Making a loaf of sourdough bread is one of life’s pleasures, trust me. If you have already prepared a magnificent sourdough with our wise instructions and you have it at cruising speed, we are going to prepare a bread that is not forgotten.
In our article on how to make sourdough we already told you all the particularities of this method for making bread (we recommend that you review it, we will ask you about it sautéed). That’s how it is how to use sourdough to make bread: a proportion of sourdough is added to any bread recipe that can vary from 10% to 50% of the flour in the recipe (or an even wider fork).
Although this bread not for novice bakers, since you need to have some practice in appreciating the fermentation point and development of gluten, this loaf of bread according to the method of the Californian bakery Tartine is relatively simple, because it does not require kneading. The structure is achieved only by folding the dough as we will see later, but on the other hand it is quite hydrated, 75% in the so-called baker’s percentage, so it must be treated delicately and lovingly when folding and handling it. She has her little heart, pardiez.
Which are the advantages of sourdough bread? In my personal opinion, basically two:
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- A fantastic taste.
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- Longer duration; if you wrap the loaf in a cloth it will last at least 4 days in good condition.
recipe information
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- Preparation time: 18 hours
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- Cooking time: 1 hour
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- total time: 19 hours
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- rations: 1
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- Category: loaves
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- type of cuisine: international
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- calories: 210 kcal per 100 g
Ingredients for a loaf of sourdough bread for 1 person
Sourdough:
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- 100 g of bread flour
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- 100 g of lukewarm water
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- 1 tbsp. of your active sourdough
Final bread dough:
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- 100 g of the previous sourdough
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- 350g lukewarm water
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- 450 g white bread flour
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- 50 g of wholemeal bread flour
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- 30 g of water at 27ºC
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- 10g of salt
How to make the loaf of sourdough bread
Before getting into flour, the times indicated are indicative and always taking into account an ambient temperature of about 20-21 ºC.
The previous night: Mix the sourdough ingredients in a jar. Cover without adjusting and let ferment at room temperature (if it is cold). If the starting sourdough is very active or if it’s hot in the kitchen, let the fermentation start at room temperature, until a clear growth can be seen, and then put it in the fridge until the next morning.
The next morning: Mix the sourdough with the 350 g of water in a large bowl or in the bowl of a mixer. Add the white flour and the integral; mix until the mass is homogeneous. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.
In a separate bowl, mix the 30 g of warm water with the salt and stir so that it begins to dissolve. Add to the dough and mix by hand until combined. Let the dough rest covered for 20 minutes.
From here we start with the folds to develop the gluten and the structure of what will be our loaf. Wet your hands in water and insert them between the dough and the bowl in one of the quadrants, as seen in the photo. Lift it up and fold it on itself.
Repeat this operation of removing the dough from the side and turning it back on itself three more times, turning the bowl 45º each time, until you have made four folds that cover the entire perimeter of the dough. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Repeat the previous complete folding process every 30 minutes about 5-6 times; the dough will start to rise at the same time throughout the folding and resting process (if the room temperature is not too low), so towards the end it should look quite fluffy and bubbly.
If we have managed to develop the structure of the dough sufficiently to give us a good loaf:
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- Must be easily detach from the wall of the bowl when picking it up with a wet hand.
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- Must be move like a flan by shaking the bowl.
At the end of the folding and resting process, if we see that the dough lacks some fermentation because it is not sufficiently fluffy, cover it again and let it rest for another 30 minutes or whatever is deemed necessary.
Flour the table and tip the dough carefully not to deflate it.
Lightly flour the top and, with a scraper, tuck the edges from below inwards giving tension to the surface and forming a squashed ball; this is called preforming. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.
At the end of this rest the mass will have relaxed and extended, but if we have developed the structure well, the edges will be rounded and the height of the entire cake will be more or less even. It is important that the dough has enough structure so that it later rises well in the oven.
If the dough lacks structure, the edges will be flat and the ball will have spread a lot. It is not serious: picking up the dough again, tucking in the edges to press the ball, would be equivalent to giving it an additional fold.
Prepare a fermentation basket, if you have one, or a large bowl lined with a kitchen towel; flour it conscientiously so the dough doesn’t stick.
With a large baker’s scraper, turn the dough over on the floured table and very delicately form the loaf as seen in the following photos.
Stretch it towards you, as if pulling out two peaks, one with each hand. Turn these peaks over the dough and press only very lightly so that they stick.
Take the peak that remains after folding the dough on each side and pull it slightly outwards, to the right and left.
Fold the right peak over the dough, pressing very lightly.
Do the same with the beak on the left.
Take the upper end of the dough and fold it towards you, as if covering the dough.
Do the same with the lower end of the dough and turn it so that all the seams are facing down.
Drag the dough on the table in all directions successively, to seal the base and to give tension to the surface; the dough will take the shape of a ball.
Insert the scraper under the ball of dough and turn it over to seat it in the bowl or basket; the seams should be facing up and the smooth part of the dough facing down. All this operation must be done carefully and delicately so as not to deflate the dough.
Cover the dough with plastic or a cloth, and let it ferment for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on where it is. Meanwhile, put the oven to heat to 250 ºC.
When the oven is hot and the dough is well fluffy, confidently but gently flip it onto a well-floured tray or floured shovel (if using a stone or bread plate, which are preheated in the oven) .
With a razor blade or a sharp knife, make a cut or hair to your liking: a single line as we have done, a cross, etc. Immediately put the dough in the oven, which must be at 250 ºC for sure; it is convenient to have an oven thermometer independent of the thermostat, which is not always accurate.
The first 10 minutes of cooking should that the environment inside the oven is humid; place a tray with water in the bottom before putting the dough. After these 10 minutes the bread should have risen completely; lower the temperature to 200 ºC and continue cooking for another 35-40 minutes. If at the end of this time the bread is not browned enough, turn on the air in the oven (if available) and cook for another 5-10 minutes with the air at 180-190 ºC so that the bread browns.
At the end of cooking, the ideal is for the inside of the bread to have reached 95 ºC; if you have a probe thermometer you can measure it, but it is not essential. Remove the loaf from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack. Let cool completely before cutting and enjoy.
Easy preparation summary
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- The day before, mix 100 g of bread flour, 100 g of water and 1 tbsp. of your active sourdough
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- The next day, add 350 g of water, 450 g of white bread flour and 50 g of whole wheat bread flour to the previous sourdough. Homogenize and rest for 30 minutes
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- Add 30 g of water at 27 ºC with 10 g of salt. Homogenize and rest for 20 minutes
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- Make 5-6 folds of the dough to develop the structure, every 30 minutes, until the dough separates easily from the walls of the container and moves like a custard when shaken. Leave to ferment for a few more minutes if the dough is still not sufficiently fluffy
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- Turn over onto the floured table and pre-shape, tucking it in on itself to give tension to the surface. Rest 20 minutes
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- Shape the dough into a round loaf and put it in a basket or bowl for the second fermentation. Ferment the necessary time, no more than 1 hour
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- Turn the dough over, brush the surface and put in the oven. Cook at 250 ºC for 10 minutes and then 35 to 50 minutes at 200 ºC, depending on how it browns.
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- Remove to a wire rack and let cool completely
