest in the refrigerator, at least 8 hours and up to 18 hours.
• About 30 minutes before baking, place a 10- to 11-inch Dutch oven with a lid in the middle of the oven and place a baking stone or large cast-iron skillet on the bottom rack to absorb the heat; preheat to 450˚ F. Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and uncover. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, uncover and lay a large round of parchment on top. Invert the dough onto the parchment. Carefully lower the dough (on the parchment) into the hot Dutch oven. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, make a few 1/4- to 1/2-inch-deep cuts in the top so that the dough can expand.
• Transfer the pot to the oven; cover with the lid. Bake until the bread has risen and the crust is pale, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the crust is browned and crisp and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 210˚ F, 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pot, then transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.

SOURDOUGH BOULES

Steps:

• Levain: On day 1 at night, mix together starter, flour, and water in a large bowl. Cover with a damp kitchen towel or a large plate and let stand at room temperature 10 to 12 hours.
• Dough: On day 2 in the morning, make an autolyze: Add 525 grams (2 1/4 cups) water to levain, stirring to dissolve. Stir in flour, using a rubber scraper and then your hands to fully incorporate. (Autolyze should not feel too wet or sticky; if it does, add more flour. Err on the side of a drier dough, especially as you will be adding more water later.) Cover bowl with a damp kitchen towel; let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.
• Dissolve salt in remaining 50 grams water (about 1/4 cup). Incorporate into dough by squeezing it in with your hands. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.
• With dampened hands, grab underside of dough, stretch it out, and fold it back over itself. Rotate bowl one quarter-turn and repeat 6 more times. Cover and let stand 30 minutes. Repeat process 5 more times, letting dough stand 30 minutes between each. After final folding, dough should be soft and elastic; let rest 30 minutes more (this step should take about 3 1/2 hours total).
• Turn rested dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into two pieces with a bench scraper or a sharp knife. Using your hands, shape each into a loose round, rotating as you go. Let stand about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, flour 2 banneton baskets or kitchen-towel-lined bowls.
• With floured hands, fold edges of dough into center to create a tighter bundle: Start by folding edge closest to you in toward center. Then fold in sides, as if creating an envelope; finally, fold top edge down. Flip dough seam-side down. Using both hands, and keeping the sides of your hands in contact with work surface, cup side of dough farthest from you and gently drag it down toward your body in a half-circle motion, simultaneously using the side of your hand to tuck edges under dough round. (This will create tension on the outside of the dough, which is necessary to maintain the shape of the finished loaf.) Continue rotating and dragging until dough is taut, smooth, and uniformly round, 3 to 4 more turns.
• Use bench scraper to gently transfer shaped round to a prepared banneton or bowl, seam-side up. Repeat with second piece of dough and banneton. Cover with damp kitchen towels and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.
• On day 3, line a 6-quart or larger Dutch oven with a square of parchment (to prevent dough from sticking to bottom) and cover with lid. Place in oven on lower rack and preheat to 500°F. Meanwhile, take dough out of refrigerator. (It does not have to return all the way to room temperature.)
• Invert one dough, seam-side down, into preheated Dutch oven (or first into your hands to round it out, then into Dutch oven). Use a bread lame, razor, or knife to score top of loaf. Drop a couple of ice cubes on top (optional), cover, and bake 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 450°F; bake 10 minutes. Remove lid and bake until crust is dark golden brown and boule sounds hollow when tapped, 15 to 25 minutes more.
• Remove from oven; transfer loaf to a wire rack and let cool completely. Let Dutch oven cool 10 minutes before cleaning it out and repeating entire process with second loaf. (If you have two Dutch ovens, you can bake both loaves at the same time.) Cooled loaves last about 2 to 3 days, well-wrapped at room temperature. Or cut them into quarters or slice, place in freezer bags, and freeze up to 1 month.

