Sourdough bread
Using only flour and water as the base ingredients, with a bit of salt and sugar for taste, this loaf is perfect to make at home at the week end.
After experimenting with different techniques and mixtures of flour, this classic loaf is the one I found the easiest to make, repeatably and reliably.
Ingredients
Makes one loaf of around 500 grams:
- 250 grams of strong flour
- 125 millilitres of water
- 150 grams of sourdough starter
- 10 grams of salt
- 10 grams of brown sugar
Recipe
Prepare a bread sponge. In a bowl, mix:
- 125 grams of strong flour
- 125 grams of water
- 150 grams of sourdough starter
Cover the bowl with cling film. Leave to rest for a few hours, until the sponge starts getting bubbly and doubles in volume.
In the bowl containing the sponge, add:
- 125 grams of strong flour
- 10 grams of salt
- 10 grams of brown sugar
Mix the new ingredients in until the dough takes the shape of a smooth ball.
Transfer the dough to a flat, lightly floured, surface. Knead the bread for 5 to 10 minutes, until the dough is firm and elastic. Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover with cling film, and leave to rise for a few hours, or until doubled in volume.
Once doubled again, take the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly dusted surface. Fold the dough to shape into a ball.
Transfer to a proving basket, and prove for a few hours, or until doubled in size again.
Preheat a Dutch oven to 250℃. Score the surface of the loaf, transfer the loaf to the Dutch oven, and bake for 25 minutes in the closed Dutch oven.
After 25 minutes in the closed Dutch oven, remove the lid, and bake the loaf for another 25 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack at room temperature.