Despite what you may have heard, making sourdough bread is sooooo easy. And once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.
With all the unnecessary plastic packaging synonymous with store bought bread, especially sliced bread, there is no reason not to make bread at home. You’ll save money, you’ll have a healthier, home made supply whenever you want it, and oh yeah, your house is going to smell amaaaaazing.
Once you have your starter, you can virtually keep it alive forever. It’s like a pet that could technically outlive you, and tell your story. A story about deliciousness.
I always thought obtaining sourdough starter meant being “in the know.” Some secret bread society I wasn’t cool enough to join. Then I learned that not only was it super easy, it only required a few ingredients that I already had in my kitchen. And if I didn’t have them, they would be easy to find plastic-free, even package-free.
Once you have your starter, it can virtually live on forever. You can keep it at room temperature and feed it daily, or put it in the fridge and neglect it a bit. Now that your starter is ready, you can make some delicious sourdough bread!
Here’s the recipe in ten detailed steps:
Ingredients
- 3 2/3 cups (18 1/3 oz) all-purpose flour (bulk section)
- 1 3/4 teaspoons Salt (bulk section)
- 1 1/2 cups plus 4 Teaspoons (12 2/3 oz) water, room temperature
- 1/3 cup (3 oz) mature sourdough starter.
The steps may look overwhelming, but I really tried to explain it at thoroughly as possible, it’s really not that complicated. But if you’re more of a visual person, I got you. Check out some of my favorite tutorials on the bottom of this page.
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, mix the flour and salt together.
2. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together room-temperature water and your starter until evenly incorporated and smooth.
3. With a wooden spoon (or your hands), stir the flour and salt mixture into the larger bowl and mix until the dough starts to come together, being sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Flour your hands and knead the dough in the bowl until a messy ball, it does not need to be perfectly even or smooth, but no dry flour should remain in the bowl.
5. Cover bowl with lid, or place in Dutch Oven with lid, and allow to sit at room temperature overnight (12-18 hours).
6.Flour your surface and slap the dough down, kneading about 15 times. The idea is to form the dough into a ball by lifting the edges of the dough into the middle, like your wrapping a package. Flour the bottom of your Dutch oven or baking pan and drop in the dough crease-side-down, then cover the dish.
7. Place the baking dish in the middle rack of your oven. Place a baking sheet on a lower rack and pour in 2-3 cups of boiling water to create steam beneath the dough. Close the oven door and allow to rise about 2-3 hours. DO NOT let the dough over-rise, you want to catch the rise while its still going up! It should ideally double in size and does not spring back when you poke it. Remove the water from the oven.
8. When the dough has risen again, remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle flour on top of the dough. With a sharp knife or razor, score four cuts into the top of the dough to allow steam the vent when cooking. About 1-2” long each. Scoring bread is YOUR signature, so be creative if you want!
9. Cover the dish again, and place it back on the middle rack. Turn the oven up to 425F/220C and bake for 30 minutes, starting the clock as soon as you turn the oven on!
10. Remove the lid and bake for another 30 minutes. Once browned and crusty on top, remove from the oven and place dough on a baking rack to cool. This is delicious toasty warm or used the the next day for sandwiches or toast!
I’ll post the recipe for sourdough starter tomorrow!
Recipe Sources:
https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/almost-no-knead-sourdough-bread
And Brad, we LOVE Brad! ❤
For visual learners!
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