Sourdough Bread
This was my first loaf of sourdough, after making my own sourdough starter. The flavor is amazing, the crumb is perfect, and the crust is thick and shatters when you bite into it. Ahh. The only problem I had was that it didn’t rise as much as I’d expected it to.
This is a recipe for a high hydration dough (wetter), which produces more air pockets in the final bread. A dryer dough will produce smaller air pockets but will rise more.
Read on and try making your own with your sourdough starter. It’s very simple to manage and makes incredibly flavorful bread.
Sourdough Bread (from Serious Eats blog)
Ingredients:
- 4 oz. sourdough starter + 2 oz. bread flour + 1 oz water mixed together and covered to sit overnight. This is your prepared starter
- 8 oz. bread flour
- 4 oz. water
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
1. Make your prepared starter the night before. Add 4 oz. of sourdough starter to 2 oz. of bread flour and 1 oz. of water. Mix well and cover to sit overnight in room temperature. The next morning the starter should smell deliciously sourdoughy and look thick and bubbly like this:
1. Combine the flour, starter, and water in a bowl or a KitchenAid with a dough hook attachment. Knead a few minutes until elastic. Then add the salt and oil and knead with the dough hook until combined.
2. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand until very elastic.
3. Although the dough will be sticky, shape it into a ball and coat it with flour so it’s manageable. Put it in a bowl or large pot, drizzle with olive oil, and cover.
4. After 2 or 3 hours, the dough will have doubled in size:
5. After this first rise, shape the dough to your desired shape and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. cover with flour or cornmeal to keep it from sticking. Then cover with an inverted glass bowl and allow to rise for another 1-2 hours. Preheat the oven to 350º. Score the top of the bread.
6. Score the top and bake in an oven preheated to 350º for 40-45 minutes until crust is browned and hard. Allow to cool FULLY (an hour or two) before cutting into it. If you cut into it prematurely, it will be gummy on the inside.
