Sourdough loaf
Description
The bake comes together simply and quickly. Making a sourdough loaf is no harder than making a yeast loaf. It may take a little more time, but it’s worth it, because sourdough loaf tastes much better and keeps much longer without going stale. Follow the step-by-step recipe and bake with pleasure. You can use either wheat or rye starter. I used Lievito madre starter. Can be served with tea or coffee.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients.
- 2
Step 2
To prepare the sponge, take 200 ml water, 200 grams flour, and 100 grams starter (sourdough starter).
- 3
Step 3
Pour water into a dough-mixing bowl, add the starter, add the flour, and mix everything thoroughly until smooth. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and leave at room temperature to ferment for 2 hours.
- 4
Step 4
Bubbles should appear on the sponge; if there are no bubbles, increase the fermentation time.
- 5
Step 5
Pour 70 ml water into the sponge, dissolve the salt and sugar, add the flour. Knead the dough.
- 6
Step 6
Lastly, pour in the vegetable oil and knead until smooth; total mixing time with the mixer is 5–7 minutes.
- 7
Step 7
The dough should be smooth, elastic, and not sticky to the hands. Place the dough in a warm place to rise for 3 hours. You can use an oven for this: preheat it to about 40 degrees, then turn it off.
- 8
Step 8
During fermentation, perform two stretch-and-folds on the dough at one-hour intervals.
- 9
Step 9
Divide the risen dough into 2 portions, roll each into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 20–30 minutes.
- 10
Step 10
Lightly dust the work surface with flour, stretch the dough with your hands, fold one-third of the dough edge over, and pinch to seal.
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Step 11
Fold the left and right ends of the dough inward.
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Step 12
Make one more turn with the dough, as if you were rolling up a jelly roll, and pinch the seam shut firmly.
- 13
Step 13
Place the shaped baguettes on a cloth dusted with flour, seam side down. Fold the cloth between the baguettes, cover with plastic wrap (to protect from drafts), and leave for 1 hour to rise.
- 14
Step 14
While the loaves are proofing, prepare a starch wash for brushing. You will need 1 teaspoon of starch and 1/3 cup of water. Using the starch wash will give the loaves a golden crust and gloss.
- 15
Step 15
Pour the starch into the water and mix.
- 16
Step 16
Pour the starch-and-water mixture into a saucepan and heat until thickened.
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Step 17
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. With a knife or a razor blade, score the loaves and brush them with the prepared kissel. Bake for the first 10 minutes at 250 degrees, then lower the temperature to 180 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.
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Step 18
5 minutes before the end of the baking time, remove the loaves and brush them again with kissel, then return them to the oven for 5 minutes.
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Step 19
Cool the loaves to room temperature on a cooling rack.
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Step 20
The sourdough loaves turned out golden brown with a crisp crust—very appetizing.
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Step 21
Traditionally I’ll show you a cross-section of the loaf. The slices look very appetizing too, with large holes typical of sourdough bread. Spreading butter or soft cheese on such a slice of loaf is very satisfying, making a sandwich works well, and it’s also nice just to crunch the crust.