Wednesday 14 November 2012

Classic Sourdough Bread











Bread is my drug of choice. And since I came back from China, I've been craving it bad. As far as carbs go, you can get the worlds best noodles in China (sorry Italy -  but I call your noodles pasta anyway, so it doesn't count... friends again? Good. x).  You can eat theeeee most delicious dumplings in China all day, every day (and I just about did). And then there's rice... do I need to go there?  But you can't get really good bread. Well, I couldn't anyway. There might be a secret, bread-loving society that knows where all the chewy, tangy sourdough is in China, but they didn't get in touch with me. So I've been making up for my deprivation since I got home, churning loaves out like a Tip Top factory. My family should be crying out for some breadless, Chinese food any day now (see my note on how ready for a break from Chinese food my kids were by the end of our China adventure here).


Classic Sourdough Bread
from channel4.com
Makes 1 loaf

300ml sourdough culture (see below)
500g bread flour
200ml warm water
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes

Make the Sourdough Culture:
To make your own sourdough culture, mix 75g of flour and 75ml water in a sealable jar.The mixing action traps natural airborne yeast particles in the flour and water mix, and they begin to feed on the flour in the jar creating a living yeast colony. Leave the jar somewhere warm and remember to feed your sourdough equal parts flour and water (75g of flour and 75ml water) every day. By 5 days in it should be bubbling and ready to use to bake your sourdough bread.

Make the Bread:
Put the flour into a bowl and add 300ml of your sourdough culture. Then add the warm water and the salt. Mix it altogether and then turn it out onto a table for kneading. It is a wet dough, the wetter the better, so you have to work it for a long time before it will start to come way from the table.

Once it's stretchy, put it into a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap (I use a disposable shower cap - works a treat), and leave it somewhere warm to rise for 2 hours.

Shape the dough on a lightly floured surface to fit a proving basket or loaf tin. To do this, stretch the dough out into a long rectangle then fold each outer third inwards. Knuckle down a seam at the bottom of the dough nearest to you, then roll the dough down from top creating a tight loaf shape.

Dust the proofing basket or loaf tin with flour and roll the dough in flour to stop it sticking. Put it into the basket, cover it again and leave it to rise in a warm place for a second time, for about 8 - 12 hours.

To bake it you will need a baking stone or a heavy metal baking tray. Get your oven very hot at 240 degrees C and heat the stone or tray. Carefully turn the loaf out onto the hot stone or tray - be careful not to knock any air out. Slash the top of the dough a few times with a sharp knife then put the it in the oven and throw a cup of water into the bottom of the oven to create steam. Bake for 30 minutes until golden.

12 comments:

  1. Ahhhhhh, thaaaaat's how you got those lines! I knew I would find out here! Ok, so start with this bread... I got it at the store, because well, you know my relationship with homemade bread...cut through it into 1 inch cubes..alllllmost to the bottom of the loaf, but not quite..kinda like scoring a ham.. Stuff it full of cheese and bacon, then drench it with melted butter with a spoon of dry ranch powder in the butter, wrap in foil and bake...It'll make you wanna slap your Granny...no, not really, it's just a southern thing..LOL!! By the way, I've started to tell my girls to get a "wiggle on" because they didn't know what wriggle meant...and it might actually be working! LOL! Of course, first they have to stop what they are doing and shake their tushin at me, sooo, I shake it back:)

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  2. Oh my, I gotta make that bread Leah, you are my partner in crime for sure. "Wiggle on" is so cute, and with all that Granny slappin' and tushin shakin', I'm getting a real southern education. LOL! :P

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  3. oh my goodness, i'm right there with ya on the bread thing. i've always been that way, and the love continues to grow. sourdough is one of my favorites - will have to try!!

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  4. I made some sourdough last year and I loved it. I could do it again to make your beautiful bread!!! & what about the mold...I want one ;)

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  5. Bwahahaha - Gabrielle, I knew that mold would GET you, 'cause you are just like me. It's my new kitchen purchase and the first time I've used it... and OHHH, how I love it. :P

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  6. Hey little kitchie, what we do without bread, right? Life would lose a lot of crunch, tang and chew, that's for sure. And what about all that sauce that needs mopping up, and sandwiches!!! I don't even want to think about it. LOL

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  7. I'm not a baker, but I do sometimes like to make my own bread. Been wanting to try sourdough for sometime now so have pinned this, thanks.

    Oh and so jealous of your trip to china too. Chinese is my favourite cuisine and consumes the main part of our diets in The Spanish Wok Casa.

    BTW Come check out The Monthly Blogger event over at The Spanish Wok, ALL bloggers are welcome. See here for details and current theme. You are also welcome to visit our FB page too here.

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  8. Thanks for your comments Debs. This is the best, no-fuss (or as little fuss as you can get with sourdough) sourdough recipe I've used. There's always a little work involved in making your own sourdough, but once you've made the culture, you just keep feeding it and you've got it for ever - and the resulting bread is worth it.

    China is a fabulous country and I've been very fortunate to visit on a number of occasions. We eat a lot of Chinese food here... In fact, I want a bowl of stirfried beef with Sichuan peppercorns and sweet bean sauce just thinking about it LOL.

    I'll certainly check out your blog. Thanks for the invite.

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  9. I love your blog!!!
    Have you ever used any starters from a company called Sourdough's International?
    I keep hearing about them but I want some reviews from some fellow bakers.. If anyone knows, let me know! Thanks : )

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    1. Hey Rachel. Thanks so much for the feedback (sorry it's taken me so long to reply). I haven't used any starters other than my own, but I'm sure if a company specialists in Sourdough, then their starter would have to be top-notch. Good luck and I'd love to hear if you tried it out, how it went.

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  10. Just to let you know this Classic Sour Dough post started me on my sour dough journey! I've been making this sour dough from the original starter for months now. I've just bought 'Tartine' by San Francisco baker Chad Robertson so am taking it a little further. Thanks so much for the inspiration. It is such a joy to make and toasted sour dough for breakfast is our family's favourite now!

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    Replies
    1. How wonderful. I'm so glad you're a sourdough fanatic too.

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