How committed are you?
Get ready to know much more that you want to, for we are about to enter ;
SOURDOUGH TERRAIN
This little single cell organism can change your world! It’s not much different than a child … it needs food, water, air, and warmth. If treated well it can, and will, flourish. If neglected, you will end up with a brown lifeless blob of paste!
I will not get into how to start your own….thats a time sink. King Arthur sells sourdough and it is what I used to start The Good Loaf or you can send a message to me and I will put some aside for you.
An active Sourdough will need to be fed every 8 hours. If you have no plans to bake with it , it can go in your fridge and be left alone for over a week. You should refresh it to keep it healthy though once a week. There are so many acronyms for this hard working creature; mother, madre, levian… all the same thing.
If you’re still eating bread, it’s better for your gut health, as it pre-digests the grain and has healthy bacteria.
Genevive is obsessed with it and has me putting it in everything. I had a moment of “bakery tourettes” when she convinced me to make brioche, a very temperamental dough that can fail if the stars are not aligned . But we did it and they were beautiful.
I fought her on making bread at home for months… I was accustomed to making 200 loaves not 2. Im now grateful that I lost. There is a sense of satisfaction that comes with devoting at least 8 hours on food … it simply makes it taste better… and let’s no forget the smell! When I had The Good Loaf … customers would joke that they wish I could bottle that smell and sell it.
This sourdough formula is a straight sourdough. The beauty of this is you can add anything to it… fruit, nuts, herbs, seeds. Some of those ingredients may absorb water so you will need to make an adjustment for that...and speaking of water, the finesse of making a beautiful and delicious loaf is a balancing act. I use to preach to my bakers... water is free! The more you use the more loaves you will have and the cost of your loaves will go down. The balance is too much and it becomes more difficult to work and will struggle to rise. On the other extreme too little water and the loaf will look great but who wants to eat sawdust? In the dead of winter when you have alligator skin, you are not the only thing that is dry... all your ingredients are as well . In the summer as you perspire and feel soggy so goes your ingredients . Enough said?
On to the next big, important topic; autolyse.... good bread is all about patience. The purpose of this technique is to let the culture, flour, and water find each other without salt (salt and yeast are not friends) you mix it just enough to incorporate those 3 ingredients. Then you stop and let it sit for 20-30 min
A great time to feed the dog, do some housework, or google a simpler recipe.
The other dark secret to good bread is time and temperature. If you’re in our home you better be sporting a fleece, and the dough is chilly. On the other hand, if you go to my friends house where she keeps the temperature at 75 degrees for her mom... this procedure will be much faster. Culture and bacteria love warmth! Science 101. There is a desired dough temperature for every loaf so be sure to have a thermometer. In the case of sourdough it’s 77 degrees.
Are you still willing to hang in there?
If you are still with me at this point you have stamina.... if you gave up... you’re not reading this.
....I need to stop and take a moment. I think at this point it fairly obvious that I have an abundance of passion for bread. This didn’t not come out of nowhere. Jeffrey Hamelman , my mentor, can romance bread in a classroom to the point that you feel like your watching Casablanca . I’m so grateful for his knowledge and love for a trade that requires such devotion. .... ok back to why you are here...
After the autolyse ,... add in your salt, mix on low for 2-3 min, and then medium for 3-4 min. The goal at this stage is to get gluten structure, but again too much mixing and you will be oxide the dough (bleach it) too little and it won’t hold its shape. If it’s still a bit loose drop it on the counter and fold like a letter a few times until it has better structure (I have found that mixing with a home mixer can warm the dough but once folded on a counter the dough will tighten .
Now everyone is busy, and this is where you have flexibility. This dough should be folded at least three times….ideally every 45min ... it’s called a letter fold. You give the dough a stretch on all sides and fold in to the middle. To effectively shape this dough you place it seem side down with no flour where you place the dough. Flour your hands give a light pressure as you rotate the dough in a circle using the friction of your counter to pull the boule tight. Proof in basket for 90-120 min. depending on the temperature of the dough. If for some reason the timing doesn’t work for your agenda you can put the dough in your fridge which will slow the yeast production down.
Because we are now home bakers we have to create an environment that can trap steam so you get good oven spring. Genevive convinced me that a Dutch oven would do the trick.... and it does! By placing the Dutch oven in a preheated oven you are creating an oven within a oven. It’s a bit tricky placing you proofed dough in the vessel and slashing it, but the results are amazing!
Slashing the dough is important. You are trying to control where the gasses escape. The tool is called a lame (razor and the end of a metal wand) you can buy them on Amazon ( you can buy everything on Amazon ) slashing takes practice. The ideal is to enter the dough at an 30 degree angle through the skin. You should be fluid with your motion and confident. When done well the skin will peel back and create an ear.
Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees, then drop the temperature to 460. Bake with the lid on for 30 min and lid off for 15 min and check it. Your bread should have a Caribbean tan.
Sourdough Focaccia topped with sliced lemon, kalamata olives, and red onion.
Trust me when I tell you this is worth the effort .... your eyes will roll to the back of your head too😁
Me when I eat the bread