HOW TO MAKE SOURDOUGH
We won’t claim to be pros, but we will stand by this loaf being delicious!
1 loaf, (1 hour work, 24+ hours rest/proof/etc.)
Ingredients:
90g starter
385g water
520g bread flour, option to sub 100g with whole wheat flour or rye flour
4 tsp sea salt
Optional: 2 tbsp caraway seeds, ¼ cup chopped olives, 2 tbsp fennel seeds, 1 tbsp poppy seeds, 2 tbsp sesame seeds (don’t use all of these together but mix and match as you please!)
Tools:
Kitchen scale
Banneton basket
Dutch Oven - that can withstand 450+ degrees Fahrenheit
The Blistered Peppers Take:
Well, I’ve been teasing you for a little over a month and I promised I would share this recipe once I thought it was ready so here goes nothing. Here at Blistered Peppers, we pride ourselves on versatility and ease of process. This is so you can continue to be encouraged in the kitchen rather than intimidated. I’m not here to tell you that sourdough bread is hard necessarily, but it takes patience. If you don’t have that - go grab your favorite breads at the store… or even order some incredible sourdough from Richauds. No one will judge you!
If you’re like many of those who found themselves glued to their screens during the pandemic, searching for hobbies, and figuring out what bread you wanted to try first - then this recipe is for you. Like I said above - I do not claim to be an expert, but with bread that comes with time. I will, however, claim that I’m happy with how this is turning out and so I wanted to share it with all of you. Keep in mind there are a lot of variables to getting this ‘right’ so if you don’t make it perfectly the first time, be patient and keep trying!
Here are some things I’ve learned over the past few months:
A sourdough starter is typically a 1:1 flour to water ratio (60g flour and 60g water). Personally, this made my starter a bit too thin. I found the most success by doing 1:1 for about 2-3 feedings/days, then doing 60g flour and 30-40g water the next feeding, back to 1:1 for a few days and so on.
Use warm water to help the starter get going.
Use bread flour for feedings - again, this personally worked for me better than all-purpose flour.
Using your starter too early will result in an under proofed loaf. Starter should be used when it is doubled in size and this will vary based on your home’s temperature. As you feed your starter, you will begin to learn how long until your starter is doubled after its feeding. For me, it is about 12-14 hours.
Measuring is a must and so I’d highly recommend getting a kitchen scale.
When proofing and folding, you must do FOUR folds - not THREE!
Using a banneton makes a much more beautiful loaf.
WHAT IS A STARTER?
If you’re a food enthusiast, you have heard of a starter before. A starter, when it comes to sourdough bread making, is its main ingredient. You cannot continue with this recipe if you don’t have one. There aren’t very many ingredients found in good bread, but what you do need are good high quality ingredients and just the right process. To dumb it down for this recipe’s purpose - sourdough starters are made up of flour and water (measured out precisely). To complicate it a bit more it’s got to be, kept at the exact right temperature, watched after, fed, and used. Some sourdough starters span generations (I’M NOT KIDDING) - people take this stuff that seriously. You don’t have to do this, but you can. For me, I found that when creating my starter, the bread did not rise correctly, unless I let the starter sit for AT LEAST 14 days. What I’ve found, and heard, is that keeping your starter at a 70-80 degree temperature creates the best starter (this is typical room temperature of any home kitchen). Once the starter is formed - you can keep it in the fridge and feed it weekly.
DO I NEED A BANNETON?
Nope - but I recommend it, plus it looks nicer. A banneton is a bread basket. I use this banneton. I have found that using a banneton basket helps the dough to shape itself better and it’s less likely to run. Make sure you’re flouring the basket to prevent sticking!
IT’S SO SATISFYING!
If this is your first go at breadmaking and creating a starter, do not hesitate to DM me - I’m always happy to walk you through your questions. But, once you play around in the kitchen for a while - each bread you bake will be more and more satisfying - I swear. Take a freshly baked bread out of the oven and slather it with butter and some salt - yum! I’m sure you’ve seen me testing many recipes with some fresh sourdough slices. I even throw eggs on top every once in a while. Freshly baked bread is the only kind of bread I keep in the house on the regular now, and I’m sure after you give this a try it’ll be exactly the same for you.
I need to know what you think or how it went. Send me your questions, or even a video to see where you might be struggling. Show me how it came out - tag me on social and enjoy!
What else can you bake with Blistered Peppers?
Steps:
Make sure to feed your starter the night before between 8-10pm. This will mean that when you wake up in the morning, your starter should have doubled in size and now is the time to use it!
Using a measuring scale, mix the starter with water using a fork so the starter is well dissolved. Add the flours, and make sure it is well incorporated so there are no super wet areas. The dough should be shaggy. See video above.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave the dough for 30 mins. Then add the salt and herbs/seasonings/accouterments of choice. Wet your hands with a bit of water and then use them to mix well to avoid patches of salt.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave the dough for 1 hour. Then start folds, using one slightly wet hand, fold over itself once on each side. Leave for 1 hour. Repeat this for a total of 4x. See video for details.
After the 4th fold, leave for one hour. Sprinkle a cutting board or smooth surface with rice flour. Add some rice flour to the top of the dough and then transfer - top side down - to the smooth surface. Sprinkle it with rice flour and cover with a towel. Benchrest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, sprinkle with more rice flour and then fold the sides in and roll over itself. Then using cupped hands, shape and form into a boule (circular shape). See video for details.
Sprinkle a banneton with rice flour. Transfer the now top of the dough into the banneton face side down and sew the bottom together. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave to rest in the fridge overnight.
When ready to bake: Place your dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 485 for at least one hour. Remove the dutch oven, transfer the loaf from the banneton to the dutch oven - top side down - and quickly score with a knife/scissor (covered with a bit of olive oil). Cover with the top of dutch oven, place back in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the top of the dutch oven and bake for 10 minutes uncovered. For a crispy crust: open the oven door a few inches and let it bake for 5 more minutes.
When the crust is nicely brown and internal temp is 205 degrees Fahrenheit, remove the dutch oven from the oven. Use two kitchen towels or oven mitts to remove the loaf from the dutch oven and let rest on a wire rack or on its side against the wall. Let rest for at least 1 hour.
Slice when fresh with salted butter. Or toast it and top with avocado, tomato, or a poached egg!
