Making Sourdough Bread… the lazy way.

I have a bit of a problem. Once I get an idea in my head, I tend to want to get to the bottom of it. This fall I decided I wanted to make sourdough bread. I wasn’t able to follow any particular recipe online because, well, I didn’t know enough about bread. I also wanted a recipe that allowed me to be super lazy about it. I am no baker… but now I can make bread. So here’s what I ended up with.

I made 7 or 8 breads that were – not perfect. They started out flat. I only threw one of them out but they all basically tasted good. Number 9 was nice and puffy. A half dozen people have followed these directions and have made good bread. I encourage you in the belief that bread is more art than science. Differences in water, in the yeast in your starter… it will all impact your bread.

If you don’t have starter… or don’t know what that means, please go to the starter section at the bottom of the post. Otherwise, go ahead and give it a shot. These instructions are meant to be followed by people who don’t know anything about bread. Lemme know if something needs more explanation.

8am (ish)

Mix 115 grams of Whole Wheat Flour and 115 grams of water into the starter in the morning (maybe a little more if i’m making more bread)

5pm (ish)

• In my mixer (or by hand or whatever. In a bowl dammit)
  230 gm of starter
  650 gm of water (blood temp)
  1000 gm of bread flour
  Salt (i use two small cupped handfulls… maybe two large tablespoons?)
• Mix it until combined. Note: we are not kneading this.
  Let sit 30-60 min

6pm (ish)

• Put a thin film of water on the counter.
• Dump the dough onto the counter, sticky side up
• Get your hands wet
• Get your dough scraper wet
• Stretch the dough 12-15 times
• (stretching instructions are here https://youtu.be/vmb0wWKITBQ?t=417 you should really watch this video)
• Shape it into a ball
• Let sit (covered in container) 2 hours

8pm (ish)

• Put a thin film of water on the counter.
• Dump the dough onto the counter, sticky side up
• Get your hands wet
• Get your dough scraper wet
• Stretch the dough 4-5 times
• Shape it into a ball
• Let sit (covered in container) 2 hours

10pm (ish)

• Put flour on your counter and on the top of your dough while its still in the container
• Dump the dough onto the counter, sticky side up
• Cut dough in half, stretch dough 4-5 times
• Make into two bread shaped balls.
• Let sit side by side (covered by towel on counter) one hour

11pm (ish)

• Put flour in your dough shaping container (i use a banneton, you can use a bowl)
• Shape dough, put in container sticky side up (banneton/bowl/bread thingy)
• Place, uncovered, in the fridge

Next day, maybe the day after. At whatever time.

• Preheat oven and dutch oven to 510 degrees. I put my dutch oven in the oven with the cover off slightly. I don’t really know why. (about half an hour)
• I also put a cooking stone under my dutch oven to deflect the heat. I find that the direct heat over cooks my bottom crust.
• After its heated, remove cover from dutch oven. (it will, you know, be hot)
• Dump bread out of container onto semolina covered baking sheet. Hope it doesn’t stick. If it sticks, you didn’t create enough of a skin in the stretching phase.
• Slice bread at random, maybe 1cm to half an inch deep along the bread
• Put in oven immediately. No dawdling. Move it.
• Put the cover back on the dutch oven. Cook 22 minutes
• Remove the bread from the dutch oven and put it back in the oven naked.
• Let cook 5 or 10 or more minutes.
• Keep checking the bread until you’re happy with the crust.
• Then, you know, take it out of the oven.

Notes

Blood temperature water – i test the temperature of water with my fingers, i’m looking for the water to be about my body temperature.
Proving temperature – Apparently if you prove at room temperature, less sour. If you prove at 80 degrees, more sour. https://brodandtaylor.com/make-sourdough-more-sour/
Pizza dough – I basically use this same recipe (with olive oil added and some super heavy kneeding at the start) to make pizza dough. Put it in the fridge COVERED on day 1, and take it out 2 hours before using.

Starter

• Well. The easiest thing to do is get some from someone. You can also make your own.
• Get a big glass jar with a closing lid, remove the rubber seal.
• Add equal parts of water and flour (maybe 50grams or each…i used whole wheat) for about ten days, dumping parts of it out of the jar so that it doesn’t overflow.
• You are done when your starter doubles in about 6-8 hours.