Typical timing to make the bread:
Before bed - get Blob (the sourdough starter) out of the fridge
Next morning - feed blob
Before lunch -- make dough (and replenish Blob)
After lunch - put dough and Blob in the fridge
The morning of the day you want fresh bread - get dough out and form loaf, let rise and bake...
Whole Wheat (or Rye) Sourdough Sandwich Bread
150 g sourdough starter (see below for care and feeding of a starter)
400 g water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
100 g bread flour
400 g white whole-wheat flour, or 100 g rye flour plus 300 g
www flour
1 ½ tsp salt
Olive Oil
In medium-large bowl, combine sourdough starter, water, yeast, and sugar. Stir with a sturdy spoon (or dough whisk) to mix. Add the flours and salt, and give a very good stir (a minute or so). The dough will be soft and sticky. Let rise at room temperature for about 1 hour, and then put in refrigerator for at least overnight, and up to 5 days. The dough will get more sour with more time.
When you are ready to bake, take bowl out of refrigerator. Prepare a 9” x 5” pan by oiling (rub around
about a 1 teaspoon or so of olive oil) and flouring. Scrape the dough on to a floured surface
(like the kitchen counter), then pat into a rectangle about the size of the
bread pan. Handle the dough gently, with as little flour as needed to keep from
sticking to hands and counter. Stretch the dough to 3 times the width of the
pan (so about 9” x 15”). Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter. Turn 90
degrees, and stretch dough the long way, to (so about 5” x 27”), and fold into
thirds. Turn one more time, and do it
again like the first time. When you are done, it should be about 9” x 5”. Pinch the seams, and put into the pan, seam
side down. Cover and let rise for 1 hour,
or until doubled in bulk.
Preheat the oven to 450 oF (this takes a good
half hour, so start the oven 30 minutes after the bread is in the pan). Use convection bake if you have it.
Score the top of the loaf with a sharp paring knife about ¼”
deep, then place the pan in the oven and bake 10 minutes. After 10 minutes,
reduce the heat to 350 oF and bake another 40 - 45 minutes. Bread is done when crust is golden, internal
temperature should be at least 190 oF (and 200 oF or
higher is OK).
Unmold
by turning out the loaf to a rack. Let cool completely before slicing.
Also... Sometimes I will make a smaller loaf in a 5 x 5 pan, this uses half the dough (and about 5 or 10 minutes less to bake). That is what I am showing in the pictures. More work, but fresh bread twice a week!
Care and feeding of a starter:
My starter is nicknamed Blob, and he’s been around for about
8 years now. It's what I use to make pizza dough too. If you want some, just
let me know! These instructions assume
you have some of Blob to start with.
Blob needs to be fed every week or two. I use the following method so that I don’t
have to throw any starter out (assuming I am making dough). In between using, he stays in the
refrigerator. A couple of notes: You want to use non-chlorinated water… tap
water that has been through a filter is OK or bottled water. This is what they call a 50% hydration
starter, so you always use the same weight of flour and water. I generally err to the side of too much
flour.
At least 6 hours before you want to make dough, pull Blob from
the refrigerator to warm up (or do the night before). After it’s up to room temperature (2 or 3
hours), or the next morning, add 1.5 ounces of all-purpose flour and 1.5 ounces of water, stir well
to combine. Let sit for another 3 hours
or so, it should be nice and bubbly and ready to make dough. After you take enough out to make the dough,
add another 1 ounce of water and 1 ounce of flour, stir well, and let sit until
its bubbly again (3 hours). If you have used more than 5 ounces to make the
bread (including what you lose on the spoon), increase the amounts
accordingly. It’s ready to go back into
the refrigerator. Every so often, transfer
Blog to a clean container.
Update: I have found that I get a much lighter loaf if I mix warm (100F) water with the yeast and sugar first, let that start to foam, then proceed with adding the starter and remaining ingredients .. for more info check out this article: https://www.seriouseats.com/2018/03/all-about-dry-yeast-instant-active-dry-fast-acting-and-more.html from the Serious Eats site about yeast. I am also guessing this would work quite well, and without this extra step if you used instant dry yeast
ReplyDelete