A sourdough journey…
I am just starting on this path of bread making, so my knowledge is basic, and with each loaf of bread, I am still learning and experimenting. The joy and accomplishment felt when you pull a freshly baked loaf of bread out of the oven to feed your loved ones is immense.
This recipe takes into account that you have a sourdough starter already sitting in your fridge waiting to feed and bloom. If you don’t, many wonderful books and blogs will take you through this process. You can also ask around; you probably know someone who has one, or if you live in Portugal, I am delighted to offer you some of my own.
This is my favourite bread recipe; the porridge mixture gives the bread a custardy crumb, which is exceptional! The recipe evolved from the porridge bread served at the ‘Spring’ restaurant in London and has been baked and baked until I successfully achieved a loaf similar to theirs.
Here are a few tools and tips before starting your loaf of bread:
tools
- Necessary – a big mixing bowl, tea towels, electronic scale, Dutch oven (size 22), sharp knife or razor blade, sturdy oven mitts.
- Ideal but unnecessary – I use a round 20cm x 8cm proofing basket. (You can use a colander lined with a tea towel inside, but a proofing basket has a special shape and material that allows more air in), dough scraper (handy when shaping the dough.)
ingredients
- Bread flour or baker’s flour – you can bake with pizza flour, wholemeal flour, spelt, rye flour – any flour with at least 10g of protein per 100g; you can check by looking at the bag.
- Sourdough leaven (starter), sometimes called sourdough, is a form of natural yeast that you have to keep alive in liquid form (as opposed to dry yeast, which you can keep in powdered form.) It makes your bread rise and gives it its nice sourdough flavour. The starter is the most important part of the bread. See below as to how to maintain it. Test the starter by adding a spoon to a cup of warm, tepid water – if it floats, it is ready to go.
- Rice flour is an excellent non-stick flour for shaping and dusting the basket. It doesn’t become sticky like regular flour, making it easy to work with, and it doesn’t turn black in the oven.
- Different types of flours to bake with – you can start with just your regular bread flour, but it’s gratifying to try out baking with different types of flours, e.g. wholemeal, rye, and spelt and see how the bread changes which ones you like the flavour of. I love spelt because it tastes better and is a flavourful grain! It’s a good idea to start using a majority (at least 60%) of baker’s flour and then add other types.
- Salt – I use rock salt in all my baking, based on Ayurvedic principles. It’s important not to add salt until after an auto-lapsed/hydrated period (this is the first step when you add the water, leaven and flour.)
feeding your starter:
I keep my starter in the fridge. I do this as a security measure if I forget to save some aside. The day before I bake, I take what I need from the starter, feed it and place the remaining back in the fridge. I don’t bake bread daily, so I don’t want to feed it constantly, and there is much less waste. Because my starter has been in the fridge, I try to give it two feeds before I use it. I usually take it out the night before, discard some and feed it again for bread-making below.
Above, left is the starter just feed, next is after 2 hours, then 4 hours and lastly, 6 hours, bubbly and ready to use. I have also used it after 4 hours. The bread isn’t as good as a starter after 6, but it still makes a great loaf.
Drop a spoonful into a bowl of room-temperature water to test the starter’s readiness. If it sinks, it is not ready and needs more ripening time. When it floats on the surface or close to it, it’s ready to make the dough.
If you see that the starter has risen and has started to go back down, it has fermented too long and reached its peak, then started to deflate. I don’t suggest using it; instead, discard leaving 10-20g, then feed it 50g flour and 50g water. I live in a relatively cool climate, even in Summer, so these times could be different in your place.
This is my routine that works well. I make a loaf once a week (these times could change in the summer season.)
- I take my starter (sourdough leaven) from the fridge in the evening, just before bed, around 9.00 pm, the day before I intend to bake. Measure out 40g (Important – feed the leftover starter, replace it in the fridge); feed the measured starter – 1:3:3 (40g+120g flour+120g water.) Allow it to sit overnight; the 1:3:3 ratio gives it a good feed for that period, and it doesn’t run out of food and collapse.
