Country Sourdough Bread

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There’s nothing like fresh, homemade sourdough bread. I bake bread at least two-three times per week. Since I have been baking bread, I no longer have a strange feeling after eating bread. This recipe is my basic recipe and it’s a scaled down Tartine bread basically.

Store bought bread is made so quickly and with such shortcuts, it’s no wonder people think they are gluten intolerant. For more help and lively discussion, join my Facebook Group, Natural Fermentation Real Sourdough Bread Bakers.

You will want to feed your starter the night before, by discarding (removing some starter) and then feeding. Leave it out all night in a warm place, covered. It should triple in size and then fall back a bit.

If your jar of Starter that you keep in the refrigerator is not very active, you could instead of feeding it and letting rise overnight, make a Levain (pre-ferment) by removing a Tablespoon of Starter from your jar and adding in flour and water and then cover overnight. This will produce a stronger active Starter. A levain is a mixture of Sourdough Starter, flour and water that is prepped and then allowed to grow. There is no commercial yeast in a Levain. The Original Danish Dough Whisk does a great job of mixing up the flour and water.

Cover the Levain (or your jar of Starter) with a Flour Sack Towel and let it sit overnight to ferment.

The next morning, pull some Starter out of the jar or use the levain you made the night before in a food safe container and then weigh in the flour and the water. I like to use the Baker’s Math Kitchen Scale, as it is extremely accurate and will also weigh in Baker’s Percentages.

For this size recipe, don’t use more than 75 grams of Whole Wheat, Spelt or other low gluten flour.

Mix it up well with The Original Danish Whisk, so that there is no flour left separately in the bowl.

Cover with a Flour Sack Towel or whatever you like and autolyse for at least 40 minutes. You can go longer if need be.

If you want to add Malted Powder, now is the time, along with a bit more water and salt. This is called a Double Hydration.

After one hour of rest, your dough will be visibly taller. Start doing the stretch and fold method, once an hour for 3-5 hours, or until it’s ready to be shaped.

After several hours of stretch and folds, the dough is going to show lots of gas bubbles!

Place the dough on your lightly floured Pasty or Bread Board and grab your Bench Knife.

Weigh the dough and then using a Bench Knife, cut the dough into two equal pieces.

Pull the bottom of the dough towards you and then fold it up. Fold in the sides, like an envelope and then pull the top over the folds.

With your Bench Knife in one hand, rotate the dough to form a tight ball.

Do the same to the other piece of dough.

Cover the dough and let it bench rest for 30 minutes. I love my Snow River Pastry Board. When I first got it, I applied four rounds of John Taylor Butcher Block Conditioner Oil and then two coats of Clark’s Cutting Board Finish Wax. Once a month, I apply another coat of the Oil and every couple of months I apply the Wax after oiling.

The dough will be puffy. Dust some flour over the top and with your Bench Knife, flip it over and reshape, this time tighter. Using your Bench Knife as a guide to scrape along the board, pull the dough towards you, which will tighten the dough even further.

Using rice flour and/or wheat flour, dust your Banneton. Alternatively, you could use a linen cloth inside the Banneton, if you do not want the swirls to show on your bread.

Using your Bench Knife, place seam side up, in two Wicker Bannetons. Sprinkle Rice flour over the top of dough, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.

I sometimes divide half the dough in half and shape into mini Boules .

The next day, remove from refrigerator and allow to come to Room Temperature. Place a both top and bottom of cast iron Dutch Oven in your oven and preheat oven to 500 Degrees F for one hour. Score your bread with a Bread Lame right before you are ready to put into your oven. Razor Blades are super cheap and I buy them in packs of 100. Place the dough in the top part of the Cast Iron Combo, spritz with water and close. Bake for 20 minutes. At the end of twenty minutes, remove the cover and bake an additional 20 minutes.

Allow to fully cool before slicing.

Here is your handy printable recipe:

Country Sourdough Bread

Prep time

6 hours

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

6 hours 40 mins

A hearty, open crumb Old World Sourdough Bread

Author: Jill

Recipe type: Bread

Serves: 2 loaves

Ingredients

Levain (if Starter is active, skip)

1 Tablespoon 100% Hydration Sourdough Starter
75 grams All Purpose flour
75 grams Whole Wheat Flour
150 grams Warm Water

Dough - Autolyse

150 grams Levain or 150 grams Fed Starter
525 grams Fresh Water or Potato Water*
675 grams All Purpose flour (or a combination of Bread and All Purpose)
75 grams Whole Wheat or Spelt Flour

After Autolyse

15 grams Sea Salt
37.5 grams Warm Fresh Water or Potato Water*
10 grams Malt (optional)

Instructions

Day One - Prep the Starter

Prepare Levain and place in a draft free spot overnight.

Day Two - Mixing and Stretch & Folds

*If using potato water - In saucepan, add 500 grams diced potatoes and 1 kilogram of water. Cook until very soft. (Potato Water is optional, plain spring water is fine.)*
In a mixing vessel add Levain, water (or potato water) and flour and mix with fingers just until incorporated. Do not over mix.
Autolyse at least 40 minutes.
Add salt and water and integrate into dough (water will not immediately integrate, but will with each stretch and fold).
Cover dough and bulk rest for 3-5 hours with stretch and folds every 30/60 minutes.
The dough should be billowy and increase in volume 20 to 30 percent.
Transfer dough to a work surface and dust top with flour.
Cut dough into 2 equal pieces and flip over.
Fold the cut side of each piece up onto itself so the flour remains on the outside.
Work dough into two taut rounds.
Cover with a towel and rest 30 minutes.
Dust two Bannetons with white/whole wheat or rice flour.
Dust rounds with whole-wheat flour or rice flour.
Flip them over so floured sides are facing down.
Take first round and fold it into itself like an envelope.
Flip dough over and shape into smooth, taut ball by pulling the dough towards the body to tighten. Repeat with other round.
Transfer rounds, seam-side up, to prepared baskets. Cover with a towel or plastic bag and place in refrigerator overnight, 10 to 12 hours.

Day Three - Baking Day

Proof for one to two hours at room temperature.
Place baking stone, baking vessel or Dutch Oven into oven and preheat to 500 degrees at least 30 - 60 minutes prior to baking.
Dust top of dough, still in the Banneton, with flour and turn on to pizza peel. Slash top.
Place dough in baking vessel or on baking stone, spritz with water and cover for 20 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 15-20 minutes.

Notes

Plain water can be used in place of potato water.
For a blistered crust, spray the top of the loaf with water prior to covering.

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