Rustic Sourdough Bread

This chewy loaf has rich, deep, flavor with mild sourdough tang. Since it includes commercial yeast as well as starter, you're guaranteed a good, strong rise — even if your starter isn't quite up to snuff.



picture of a just-baked sourdough loaf

Yields:

Two 10" loaves

Time Required:

Prep: 12 mins.
Rising: 1 hr. 30 mins. (minimum)
Bake: 25 to 30 mins.
Total: 3 hrs. 7 mins.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

Weigh your flour, or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine all of the ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough.

Allow the dough to rise, in a lightly greased, covered bowl, until it's doubled in size, about 90 mins.

Gently divide the dough in half; it'll deflate somewhat. Preshape each piece of dough, by pulling the edges into the center, turning it over so the seam is on the bottom, and rolling under your cupped hands to form a ball. Let the dough rest, covered, for 15 mins.

To make fat oval loaves, elongate each ball of dough you've preshaped, by gently rolling it back and forth on an unfloured work surface several times. For longer loaves, continue rolling until they're about 10" to 11" long.

Place the loaves on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover, and let rise until very puffy, about 1 hr. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

Spray the loaves with lukewarm water, and dust generously with flour.

Make two fairly deep diagonal slashes in each: A serrated bread knife wielded firmly, or a lame, works well, here.

Bake the bread for 25 to 30 mins., until it's a very deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and cool on a rack.

King Arthur Baking's Note:

If you're sure your starter is healthy and vigorous, and you don't mind potentially extending somewhat the rise times listed above, use 1 tsp. yeast. If your starter seems a bit lethargic (or you want to keep your rise times on the shorter side), go with 2 tsp.

Cook's Notes:

Original recipe calls for "King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour", which is of course a fine product, but, in truth, any wheat flour, bleached or not, whole or all-purpose, will do fine. When I first started doing sourdough, early in the COVID-19 pandemic, I worried about this, and at one time tried (expensive!) "bread flour", whose higher protein content helps ensure rising (the starter being more active, and the gluten protein being what stretches as wheat-based breads cook), but I needn't have worried. In fact, Costco's Kirkland brand unbleached all-purpose flour, sold in a pair of 10 lb. bags for cheap, is perfectly adequate. (Yes, bread flour doubtless makas for a higher-rising, better-textured, more airy, more-golden loaf of bread. Spend the extra money if you wish. My point is, it's not mandatory.)

For completeness: The original recipe also specifies "table salt". Where I come from, that's called salt. (On the other hand, for the flour ingredient, the original recipe ignored the word "wheat": Perhaps it's pedantic of me, but, since many non-wheat flours exist, especially for families like mine that have celiacs, who must avoid gluten, as members, that word seemed a useful addition.)

With any bread recipe, especially one based on a sourdough starter (aka "sourdough mother") to drive rising, the key is to realise that stated rising times are minimums, and just let rising take as long as it will take.

In fact, at the time, I switched from King Arthur Baking's Extra-Tangy Sourdough Bread recipe, which omits commercial yeast, to this recipe to hedge my bet, because of "failed" risings that in retrospect probably just needed more rising time. So, after success with this recipe and getting some confidence, consider trying the other.

For the "kneading to form a smooth dough" step near the beginning, I've found that 5 mins. in my stand mixer with the dough hook attachment is perfect.

Don't be intimidated by King Arthur Baking's instructions about dough treatment seeming a little fussy and complicated. Honestly, you can flub or ignore much of that and still get fine bread, as long as rising time is adequate.

For the "lightly greased" baking sheet, it suffices to just finger-spread around a tablespoon of olive oil under where the loaf will sit.

For the second (60 min.) period of rising, I place the baking sheet with shaped dough onto a middle shelf in my oven, at the lowest possible heat setting, and prop the oven door slightly open using a wooden spoon (to avoid overheating).

My addition of "citric acid" powder, as an optional ingredient, reflects my own preference for that genuine sourdough sourness: You'll find this item almost anywhere canning supplies are sold, typically in 5 oz. plastic bottles about 4" high and about 1" wide.

After some experimentation with division into two loaves as suggested, I tried a single large loaf (pictured), and often prefer it. Expect the large slab of dough to spread into a "boule" form factor.



Collected and re-published at http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/recipes/rustic-sourdough-bread.html by Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> on Nov. 21, 2024. Individual recipes are free from copyright. Share and enjoy!

Taken from: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/rustic-sourdough-bread-recipe. King Arthur Baking is a superb and generous source for recipes and practical information on all aspects of baking, and I'm mirroring its recipe not because I fear it might vanish (though of course it could), but rather to further promote a cherished and endlessly useful recipe.

I cannot praise enough King Arthur Baking as a learning resource for cooks new to sourdough (among other things). For one starting point, visit here: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/sourdough

As you will learn from those experts, a "sourdough starter" (also called "sourdough mother") is a SCOBY, a Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. It may sound alarming to keep bacteria or yeast, not to mention a symbiotic colony of both, in your refrigerator, but it's not: The lactobaccili and acetic acid bacteria, and the yeast organisms cohabiting with them, don't want to hurt you or the other food in your refrigerator, and will happily live in the cooled home you give them: In my case, I use a leftover 32 oz. plastic yogurt container. As King Arthur Baking teaches, you just give the colony a meal of water and flour about every week, and it'll be fine.

(If I have any copyright title in my own very minor contributions to this page — not my intention — they were created in 2024 by Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> and licensed for use under CC0. The image file (photograph) was taken on Nov. 21, 2024, also by Rick Moen <rick@linuxmafia.com> and licensed for use under CC0. I have thereby waived all copyright, compilation copyright, and related or neighbouring rights to this work. This work is published from: United States of America.)