Baking a Round Sourdough Bread Loaf, Artisan Style

 Sourdough Bread baking is a science, and there is lots to learn. This is a high hydration bread loaf, more water is added to the dough, which suits this style of bread. My recipe is taken from my favourite bread making guide, Artisan Sourdough, Made Simple, written by Emilie Raffa, c2017. I think that this is the best book for a novice bread baker to start with, as far as I am concerned anyway.

I am still learning about baking bread, and every time I read a different book or something online, I question what I am doing. However, once you are prepared, don't worry about understanding all the details, I think you just have to jump in, have a go at baking bread, and have fun. Learn as you go. There might be the occasional failure, but that is part of the learning process.  It is so rewarding. Having said that though, everyone wants to know how to bake a sourdough loaf with the large holes. Emilie Raffa says the answer is not black and white and it's not. "It's a perfect storm of variables." This is what I'm aiming for, and there's a bit of luck involved as well. However, whether your loaf is full of large holes or not, you will want to eat it straight away. Crusty on the outside, with a firm and delicious crumb on the inside. So to achieve the high hydration loaf, add more water to increase the dough's hydration as per the recipe.

I achieved a few large holes in this bread, and it was still delicious.

Hydration is all about the total amount of water (or liquid) divided by the total amount of flour. This dough recipe below is a high hydration loaf at 75% and is a wet dough. My sandwich loaf recipe, is considered a low-hydration dough, it's a bit drier, and has smaller holes, and falls in the 50% to 68% range, approximately.

A photo of the ultimate high hydration loaf with large holes (photo from Artisan Sourdough Made Simple.)

To be honest, this style of artisan breadmaking is a little bit trickier than making a loaf of everyday bread or a sandwich loaf in a bread tin.  If you wish to start with just a large loaf of bread or a sandwich loaf, you can look at this link to one of my bread posts. I posted this recipe before I started leaving my dough to rise overnight. 

Since making this sandwich loaf, I have changed my recipe slightly most times as the trend leans towards using less starter.  I basically use the same method, but I now use 100g of starter, 380g Bakers flour, 290g water, 30g oil and 7-10g of salt and leave the dough to rise overnight. This combination also makes a very good sandwich loaf of bread. I hope to post a recipe about making an everyday sourdough bread loaf in the near future. It's an evolving process.

However making a round artisan loaf according to the following method, is very achievable by following the recipe I have written. 

Having a bubbly and active sourdough starter is essential for successful breadmaking. This starter of mine as pictured has only just started to bubble in the jar I use. I will feed it for 2 days, with flour and distilled warm water (equal quantities of both until it's the consistency of a thickish custard), morning and evening, and by the 2nd night it will be frothy and bubbly and ready to use.

I use a medium sized glass coffee jar now so that I don't need to worry as much about it bubbling over. It still might, but that's ok.

Recipe Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

 50 g (1/4 cup) bubbly, active starter

375 g (1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp) warm water

500 g (4 cups plus 2 tbsp) bread flour

9 g (1 1/2 tsp) fine sea salt

Baking Method:

MAKE THE DOUGH:

After dinner in the evening,  grab a large bowl, and whisk your measured starter and warm water together in a large bowl with a fork or a whisk. Mix to combine all these ingredients, and then use your hand to form a rough dough. Let this rest for an hour in the bowl, which is covered with a damp tea towel. At this stage, you can replenish your starter with fresh flour and water, either store it back in the frig, or leave it out to use again.  After the dough has rested for an hour, take about 15 to 20 seconds to work it into a ball.

BULK RISE:

The books say to cover the bowl with a damp towel. I prefer to cover my bowl with a plastic shower cap which is elasticised around the base, these are cheap from the supermarket, and I find it gives the best results.  Let the dough rise overnight in the bowl at room temperature, about 8-10 hours at around 21 deg. C or 70 deg. F. There's no need to stress over this. If you live in a cold climate, find the warmest room in your house. Here in North Queensland, I leave mine in the laundry overnight, where my hot water system is, and in Winter I place the bowl on the hot water system so it it is warm, however in Summer, the temperature is just right overnight on a shelf in the laundry. When the dough has doubled in size it is ready. It will have a few bubbles on the surface, and may jiggle a bit when you move the bowl from side to side. It should be ready when you wake up in the morning.

