Sourdough: Starter and Bread

Sourdough bread is one of those things that it just doesn't seem possible to make at home. When you get good sourdough, it's light, airy, and has a perfect balance of chewy and tart. Bad sourdough is either way too tart, or hardly tart at all.

A lot of what goes into a sourdough bread is time. A little over a week before I made by bread, I started my sourdough starter.

I used and old peanut butter jar, and started with 1 ounce of water (by weight) and 1/2 ounce of all purpose flour, by weight. In fact, pretty much everything from here on out will be in weights, so get a scale.

Leave the starter uncovered, or partially uncovered, and stir regularly. You don't need to put in any yeast. If you build a room temperature, open to the air, moist haven with carbohydrates, the yeast will come.

Add 1 ounce of flour, and 1/2 ounce of water on the second day. If you're keeping track, you'll notice that we have equal amounts water and flour at this point. Keep it like that. Keep on stirring regularly, and every day from here on out add 1 ounce of flour and 1 ounce of water. A week in you should have activity throughout the starter. Also, smell it regularly. More because it's interesting than anything else. 

Once you've made it a week in, your starter will have a pretty good clip to it, and you can start harvesting from it. Take 4 ounces of starter, 2 ounces of bread flour, and an ounce of water and combine in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit over night.

Add 8 ounces of bread flour, and 4 ounces of water (for a total, including the starter, of 12 ounces of flour and 7 ounces of water, very close to Ruhlman's 5:3 ratio). Throw in about 1 tsp of salt and a little olive oil. Mix with the bread hook until it comes together, then turn out on a floured surface and knead until you get some window panes.

But the ball in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 3 hours.

Knead it a little more, form the dough into your desired shape, and place it on a baking pan with parchment paper and cornmeal, to prevent sticking.

Let it rise for another two hours, then bake at 350 for 40 minutes to an hour.

Let cool, cut, and enjoy.

Ingredients:

AP Flour

10 ounces bread flour (divided into 8 and 2 ounce portions)

5 ounces of water (divided into 1 and 4 ounces)

1 tsp salt

olive oil

Procedure:

1. Make a starter using the steps outlined above.

2. Harvest 4 ounces of starter, add 2 ounces of bread flour, and 1 ounce of water, cover with plastic and let it sit over night.

3. Add 8 ounces of bread flour, 4 ounces of water, 1 tsp of salt, and a little olive oil.

4. Knead it with the dough hook until it comes together.

5. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead until it's elastic. Place the dough in a greased bowl and let rise for three hours.

6. Shape the dough into your favorite shape, place on a baking sheet with parchment paper and corn meal, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another two hours.

7. Bake in a 350F over for 40 minutes to an hour. Let cool and cut.

Comments

[Lisa]

Sourdough has given me fits for years, trying to get a starter going. This is inspiring and simple :) Thanks!

[Carol]

Hi Ben!

Interesting info on starters. I'm looking for a good recipe (or two) for a crusty whole grain bread.... preferably one where I can grind my own grain. Any thoughts?

Thank you!

[Ben]

No clue. Sorry. Grinding my own grain was something I never really considered. I imagine it's a little more involved than it seems.

[Carol]

Thanks... I'll let you know if I find anything good..... When I have some spare time......
:)