This is a basic recipe for a wheat sourdough bread that can be incorporated in a working day schedule.
If you are brand new, you might want to check out the bread basics first.
Ingredients
- 200g mature wheat sourdough starter
- 200g whole wheat flour
- 600g wheat flour
- 560g (70%) / 600g (75%) / 640g (80%))
- 4 tsp salt
- optional: spices (coriander, caraway, green cardamon,…)
Timetable
The following is a suggestion for a timetable that can easily be executed during a normal working day.
| Step | Day | Description | Temperature | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | day 1 morning | feed sourdough starter | room temperature | 8-12 h |
| 2 | day 1 evening | mix flour and water | room temperature | 1 h |
| 3 | mix in other ingredients | |||
| 4 | put dough in proofing basket | 6-12 degrees C | 10-14 hh | |
| 5 | day 2 morning | preheat oven | 250 degrees C | |
| 6 | final rest (still in proofing basket) | 25 degrees C | 30 min | |
| 7 | prepare loaf and bake | 250 degrees C | 25 min | |
| 200 degrees C | 25 min | |||
| 8 | let the loaf cool down |
Feed Starter (1)
After reading the Sourdough (TODO link) post you should know what to do. If you keep your starter in the fridge, let it rest for 1h at a warm place for 1h before feeding.
Mix Flour and Water (2)
If this is your first loaf, start with a 560g water. Once you manage to deal with this dough, try more water next time. A more dry dough is easier to handle.
At low speed, mix the flour (800g) and the chosen amount of water together. Once all flour is absorbed, cover it with a wet towel and let it rest for one hour. This gives the dough time to develop gluten. After this hour you will notice a very different consistency. It will be more gummy, which later on allows the dough to form big air pockets.
Add Other Ingredients (3)
Distribute the mature starter above the dough. Add the salt spices (spices are optional). Knead the dough for roughly 10 minutes.
Note: in a more advanced recipe we would have some additional rest times as well as slap and folds here, but we will skip those for this one.
Proofing Basket (4)
Distribute flour in your proofing basket so the dough will not stick to it. Afterward add the dough. Put the basket in a plastic bag (the bag should not touch the dough) so it the dough does not dry out. Place the basked in a cool environment to slow down the fermentation. You can easily put it in the fridge over night. Cooler temperatures require longer proofing time, while in a warm environment you can bake it after 3-4 hours.
Preheating and Final Rest (5 & 6)
As we choose a longer resting time in a cold environment, we need to give the dough some time to warm up and expand. Otherwise your loaf will rip open during baking. Put the proofing basked in a warm environment (25 degrees) and let it rest for 30 minutes. In the mean time preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Prepare and Bake the Loaf (7)
Put the loaf on a sheet of baking paper. Use a razor blade to prettify it.
Note: If the dough sticks to the proofing basket you will have a bad time. Next time reduce the water content of your dough (if you used more than 70%) or use more flour before putting the dough into the basket.
Put the bread in the oven. Pour 100ml hot water into the oven before closing it. Beware… hot steam. Let it bake for 25 minutes at 250 degrees. Afterward reduce the temperature to 200 degrees for another 25 minutes.
Wait (8)
That step is pretty simple but damn hard to follow: do not cut into the loaf until it hits room temperature. Otherwise the dough will stick.
