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Sourdough Bread

The sourdough starter is defined as wilde yeast, and it is most efficient when created with whole-wheat flour. This recipe is designed for a sourdough of 75% hydration.

Ingredients

  • Flour type 550 (350 g)
  • Whole wheat flour (150 g)
  • Salt (10 g)
  • Lukewarm water (375 mL)
  • Sourdough starter (100 g)

Steps

  1. Feed and activate the starter the night before by taking it out of the fridge and feeding it. Feed it again in the morning a do the float test1.
  2. Mix all the flour and water together and stir gently until everything is incorporated. Let it rest 🕰️ 30 minutes.
  3. Add the starter to the dough and incorporate it by pinching the dough and folding it onto the starter.
  4. Add salt and equal part of water and incorporate again by pinch-claw. Let it rest for 🕰️ 10~15 minutes.
  5. Wet your hand, then stretch the dough by folding it from the bottom to the top, rotating it 90 degrees and folding it again. Repeat this step for 🕰️ 10 minutes, then do the windowpane test2 to know the dough is ready.
  6. Move the dough to a clean (and transparent) bowl. Make a mark and let it ferment for 🕰️ 1 hour.
  7. Repeat the step 5, but gently and only folding it a total of 4 times. Let it rest for 🕰️ 1 hour and repeat this step 3~7 times.
  8. Put the dough on a floured surface, divide into as many parts as desired and gently make a ball (try not to release all the gas it has). Cover it and let it rest for 🕰️ 20 minutes.
  9. Prepare a shaping basket with flour. Fold the dough into a square and put it into the basket. Let it rest for 🕰️ 60~90 minutes (the dough must slightly rise) and do the poke test3
  10. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Put the dough in a Dutch oven (or cast iron pan), slash the dough and sprinkle water on top.
  11. Bake for 🕰️ 20 minutes with steam (lid on the Dutch oven) and 🕰️ 20 minutes without steam (lid off).

Notes

  1. The float test is just to put a small piece of the dough in water to see if it floats. A good active dough contains CO2 trapped within its glutenous web, making it float.
  2. The windowpane test requires to grab a pinch of the dough (size of a ping-pong ball) and then stretch it to make a tiny pizza. Let it rest, then pick up the dough and try to stretch in the air with your fingers. The test is successful if the stretching results in a thin layer of dough that is translucid and doesn't break. This indicates the dough is smooth and was kneaded enough.
  3. The poke test defines whether the dough is ready to be baked. Gently press your finger into the dough on the top. If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed. If it springs back very slowly, it's properly proofed and ready to bake. Finally, if it never springs back, the dough is overproofed.