As I mentioned in my previous post about my trials making sourdough loaves, I did a lot of reading about the different recipes and methods people use. Currently, I'm using a combination of all of these ideas to make my sourdough. It is what works for me. I make no claim that any of this is my idea. I just wanted a simple recipe that needs simple maintenance.
Required reading:
Still with me? Good!
I have activated my starter and it lives in the pantry in a quart-sized mason jar with a paper towel on top that is anchored with a mason jar ring. I feed my room-temperature starter once per day a ratio of 2 parts stone ground whole wheat flour to one part water (usually using 1/2 c. flour, 1/4 c. room temp filtered water) UNLESS I'm getting ready to make a loaf of bread. Stir well. Get some air in there!
NOTE: I wanted to make sure my starter actively lived at room temperature for its first 30 days to fully develop the flavor. If I am only making bread once a week or less often after those first 30 days, it lives in the refrigerator in a mason jar with a screw-top lid. I feed it twice a week, using the same formula as above. I pull the starter out of the refrigerator and continue with the instructions two days before I plan to make bread.
Two days (no less than 36 hours) before I plan to bake the bread, I start feeding it every 12 hours, roughly doubling the amount each time. I usually switch over to a large glass bowl with a loose lid, because it will ooze through the paper towel and attack the pantry otherwise. Seriously. I've had it happen. I fully expected it to gain sentience and go sit on the couch to watch TV.
NOTE: Really. This is all the maintenance I do on my sourdough. I always save a little bit of the starter, put it in a clean mason jar and pop it back in the refrigerator. That's all.
This usually gives me 2 1/2 cups of starter unless I've been really aggressive with the feedings. Sometimes I will add a touch more water than the 2-1 ratio if it's so thick that I can't work with it and that tends to give me a little more starter to deal with. At that point, I use a somewhat skewed version of the Cultures for Health recipe because it is simple and good:
Sourdough Bread Recipe:
- 2 1/3 cups active sourdough starter
- 3 1/3 cup Flour
- 1 – 1 ½ cup Water (approximate)
- Scant Tablespoon Salt
I say somewhat skewed because it's not an exact science and I add flour/water until I get the texture that I want. It's really going to depend on the thickness of your starter, the weather, and the age of your flour. And I will say the texture I'm looking for is probably stickier than you would think.
I dump the whole lot into my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough attachment. I turn it on low for about 3 minutes or so or until it is all good and mixed. Then I turn it off and walk away for about 10 minutes. Whole wheat flour takes a while to absorb the water properly. After the 10 minutes, I turn the mixer on again for about 30 seconds. This is where I would adjust the flour or water as needed. Skipping the rest period will guarantee an over-floured loaf.
I have granite counter tops, so I find it easiest to do the kneading right on the counter. I just make sure it is clean and I use liberal amounts of olive oil on the counter and on my hands because the dough should be really sticky. I also keep a metal scraper on hand to help me get it off the counter should things get out of control. I knead the dough for about 1 minute, maybe 2. Then I let it sit on the counter while I wash my hands and the mixing bowl. I leave it set there from 5 to 10 minutes.
I then bring my clean, dry bowl back to the counter and splash some olive oil in it. Then I re-coat my hands. Then I knead the bread for another 1 or 2 minutes. I form it into a ball and coat it with olive oil if needed. Then I put it in the bowl, cover it with a towel and leave it for at least 30 minutes.
NOTE: My husband does not like overly sour sourdough for sandwich bread because it makes things taste funny. The longer your sourdough sits, the more sour flavor will develop. If I'm making artisan sourdough, I leave it sit for up to 18 hours and bake it in a dutch oven. But for the purposes of this sandwich bread, it sits for a scant 30 minutes and gets a large bread pan.
After 30 minutes, I prepare my bread pan. This recipe will make two small loaves or one large loaf. I have a large stoneware bread pan, so I throw all of the dough in there or I will even take some dough out and make hamburger buns with it. I coat the bread pan with either coconut oil or olive oil depending on my mood. I do find that the olive oil works a bit better in this application. I take the dough out one more time and knead it for a bit with olive oil, shape it into the loaf shape and drop it into my prepared pan. I then cover it with a towel and let it rise to the height I want. It usually takes about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 450. Then drop it to 400 when you put the bread in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Drop the temperature to 350, cover the top with a piece of aluminum foil and continue baking until the interior temperature reaches 200 degrees. It's all going to depend on the size of your pans and other things, so if you make 2 small loaves, you might be done at the original 30 minute mark. The point is, use your thermometer.
When your bread reaches 200, take it out of the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes. It should cool enough to just pop out of the pan. Take it out of the pan and set it on a towel and let it cool completely before storing it in an air tight container.
FULL DISCLOSURE: My bread has never made it to the air tight container intact. The end always ends up missing...with butter.