SOURDOUGH

GETTING STARTED


Resources //

Chad Roberston’s “Tartine” is a great resource.
The step by step photos on this blog were incredibly helpful.
Watch this video before you start - helpful visuals to supplement the process described below
Extra resources here.

Tools //

Dish towel
Small glass jar or bowl for your starter
Dutch oven with lid or loaf pan
Razor blade or super sharp knife for scoring
Bench scraper
Dough spatula or rice cooker spoon

Ingredients //

White AP (unbleached) flour
Whole wheat flour
Salt
Room temperature water
Rice flour, for dusting (or more white flour)

Schedule //

I like the following schedule - I find it works best with my life. Once you get the hang of it, you can adapt to your timing/schedule/life. 

Friday night - make leaven
Satuday AM - make dough, first fold
Saturday morning - continue to stretch and fold
Saturday afternoon - shape
Option 1: Saturday evening - bake
Option 2: After shape, transfer to fridge; Sunday AM - bake; Sunday lunch - enjoy fresh bread

MAKING & FEEDING A STARTER


Making a sourdough starter //

I was lucky enough to receive dried starter from a friend, but have also tried this recipe from the Kitchn. It worked super well, and by day 5, the starter was ready to go. It’s important to note that fresh starter and leaven are not the same thing! I panicked because my starter wasn’t floating when I did the float test, but starter isn’t supposed to float – leaven is. 

Feeding your starter //

Your starter lives in the fridge, and needs to be fed weekly. Every time you feed your starter, you’ll end up discarding some as well (composting it). Roughly twelve hours after feeding your starter, you’ll have leaven - freshly fed starter that smells sweet, and is bubbly and airy. This leaven becomes your new starter, and is used to make bread (that day) or popped back in the fridge for the week.

RECIPE


Yield //

This recipe makes 2 loaves. Once you’re going through the effort, you might as well make 2 loaves. Recipe halves easily if you don’t want to make 2. The bread freezes well and makes delicious toast. It also crisps up really nicely in the oven for croutons.

Ingredients:

700g + 50g water
200g leaven
900g white flour
100g whole wheat flour
20g salt

What to do:

Step 1 - Make the Leaven



Step 2 - Autolyse
  • To a large size mixing bowl, add 700 g water (not all the water noted in the ingredients list) and leaven. Mix with your hands to break up the leaven and combine.
  • Add the flour and mix with your hands (or a spoon) until no dry bits remain. It will be sticky on your fingers. 
  • Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.


Step 3 - Salt
  • After 30 minutes, add the remaining 50 g water and the salt. Mix well to combine, squeezing dough between your fingers. The dough will have relaxed at this point and be way less sticky. 
  • Transfer the dough to a clean, large glass bowl for bulk fermentation (next step). The glass allows you to see the aeration of the dough as it develops - very helpful for new bakers.

Step 4 - Fold & Turn (Bulk Fermentation)
  • The bulk fermentation phase gives the bread time to develop flavour and texture. The bulk rise is highly dependant on the temperature of the dough and your kitchen. As a rule of thumb, warmer dough ferments faster. At a constant temperature of 25-27oC, bulk fermentation will be complete in 3-4 hours.
  • Begin the first fold immediately after transferring the dough to a clear bowl. Dampen your right hand. Put your damp hand under the dough, stretch it up and fold it over itself. Repeat 3 more times, then flip whole thing (helpful GIF here). Cover bowl with a tea towel, and let rest for 30 minutes.  
  • Repeat bulk fermentation folds every 30 minutes for 2 hours, then every hour for another 2 hours. After the first 2 hours, start folding more gently to avoid pressing out the air bubbles. 
  • A well developed dough is more cohesive and releases from the sides of the bowl when you do your turns. The ridges left by the turns will hold their shape for a few minutes. You should see a 20 - 30% increase in volume. More air bubbles will form along the sides of the bowl. The dough will be more billowy, soft and aerated with bubbles. All signs that imply the dough is ready to be shaped.


