You have your starter, but now its time to use it to make bread.
The starter acts, partly as the raising agent in the dough and partly as a flavour enhancer. Sourdough, as i'm sure you've guessed by the name, is slightly more sour than regular dough. Getting the balance of flavour right is essential or you might find your bread tastes like gone off orange juice. The way to do this is make sure you use the right amount of starter to dough, and not be tempted to add more to quicken the rise.
The benefits of sourdough are that you get a much better tasting bread with little extra effort (once you have made your starter, and use it regularly).
We will of course be looking at pizza dough soon, and together we will experiment to find the best sourdough pizza recipe, but for now lets start simple with a boule (there should be an accent on the 'e' but my mac is down and I suck at windows) .
This recipe is adapted from Eric Kayser's, "The Larousse book of bread", he has a wealth of knowledge regarding sourdough so we are much better off learning from him.
This is quite a wet dough and can be more difficult to work with. If you are newer to bread making simply use 50ml less water, and add the water slowly until the dough is together but not too sticky, then use some olive oil on the work surface before kneading.
Ingredients
- 100g Sourdough Starter
- 3g of dried yeast (preferably dove's farm)
- 500g strong white bread flour (if you want to make wholemeal bread, use 300g strong whole flour and 200g strong white flour)
- 325g of tap water
- 10g of salt
Method
If you are using a stand mixer to knead your dough, simply place all the ingredients in the bowl, and mix for 4 minutes on a low speed and 6 minutes on a high speed using a dough hook. (I have never done this so am taking my instructions from Eric).
If kneading by hand, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl using your hand as a mixer. (remember to add water slowly if a wet dough intimidates you).
Once the dough is combined knead it on your (clean) surface for a minimum of 10 minutes, until the dough is stretchy and slightly warmer than when you started.
When kneading a wet dough I use the technique below, it is adapted from Richard Bertinet's method who lifts the dough instead of folding it in on itself (Paul Hollywood). Either will work, but with a wet dough I prefer Bertinet as it doesn't get stuck to your hands or the surface as much. Use a dough scraper to pick up all the dough from the surface every minute or so.
My video isnt currently working, so I will try to explain in words. with your finger tips lift all the dough and flick the end onto the surface, then flick the remaining dough from your hadns onto the surface, folding over the dough in the process. Repeat, but when you pick up the dough, turn it 90 degrees.
Once kneaded, transfer to the bowl and leave for 1 hour 30 minutes or until doubled in size. You can also leave your dough to rise overnight in the fridge.
Once risen, scoop out of the bowl and knock all the air out of it. Then shape your dough. To make a Boule or a Cob, flour your surface a lot, and simply punch into a rectangle then roll it up from the short side so it forms an oblong. Next (again, with very floured hands and dough) tuck the edge underneath itself whilst spinning the dough round to form a ball.
Then transfer to a floured baking tray and leave to rise for 2-2 1/2 hours until smooth and bouncy.
Dust your dough with flour and then with a sharp knife slice a pattern into the dough, I did a criss cross one here.
Pre-heat your oven to 230 degrees centigrade, and place an oven tray in the bottom. Once hot poor half a mug of cold water into the tray, and put your bread on the shelf, immediately shut the door and start the timer. Cook for 25 minutes, then turn the heat down to 210 degrees centigrade for another 15-20 minutes. The bread should be browned on top, and sound hollow when you tap the bottom of the loaf.
Leave to cool on a rack, and then place on a chopping board and share a photo.
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