Demo #1- Sunday Night Sourdough Bread

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The Finished Loaf

As much as I have always loved cooking, especially in our kitchen-centered home, it is the magic that happens when you combine flour and water that has been my enduring fascination. Thus it is that my first posting on my "birthday blog" is a demonstration of baking sourdough bread from sourdough starter to finished loaf. I humbly submit this with a nod to a few of my heroes in the bread world: Peter Rheinhart, Nancy Silverton, Daniel Leader (not to be confused with our very own Danny Leder), Jeffrey Hamelman, Rose Levy Beranbaum and Chef Jonson of the French Culinary Institute.

A "Hungry" Starter

Since I wanted this bread for our Sunday night dinner, I removed the "hungry" starter from the refrigerator on Friday morning to begin the "building" process and insure a healthy, active starter. After a week in the refrigerator, it appears flat with little activity. There a small bubbles on the top and a thin layer of alcohol floating on the top, a waste product of fernetation. (This alcohol is also called "hooch", after the Hoochinoo Indians, an Alaskan tribe, who made liquor. I pour this off before proceeding) I fed it 3 times on Friday at 6-8 hour intervals. First, let the starter sit on the counter for about and hour to take the chill off. Stir the starter, then measure out 4 ounces. Add to that 8 ounces of water, stir; then add 8 ounces bread flour and stir. Cover well. You will soon begin seeing some activity (a web of bubbles spread throughout) and the mixture will eventually begin to expand. (The magic...) (Be sure to feed the remaining starter, let stand for about an hour, then refrigerate for later use.)

Add water, stirring

Next stir in flour. Use starter in the recipe within twelve hours of the third feeding; 6 to 8 hours is optimal.


Making the Bread Dough

Flours combined in a large mixing bowl

Next combine the whole wheat and bread flour in a large mixing bowl. I make a "well" in the center where I will then add the wheat germ, water and sourdough starter. Hold back the salt for now.

Hand blending

Next, begin blending the wet and dry ingredients. At this point I try to add little or no flour, in spite of the temptation to make a sticky mass more manageable. Rustic bread doughs prefer to be on the wet side Also, as most bread recipes/books are not written for humid Miami where we live, I have managed to adjust my recipes slightly, as flour here holds more moisture naturally. You are just beginning to promote gluten strands, which is how the dough grows. (The magic begins...)

Kneading

Time for the first kneading. I have come to appreciate the facility of a one-handed kneading, thereby freeing a hand for the inevitable doorbell, telephone, timer, utensil, dog etc. When you knead, you are actually folding the dough over itself and turning it a quarter turn each successive time. Kneading will insure that the ingredients are well blended and distribute the yeast throughout. I do this first knead for about 6 or 7 minutes, or until the dough feels elastic and looks and feels like a round loaf (a "boule", French for "ball") that holds it's shape. (This is a great time for a little "standing meditation" - pay attention to what you are actually accomplishing here.)

The Autolyse

At this point, the dough ball "rests". This is called the "autolyse", also a French term.

Cover the with a proofing cloth or linen kitchen towel and let is rest for twenty minutes.

The autolyse allows the dough to absorb the moisture and will yield a less sticky and more elastic dough.

Ready next phase with board scraper, thermometer, and sea salt.

Adding salt to dough.

Here is where you add the salt. Salt tends to toughen the gluten fibers, thereby making a stiffer dough, more difficult to knead than the first time. You will immediately feel the difference. The dough should be kneaded until you get a smooth, elastic ball. This usually takes 6 or 7 minutes again. Now use your thermometer and check to see the temperature of the dough - you want 78 degrees - keep kneading until you get that reading- and a dough that has a satin "finish" to it compared to the earlier stage.

Oiled rising container

Place the dough in your well oiled bowl, or plastic container, and mark where the top of the dough comes to. Cover the container and place it in a draft-free area in a room 70 to 75 degrees if possible. You are now fermenting the dough - developing that great sourdough taste as the dough increases in volume. I let this rise take 4 hours, checking on it (marveling at it!!) to see how it is progressing. One way of making sure the dough is successfully risen is to make an indentation with your finger and look for a slow filling-in.

Once the dough has reached the desired volume , turn it onto your counter and gently deflate it. Turn the edges of the dough under to begin to achieve a ball shape. Let this dough ball rest under your cloth or towel for 15 minutes.

A floured proofing basket, or banneton

To shape the dough into a ball, place it on a counter with no flour under it - you want the friction of the counter to aid you. Wrap your hands around the dough and simultaneously turn it and pull it towards you. Turn the dough on its side and pinch the seam at the bottom with the heel of your hand to keep it closed. The skin on top of the dough will be tighter and smoother. smoother. With a strainer, lightly flour your proofing basket and place the dough into it with the smooth side down. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and "proof" for an hour at 70-75 degrees. Remove the plastic and, again with your strainer, sprinkle a little flour over the top of the dough. This dough is going to proof overnight in the refrigerator (more flavor development) - so cover it with a piece of plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator until the next day. This step should not exceed 24 hours.

Next day: take dough out of refrigerator, remove plastic wrap and cover with your cloth or towel. Again proof at 70-75 degrees for 2-3 hours, or until the internal temperature has risen to 62 degrees.

While the dough is proofing, preheat your oven to 500 degrees. To try to simulate a very hot commercial oven, place a pizza stone or tiles on the bottom rack.

When you feel that your dough is proofed, dust the top with flour again. Then gently invert it onto a pizza peel that has either been floured or lined with a piece of parchment paper. You are ready to score the dough.

Scoring the dough

This is the part where I still feel the least adept. Scoring is the mechanism by which you slash the dough, allowing it to expand evenly in the oven. Essentially you are holding a blade, either a razor blade or a "lame" (French, of course,) at a 45 degree angle and making a 1/2 inch cut through the dough. These are the "blooms" you see on a loaf of French bread, or fancy cuts on other artisan breads. It is the thing in this whole process that always scares me the most - you only get one chance at your cut! At any rate, with this boule, with it's naturally ridged surface from proofing in a ridged basket, I try to stay within a ridge and score in a "C" shape, (following the shape of a ridge) and repeat on the corresponding side of the loaf. You could just as well put one slash, or a cross or any design you think suitable - this just seems to go with the loaf. I practiced this at home on clay after learning the basics at the French Culinary Institute!

Misting the oven

In an effort to simulate those great commercial steam ovens, I spray the oven walls and back with a fine mist of water immediately prior to putting in the dough. Reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Then slide the peel, paper and all if you are using it, onto the hot stone; quickly remove the peel, close the door and repeat the "misting" twice more, every 2 minutes. (A total of 3 mists) . I accidentally hit the pictured loaf with a little water and you can see that the flour looks a little thick and brownish - try not to do that with a loaf that has flour on top. Check the bread after 25 minutes and rotate it if it is browning too much on one side. Continue baking for another 20 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the bread is 200-210 degrees. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack. DO NOT SLICE until it has cooled! Your bread is still not totally finished cooking. ( This wait, not scoring, may actually be the hardest part of all.) To store this bread, wrap it in parchment paper and leave it at room temperature. You can re-crisp it in a 450 degree oven the next day for 5 minutes, or better yet,

toast a piece for breakfast and enjoy with a cappuccino!

RECIPE

(yield 1 boule)

6 ounces white sourdough starter

9 ounces unbleached bread flour

8 ounces stone ground whole wheat flour

9 ounces cool water (about 70 degrees)

1/4 C. wheat germ

2 1/4 t. sea salt

A Slice Into the Interior