Country Sourdough

Country Sourdough

Based on Tartine's recipe.

Ingredients

Makes

  • 500g white bread flour
  • 100g whole wheat flour
  • 475g water
  • 10g salt

Make the Leaven

  1. The night before, mix 1/2 Tbsp starter, and 50g white bread flour, 50g whole wheat flour and 100g water in a small takeaway container or wide 500ml jar.
  2. Put the leaven in a large jar and cover with a kitchen towl to rise overnight at a cool room temperature (18°C)
  3. The leaven is ready when it floats in room temperature water.

Bulk fermentation

  1. Put 350g water at 29.5°C in a large mixing bowl
  2. Add 100g of the leaven and stir it to disperse
  3. Add 450g white bread flour and 50g whole wheat flour to the water and mix thoroughly by hand until you don't see any bits of dry flour. Clean your hands and the sides of the bowl with a dough spatula
  4. Let the dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes
  5. Add 10g salt (2tsp) and 25g water (warm) to the dough. Incorporate the salt by squeezing the dough between your fingers. The dough will first break apart and then will re-form as you turn it in the bowl
  6. Fold the dough on top of itself and transfer it to a 1.5L+ clear plastic container. Put the dough in a proof box and maintain a temperature between 25°C and 28°C for the bulk fermentation process
  7. The bulk fermentation process takes 3-4 hours total. Every 30 minutes during bulk fermentation, dip one hand in water then grab the underside of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it back over the rest of the dough. Repeat this action two or three times so that all the dough gets evenly developed.
  8. Bulk fermentation is complete when the dough is well developed, and it releases from the side of the bowl when you do turns and ridges left by the turn will hold their shape for a few minutes

Shape and prove

  1. At the end of bulk fermentation, use the dough spatula to pull all the dough out of the container onto an unfloured work surface. Lightly flour the surface of the dough then flip it so the floured side rests on the work surface
  2. Fold dough onto itself so that the flour on the surface of the dough is sealed on the outside of the loaf. The outer surface of the dough will become the crust, so you may use more flour on your hands to avoid sticking
  3. Using the bench knife and one hand, work each piece of dough into a round shape. Tension builds when the dough slightly anchors to the work sorface while you rotate it. By the end of shaping, the dough should have a taut, smooth outer surface
  4. After the initial shaping, lightly flour the dough and cover it with a kitchen towel. Let it rest on the work surface for 20 to 30 minutes (the bench rest)
  5. Lightly flour the top surface of the dough. Slip the bench knife under the round to flip it so that the floured side is now resting on the bench.
  6. Fold the third of the dough closest to you up and over the middle third of the round. Stretch out the dough horizontally to your right and fold this right third over the center. Stretch out the dough to your left and fold this third over the previous fold.
  7. Finally, stretch out the third of the dough farthest from you and fold this flap towards you, over the previous folds, and anchor it in place with your fingers. Then grab the dough nearest to you and wrap it up and over, rolling the whole package away from you so that the smooth underside of the loaf is now the top and all the seams are on the bottom. Cup your hands around the dough and pull it toward you, rounding it against the work surface to tighten the tension and stretch the other surface to close the seam. Let the shaped loaf rest for a minute
  8. Line a basket or medium bowl with clean kitchen towels and flour the towels with flour
  9. Flip the loaf off the work surface into the basket.
  10. Let the dough rise for 3-4 hours at 24°C to 27°C

Bake the loaf

  1. 20 minutes before you are ready to bake place a dutch oven combo cooker in the oven and preheat to 250°C
  2. Dust the surface of the loaf then turn it into the pre-heated shallow pan
  3. Score the loaf
  4. Cover the loaf with the deep pan and cook for 20 minutes at 220°C
  5. After 20 minutes, remove the deep pan (the lid) and cook for another 20-25 minutes

To make this a rasin loaf

  1. Soak 125 grams dry raisins for ~3 hours
  2. Add 6 grams ground cinnamon to the dough when mixing
  3. Add the rasins to the dough after the second fold
  4. Give the dough some extra time to rise - cinnamon slows the fermentation