The long and patiently awaited blog post about sourdough bread!
One of the few good things to come out of the pandemic was my learning how to make sourdough bread. The bread was so well received by my family that I have continued to make it weekly. It’s the least I can do for my wonderful husband, who made sure our children didn’t go starving when they moved out on their own by developing this wonderful blog. He’s wonderful in multiple other ways too, but this blog is an amazing illustration of how he managed his worries about his kids in a non-obtrusive yet incredibly effective way (a skill I have yet to develop).
Anyways, back to the sourdough.
The first thing you need is a good starter. Now I know you can do that on your own, but I never had to do that so I’m not sure how it’s done. I was fortunate that my niece’s lovely husband Adam had gotten into sourdough bread making and so shared some of his starter with me. I used that for a good period before I went on vacation and left it to get nasty (something I have since learned how to deal with and recover the starter). Being too embarrassed to ask Adam for more starter I then went to our close family friend Mr. Graham, who is a master sourdough loaf maker and decorator. I haven’t looked back since. Graham’s starter is incredible, and I feel like I probably should have paid him big dollars for it. The good news is I take good care of my starter and even have Mr. Graham babysit it while I’m on vacation. So, if any of you need starter, just ask! I flew across the country to give some to Dylan and Moriah and I am looking forward to seeing what they do with it (no pressure!).
Feeding the starter
The thing to remember with starter is that it must be fed weekly to stay happy. To do this, I take out maybe 60 grams of it and add 60 grams of warm water and 60 grams of regular all-purpose flour to it. Then I mix it together and leave it on the counter for a few hours. Then back in the fridge it goes for the week. If you make a weekly loaf this is an easy thing to do as you will be taking some starter out for your loaf.
Making the bread
To make the loaf I gather the ingredients in a container that has been pre-weighed. I haven’t veered from the Clever Carrot’s beginner sourdough recipe.
In your pre-weighed container, add maybe 60 grams of starter, 60 grams of warm water, and 60 grams of regular all-purpose flour. That will make you a regular sized loaf. If you want a supersized loaf, then start with maybe 90 grams of starter and equal amounts of warm water and regular flour. Cover the container with a dish towel and let it sit somewhere in your kitchen for 8-12 hours. I will usually do this in the evening and let it sit overnight. Once the starter looks bubbly, take a forkful out and plop it into a glass of water. If it floats you are good to go. Seattle must have ideal sourdough making ambience because this first step was usually ready within a few hours. Below is a picture of what you want it to look like:
Once your mixture is ready, I use the Clever Carrot recipe with some modifications:
Ingredients
150 grams / 5.35 ounces bubbly, active sourdough starter (for a big loaf, you can double the recipe or multiply by one and a half)
250 grams / 8.8 ounces warm water
25 grams / .9 ounces olive oil
500 grams / 17.65 ounces bread flour (not all-purpose flour; King Arthur is the best) -- I use a combination of rye and bread flour; something like 20% rye or 100 grams of rye if you are following this recipe and not doubling.
10 grams / .4 ounces fine sea salt
• 10 grams / 1½ tablespoons caraway seeds (optional)
1. Mix everything but the caraway seeds together roughly, cover with a dishcloth, and let it sit maybe a half hour.
2. After a half hour do some kneading and form the mixture into a nice ball. Now is the time to knead in the caraway seeds if you’re using them. Put the ball back into the container, cover with a dishcloth, and let it sit for 8 to 12 hours (once again, in Seattle in the summer, the time was less).
3. Once the bread has risen sufficiently put it into a baking container for its last rise. Some type of heavy-duty pot with a lid is best. Make sure you place parchment paper underneath or one of the lovely parchment things Mr. Graham gave me works well. This last rise will be half an hour to an hour. For this last rise take a sharp knife and draw it across the bread. Or get more creative and draw something on the bread. Or even better take a class on decorating sour dough with Mr. Graham (below is one of Mr. Graham’s loaves).
4. Set your oven to 450 degrees.
5. Once your bread is ready to bake, turn the oven down to 400 degrees and place the bread (with the lid on top) into the oven. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
6. After 20 minutes take the lid off. Then bake for another 30 to 35 minutes (depending on your oven and the size of the loaf). You are aiming for an internal temperature between 205 and 210 degrees [this is a good time to break out your Thermapen!].
7. Remove the bread from the oven and from the pot immediately and let it cool completely on a baking rack.
Then…enjoy!!
As with all things in life, writing this blog post took far less time than I anticipated and should have been done years ago! Thank you to my wonderful family for being patient with me. And thank you to Dylan for motivating me to finally get this done!
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| Dylan is making some beautiful loaves already! |
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