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1
December
Sourdough Bread
Sourdough Bread
Print recipe
| Serves | 2 |
Ingredients
- 200g Fed Starter
- 500g Strong White Bread Flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 240ml water (bottled, not tap)
- 1 tablespoon honey (optional)
Directions
| Saturday AM | |
| 1. | Take starter out of the fridge, and place 1 large tablespoon into a clean glass bowl, leave one large tablespoon in the jar, and discard the rest. Instead of chucking it in the bin, you can use it to make pancakes or waffles for breakfast. |
| 2. | To the starter left in the jar, add 100g flour and 140g water, and place back in the fridge until next week. |
| 3. | To the starter in the glass bowl, add 100g of rye flour & 140g bottled water. Cover with tea towel and leave to double in size – approx 5-6 hrs depending on room temp. When it is risen, spongy and bubbly, it’s now called a ‘fed starter’ and is ready to bake with. |
| Saturday PM | |
| 4. | Take 200g of 'fed starter' and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, water, salt and honey (if using). Mix until well combined. |
| 5. | Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic for 8-10 mins. If the mixture seems too sloppy, add a smidge more flour before turning out to knead, but beware the more flour you add the denser and heavier your bread will be, and a wet dough will tighten up as you knead and produce a much better crumb |
| 6. | Once kneaded, place in an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm, then place in the fridge overnight. |
| Sunday AM | |
| 7. | Your dough should have doubled in size by now. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knock all the air out, then half the mixture. |
| 8. | Shape into smooth rectangles and place gently in to 2 x greased and floured 2lb loaf tins. Dust the top with more flour, and make a shallow slash cut along the top in the middle, from about half inch from each end. Cover both loaves with a clean tea towel and leave at room temp for about 5-6 hours at least, longer if it is cold, until it has doubled in size again |
| Sunday PM | |
| 9. | Once the bread has had it's second prove, bake in middle of oven at 190°C / 375°F / Gas Mark 5 for 30 mins, then turn out onto a baking tray, upside down. Place back in oven for a further 10 mins, then leave to fully cool on a cooling rack. |
Note
Once cooled, I tend to place one loaf in a freezer bag and freeze. The bread will keep fresh for several days, but it is definitely at its best eaten within 2 or 3 days.
Instead of 2 small loaves, you can make one large one just by placing the entire dough in a sourdough proving basket for its second prove, gently turning out and baking. Adjust the baking time to accommodate the larger loaf
