People have been baking sourdough bread for as long as they’ve been baking bread at all. If it was really that complex and difficult, it would never have found its way into our modern, convenient times.
This loaf is the one I bake most often; you might call it my signature loaf. It is beautiful and aromatic, and it has a flavor I still crave and enjoy after years of baking and eating it. It’s also a perfect loaf to begin with, to make and make again until you have your technique down.
Photo by Elizabeth Cecil
Ingredients
FOR THE LEVAIN:
1 tablespoon sourdough starter, fed on baking day or on the day before
1-1/4 cups (7 ounces) whole-wheat flour (not pastry flour)
Scant 1 cup (7 ounces) room-temperature filtered water
FOR THE DOUGH:
1 to 1-1/4 cups (8 to 10 ounces) room-temperature filtered water
1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons barley malt
2-1/2 cups (12 ounces) whole-wheat flour (not pastry flour)
1/2 cup (2.2 ounces) rye flour, plus additional for dusting towel or brotform
1/2 cup (2.2 ounces) white bread flour
3 to 4 teaspoons coarse sea salt
Rolled oats or cornmeal for dusting loaf
Special equipment: Heavy lidded pot, ideally cast iron, and at least 4 quarts; single-edged razor blade; spray bottle; parchment paper
Recipe
1. Make the levain. About 10-14 hours before making bread dough, add the ingredients for the levain to a medium bowl and mix well. Cover and let sit at 70-75 degrees.
2. Make the dough. Once the levain is bubbly and well risen, combine it with the flour, barley malt, and water in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. It works best to hold some of the water back, adding more only as needed. Stir until the ingredients are combined and the levain is dispersed throughout.
3. With your hands or a spatula, mix the dough into a ragged mass, rubbing the newly formed dough against the side of the bowl to pick up any stray bits of flour. The dough should be wet enough that you can do this, and the bowl should be fairly clean when you are through. If it is not, add a spoonful of water or two and pick up any remaining flour. Strive for dough that is on the wet side and tacky to the touch, but not soggy.
4. Cover the bowl and let it sit in a warm spot (ideally 78-80 degrees) for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 hour. For holding the temperature of bread dough in a cool kitchen, I can recommend using a countertop bread proofer. As an alternative, you can use an oven with a “proof” function or one with the interior light left on. With either option, take care that the dough doesn’t get too warm.
5. While the dough is resting, use a generous helping of rye flour to dust a smooth cotton or linen dish towel, one with no texture or pill that will “catch” the dough. Place the towel inside a medium-sized bowl, floured side up. For a simpler approach and a beautiful finished look, you can use a floured brotform. Set the bowl or brotform aside.
6. Add salt and knead the dough for about 10 minutes. If you use your hands to knead the dough, it should be as wet as it can be, yet still dry enough for you to handle. If you use a stand mixer, the dough should be wet enough that it only just clears the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl. Using enough water will ensure a good rise and an open, airy crumb. (Depending on your flour, your dough may need more water than called for in the ingredient list).
7. When you are finished kneading, form the dough into a boule. Invert it so the seam is face up, and place the loaf on top of the towel in the bowl or into the brotfrom. Pinch closed any bottom creases that remain opened. Cover the bowl or brotform and let the dough rise, covered, for 1-4 hours at 78-80 degrees. In the summer or if your room is warmer let it rise for less time, about 1-2 hours. If your room is cooler or your starter less vibrant, compensate by giving the dough a longer rise; in the winter, this rise may take 4 hours or longer.
8. At the end of the countertop rise, transfer the covered dough to the refrigerator. The dough should rise in the refrigerator for another 8 to 36 hours.
9. One hour before you’re ready to bake, place a heavy, lidded pot inside the oven and preheat it to 500 degrees.
10. When the oven is adequately preheated, remove the dough from the refrigerator, dust the surface with rolled oats or cornmeal, and gently invert it onto a piece of parchment paper. (The side with the oats or cornmeal should rest on the parchment, and the floured side will now be the top.) Using a single-edged razor blade, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern with a wide center square.
11. Remove the pot from the oven and ease the bread, still on the parchment paper, into the pot. Then, using a spray bottle filled with warm water, spritz the inside of the pot lid, cover the pot quickly, and place it into the oven for 5 minutes. It’s okay if the top of the loaf gets damp when spritzing.
12. Turn the heat down to 450 degrees and bake the bread for about 35 minutes more. When the bread is ready, it will have a deep brown crust and an internal temperature of around 207 degrees (checking the temperature with a thermometer will not harm the bread in any way).
13. Remove the bread from the pot and let it cool on a rack for at least 1-1/2 hours before slicing. While it’s tempting to slice the bread sooner, the steam contained within the loaf extends the baking. So cutting it before it cools will make the crumb gummy and negatively affect the quality of the loaf.
If you have questions, email me using the “contact” page of my website and I will do my best to help you.
Copyright, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul