White Sourdough Recipes

WHITE SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• Make the levain the night before, just before going to bed. Combine the levain ingredients in a bowl with 80g of water and beat until smooth. Cover with clingfilm and leave overnight, at room temperature, until the mixture is bubbly.
• The next morning, combine the strong white flour and rye or spelt flour in a large bowl, and make a well in the centre. Add the levain and 300ml of cool water.
• Mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon for a couple of minutes until thoroughly combined and no lumps remain. Cover and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes to let the flour absorb the water and become hydrated.
• Grind 15g sea salt in a pestle and mortar and add to the dough. Using wet hands, mix to combine, then turn out onto a clean work surface and knead for 10 minutes using the 'slap and fold' technique: pick up the dough in both hands, flip it and slap it onto the work surface, letting the full weight of it drop - the dough will stick to the surface. Working quickly, pull and stretch the dough from the far end towards you, then fold it in half away from you. Pick up the dough again, turn it anti-clockwise, and repeat. Continue this action for 10 to 15 minutes - the dough will be silky smooth, elastic and no longer sticky. Do not be tempted to add more flour during the kneading process.
• With the help of the bench scraper, scoop the dough up and return it to the bowl, rounded-side-up. Cover loosely with clingfilm or a shower cap and leave at room temperature, in a draught-free spot, for about 1 hour, or until the dough looks smooth and airy but has not risen significantly.
• Lightly dust your hands and work surface with flour. Turn out the dough, gently press and stretch it into a rectangle three times as long as it is wide, about 12cm x 40cm.
• With a shorter side closest to you, fold the lower third into the middle, then fold the upper third over the top, giving you a triple-layered square of dough. Rotate it 90 degrees, stretch it out into a rectangle again and repeat the folding steps once more.
• Flip the square of dough over, place it back in the bowl and cover loosely with clingfilm or a shower cap. Leave to prove at room temperature for 4 hours.
• Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Pull the top edge into the centre, turn the dough a quarter of a turn and repeat - do this 5 or 6 times until it becomes smooth. Flip it over, cover with an upturned bowl and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Place the rice flour in a bowl with an extra tablespoon of strong flour. Line a banneton or proving basket with a clean linen towel and dust with the flour mixture - this ensures that the dough won't stick to the sides of the basket.
• Use the palms of your hands to shape the dough into a tight round, seam-side down. Twist the dough anti-clockwise, without lifting it or knocking out any air - you want to keep the ball neat and tight. Dust with flour and use the bench scraper to lift and turn it over.
• Place in the basket, seam-side-up, cover with a shower cap and leave to prove at room temperature for 4 hours, by which time it will have risen by nearly half again.
• Place the basket of dough in the fridge overnight to prove. The next morning, the dough should be almost to the top of the basket and, when pressed with the tip of your finger, will slowly bounce back, leaving a small indent.
• Preheat the oven to 240ºC/475ºF/gas 9 and place a cloche baking dome, Dutch oven or large, lidded cast-iron casserole dish inside. Leave the oven to heat up for 30 minutes or so.
• Remove the dough from the fridge, dust with semolina or polenta and carefully turn out the loaf into the cloche or casserole. Working quickly, use a lame to slash a pattern into the top of the loaf. Cover with the lid and bake for 40 minutes, then remove the cover, reduce the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7 and bake for another 20 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

WHITE SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• On day 1, combine 30g wheat sourdough starter with 150g strong white wheat flour and 150g water. Mix well, cover and keep at room temperature for about 12 hours.
• On day 2, combine 300g of the sourdough from earlier (the rest i.e. 30g of it goes back into the fridge for your next bake), 435g strong white bread flour, 260g water and 9g salt to form a dough and knead for 10 minutes.
• Place the dough back into the bowl, cover with a lid or polythene bag and leave to rest for about 2 hours at room temperature until it has visibly expanded.
• Punch down the dough, give it another quick knead, then shape it into a loaf and place seam-side up into a pre-floured proving basket. Cover with a polythene bag to prevent the dough from drying out.
• I tend to prove my sourdough breads in the fridge overnight as it fits in better with my daily routine. Whether you're proving in the fridge (I proved the loaf for 24 hours) or at room temperature (the time it takes will vary and may take as little as 2 or up to 7 hours), make sure your sourdough loaf has almost doubled in size before you bake it.
• I bake with a La Cloche baking dome for an extra crunchy crust and moist crumb. If you don't have a La Cloche baking dome, turn out the loaf onto a baking tray lined with baking paper once you have preheated the oven to 220°C. Bake for 10 minutes at 220°C and at 200°C for a further 30 minutes. If using the La Cloche, take off the domed lid for the final 10 minutes.
• Cool on a wire rack and enjoy the deliciousness of this white sourdough loaf. It's great toasted too!