OLIVE ROSEMARY SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• Mixing and Bulk Fermentation
• Thoroughly mix the flours, water, starter, and salt in a bowl that has enough room for the dough to double in size.
• Add the olives and rosemary and continue mixing until they're evenly distributed. Note the level of the dough and the time. Cover the dough and let it rest on your counter for 30 minutes.
• With damp fingertips, stretch and fold the dough, lifting the edges of one side of the dough and folding it over to the other side. Go around the bowl 2 to 3 times, stretching and folding, and stop when the dough feels tighter. Cover and let the dough rest again for 30 minutes.
• Perform three more rounds of stretching and folding as in step 2, separated by 30-minute rests.
• When the dough has almost doubled in size and the surface is puffy and bubbly, end the bulk fermentation. Depending mostly on temperature, this will likely be 6 to 10 hours from mixing.
• Pre-Shaping, Bench Rest, and Shaping
• Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a well-floured countertop and pre-shape it into a ball.
• Cover the dough with your inverted mixing bowl and let it bench rest for about 20 minutes.
• Flour the top of the dough and use your bench knife to flip it onto the floured side. Shape the dough into the appropriate shape for your baking vessel.
• Final Proof
• Let your shaped dough rest on its seam while you flour your proofing basket, then place the dough in the basket seam-side up.
• Cover the basket and let the dough rise for another 1 to 3 hours for the final proof. The dough will expand in the basket but not double in size. If you want to bake much later, you can do the final proof in the refrigerator for 10 to 12 hours and bake the dough directly from the cold.
• Baking and Storage
• Before the end of the final proof, preheat your oven and baking vessel for 30 minutes at 500°F (or 450°F if that is the heat limit of your baking vessel).
• Remove your dough from the refrigerator, flip it out of the basket onto a piece of parchment paper, and score the top of your dough.
• Transfer the parchment and dough to the base of your baking vessel, cover, and return the vessel to the oven.
• Bake for 20 minutes and then drop the oven temperature to 450°F. After another 10 minutes, take off the lid, and after another 5 to 10 minutes, remove the bread from the oven. The internal temperature should be 205°F or higher.
• Let the bread cool on a rack for about 2 hours before slicing.
• Store the bread cut-side down on your cutting board with a cloth over it. Slice and freeze after 3 to 4 days.

SOURDOUGH BOULE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine starter with warm water. Beat at medium speed until combined (about 3 minutes). Add remaining ingredients, beating at medium speed until a soft dough forms. (If the dough appears too dry and crumbly, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) The dough should come together as one mass and should appear shaggy and feel sticky.
• Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl. Cover and let stand in a warm, draft-free place (75°) for 1 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
• Turn risen dough out onto a lightly oiled surface and deflate it to remove excess gas and air.
• Pull the four corners of the dough into the center, pinching with your fingertips to create a seal. Flip the dough over and begin to tighten the round by cupping your palms around the dough while rotating it.
• Line a bowl (approximately 6 to 8 inches in diameter) with a clean kitchen towel, dusted generously with flour. Place the loaf, seam-side up, in the bowl. Cover and proof in a warm, draft-free place (75°) for 1 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 450. Turn the dough out into a cast-iron vessel with a lid, such as a Dutch oven. Dust the boule with semolina flour and score, using a sharp knife (or a lame) to make 3 or 4, ¼-inch-deep cuts across the top.
• Cover and bake for 35 minutes. Increase the temperature to 475, remove the lid, and continue baking for 10-15 minutes, until loaf is deeply browned. Turn out onto a rack and let cool completely before slicing.

OLIVE SEMI - SOURDOUGH BOULE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, potato flour, yeast, fennel seed and basil.
• Add the sourdough starter, water, oil and honey.
• Begin kneading with the dough hook on low speed.
• Knead for 10 minutes, then add the olives and knead 2 minutes more.
• Cover and let rest 45 minutes.
• Stir down and scrape into a bowl lined with a well-floured tea towel or a round brotform.
• Cover and let rest 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450F and place a pan of hot water on the lowest rack.
• Place a greased baking sheet over the loaf in the bowl and flip out. Remove the towel.
• Slash the top of the loaf 3-4 times and place in the oven.
• Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 400F and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the pan of water and continue baking for 30 minutes longer.
• Slide immediately onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.