Sourdough Bread – Kneaded
Your perfect recipe to make sourdough bread from scratch
Sourdough has been one of my favorite breads ever since I was first introduced to it. Its unique hearty flavor and texture is unparalleled. No other bread can match the experience of a slice of warm sourdough with a dollop of butter.
But the experience of making sourdough bread is even more amazing! Its truly magical to see just flour, water and salt turn into a lovely, crusty loaf of bread with such a depth of flavors – truly magical. The only other ingredients that go in are patience, love, diligence and wonder!
Here’s the recipe-
You will need:
- 175g Sourdough starter (at room temp)
- 400g Bread flour
- 230g tepid warm water
- A large bowl, preferably glass. If using metal, make sure its not too cold
- A proving machine or a warm area where you can leave your dough to prove without being disturbed
- salt
- Kitchen towel
- rice flour for dusting
- A thin and sharp blade for scoring.
- an oven
- A baking tray for adding steam in the oven when baking.
Procedure:
- Make a sourdough starter – recipe here
- Mix 400 g bread flour, 175 g of the starter, 230 g of tepid water and 8 g salt in a large bowl
- Mix together and knead till the dough forms a smooth ball and springs back on poking – took me about 15 minutes or so
- Prove in a warm spot for 3-4 hours (natural yeast takes much longer than instant yeasts to prove)
- After the first prove the dough should have doubled in size, punch down the air and knead it back in a ball by folding and tucking the dough
- Line a bowl with a kitchen towel and dust with generous amounts of rice flour.
- Place the ball of dough in the bowl and put for a second prove – 12-15 hours in the refrigerator
- Heat the oven to 550 F and keep a tray of boiling water at the bottom of the oven to add steam during baking. Skip this step if you have a steam oven.
- Invert the bowl and place the proved loaf onto a baking sheet. Score with a sharp blade and bake in the preheated steaming oven for 25 minutes.
- Decrease the temperature to 450 F and cook for another 10-15 minutes
- Remove on a wire rack and let cool for an hour
You know the loaf is ready when the crust is a deep golden-brown and sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom
This bread goes lovely with Turkish eggs, avocado toast any open sandwiches