A Comprehensive Guide to Nurturing Your Starter and Baking the Perfect Loaf
Sourdough bread, with its distinct taste and artisanal texture, has been a staple in kitchens around the world. The heart of sourdough baking lies in its starter – a living, breathing entity that requires care and attention.
In this blog post, we'll explore how to feed your sourdough starter and use it to bake the most delightful sourdough loaf, inspired by The Sourdough School's classic boule recipe, with adjustments to suit my personal oven temperatures and techniques.
What you'll Need / ingredients:
Strong white bread flour (preferably organic) - I like this one
Organic Stoneground wholegrain flour - I like this one
Sea salt - I like this one, it is full of beneficial minerals
Rice flour (for dusting shaping baskets and surfaces) - I like this one
Tools you'll Need:
For the Starter:
Mini spatula - I like this one
Food thermometer - I like this one
x2 Wide-mouth glass jar (500ml - 1 litre) - I like these
Cloth or loose lid for covering the jar
Tea towel (for insulation if needed)
For the Loaf:
Large glass bowl (for autolyse)
Small to medium-sized bowl or wide mouth jar as above (for leaven)
Damp clean towel (for covering dough and bowls)
Dough scraper (for handling and cutting dough and the plastic one is scraping the excess down the sides) - I like this one
Shaping baskets - depending on the shape of your dutch oven you can get round ones or oval ones
Dough scourer - I use the one
Unbleached baking paper - I like this one because it's as low tox as you can get
Dutch oven with a lid - I use this size oval dish and the size works great with the shaping basket I've linked above, this dutch oven is currently on sale but you can get cheaper ones like this, if you need a round one, I like this one. Alternatively you can look for second hand, you're looking for around 6-7 litres and minimum 29cm width so the dough fit easily.
Feeding Your Sourdough Starter
To ensure your starter remains alive and active, it's important to feed it at least once a week. The process is simple: discard all but 25g of your starter, and then feed it with a 1:1:1 ratio of strong white bread flour (preferably organic) and filtered water.
For example:
Grab a fresh glass jar (Around 400-500ml in size) and weigh out 25g of the starter
Then add 25g flour and 25g water
Mix well and scrape down the sides with a mini spatula.
After your weekly feeding, pop the starter back into the fridge until its next feeding or use.
This not only keeps your starter healthy but also prepares it for baking by ensuring it's active and ready to leaven your bread.
Don't discard the leftover starter! Sourdough discard is incredibly versatile and can be used in a variety of recipes. A quick search on Google will reveal countless ways to make delicious treats from what would otherwise be waste.
Ready to bake? - The Baking Routine
The Perfect Sourdough Loaf
Day 1: Awakening the Starter
11 AM:
Begin by taking your starter out of the fridge. Place it in a 500ml - 1 litre wide-mouth glass jar, linked above.
Add 100g of warm water at 36 degrees Celsius (a food thermometer is essential here)
Add 25g of your starter (from the fridge) to the water.
Mix until it's milky white, then add 100g of strong white bread flour.
Cover the jar with a loose lid or cloth and place it in a warm, draft-free corner. If your kitchen is on the cooler side, wrap a thin tea towel around the jar for extra insulation.
Leave it on the counter all day until 11 PM.
Make your leaven
10-11 PM:
Your leaven is essentially a portion of fed starter that will act as the rising agent for your bread.
In a small to medium-sized bowl or another wide mouth jar (linked in above), add 110g of water at 26-27 degrees Celsius
Add 45g of the starter from your counter that you made this morning.
Add 120g of strong white bread flour and mix until smooth.
Scrap down the sides using your mini spatula.
Cover the bowl/jar with a damp clean towel and leave it on the counter overnight.
Day 2: The Bread-Making Process
7:30 AM:
Grab a large glass bowl and weigh out 710g warm water (around 28 degrees)
Add your 800g of strong white bread flour and 200g of stone-ground wholegrain flour to the water, this is called an autolyse, which helps develop the gluten in your dough.
Mix with damp hands to prevent sticking, scrap down the sides of the bowl with your wide scraper (linked above) and cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave it on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes.
8 AM:
Add 225g of your leaven to the dough. Any leftover leaven can be added to your discard jar or composted.
Cover the bowl again and wait for 2 hours and 30 minutes.
10:30 AM
Weigh out 20g sea salt (linked above), and sprinkle all over the dough
Then add 25g filtered water over the salt on the dough
Knead hands into the dough, dimpling and folding until salt has somewhat dissolved, don't be too rough but fold well.
Leave covered for 30 mins
11:00 AM
Begin the series of coil folds to strengthen your dough, performing one every 30 minutes.
To do a coil fold, wet your hands, lift the dough from underneath, and let it fold under itself. This technique helps develop the dough's structure without being too rough.
Here's a video of how to do a coil fold: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcJWjGeoZbc
This is your schedule for coil folds: 11am, 11.30am, 12pm, 12.30pm (4 folds in total, resting 30 minutes in between each one).
Rest for 30 mins after the last one
1 PM:
After the final coil fold, it's time to shape your dough.
Be gentle to avoid deflating it.
Tip out the dough onto a floured surface.
Cut the dough into two using your dough cutter (linked above), shape each piece by folding and rolling, then place them in floured (must be rice flour to avoid sticking) shaping baskets.
Here's a video of the shaping: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBESiuCBcow&pp=ygUSc291cmRvdWdoIHNoYXBpbmcg
You can either bake both now or bake one now and put one basket in the fridge and bake in the morning. The longer it's in the fridge, the less rise you'll have. I find the next day is still a great bake but any longer in the fridge, you'll find it can come out quite flat.
If you plan on baking today then leave them or one on the kitchen counter for 2 hours covered with a damp cloth.
3 PM onwards:
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Celsius with a Dutch oven and lid inside.
After 45 minutes of the dutch oven heating up
Take a sheet of unbleached baking paper and tip your dough over on to it.
Score your dough, I like this simple method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKkm71OXgZk&pp=ygUZc291cmRvdWdoIHNjb3Jpbmcgc2ltcGxlIA%3D%3D
Then carefully place your scored dough into the hot Dutch oven, reduce the temperature to 180 degrees Celsius, and bake for 1 hour.
Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes to achieve a beautiful crust.
Put the bread onto a wooden board and leave for at least 1 hour before cutting, otherwise it tends to get a sticky centre.
Happy baking!
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