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On this page I will go through the steps one by one to make Basic White Sourdough bread.This recipe will make slightly more than 6 lbs of dough and be at 66% hydration.66% hydration dough is a somewhat sticky dough, but it will help you to obtain the airy, holey crumb that is so sought after in artisan & sourdough style breads.
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I start making sourdough bread around 12:00 in the afternoon. It is important that you time the bread right and not have it bulk fermenting, or refrigerated too long. My sourdough starter is at 166% hydration (which is equal volume of flour/water or more accurately, 8 oz of water and 5 oz of flour).
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The starter is vigorous and has been fed the night before. I like to weigh all of the ingredients as I go along. If you make bread by volume only (cup measurements) don't expect to have consistant results.
Measure out your ingredients, adding them to your mixer one at a time.Using my Blendtec mixer, I start by adding the sourdough starter which is 27 oz(three cups) for this three loaf batch. Then 24 oz of water(three cups),1 oz of oil(2 Tablespoons),
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I then weigh out my flour (for 66% hydration, you would have 51.8 oz of flour or 11.5 cups)I sometimes will use part Bread flour and part All Purpose flour with the A.P. flour comprising about 1 lb of the flour total for this recipe. Add the flour to the other ingredients in the mixer and then, on top of the flour,pour 5 teaspoons of salt which is 1.2 oz( I use Kosher or Sea salt and they need to be weighed as measuring them with a spoon will not be accurate).I then turn on my machine on speed setting # 2, and mix for about 2 - 3 minutes. Do not mix longer, you do not need to mix for 8 - 10 minutes like regular dough. It will ruin the gluten to mix long at this point because the gluten in sourdoughs keeps developing during period of long bulk fermentation.You wouldn't want the gluten to be completely developed at the end of mixing, because then it would be overdeveloped after the bulk ferment.
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The dough will look and feel tacky and sticky at this point and will not have much gluten development. To check for right consistancy, press the dough with your finger,it is slightly sticky and the dough just barely clings to your finger,if it feels very sticky and wet, add more flour until if feels right(This takes practice to know when to stop adding flour because the water is still going to be absorbed during autolysis). Just as soon as the dough is mixed, Turn off the mixer and let the dough Autolyse (rest and absorb water) for 20 minutes. After autolysis, you will notice a change in the dough, it will be stretchy and shiny.You can actually see the gluten development. After the 20 minutes, I mix for about 1 more minute on the lowest speed (# 1 on the Blentec). Altogether I do not mix the dough more than 5 minutes total.In the autolyse method developed by Professor Cavel, the salt is not added until after the autolyse period to allow the enzyme action to continue uninhibited by salt. However, since it is easier to incorporate the salt at the beginning and we have small amounts of dough that we are working with, I have added the salt at the beginning of the mixing and not after autolyse so that it is easier for those that are new to sourdough baking.
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Leave the dough in the bread machine and put the cover on.The dough is bulk fermented (or raises) for about 4-6 hours until it reaches the top of the bowl. During this time, I turn on the mixer two or three times and turn the dough down as it is raising. This is equivalent to folding dough and helps line up and strengthen the gluten strands. Turn the mixer on the lowest setting, and only allow the hook to turn two to three times. The dough will look like it is trying to crawl up the hook.Do this about every two hours or so. To obtain a sour flavor in the final bread, bulk ferment should be at a temperature between 75 - 80 degrees.
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After the dough has doubled, which usually takes 4 - 6 hours (usually 6), pour out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Using a dough scraper, scoop up the sides of the dough and fold to the center, making a ball.Knead once or twice and turn the dough over. You should have a nice dough ball.The dough is sticky, so handle it quickly and keep the surface lightly floured. You don't want to get too much flour into the dough or you will have uneven streaks throughout your dough from the raw flour which hasn't been fermented like the rest of the dough.
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Using the dough scraper, divide the dough roughly into three pieces. You can see that the dough is still sticky inside. Just dust any sticky surface you need to touch with a small amount of flour. Now weigh the pieces. These loaves should all weigh about 2 lbs 2 oz each.
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Shape the dough into the rough form it will have. Like if you want a boule loaf, shape the dough into a ball. If you wish to make a batard or torpedo loaf, shape the dough into the general form of those loaves.
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After they are shaped this first time, allow the dough to set for about five minutes to rest. Then do a final shaping of the dough into it's final form.
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Pinch the seams closed for the final batard loaves, or twist up the boule loaves and then get your bannetons or lined bowls ready and put the dough into them. For a lined bowl or banneton, I take a linen cloth, and force some Rye flour into the weave(Rye flour has very little gluten which can act like a glue). Then I sprinkle with some Semolina flour. You should always leave the flour that dries on the cloths and bannetons,don't clean them and or wash them each time. Let them air dry when finished and next time you use them, they will already be covered with a fine layer of dry flour. Then each time you use them again, just sprinkle lightly with Semolina flour.
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Here is an unlined banneton, a lined banneton and all three loaves.
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Allow the dough to set for about 30 minutes, then sprinkle the top of the loaf with semolina flour to help keep the dough from sticking to the plastic bag and then place a plastic bag over the loaves. They will now be refrigerated overnight. The plastic bag helps to hold in moisture and keep the dough from drying out.
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Next morning, take the loaves out of the refrigerator one by one, about 20 minutes, apart so that they are not all ready for baking at the same time.Take off the plastic bag and let the dough warm up and finish raising. This takes from 1 to 3 hours. This stage is called proofing. While the dough is proofing, you need to gauge about how much longer the dough will need to proof, and start preheating your oven with the baking stone and roasting lid for about an hour to 450 f degrees. Some thin baking stones will take less time to heat, but the stone itself has to be very hot all the way through. When the first loaf is done proofing, it should feel soft, bubbly springy and when you push your finger into the sides of the dough, it should leave an impression that slowly fills back up. If the dough feels stiff, dense, and you finger hardly leaves an impression, the dough is not ready yet. The dough will flatten out somewhat when it is on the peel for this higher hydration kind of dough, but if you have the oven good and hot, the loaf will spring up in the oven.
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If the dough is very bubbly and somewhat saggy and when you press your finger into the side, it doesn't fill back up at all or the pressing makes the loaf collapse, you have let it proof too long, and you need to reshape the dough and let it raise again.
Now it is time to turn out your dough onto a baking sheet or peel, so sprinkle the top of the dough first with Semolina flour to keep it from sticking to your peel, and turn over the banneton onto the peel. Now slash your dough and pop it into the oven. Slashing is done with a very sharp blade at a slight angle and not too deep. Try to slash it with one swipe, the more you slash the same cut, the more ragged your final result will be. After you get the dough onto the baking stone, spray the loaf well with a water spray bottle, place the hot roasting lid over your dough and close the oven. Set your timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, take off the roasting lid and leave it off, be careful as you can get a steam burn doing this. Turn your oven down to 425 f degrees and continue baking for another 15 minutes. About half way through the 15 minutes, open the oven and turn the loaf around for even browning. When your second 15 minutes is up, you should have a beautiful sourdough loaf. Take out your finished loaf and set it on a rack to cool. Now turn your oven back up to 450 f degrees and put the roasting lid back in to heat as the oven heats. Wait until the oven is 450 f degrees again before putting in the next loaf. Repeat the baking directions for the rest of the loaves.
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Here are the finished loaves and a picture of the nice, airy,holey crumb inside. Let your loaves cool completely and then slice and enjoy.
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