This amazing Sourdough Bread with its chewy golden-brown crust and soft interior has a distinctive mild tang. Although it takes a while to make, it involves minimal effort, and no kneading.
I used my own Sourdough Starter to make this spectacular bread!
Preparing the Banneton:
I used a round 7-inch banneton basket to proof the dough. To ensure that the dough didn't stick to the basket, I liberally sprinkled it with white rice flour.
Preparing the Dough for the Sourdough Bread:
The day before I baked the bread, I made the dough. First, I removed some of the sourdough starter from the refrigerator and fed it with equal parts, by weight of filtered water and bread flour. I let the fed starter come to room temperature and reactivate the fermentation process. This took about three hours. Then, I measured out 60 grams of the starter. I added bread flour, Kosher salt, and filtered water to the starter. Using a dough whisk, I combined all of the ingredients into a shaggy dough. I covered the dough and let it sit on the kitchen counter for about six hours. Halfway through, I folded the dough over on itself three or four times, and covered it for the remaining time.
After six hours, I scraped the dough onto a floured piece of parchment paper, and shaped it into a round ball, with a smooth side. I transferred the dough, smooth-side down, to the prepared banneton basket, and pinched the top to make sure that it was sealed. Then, I covered the banneton basket with aluminum foil, and put it into the refrigerator for a long, slow ferment overnight. The next day, I removed the banneton basket from the refrigerator. I let the dough come to room temperature and rise for about 5 hours.
Baking the Sourdough Bread:
When it was time to bake the bread, I preheated the oven to 400° F. I placed a parchment lined baking sheet on top of the banneton, and carefully flipped it over. I was able to lift the banneton basket from the dough without any of the dough sticking at all. Before putting the bread in the oven, I cut two slits on top, and misted the bread with water.
I popped the sourdough bread into the preheated oven and let it bake for 30 minutes until it was golden-brown. After 15 minutes, I removed the bread from the oven, brushed it with an egg wash, and returned it to the oven. While in the oven, the bread rose beautifully. I removed the bread from the oven, and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
The Sourdough Bread was not only beautiful to behold, but also incredible to eat. It had a chewy crust, soft interior, and characteristic sourdough tang. Yum!
Recipe
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Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 60 grams sourdough starter (See Note 1)
- 160 grams filtered water(See Note 2)
- 4.8 grams Kosher salt
- 237 grams bread flour
Instructions
- Remove 60 grams of sourdough starter from refrigerator. Feed with 30 grams of filtered water and 30 grams of bread flour. Leave for 3 hours to come to room temperature.
- Measure 60 grams of fed sourdough starter and either discard the rest or add it to the starter in the refrigerator. Add the filtered water, Kosher salt, and bread flour to the starter in a bowl. Stir to combine with dough whisk or wooden spoon. Dough will be shaggy.
- Cover and let rest for 3 hours. With wet hands, fold dough over on itself several times. Cover with foil and allow dough to ferment for 3 additional hours.
- Generously dust 7-inch banneton with rice flour (See Note 3).
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Shape into a ball with a smooth, unbroken surface. Transfer smooth-side down to the banneton. Pinch together the top edges of the dough together. Cover banneton and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, remove the banneton from the refrigerator. Let rise until the dough springs back slowly and retains a slight indentation when poked gently with a wet finger, 4 to 5 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Place parchment lined baking sheet on top of banneton. Gently flip. Carefully remove banneton. Make two slits in the center, like a cross. Mist entire surface lightly with water.
- Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. If desired, brush with egg wash after 15 minutes; return to oven for remaining time.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Yield: 1 7-inch round sourdough loaf.
Tips/Notes
- Note 1: This is based on sourdough starter made with equal parts, by weight of bread flour and filtered water - see Sourdough Starter.
- Note 2: Always use filtered water. Tap water contains chlorine which can kill the yeast.
- Note 3: For an 8.5-inch banneton, use 80 grams of fed starter, 213 grams of filtered water, 6.4 grams of Kosher salt, and 316 grams of bread flour. For a 10-inch banneton, use 100 grams of fed starter, 267 grams of filtered water, 8 grams of Kosher salt, and 395 grams of bread flour.
Andrew w Davis says
No extra yeast needed?
Chula King says
No extra yeast is needed when using the sourdough starter that I linked in the sourdough bread recipe. You could certainly add some yeast if your starter hasn't been fully fermented.
Mary Anderson says
I don't keep my starter in the fridge, is that going to matter?
Chula King says
Mary,
If you don't keep the starter in the refrigerator, it will ferment much more quickly. Otherwise, if it's regularly fed, it should be fine.
Chula
D Mac says
This does work in a Dutch oven. Preheat the Dutch oven. Keep lid on for first 15 min, then remove to brown the top.
Chula King says
I honestly don't know how this would work in a Dutch Oven. What you're describing is similar to using a Dutch Oven for no-knead bread. If you try it with a Dutch Oven, I'd love to know how it works.
Carole Ann Butler says
what do you do with the amount you take away each TIME YOU FEED IT
Chula King says
Carole,
I do one of two things with the starter that I discard: (1) feed it and give it to friends, or (2) discard it.
Chula
Kirsty says
Would this work for a 7” oval basket too?
Chula King says
Kirsty,
I've not used an oval basket, but think that overall, its capacity would be too small for this recipe. I did a quick calculation and the volume of the round basket is significantly greater than that of an oval basket.
Chula
Donna Wilson says
Can you bake this in a Dutch oven? If so, what temperature and time do you recommend?
Also, I have two 7 inch Banneton baskets. Can I double this recipe and cut the dough in half when shaping?
Thank you for your help!
PudgeFactor says
I'm sorry, but I've not made this bread in a Dutch oven, so I can't help here. You could easily double the recipe and cut it in half to use in your two Banneton baskets.