SHAPING IT:

In the morning, coax the dough onto a floured surface. 

(The best implement you can buy to do this with is a Bench scraper. The bench scraper is to bakers just as a spatula is to pancakes. I have three of them, a metal one and two silicone ones. They are available at most kitchen shops, or online. Mine was a game changer for me, as this high hydration dough is quite sticky and tricky to handle.) I also use it for cake batters etc.

Coat your fingertips with flour, and dimple the dough all over. Shape it gently into a round and leave it to settle and rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Another purchase of mine which I love is a proofing basket. However a bowl will do. Line your proofing basket with a tea towel and dust lightly with flour. Use your bench scraper, and scoop up the dough and flip it over so that the smooth side faces downwards on the bench. 

Shape it a second time, and then flip it back over. This is fun, right?

Cup the dough with your hands, and gently pull it toward you in a circular motion to tighten its shape.

Place the dough into your proofing bowl seam side up.

SECOND RISE:

Cover the dough with a tea towel, and refrigerate for 1 hour. This will set the structure, so that it keeps it's shape during baking. It will also rise slightly in the frig. 

What is great when you are busy, is that you you can keep the dough chilled in the frig for up to 6 hours. When you are ready to bake let the dough sit at room temperature while the oven heats up.

Preheat your oven to (260 deg. C). Cut a piece of baking paper to fit your baking pot, it doesn't need to be exact. 

SCORE:

Place the parchment over the dough and invert the bowl to release the dough. The surface of the dough may already have enough flour on it,  but if not dust it with flour and rub with your hands to coat it. 

Now you can choose how you would like to score your bread. I use a small knife with a sharp serrated blade to do this,  however some bakers swear by a razor blade inserted into a handle. There are many patterns available online that you can use. A simple slash the length of the loaf and a few slashes on the diagonal with the long one works well. In this loaf I used what is called a bird wing pattern. Emilie Raffa's book gives lots of examples.

Lift the dough using the parchment and and transfer it to the baking pot. 

BAKE:

It is best if the baking pot is situated on the centre rack of your stove. Reduce the oven heat to 230 deg. C (450 deg F). Bake the dough for 20 minutes in the pot covered. Remove the lid, and keep baking for 30 minutes.

Remove the baking pot from the oven. Good oven mitts are essential, the pot will be very hot.  Lift the loaf out of the pot, and bake directly on the oven rack for the last 10 minutes.

The baking pot I use for baking this style of  bread

It's best if you cool the bread on a wire rack for 1 hour before slicing. (I know it smells and looks so good you want to eat it straight away, but the crumb will be better if it is left to cool for a while.)

The type of loaf will stay fresh for up to 1 day stored at room temperature in a plastic bag.

It also freezes well in a well sealed freezer bag.

Baking Notes:

If I don't have distilled water on hand, I like to boil up my jug around dinner time, so I have warm boiled water to use in this recipe.

Bench scrapers, a proofing basket, good oven mitts, and a large baking pot will make your life easier when baking bread.

Baking Sourdough Focaccia bread is also a good place to start if you are entering the world of sourdough baking.

I know that some of my regular readers aren't bread bakers but if you are I would love to hear from you with any of your thoughts or tips on your bread making journey. It really is a constant learning process, I learn something new every time I bake a loaf of bread. I love that. I certainly don't profess to be an expert. I also wrote up this post, so that when I travel, I will be able to refer to my bread baking recipes. I often take some sourdough starter with me when I travel to family so that I can bake some bread. A couple of friends have also indicated that they would like to learn how to bake a sourdough loaf. I'll happily give them some of my starter, with a few instructions, and it might help them to have this recipe to refer to.

I just realised I haven't even touched on the health benefits of eating sourdough bread versus using normal yeast. I'm sure you already know why, but I might just mention that another time.

Happy baking,

Warm wishes,

Pauline