To me, not much tops the smell of baking bread. The aroma perfumes the whole house and brings the feelings of comfort and home. It says, "Rest. Stay awhile." You know when you bite into a piece of homemade bread that there is love, patience, time, and thought put into every bite. It makes me feel as if time slows, life simplified, all is well.
I recently began exploring the world of sourdough and, let me tell you, it is a labour of love. On baking day, my plans revolve around the bread's schedule and I like that because it forces me to slow down and not be so rushed or busy. It's therapeutic, pulling, stretching, mixing dough. It's different than any method of baking bread I have ever made and I'm happy to share my experience and some recipes with you here.
I participated in an online course by Sourdough Schoolhouse (local BC company!!), so the method to which I learned sourdough is their method. Here we go!
Vocabulary (Yes, sourdough has it's own language!)
Starter: Your “pet” that you feed daily (or once a week if keeping starter in the fridge for less frequent baking)
Levain: The mixture of starter, flour, and water you prepare in advance to be the leveaning agent for your bread.
Autolyse: The period of time the dough has a chance to produce natural yeast before salt is added. Salt slows the production and reproduction of yeast.
Fermentation: The period of time the dough rises and forms gluten strands it needs to rise and create structure to the dough.
Turn/Fold: This is where you stretch the dough during the fermenting process.
Delay Fermentation: If you need to bake later than planned, cool the dough in the fridge to slow the fermenting process.
Proof: The period of time where the dough does it’s final rise undisturbed in a warm location.
Proofing bucket: A large plastic bucket where the dough will do the fermenting.
Banneton: Basket that is designed for proofing dough.
Tare: A word used to zero out the food scale
Equipment:
-food scale (if you don’t have one, you can purchase one off of Amazon for $20)
-glass jar for sourdough starter
-glass jar for sourdough discard
-mixing bowls that are either glass or plastic
-scrapers or wooden spoons
-Dutch Oven (I don’t have a cast iron pot, so I just use a casserole dish...seems to work fine?)
-food thermometer
-bannetons (proofing baskets)
-bread lame (for creating art on the crust)
-bench scraper
-NO metal instruments of any kind can come into contact with the sourdough starter and dough… it kills the yeast that you are creating in your starter
Homegrown Sourdough Starter:
I developed my starter from scratch. To do this I weighed out 50g of flour and 50g of water and mixed them together with a wooden spoon in a glass jar. This is the foundation of your sourdough "pet." Don't forget to name it! Treat it well and as part of the family and it will do amazing things for you (seriously). Our starter is named Gertrude (or Gertie for short). Have fun with naming your starter (and PLEASE tell me the names you come up with).
OK! So you've established your starter. Now what? Leave it out on the counter and feed it twice a day. Here's how to feed your starter and get it established:
Scrape out almost all of the starter so that there is only a small starter "seed" left in the jar (about 10%). Put the starter discard into a separate jar or container; you will be able to do all kinds of baking with the discard, so don't feel like you're being wasteful (it's really resourceful!). Keep the discard jar in the fridge.
To the starter seed (aka Gertrude), weigh out 50g flour and 50g water. Mix with a non-metal utensil, cover the jar, and let it stay out on the counter.
Remember to do this twice a day, initially, for about 7-10 days. By around the 7 day mark your starter should be considered active and will have bubbles rising to the top each day and should also have a sour smell. The purpose for this is to create a yeast culture by capturing it in the jar and letting it eat, grow, and multiply.
By this point, your starter is ready to bake with. But before we get into that here are a couple steps for maintaining a healthy starter after the initial 7-10 day period.
Maintaining Your Starter:
If you keep your starter on the counter (recommended for more frequent baking):
1. Once a day, feed your starter. Begin by scraping out and discarding most of your starter, so you have that 10% seed left. You can use the discard to bake buns, scones, pancakes, waffles… there is no limit! Keep the discard in the fridge. With the remaining starter, feed 50g of flour and 50g of water. Mix with a wooden spoon or scraper. Seal with a plastic lid or plastic wrap.
2. If you want to build your starter faster, feed 50g flour and 50g water twice a day. Make sure you discard half the starter before adding more flour and water. This will help your starter bulk up if you're planning on sharing your starter or baking multiple loaves close together.
If you keep your starter in the fridge (for less frequent baking):
1. Discard down to the 10% seed. Feed the remaining starter 50g flour and 50g water once a week.
2. Before baking, you will need to reactivate your starter by feeding it and leaving it on the counter to come to room temperature (2-3 hours).
Well, I think I will end this post here and continue with a recipe I learned from Sourdough Schoolhouse called the Belle Loaf.
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