Sourdough Bread

Directions

• Pre-Preparation
• Feed your starter as late as possible the night before you are wanting to make your bread with equal amounts starter, water and flour. Place in a warm spot overnight.
• The next morning your starter should have risen and is ready to use. Don’t forget to put some starter aside, re-feed and place in fridge until you are ready to bake next time.
• Dough Preparation
• Place all ingredients apart from the salt into a bowl.
• Using your hands mix the ingredients together. If you have a stand mixer or Thermomix, place it on slow or kneading settings until well combined.Hands: Place the dough on a slightly floured surface and knead the dough.
• Mixer/thermomix: allow to mix for 10 minutes. Note that if using a Thermomix you may need to stop the mixing every few minutes and use the spatula to mix the dough. This will allow all of the dough to be kneaded.After 10 minutes add in the salt and knead or mix (on a medium speed) until well combined and the dough is coming off the sides of the mixing bowl.If by doing by hand, remove a small piece of dough and hold it up, allowing it to spread downwards. This will create a window panel. If the bread is ready, it will hold together allowing light to come through a thin layer of dough but if it needs more kneading, the panel will start to fall apart.
• Once complete, place into a bowl (not plastic) and allow to rise for 2 hours or doubled in size.
• After it has doubled in size, start the "folds". This is where you pull up one side of the dough and place it over the centre of the dough. Turn the bowl and do it three more times until you are back at the first fold. Repeat this 3-4 times at 15 minute intervals, covering the bowl with plastic film. You will know when the bread has enough structure, as it will start to become harder to pull up. This is a good indicator to know that it requires no more folds. After the last fold allow to rest for 15 minutes.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured bench. Make sure you place the dough on the same side down as it was in the bowl. Let it sit and relax for 5 minutes.
• If wanting to make 2 loaves, split the dough into 2 pieces. Make sure you don’t get any flour on the top side of the dough, this will stop it from sticking and creating a ball.
• Similar to the folds, pull each side into the middle of the dough, stitching it together until it creates a slight round ball.
• Place into a well floured banneton or bowl, with the stitching side facing upwards. Place a cloth over the bowl.
• Place in the fridge overnight to allow the bread to prove and develop flavour.
• Baking Process
• Next morning: preheat oven to 230 degrees Celsius. Place dutch oven or pot that you are using into the cold oven and allow to heat at the same time. If using a pot, place a ceramic dish at the bottom of your oven. This will be used to create steam which is important for the baking process.
• Once the oven is hot, take dough out of the fridge. Turn the dough over onto baking paper and then place into the dutch oven or pot. Using a sharp knife, slice down the side of the dough (known as scoring). This step should be done fairly delicately as you don’t want to punch out all the air of the dough. Be very careful, the dutch oven or pot will be extremely hot when taking it out of the oven. Baking gloves are recommended.
• Place the dutch oven or pot into the oven with the lid. If using a pot, use alfoil or a tray as a lid. In the ceramic dish splash a small amount of water and quickly close the oven (this is only required if you don’t have a dutch oven). Bake for 20 minutes with lid on.
• After 20 minutes, remove lid and back for another 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and place onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool for 1-2 hours. Don’t slice until completely cool, this will prevent the bread from loosing its structure and going gooey.
• Serve with your favourite condiments and enjoy!