The Humble Sourdough Loaf
“There comes a point in your life when you need to stop eating other people’s bread and make your own!” -Chris Geiger
Okay, so you’ve got your starter, waited patiently for 14 long days, now you’re ready for some bread. This recipe is to make a simple loaf that shouldn't be hard to make.
Remember to feed your starter before using the excess to start baking your loaf. Making a simple loaf every week is a good way to not discard your leftover starter and to get fresh bread out of the week.
I’ve given you instructions on how to feed your starter below after you feed your dough, you are going to want to allow your starter to leaven. Leaven is a scientific process that allows the sourdough to form wild yeasts and the good ol' lactobacilli so an active colony is going into your sourdough bread to create a happy loaf.
Basically, you must feed your starter, and with the discarded starter, use 113 grams of that to feed again. This becomes your leaven and will be what you use to put into your loaf, it should equal (with the water and flour combined) about 454 grams. Be sure to measure out your leaven before using it in your loaf.
This process is a lot of repeating the same steps, so be patient and follow them carefully. It also means that you should start the baking process the night before you want a sourdough loaf, which means you will be waking up to the fresh smell of sourdough, yum!
As always, keep baking!
Feed Your Starter:
Let your starter come to room temperature (if it has been in the fridge).
Take out your starter and place it in a mixing bowl, clean out the jar with water.
In a separate mixing bowl combine 113g of distilled water and 110g of flour and mix well.
Then add 113g of starter to this mixture and combine.
Separate your discarded starter, now begin the leavening process!
The Leaven Process
This process allows your sourdough to create all the healthy microbes and become bubbly and active. The leaving process is controversial among bakers of how to describe its meaning and what to call this process, but in basic terms, the leavening process is the second build to allow microbes to form.
After you have fed your starter take 113g of the leftovers and feed it with 113g of distilled water and 110g of flour. Mix well. Allow your leaven set overnight along with your original starter.
In the morning you are ready to create your loaf.
Ingredients for loaf
113 g water
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
454g leaven
298 g white wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Olive oil (to prepare bowl)
Steps for loaf
If using a bread machine: put water and sugar and stir to let the sugar dissolve. Add in starter, flour, and sprinkle salt on top. Do not mix
Set bread machine to the dough, and let it run through
When the dough is done, take a bowl and coat with olive oil. Place the dough into the bowl gently, careful not to knock any air out. Put a towel over the bowl and let the bread prove for one hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a pot inside to heat. Score the dough.
Put the dough inside the pot and cover. Bake for 25 minutes.
Heat oven to 475 degrees F and bake for 10 minutes longer.
Once baked, take out and let cool on a rack before cutting. Enjoy.
Steps
If hand mixing: put water and sugar and stir to let the sugar dissolve. Add in starter, flour, and incorporate by hand. Once the dough starts to come together sprinkle in salt
Keep mixing until the dough ball starts to form. Take the dough out of the bowl and begin kneading it until gluten is fully developed (Note: test if the gluten is developed by creating a bit of dough in front of a window. If you can see through the dough without it breaking, your dough is ready.)
take a bowl and coat with olive oil. Place the dough into the bowl gently, careful not to knock any air out. Put a towel over the bowl and let the bread prove for one hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a pot inside to heat. Score the dough.
Put the dough inside the pot and cover. Bake for 25 minutes.
Heat oven to 475 degrees F and bake for 10 minutes longer.
Once baked, take out and let cool on a rack before cutting. Enjoy.