White Sourdough

White Sourdough

Ingredients

405g white sourdough starter

765g plain flour (preferably organic, though I used Laucke's bakers flour)

400ml lukewarm water

20g finely ground sea salt

Method:

Mix all ingredients except the salt together and stretch and fold/knead for 10 minutes.

Cover and rest for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the salt over and knead for 15-20 minutes till smooth and elastic.

Cover and rest for 1 hour at ambient room temperature (approx 21degC).

Turn out onto a bench and lightly press into a rectangle. Fold one end 1/3 back onto itself and the other end over that. Turn 90 degrees and repeat. Prove for a further hour covered.

Divide the dough into two or three even sized portions and shape into the loaves you want.

Place in a floured proving basket or makeshift container with a floured teatowel seam side up, or on a baking tray seam side down, covered. Leave for 30 minutes then place in the fridge overnight for 8-12 hours.

The next morning, remove the loaves from fridge and place in a warm spot (approx 25degC) to warm up.

Preheat the oven to full.

When the loaves spring back with a light poke they are proved - this could take 1-4 hours.

My loaves took 3 hours to prove even though it was quite warm (~25degC). I suspect this might have been due to my starter not being as active as I had hoped. Dote on your starter!**

Slash the loaves and slide onto a baking stone while spraying the oven with water.

Add icecubes to a tray in the bottom to create more steam.
Bake for 20 minutes then turn the loaves and bake for another 10 minutes until the loaves have a crust to your liking and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Allow to cool completely before slicing.



Another loaf I made for the wedding with chia, quinoa, linseed and sesame seeds.