by The Mediocre Homesteader 1 Comment
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This small batch artisan sourdough bread is the best bread you will ever have! It’s made with sourdough starter so you get good gut friendly bacteria in every bite. With only 4 ingredients and some time you’ll have a beautiful loaf of bread to enjoy in no time. You can start this in the morning and enjoy it by night or you can start it the day before and have it the next day. Most sourdough bread recipes make 2 loaves at a time, but this recipe is only for 1 loaf. I like to make 1 loaf at a time because it’s just me and my husband and if I make 2, one will either go bad or I give it to someone else.
You don’t need to be a an expert baker to make this bread, but your family will think you are after making this! No Kitchen aid mixer needed! Just good old fashion stretching and folding. I make about 1 loaf per week for us to enjoy.
Ingredients you need:
- Sourdough starter- active and bubbly (this is the key ingredient)
- Unbleached all purpose flour
- Filtered water
- Sea salt
Tools you need:
- Large bowl
- Tea towel
- Banneton basket (optional)
- Razor blade for scoring (I use the one in this kit)
How to make the bread:
Step 1: Add 125g of an active and bubbly sourdough starter to a bowl along with 368g of filtered water. Mix together until it looks milky
Step 2: measure out 500g of unbleached all purpose flour then add to the starter and water mixture. Mix together for 2-3 min.
Step 3: cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it sit for 30 minutes (autolyse time)
Step 4: After 30 minutes add 12g of sea salt and 25g of water. Knead the dough together until all the salt is incorporated.
Step 5: Over the next 2 hours perform 3-4 sets of stretch and folds with about 30 minutes in between each set. See video for how to do stretch and folds.
Step 6: Cover the dough with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap (so it doesn’t dry out) and allow to rise until doubled in size. The warmer the room the faster it will rise. 6-8 hours of rise time. This is also known as the bulk fermentation time.
Step 7: Once doubled, dump the dough onto a floured surface and spread it out into a square/rectangle shape then roll in up into a log and fold the sides underneath itself to create more of a circle shape.
Step 8: Create tension in the loaf. We do this by pushing the loaf away from you on the counter and toward you. Use both hands. Do this 3-4 times until the dough is round and springy. See video for visual.
Step 9: Place the dough into a flour lined banneton basket or tea towel lined bowl. place in seam side up Or bottom side up. Create even more of a seam on the bottom of the loaf by folding the dough over top of itself.
Step 10: Wrap the basket in a plastic bag and tie tightly. Place in fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight. I usually do overnight.
Step 11: Preheat oven to 450- 500 degrees fahrenheit and place empty cast iron dutch oven in it to preheat it. After refrigeration flip the dough seam side down on some parchment paper. Score the bread. I like to do a deep cut in a half circle shape along the side or a cross pattern down the center. The scoring will allow the bread to expand and open up in the oven. This can also be a time to make your loaf look pretty! Get creative with it.
Step 12: After oven and dutch oven are done pre-heating, place the parchment paper with the loaf into the dutch oven. Put the lid on. Bake for 20 minutes with the lit on. After 20 min take the lid off and bake for another 20-25 min.
Step 13: Allow loaf to cool for 1 hour then enjoy!!
Tips for making this bread
- Plan on not having this ready the same day. You definitely can, but you would have to start it really early in the morning.
- Wet your hands before the stretching and folding to make the dough not stick to your hands.
- Store the bread in these bread bags. I swear by them. They keep the bread good as fresh, even when storing them in the fridge.
- Place dough in a warm place for the bulk rise to make the rising go faster. 75 degrees is ideal
- Feed your starter the night before so its ready to go the day you plan to make it
Artisan sourdough bread recipe video
Not much of a reader? Watch my youtube video on this recipe to get a visual!
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Artisan sourdough bread (one loaf)
The Mediocre Homesteader
Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. This loaf will have you never buying store bought bread ever again! Super easy to make!
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 12 hours hrs
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Total Time 12 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Servings 12 slices
Ingredients
- 125 g Active sourdough starter
- 368 g Filtered water
- 25 g Filtered water see step 7
- 500 g Unbleached all purpose flour
- 12 g Sea salt
Instructions
Add 368 g of filtered water to your bowl
Add your active, bubbly starter to the water
Mix together until it looks milky
Add the flour
Mix together until a rough dough forms
Cover the bowl and let sit for 30 minutes
After 30 min. Add the remaining 25 g of water and salt
Knead the dough with your hands for about 2-3 minutes to incorporate the salt into the dough
Over the next 2 hours perform 3-4 stretch and folds (see video for demonstration). Cover and letting rest after each time.
Cover the dough and let it rise until doubled in size. 6-8 hours
Dump the dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface and spread out in a rectangle shape then roll it up.
Once rolled, create tension in the loaf by pushing it away from you and pulling it towards you forming a springy ball. Do about 4 push and pulls
Using a bench scraper, transfer the dough ball to a floured banneton basket or tea towel lined bowl, seam side up. Create even more of a seam by folding the bottom part of the loaf in a zig zag pattern.
Cover bowl or basket in plastic wrap or plastic bag
Place in fridge for at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
After refrigeration, place dough onto parchment paper top side up
Preheat oven to 450 or 500 degrees. I do 500 because my oven is a little finicky. Preheat cast iron dutch oven in the oven to warm it up
Score the dough with a razor
Once the dutch oven has been preheated long enough place the dough ball into the dutch oven and cover with the lid
Place in oven for 25 minutes
After 25 minutes take off lid and bake for another 20 minutes
After baking let sit for at least an hour before cutting into it. Then enjoy!
Notes
Wet your hands before doing the stretch and folds to make it easier, and so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands.
The dough will rise faster if its in a warmer environment. It needs more time if its a cooler environment.
Keyword Artisan sourdough loaf
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