Homemade sourdough has definitely been a craze since the beginning of the pandemic. My obsession with sourdough began in 2016 not long after my daughter was born. I remember learning that sourdough referred to long-fermented bread made from the wild yeast that occurs naturally in the air and my mind was blown. I couldn't figure out how I, who love everything food, could have this fact escape my notice. In hindsight little packets of active dry yeast were not likely traded in the original spice markets and the like...perhaps that should have been my first clue. But...it does force you to really take notice of the little things we take for granted and evaluate the choices that we make because of those conveniences.
So...without further ado, there are a lot of recipes and opinions, here's how I do it.
Things you'll need:
A digital scale that reads grams (yes, you need one, it's measure by weight instead of volume, yes, it makes a difference). They are under $20 on Amazon.
225 grams of sourdough starter. You can either buy a starter online and feed it yourself to get to the number of grams needed, or you can make your own, this is a great video tutorial: https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-your-own-sourdough-starter-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-47337
675 grams of water
1000 grams of flour (I typically do a split of 830g all purpose flour and 170 g whole wheat flour, without question I always and only use Bob's Red Mill stone ground organic flour).
Tablespoon of good sea salt
Large glass bowl
2 dutch ovens (I taught myself to make 2 loaves at once, 99% of the time its so that I can keep one for our family and give one loaf away...kind of a bread ministry).
2 proofing baskets, also easily found on Amazon and relatively inexpensive.
Bench scraper kit - not necessary but does make cleanup and transfer to the hot pots a breeze!
Place your glass bowl on the digital scale and tare it out (essentially make it read zero after its accounted for the weight of the bowl). Then add 225 grams of starter/levain to your bowl.
To the starter, add 675 grams of water and mix to combine it will look like cloudy milk with a few clumps in it. Don't forget to tare it out after you add each ingredient so you can clearly see the readout on the scale for the next measurement.
3. Once that is well combined, add the flour to the mixture. This will look like a sticky, gloopy mess and you will wonder how this will ever make a loaf of bread...that's how you know its right!
4. Cover this loosely and let is set on a counter or somewhere that is room temp to warmish for 1 hour. This is referred to as the autolyse. I use the container lid just sitting on top of the bowl but not sealed, it needs air. You don't add the salt yet because you want the yeast to begin digesting the fresh flour without being hampered by the salt right away - I'm positive there is a more scientific way of stating that, but you get the picture.
5. After the Autolyse period, mix 1 tablespoon of good sea salt with just enough water for it to dissolve and add it to the dough, dig in with your hands and give it a good mix.
6. Now its time for the bulk ferment. If you started the process in the morning (let's say 9am with feeding your starter/preparing your levain) and mixed the dough around 2pm, you'd be ready for your bulk ferment some time around 3pm. What does this mean? Waiting. From now until tonight when you prepare the loaves for the final overnight, refrigerate proof, you'll uncover the dough and stretch it from the outside in as if you were pulling a sheet and folding it back in on itself in a clockwise motion until you have rotated and stretched it around the bowl at least 6-8 times. This is where especially on a humid day you'll see your dough start to grow rapidly and the smell is amazing!
7. Now its time to form your loaves. Turn the dough out onto your counter (I've found over time that I prefer to use an unfloured surface as the flour can sometimes make creating your boule/bowl of dough more difficult - I'd rather deal with the stickiness. Roll the two loaves into boules, here is a great helpful video if you're a newbie: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+fold+sourdough+boule&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS898US898&oq=how+to+roll+a+boule+&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i22i30j0i390l4.5536j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#kpvalbx=_sNXxYvWLBZih5NoP1dmf4A834
8. Flour your proofing baskets very generously, once you've finished shaping your dough place them top side down into the basket and then cover them loosely and stick them in the refrigerator overnight to do their final ferment.
9. Good morning! It's time to crank your oven up to 500 degrees F. First, place your dutch ovens next to each other on a sturdy oven rack WITHOUT the lids. While your oven is getting up to temperature, take your loaves out of the refrigerator to warm up.
10. While they were forming in the proofing baskets the top of your loaf (currently upside down in the basket) was forming a skin, since the bread is going to rise, you'll have to use a sharp knife or razor blade to create a fun design or just a simple hash mark to slash the top to allow for expansion in the oven. Go to Pinterest for inspiration on this one, some folks are just plain fancy.
11. When the oven is up to temperature, pull out your rack with the HOT dutch ovens and carefully using oven mitts and bench scrapers transfer the dough to the pot (some people use parchment paper, but I haven't found it necessary and as you can see from the picture, I've bake a LOT of loaves). Put the lids on right away and bake it on 500 degrees for 25 minutes.
12. After 25 minutes has passed, remove the lids (they will be screaming hot!!) and drop the oven down to 470 degrees for the final 20 minutes. They will look a little blonde, but will have risen nicely at this point.
13. Congratulations! You just made your first loaves of sourdough bread...do you feel as though you just created fire? No? Just me. Well you should, because you're about to eat something we've eaten for centuries the way our ancestors did. Just remember to let it cool before you dig in, not worth burning your tongue and not being able to taste it!
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