About 2 weeks ago I tried to make my Omani sourdough starter not without failing first.
I documented it day by day in the “Sourdough starter experiment” post. Eventually grew strong, active and bubbly and it is named Dudette.
I previously baked with sourdough starter but this time …I have a plan!
Wild yeast, as it is also called, it is far better for us than the commercial one and also gives the baked goods a better flavour. I am fascinated with all things from scratch and how nature provides us with everything we need. The antidote of this processed world we live in.
Inspired by Julie and Julia film, based on the book by Julie Powell – Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, my challenge is to learn.
This is the basic recipe for bread using a sourdough starter…and probably the easiest one.
Whisk the starter into the water add, olive oil, and mix well. Add flour and salt, and mix until the flour is incorporated well. Now it needs to sit and autolyse for about 30 minutes, a maximum of an hour.
After the rest, you need to knead it nicely in a cute smooth ball. Now it’s time for the bulk rise, this can take from 2 hours to 12 maybe… depending on how strong your starter is and the temperature. I learnt to “listen” to the dough. It is not about the time but the way it looks. The idea is for the dough to double in size and look all fluffy.
For me around 4-5 hours is enough as I live in a hot country. If I want a dough to take longer I move it in the living room where there is AC.
Optional you can give the dough some stretch and fold 2-3 times, starting 30 minutes after the bulk rise. You can do it in the bowl where is rising by stretching the dough and folding it on top, rotating the bowl, and do another stretch, about 4 times.
When it doubled in size you can shape it, I make it round and nice just to get into my Dutch oven (with baking paper on the bottom).
After it is shaped needs a second rise, but a shorter one – 30 to 60 minutes, needs to be slightly puffy. When you give it a poke it comes back slowly. Towards the end of the proofing preheat your oven to 450º F/ 230º C. Right before it goes in the oven, score the dough, I used a serrated knife to do it and it worked well. Just one score across.
When you put it in the oven, reduce the temperature to 200C.
I baked it with the lid on for 20 minutes, then took the lid off and baked it for 40 more minutes.
150 gr. sourdough starter
500 gr. bread flour
25 gr. olive oil
250 gr. water (lukewarm)
8-10 gr. salt
Autolyse
This is a process that happens at the beginning when you first mix the ingredients and let it rest without kneading. It helps develop stronger gluten which means a better bread and also helps manage the dough better.
The time can be from minimum of 15 minutes to an hour.
The oven issue
I gave here the specification from the recipes I follow regarding electric ovens. I have a gas one…and not a very good one. So I just adapt and try to understand, as it doesn’t even say the temperature. What I mean is…get to know your oven regardless and make adjustments.
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