Classic Sourdough Bread Recipes

SAN FRANCISCO SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and dry yeast. Add milk and softened butter or margarine. Stir in starter. Mix in up to 3 3/4 cups flour gradually, you may need more depending on your climate.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turn once to oil surface, and cover. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.
• Punch down, and let rest 15 minutes. Shape into loaves. Place on a greased baking pan. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.
• Brush egg wash over tops of loaves, and sprinkle with chopped onion.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 minutes, or till done.

CLASSIC SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl stir together 3 cups of the flour, the water, and Sourdough Starter until smooth. Cover bowl with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature 4 hours. Place bowl in refrigerator; chill overnight.
• Stir in salt and as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a smooth dough (2 to 3 minutes). Place in a greased bowl, turning to grease surface of dough. Cover and let rise at room temperature about 2 hours or until slightly increased in size (you may see a few bubbles).
• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn dough out onto a floured surface; gently divide in half. Shape each dough half into an oval loaf. Place loaves on prepared baking sheet and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature about 2 hours or until nearly double in size.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Using a sharp knife, make three or four diagonal cuts across top of each loaf. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until bread is golden and sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Remove from baking sheet; cool on wire racks. Sourdough Starter
• In a large glass or plastic container* stir together flour and the water. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place (about 70°F) and let stand 24 hours.
• Stir in an additional 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Cover loosely; let stand in a warm place 24 hours more. Repeat every day for 5 to 7 days or until very bubbly and aromatic. Starter is ready to use at this point.
• If not using, to keep at room temperature, feed starter by stirring in an additional 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water. Let stand in a warm place overnight. Repeat daily. Or keep starter in the refrigerator and feed once a week. To use, let chilled starter come to room temperature before measuring. Remove desired amount. Feed remaining starter and let stand at room temperature 24 hours before chilling again. When the amount of starter gets to be too much, remove half before feeding and either share with a friend or discard.

CLASSIC SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the flour, starter and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the water, a little at a time, and mix with your hands to make a soft dough (you may not need all of the water).
• Coat a chopping board or work surface with olive oil, then tip the dough onto it and knead the dough for 10-15 minutes, or until the dough forms is smooth and elastic.
• Tip the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place for five hours, or until at least doubled in size.
• Knead the dough until it's smooth, knocking the air out. Roll into a ball and dust with flour.
• Tip the dough into a well-floured round banneton or proving basket and leave to rise for 4-8 hours.
• Put a tray half filled with water on the bottom oven shelf and preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
• Gently tip the risen dough onto a lined baking tray. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes at this heat, then reduce the heat to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and bake for a further 15-20 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack.

CLASSIC SAN FRANCISCO SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the water, sourdough starter and 4 cups of flour.
• Mix well and cover with plastic wrap in a warm place 8-12 hours (I do it over night).
• The next day stir in the salt and sugar and add flour 1/2 to 1 cup at a time to make a very stiff dough .
• Knead till smooth.
• Cover and let rise 2 to 2-1/2 hours.
• Punch down and divide in half.
• Knead till smooth and form into rounds. Place on a greased baking sheet. Cover lightly and let rise till double and puffy (1 to 1-2 hrs).
• While this is rising mix the 1/2 cup water and 1/2 tsp cornstarch in a small bowl and microwave till boiling, remove from heat and let cool.
• Heat oven to 400°F.
• Carefully place a small pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven.
• Cut two slashes across each other on top of each loaf.
• Bake for 10 minutes.
• Pull out the rack and baste each loaf well with the cornstarch mixture.
• Close the oven and allow to bake another 20-25 minutes. Loaves should be a light golden color and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
• You are suppose to allow this to cool for 2 hrs to develop the sourdough flavor fully -- we wait maybe 30-45 minutes!

HOW TO MAKE SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• First, make your starter. In a large bowl, mix together 100g of the flour with 125ml slightly warm water. Whisk together until smooth and lump-free.
• Transfer the starter to a large jar (a 1-litre Kilner jar is good) or a plastic container. Leave the jar or container lid ajar for 1 hr or so in a warm place (around 25C is ideal), then seal and set aside for 24 hrs.
• For the next 6 days, you will need to 'feed' the starter. Each day, tip away half of the original starter, add an extra 100g of flour and 125ml slightly warm water, and stir well. Try to do this at the same time every day.
• After 3-4 days you should start to see bubbles appearing on the surface, and it will smell yeasty and a little acidic. This is a good indicator that the starter is working.
• On day 7, the starter should be quite bubbly and smell much sweeter. It is now ready to be used in baking.
• Tip the flour, 225ml warm water, the salt, honey and the starter into a bowl, or a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir with a wooden spoon, or on a slow setting in the machine, until combined - add extra flour if it's too sticky or a little extra warm water if it's too dry.
• Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins until soft and elastic - you should be able to stretch it without it tearing. If you're using a mixer, turn up the speed a little and mix for 5 mins.
• Place the dough in a large, well-oiled bowl and cover. Leave in a warm place to rise for 3 hrs. You may not see much movement, but don't be disheartened, as sourdough takes much longer to rise than a conventional yeasted bread.
• Line a medium-sized bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it really well or, if you have a proving basket, you can use this (see tips below). Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead briefly to knock out any air bubbles. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and dust it with flour.
• Place the dough, seam-side up, in the bowl or proving basket, cover loosely and leave at room temperature until roughly doubled in size. The time it takes for your bread to rise will vary depending on the strength of your starter and the temperature in the room, anywhere from 4-8 hrs. The best indicators are your eyes, so don't worry too much about timings here. You can also prove your bread overnight in the fridge. Remove it in the morning and let it continue rising for another hour or 2 at room temperature. The slower the rise, the deeper the flavour you will achieve.
• Place a large baking tray in the oven, and heat to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Fill a small roasting tin with a little water and place this in the bottom of the oven to create steam. Remove the baking tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour, then carefully tip the risen dough onto the tray.
• Slash the top a few times with a sharp knife, if you like, then bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown. It will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 20 mins before serving.

SOURDOUGH STARTER (FOR CLASSIC SOURDOUGH BREAD)

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in water in a large plastic container (gallon size works well). Add sugar. When yeast bubbles (about 10 minutes), stir in flour until you have a smooth paste.
• Cover loosely to allow gases to escape and place in a warm spot in your kitchen 2 to 3 days. The mixture should bubble and give off a sour odor. Stir starter once a day, making sure to stir in any crust that's formed. After this point, you can store starter in the refrigerator or leave it out in a cool, dark area of your kitchen.
• Feed starter by stirring in 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup water every day if you leave it out, or every few days if it's refrigerated; otherwise, it will become too acidic and eventually die.
• Once starter has grown a few weeks and has reached full strength, you can decrease feedings to once a week.
• If you don't use your starter regularly, it's going to get unruly and burst the bounds of it's container. Give some away to friends along with feeding and baking instructions.