- Usually, by the morning 7.00 am, it is active and ready to go. With this active starter (even if it has deflated), I make a lemon sourdough pound cake or the most delicious savoury pancakes, keeping aside 10-25g or whatever is left in the jar (for making a loaf of bread), which I then feed – 1:2:2 (25g+50g flour+50g water.) Set aside and ferment for another four – six hours or until doubled or tripled in size. Usually, by 1.00 pm, it’s ready to use.
porridge sourdough
Makes one medium loaf
preparing the dough – approx 4 – 7 hours
overnight in the fridge – 12 – 16 hours
baking – 40 minutes
dough
300g warm water
100g sourdough starter, well-fed, bubbly and ready to use
1 Tbsp/10g olive or rapeseed oil
80g wholegrain spelt flour
420g white spelt flour
12g fine rock salt
porridge mixture
40g rolled oats or barley flakes + 10g linseeds + 200g boiling water
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a sprinkling of sesame seeds or oats, optional
rice flour for dusting
porridge
1. Add the oats and linseed in a small saucepan, then pour in the hot water and allow to sit for 15-30 minutes. Cook over medium heat for 5 – 10 mins, remove from heat and allow to cool down.*
sourdough
2. Weigh 300g of warm water into a large bowl. Add 100g of your starter. Stir briefly to combine, and add the oil and flour. Give it a good stir until no dry patches remain, then cover it with a plastic bag or a damp cloth and leave for 40 minutes to autolyse/hydrate.
3. Add the salt; use your hand to thoroughly scrunch and mix the dough until everything is evenly distributed.
4. Bulk rise: Cover the bowl again and let the dough rise in a warm place for around 3-4 hours until doubled in size. During this time, with wet hands, every 30 minutes, turn and fold – reach down, lift up one side and then stretch it up and over the ball of dough to reach the other side, where you can press the end down gently so it stays put. Repeat all the way around the dough.
*Add 190g of the cooled porridge mixture after the first two series of turns, about 1 hour into the bulk rise.
As time progresses, the dough should become puffier, lighter, smoother, stronger and easier to handle.
5. After the dough has risen sufficiently, turn it out onto a lightly oiled/floured work surface and shape it into a boule by making a series of folds (same as before, using as little flour as possible) to create a smooth, taut surface on the underside. Sometimes, my dough is a gooey mess, and I fold the best I can. This is why I usually use an oiled surface; even though it is a gooey dough, the result still bakes up into exceptional bread.
6. Heavily flour (rice flour), a large round proving basket (or large colander, or bowl lined with a tea towel.) Optional: Sprinkle sesame seeds or oats on the counter and gently roll the dough into them before transferring to the basket, seam-side up. If the seams are gaping, pinch them closed. The dough should fill half the basket.
7. Cover again and let prove in the fridge for 12 – 16 hours. It could rise to more or less fill the basket. If it hasn’t quite done that, don’t worry – it will rise further in the oven.
8. Bring the dough out of the fridge, and set aside on the counter. Put your empty lidded casserole in the oven and heat the oven to 250C/480F (or as hot as it will go.) Wait 40 minutes for the pot to get really hot. Then, carefully tip the dough into the hot pot with its round, smooth side on top. Slash the top a few times with a sharp blade. Immediately replace the lid and return the pot to the oven.
9. Bake for 35 minutes. Then remove the lid, turn down the heat to 230C/446F and continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the crust is a rich brown. Cool completely (this is important!) on a wire rack before cutting. The loaf will keep for three days in linen or paper bags. Using plastic makes the crust soft.
raisin rye variation
Follow the recipe above; replace the oats with 40g rye flakes + 10g linseed. Soak 1 cup/125g raisins for 30 minutes, drain and set aside. Add the raisins and rye-porridge mix, plus 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder and 1/8 tsp cardamom powder (optional), after the first two series of turns, about an hour into the bulk rise.
