Alright! So, you have established your starter, it's bubbly, smells sour, and you're ready to do some serious bread baking! I learned this recipe from Sourdough Schoolhouse which I referenced in my previous post on establishing a sourdough starter. Make sure you read the entire recipe and plan out your timing so that you're not stuck baking this bread in the middle of the night (I'm sure it's happened to someone!). I will also attach some *ROUGH* videos I made the other day to help you along in the process.
Don't forget to refer back to my Sourdough Starter post to refresh yourself on the vocabulary!
Here's a video to review feeding your starter:
The Belle Loaf
Step 1: Prepare your levain
The day before you want to bake bread, prepare your levain.
1. Weigh out 27 grams of starter from your jar and put it into a small plastic or glass bowl.
2. Add 135 grams flour and 135 grams water to the 27 grams of starter.
3. Mix together and cover with plastic wrap or plastic lid. Leave on the counter for 6-12 hours (I usually do this step in the evening so the levain is ready to use the next morning).
Step 2: Prepare ingredients, baking tools, and proofing bucket
Gather the following supplies:
-bucket (ice cream bucket with a lid works well)
-wooden spoon or scraper
-food scale
-flour
-milk (or milk alternative)
-sea salt
-Dutch Oven (or casserole dish with a lid)
Step 3: Mix the dough
Ingredients:
900 grams flour
495 grams warm water (around 75-80 F)
90 grams milk mixture (90 grams vegan milk option OR 80 grams water and 10 grams cow’s milk)
270 grams levain (the mixture you prepared the day before)
20 grams sea salt
Method:
1. Add the water/milk to your proofing bucket. Remove and reserve 25 grams of the liquid to add with the salt in about 30 minutes (after the autolyse).
2. Add the levain, then the flour. Mix until all the flour is hydrated – no dry bits.
3. Wait – rest – autolyse —> 30 minutes – 2 hours
Step 4: Bulk Fermentation (3-4 turns/folds over 4-5 hours)
This is the time from Step 3 to Step 6. The dough is developed with a series of turns/folds. The dough will be slimy and VERY wet! Don’t worry! This is how it is supposed to look.
1. Add the sea salt after the autolyse – 30 minutes and up to 2 hours, then do the first turn.
2. 1 hour later, turn dough again (2nd turn).
3. 1 to 1 ½ hours later, turn dough again (3rd turn).
4. Then, either move on to Step 5 if you’re running out of time or proceed to Step 6.
Timeline example:
Mix dough 8:00am —> Autolyse 8:30am —> 1st turn 9:30am —>
2nd turn 11:00am —> 3rd turn 12:30pm
Step 5: Delay Fermentation
If you are running out of time and want to do the rest of the recipe later choose one of the following options:
1. Bucket in the fridge (“I’ve run out of time and/or energy”)
2. Banneton in the fridge (“I don’t have time to finish the final rise”)
3. Final proof then fridge (“I want the best scoring/bread art”)
Only do step 5 if you’re out of time… if you are good to keep going then skip step 5 and go to step 6!
Step 6: Divide and Shape Dough
1. Divide the dough into two even balls of dough. Weigh it out to make sure they are equal.
2. Shape each ball of dough into a round shape.
3. Dust your bannetons (or rising bowls) with flour.
4. Place each ball of dough into a banneton.
Step 7: Final Proof —> 1-4 hours (depending on how warm it is in your house)
This is the last chance to optimize the rise in your dough. Choose a warm location (77-82F) for best results (warm your oven slightly, turn it off, and put your bannetons in the warm oven to rise). You are looking for a 25-30% increase in the size of your dough over the proofing period. If proofing in a warm oven, this should take ~ 1 hour and 45 minutes.
*Please excuse the lovely interruptions from my kids in this video*
Step 8: BAKE!
I bake mine a bit differently than the original recipe. This is my version:
1. Preheat oven to 500F.
2. Dust the tops of loaves with flour and transfer gently to Dutch Oven or casserole dishes.
3. Score loaves with a sharp knife or bread lame to create a pretty design as the bread bakes.
4. Load loaves into the oven and cover with lid. Reduce the temperature to 450F. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Remove lid and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes. (Watch the colour of the crust.)
6. To test for “done ness,” insert a food thermometer into the loaf. If it reads 205F then the bread is cooked through.
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