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Sourdough bread Instructions.
Ingredients: Strong white bread flour, wholegrain wheat flour, wholegrain rye flour, finely ground sea salt, starter, refined water.
Equipment: Cast iron (oven proof) sealable pan, dough scraper, digital kitchen scales, medium sized round mixing bowl, spatula, proofing basket
1, FEEDING THE STARTER. Before you go to bed, measure out 50g mature starter into a pint glass (or similar) and mix it with 130g water, 50g of strong white bread flour and 50g of rye flour. Mix until it forms a paste, cover with a breathable cloth and allow to sit overnight at room temperature. Try to feed your starter most weeks, even if you’re not making a loaf, in order to keep it fresh and alive.
2, When you awake, the starter should have risen to the top of the glass, at which point, for each loaf you wish to make, measure out 40g of the starter into the Leavenator, add 30g of water to it, 15g of strong white bread flour and 15g of rye flour and then mix into a paste; cover again and leave until it rises to the top of the small bowl (usually takes around 4 hours). The starter is now called a ‘leaven’.
3, After 4 hours, transfer the leaven into a mixing bowl and add 400g of strong white bread flour and 100g of strong wholemeal flour into the bowl, then slowly pour 400ml of water into a mixing bowl. Using your whisk, mix it together until it forms a smooth paste and then cover with a clean drying up cloth for 1 hour.
4, After 1 hour, measure out 12g of salt, mix with the dough, cover back up and then allow to rest for another 30 mins.
5, After 30 mins, dip your hand in some warm water and then slide it down one side of the bowl. When you reach the bottom, use your thumb to grasp the top centre of the dough then stretch what you have grasped upwards and then fold it across to the other side of the bowl. Repeat this movement about 7 times, circulating the bowl around a fraction every time you dip your hand in again. Once finished, cover with the drying up cloth and repeat this process 2 more times every 30 minutes.
6, After the final stretch and fold of the dough, let it to sit for 70 minutes, allowing it to rise in the process.
7. After 70 minutes, using the shaker, cover your work surface with flour, and then, with the plastic bowl scraper pour the dough onto it. Using the dough scraper, gently fold the dough from one side to the other a couple of times before gently forming it into an even shaped mound, making sure to sprinkle more flour onto it every time it sticks, allow to rest for 15 minutes; do not cover.
8. After 15 minutes, on the same floured surface, press down on the entire dough with the dough scraper, flattening it out as much as possible. Slowly lift and fold each of the 4 sides a quarter of the way in on itself, re-flattening that portion after each lift. When all the sides have been flattened, gently reposition the dough into a mound before placing it into the proving basket and letting it rest at room temperature for a couple of hours, without covering it.
9. After 2 hours, move the dough to the fridge and leave overnight.
10. The next day, before doing anything else, place your oven proof pan with the lid on into the oven and turn it onto full heat (240) for 1 hour.
11. Just before you are ready to put the dough in the oven, find a serving board and sprinkle it with flour. Empty the dough down onto the board, making sure in is inverted from how it was previously. Using a VERY sharp knife, deeply slice a large cross, going through the centre and onto the sides. You can obviously play around with how you slice but start with this to get the hang of it.
12. Take the pan out of the oven, take the lid off and then VERY carefully slide the dough into it. The flour on the top of the board is essential here. Once it is in, place the lid back on and then put it in the oven for 38 minutes.
13. After 38 minutes, open the oven and take the lid off the pan before closing the door and letting it cook for a final 5 minutes.
14. Take the bread out of the oven and allow it to rest for 30 minutes before cutting into it.