Artisan Sourdough Bread

I have been asked to share my sourdough bread recipe.

The Starter

I use a very simple starter.  Put a couple spoons of flour in a glass mason jar.  Trickle water into the jar and stir until the mixture resembles thick pancake batter.  Add a spoonful of flour and a trickle of water every morning and evening until it starts to bubble and smell yeasty.  The longer you have the starter, the more stable it will become.  An even easier method is to ask a friend to give you a small amount of their already-potent starter.

I improvise a breathable cap by discarding the round lid insert and screwing the lid ring over a paper towel (you could also use cheesecloth for something more durable).  I put the starter on my counter where I will see it and remember to feed it twice a day.

Because my starter only grows by 2 spoonfuls of flour a day, it is very simple to maintain.  When I use my starter, I only use ½ at a time, which is easy to replenish over the course of a couple days.  If you have a recipe that requires more starter, you can build it up by feeding it more for a day or two before you bake.  My starter is pretty hardy, so if I miss 1-2 feedings it will be OK.  But if I will be gone for a longer period of time, I put it in the fridge, in which case it slows down and won’t need to eat for about a week.

The Recipe

My starter makes an excellent hearty, free-form artisan loaf.  I do not have a good recipe for soft, sandwich-type loaves or rolls yet.   That is still in research and development.

Equipment:

Large bowl (I use a stainless steel bowl)

Dry and liquid measuring cups

Rubber spatula

Plastic shower cap (they have food-grade versions next to the plastic wrap in the grocery store)

Pizza paddle or baking sheet without a rim

Pizza or baking stone for the oven

Lid to large roaster pan (foil turkey pan would probably work)

Long serrated bread knife

Dry Ingredients:

1 Cup unbleached white all-purpose flour

1 Cup whole wheat flour

¼ Cup old fashioned rolled oats (for more chewy texture) OR ¼ Cup cornmeal (for more crunchy texture)

½ Tablespoon coarse salt

½ - 1 Tablespoon sugar (you can use honey or maple syrup instead and add to liquid ingredients)

1 Tablespoon seeds (you can use chia, flax, or even quinoa) – optional, for texture

Cornmeal for sprinkling on pizza paddle

Wet Ingredients:

½ Cup “wet” starter – I add water to my mason jar of starter until it is the consistency of thin pancake or crepe batter, pour ½ Cup into a liquid measuring cup, and then feed my remaining starter a spoon or two of flour to get it back to its resting consistency (thick pancake batter).

1 egg (optional)

Water – to make a total of 1 ¼ - 1 ½ Cups liquid

½ Tablespoon olive oil or melted butter (keep in reserve)

Instructions:

1.       Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. 

2.       Mix liquid ingredients except oil / butter in a liquid measuring cup.  Add enough water to the liquid ingredients to make a total of 1 ¼ - 1 ½ cups liquid.  More liquid will make the dough stickier and floppier but you will get a more dramatic rise and bigger holes in the bread.  Less liquid will make the dough easier to handle but the texture will be finer.  I try for something middle of the road.

3.      Use a rubber spatula to mix liquids into dry ingredients.  Stir with the spatula until the dough starts to come together into a sticky ball (it will be sticky, that’s why I use a spatula to stir and scrape the sides).

4.      Once the dough has come together, pour the oil or melted butter into the bowl and turn the dough ball with the spatula a couple times so that it is well coated (no need to stir the oil into the dough itself).

5.      Cover the dough with a plastic shower cap and let it sit out overnight.

6.      In the morning, sprinkle a pizza paddle or similar flat surface with cornmeal. 

7.      Use your hands to scrape the risen dough ball out of the bowl and make a rough, round loaf shape.  This takes some practice, especially if your dough is super sticky.  You can wet, grease or flour your hands so they don’t stick as bad.  Place the loaf on the pizza paddle covered with cornmeal (so it doesn’t stick to the paddle).

8.      Put a baking stone in the bottom of your oven and preheat to 450 degrees.  This will take a while, so your dough will have a nice rest during this time. 

9.      When the oven is ready, carefully slide your dough off the pizza paddle and onto the hot baking stone.  Cover immediately with the lid to the large roaster (I like to use that because it has a handle).

10.   After about 15 minutes, remove the roaster lid.  Keep an eye on the dough as it bakes.  You should remove after another 10-15 minutes when it is toasty golden brown all over (wait for the rich color).  You can remove the loaf by using a metal spatula to slide it back onto the pizza paddle.

11.   Let sit as long as you can stand it, so that the interior finishes baking and isn’t gummy.  Cut with a long serrated knife.  Store cut-side down on the pizza paddle at room temperature.

Variations:

My kids prefer the plain version (picture above) or the cheesy version.  But I personally like the festive versions with nuts and fruit.

Add 1 Cup grated cheese + 1 thin sliced green onion to dry ingredients for cheesy bread.

Add 1 – 2 Cups nuts or dried fruit to dry ingredients and sprinkle with sparking sugar right before baking for festive bread.

Add ¼ Cup pumpkin puree to liquid ingredients (before adding water) and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar right before baking for pumpkin bread.  This version is also nice with dried cranberries added to the dry ingredients (picture below).