My first sourdough bread
So in my last post I mentioned that I made my first sourdough bread! Here's the recipe and how it went!
For sourdough bread I followed the weight ratio of flour : water : sourdough starter as 3:2:1. See, easy to remember right? Basically just remember that starter and water matches up to the amount of flour.
Here are the exact amounts I used:
150g bread flour
90-100ml water (more about this later)
50g sourdough starter (in active state)
pinch of salt
We do not need additional yeast as the sourdough starter itself is a yeast culture. But as it is less concentrated compared to using instant yeast, we need to allow more time for it to proof.
Most recipes will call for mixing the starter in water and then adding it to water. But in my case I added the starter to the flour and adjusted the water accordingly so that I could have a better time handling the dough. Besides, the water content can be adjusted according to the humidity levels.
So firstly, I mixed the flour and starter in a bowl and added the water gradually, until the dough comes together. And after that I tipped it out to knead for 15 minutes. In some cases the dough would be very sticky and difficult to knead. Instead of pulling and stretching the dough, a slapping and folding method could be used. You can refer to this video and I will also include the links below. This helps to develop the gluten and here is what my dough looks like after 15 minutes of kneading / stretching.
After leaving it to proof for 3-4 hours, the dough doubled in size.
So it is time to punch out the air and redistribute the dough to allow the yeast to complete its work. Instead of the normal shaping, flatten the dough and fold it from end to end on all sides. (Please refer to the video links for details) Unlike the normal instant yeast doughs, the dough is very 'airy' and there are many air pockets. It keeps being very fluffy despite all the squishing and squashing. I feel that's good, because it means that we could get a fluffier bread!
Then roll it from one edge to another and place it in a lined baking tin. Most methods call for leaving the dough in a basket lined with a towel and proofing overnight. I found that a second proof for 3-4 hours at room temperature also works. And for convenience I placed it in the tin that I was going to bake it in.
And after 3-4 hours, ta-daa... next time I will use a bigger tin.
It's time to bake the bread. Using a knife I scored some seams into the dough so that it can grow further during the baking stage.
Preheating the oven to 180 degrees C, I baked the bread for 30-35 minutes. The bread was a bit dark because my oven timer sort of stopped counting down and it was a bit 'overbaked'.
Some helpful links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg5nLQVg4VY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APEavQg8rMw
For sourdough bread I followed the weight ratio of flour : water : sourdough starter as 3:2:1. See, easy to remember right? Basically just remember that starter and water matches up to the amount of flour.
Here are the exact amounts I used:
150g bread flour
90-100ml water (more about this later)
50g sourdough starter (in active state)
pinch of salt
We do not need additional yeast as the sourdough starter itself is a yeast culture. But as it is less concentrated compared to using instant yeast, we need to allow more time for it to proof.
Most recipes will call for mixing the starter in water and then adding it to water. But in my case I added the starter to the flour and adjusted the water accordingly so that I could have a better time handling the dough. Besides, the water content can be adjusted according to the humidity levels.
So firstly, I mixed the flour and starter in a bowl and added the water gradually, until the dough comes together. And after that I tipped it out to knead for 15 minutes. In some cases the dough would be very sticky and difficult to knead. Instead of pulling and stretching the dough, a slapping and folding method could be used. You can refer to this video and I will also include the links below. This helps to develop the gluten and here is what my dough looks like after 15 minutes of kneading / stretching.
After leaving it to proof for 3-4 hours, the dough doubled in size.
So it is time to punch out the air and redistribute the dough to allow the yeast to complete its work. Instead of the normal shaping, flatten the dough and fold it from end to end on all sides. (Please refer to the video links for details) Unlike the normal instant yeast doughs, the dough is very 'airy' and there are many air pockets. It keeps being very fluffy despite all the squishing and squashing. I feel that's good, because it means that we could get a fluffier bread!
Then roll it from one edge to another and place it in a lined baking tin. Most methods call for leaving the dough in a basket lined with a towel and proofing overnight. I found that a second proof for 3-4 hours at room temperature also works. And for convenience I placed it in the tin that I was going to bake it in.
And after 3-4 hours, ta-daa... next time I will use a bigger tin.
It's time to bake the bread. Using a knife I scored some seams into the dough so that it can grow further during the baking stage.
Preheating the oven to 180 degrees C, I baked the bread for 30-35 minutes. The bread was a bit dark because my oven timer sort of stopped counting down and it was a bit 'overbaked'.
After waiting for a couple of hours for the bread to cool, it was time to slice the bread.
Love the beautiful pores in the bread. It actually reminds me of a solidified sourdough starter. And it is so soft and bouncy. The only downside was that it had a slightly sour aftertaste, which I found out that it could be due to not feeding the starter enough.
Sourdough bread has a much richer and fragrant taste than normal white bread. It doesn't dry out as easily and keeps longer than instant yeast recipes. For this bread, I found that it was still ok after 4 days, whereas in the past my bread would be mouldy after the third day, despite cooling completely and storing it in an airtight container.
The other benefit of sourdough bread is also the long proofing times. There is almost no way to overproof the bread, if you think you will be out for more than 4-5 hours, then put your dough in the fridge, keeping it covered to prevent it from drying out. Defrost it 1-2 hours before baking. It allows much more flexibility in planning the baking times.
How to eat sourdough bread? Good with scrambled eggs or avocado.. nomnom...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg5nLQVg4VY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APEavQg8rMw
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