WHITE SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• Day 1:To begin your starter, mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water in a jar or, better still, a plastic container. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for 24 hrs.
• Day 2:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 3:Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 4:You should start to see some activity in the mixture now; there should be some bubbles forming and bubbling on top. Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into yesterday's mixture. Make sure all the flour is incorporated and leave, semi-uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hrs.
• Day 5:The mixture should be very active now and ready for making your levain. If it's not bubbling, continue to feed it on a daily basis until it does. When it's ready, it should smell like yogurt.
• You now have a starter, which is the base to the bread. You'll need to look after it, but naming is optional! Keep it in the fridge (it will stay dormant) and 24 hrs before you want to use it, pour half of it off and feed it with 100g flour and 100g water. Leave it at room temperature and it should become active again. The longer the starter has been dormant, the more times it will need to be refreshed - the process of pouring off half the starter and replacing it with new flour and water - to reactivate. If your starter is ready to use, a teaspoonful of the mixture should float in warm water.
• For the levainMix 1 tbsp of the starter with 100g flour and 100g water (this is the same process as feeding the starter, but you should do this in a new, separate bowl, keeping the original starter as back-up, as this is the mixture you'll use to bake your bread). Leave the levain for 8 hrs at room temperature until it becomes active. When ready, a teaspoonful of the mixture should float in warm water.
• For the breadPour 600g tepid water into the levain and stir with a rubber spatula to mix together - don't worry if there are unmixed bits of levain. Tip in the flour and mix everything together with a rubber spatula to make a rough dough, ensuring all the flour is incorporated evenly and that there are no dry bits up the side of the bowl. Cover and leave somewhere warm for at least 30 mins, or up to 4 hrs.
• Sprinkle over the salt and add 50g water to the dough. Pinch and scrunch the salt and water through the dough with your hands. If the dough goes stringy (like old chewing gum), just keep working it until it's one smooth texture. Leave for another 15 mins.
• Wet your hands, grab the dough from one side and stretch it over itself, then repeat with the other side. This stretching technique helps develop the gluten. Pick the dough up and curl it around onto itself, then cover and leave for another 20-30 mins. Repeat this process two more times (three in total), then leave the dough for another 2-3 hrs until it's risen by about 30% and looks bubbly and soft.
• Using a rubber spatula, scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and split in two. Fold each piece onto itself to create a ball, then leave uncovered for 30 mins. The dough balls will spread during this time.
• Dust two bread-proving baskets generously with flour. Scrape one of the balls of dough off the work surface, then fold it onto itself to create a tight ball that's trapped in all the air. Lift the ball into a basket, seam-side up, then transfer to the fridge to chill overnight, or for up to 18 hrs. Repeat with the other dough ball.
• Heat the oven to 240C/220C fan/gas 9 and put a lidded casserole dish in the oven to heat. Cut a sheet of baking parchment into a square slightly larger than the base of one of the loaves. Carefully remove the hot casserole dish from the oven and remove the lid. Invert one loaf onto the baking parchment, then, working quickly, score the top at an angle. Use the corners of the parchment to lift the loaf into the casserole dish. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 mins, then carefully uncover and continue to bake for another 10 mins (or longer for a darker finish). Carefully lift the bread out of the dish using a spatula, transfer to a wire rack and leave to cool to room temperature before slicing. Repeat with the second loaf.

BASIC SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Before measuring out your 2 cups of starter culture, it must be proofed: To proof, I usually start with 1 cup of starter and stir into it equal parts of flour and warm water (for this recipe, 1 1/2 cups of each would be more than enough).
• Let mixture sit, covered loosely, for 8 to 12 hours-- the longer it sits, the sourer the flavor will be.
• At this point, measure out the 2 cups required for recipe, and return leftover starter to refrigerator for next time.
• Pour starter into mixing bowl.
• Melt butter (microwave works well).
• Add milk to butter and warm briefly (85 degrees F).
• Add the salt and sugar, stir until dissolved.
• Add this mixture to the culture and mix well.
• Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring until the dough is too stiff to mix by hand.
• Turn onto floured board and knead in the remaining flour until the dough is smooth and satiny.
• Pat dough into a 1-inch thick oval and form loaf by rolling oval up from the long side, pinching the seam together as you roll the dough, tucking ends to form the loaf.
• Place in lightly greased loaf pan (I spray with cooking spray), and let rise, covered, at 85 degrees F for 1 1/2 to 3 hours.
• When the dough rises 1 to 2 inches above the edges of pan, it is ready to bake.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake an additional 30 to 40 minutes (baking time varies according to your oven and your personal taste--some like a darker crustier bread than others).
• Remove loaf from oven and brush the top lightly with melted butter; turn loaf out of the pan and cool on wire rack.
• If you prefer, you can shape this into a round or oval loaf and bake on a baking sheet.