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| Sourdough Bread |
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup traditional sourdough starter
- 1 – 1 1/4 cups warm water (approximately)
- 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Step 1, making the dough:
and 1 cups of water in the bowl. Knead the dough using the kneading
attachment on the lowest speed and knead for about 3-4 minutes. The
dough will look very dry. If the dough is so dry that it won’t even form a small
ball, then add another 1/4 cup of water and knead another minute or so.
Now turn the mixer off for 5 minutes. This will allow the water to fully
absorb into the flour.
more minutes. The dough should be in a form of a lumpy
ball. The dough should just barely stick to your fingers but be mostly
dry. If it is too wet, add a tablespoon or two of flour and
knead for another minute or two.
After kneading, spray or wipe the inside of a bowl with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Place the dough into the bowl, then flip it over and roll
it around to coat the dough ball with the oil. Place a piece of
plastic wrap over the dough. This prevents the dough from drying out
during rise. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set in a warm place. I typically put it on my stove top (burners off, of course) and if you have a microwave above your stove top turn the microwave light under the microwave to provide a little warmth. Let is rest for about 4-5 hours or so.
Step 2, forming the loaf:
The dough should be expanded, filling most of the bowl, 2-3 times it’s original size, and somewhat wetter then it was first made. Remove the
plastic wrap and punch the dough down with a single punch. Turn the dough onto a floured board and sprinkle the top of the dough as well.
Knead the dough
gently, using your knuckles or the palm of your hand. The idea is to
remove all of the larger air bubbles, while keeping some of the smaller
air bubbles intact. Avoid using a rolling pin or flattening the
dough. The whole process shouldn’t take more that a few minutes. Flip
the flat dough over and do the same to the back side. If it is sticking
to the surface add a little more flour.
Now form the dough into a ball. To do this, lift the dough from its
sides and fold it underneath to form a ball. Stretch the dough slightly across
the front, while tucking it underneath. Pinch the underside of the
dough ball to seal the seams.
If you have a bread baker, place the dough in the bottom and cover with the lid and place in a warm place again. If you don’t have a bread baker, you can put it on a cookie sheet, and cover with a towel. Allow to rise about 3-4 more hours, until it has about doubled in size.
Step 3, baking the bread:
After the loaf has risen, using a razor blade or sharp knife, carefully (you do not want to deflate your bread) make 3 or 4 slashes about 1/4 inches deep across
the top of the loaf about an inch apart. Make the same 3 or 4 slashes at
right angles, forming several squares on the top of the loaf. If the
loaf has dried out slightly on top, the knife may drag against the dough
causing it to tear. If this happens, spray the knife with some cooking
oil. To increase the steam during baking (steam will help provide the crustiness of the bread), you can spray the
inside of the cover a few times with water. Place the cover over the
dish and place in the center of the oven.
Tip: If you do not have a baker, you can spray the top of the bread with water and put a pan of water on the rack below the bread in the oven to help provide steam for crustiness.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the bread in the oven and turn temperature down to 425 degrees F (ovens drop in temperature 25 degrees every time you open the oven door for just a couple of seconds); bake fore 30 minutes. Now remove the lid, reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until the loaf
turns a dark, golden brown.
Move the loaf to a cooling rack and let it cool at least 30 minutes. ENJOY!
Makes 1 loaf