Step 5 - Bench Rest
  • Gently scoop the dough out of the bowl (careful not to pop the air bubbles) and onto the counter. Lightly flour the tops. At this point, you want to incorporate as little extra flour as possible. 
  • Use the bench scraper to cut the dough in half, and gently flip each piece over, so the floured surface is on the counter. 
  • Gently form dough into a rough ball (I do this with a similar stretch and fold and flip as described above), and flip so seam is down. Cover with a tea towel and let rest on the counter for 20-30 minutes. 
  • After the “bench rest” the dough round should have spread into a pancake. The edge around the circumference should appear fat and rounded, not flat and tapered. If its tapered, it likely didn’t get enough structure during bulk fermentation. Give it another shape here, and let rest for 30 minutes. 

You now have to choose what shape your loaf will be. Either a round boule, baked in a dutch oven (see Step 6), or a rectangular loaf, baked in a loaf pan (see Step 7).

Step 6a - Shaping (round boule in a dutch oven)
  • Prepare a medium sized bowl* with a tea towel, and sprinkle the towel heavily with rice flour. *The dough will take on the shape of whatever vessel you choose, so choose wisely. I like a medium bowl as it creates a nice diameter and height for the bread. Play around with it. 
  • To shape - one at a time, lightly flour the top of the dough, and gently flip it over with the bench scraper. Fold all four sides with tension:

  • Cup hands around dough and pull it towards you building tension against the counter. I found this video very helpful. Carefully transfer the shaped ball to the bowl (top down/seam up) and lightly flour the top. Fold the tea towel over it to cover it up. 
  • Place the bowl in the fridge overnight, or on the counter for 3-4 hours. The fridge overnight creates better flavour, but 3-4 hours on the counter works as well. 


Step 6b - Baking (round boule in a dutch oven)
  • Place dutch oven (with lid on) in the oven. Preheat to 500 and set a timer to 30 minutes. 
  • When the 30 minutes timer goes off, place a piece of parchment on the counter. Carefully invert the dough onto parchment. I find the easiest way to do this is to put the parchment on a cutting board, place the cutting board on top of the bowl and carefully flip. Gently wipe away any excess rice flour.
  • Use your blade or sharp knife to score the top of the loaf (some scoring ideas here). This allows the steam to escape, and also looks really pretty. You can even lightly dust the bread with flour before scoring for added effect. [Deep score = big ‘ears’; Shallow score = details]
  • Once your timer goes and the dutch oven is hot, carefully transfer the parchment and dough to the dutch oven. Be careful as the edges will be hot! 
  • Lower oven temp to 450 and bake, covered, for 20 mins. Remove the lid and bake for another 25 mins, or until the top is golden brown. 
  • Let cool completely before slicing, ideally 3-4 hours. 


Step 7a - Shaping (loaf pan)
  • Lightly oil a loaf pan (use a high heat oil like avocado). 
  • To shape - one at a time, lightly flour the top of the dough, and gently flip it over with the bench scraper. Fold all four sides with tension. See graphic above.
  • Transfer the dough, seam side down, to the pan, and gently place plastic wrap over top, then cover with a tea towel. The dough will expand in the pan, so don’t worry if it seems too small. 
  • Place the pan in the fridge overnight, or on the counter for 3-4 hours. The fridge overnight creates better flavour, but 3-4 hours on the counter works as well. 

Step 7b - Baking (loaf pan)
  • Preheat oven to 500 and set a timer to 30 minutes. Bring a kettle of water to boil.
  • When the 30 minutes timer goes off, remove the plastic wrap from your loaf. Use your blade or sharp knife to score the top of the loaf. Once large central gash works well for this loaf. This allows the steam to escape, and also looks really pretty. You can even lightly dust the bread with flour before scoring for added effect. [Deep score = big ‘ears’; Shallow score = details]
  • Once your timer goes, carefully transfer the tin to the oven. Place a pyrex on the shelf below and pour the boiling water into the dish.
  • Lower oven temp to 450 and bake for 20 mins. Remove the water dish and bake for another 25 mins, or until the top is golden brown. 
  • Let cool completely before slicing, ideally 3-4 hours.