A Bread Time Story With Sourdough

A sourdough artisan bread leavened by wild yeast

In a previous post, we saw how to make a good artisan bread without kneading the dough (or even using a stand mixer). The King Arthur Flour No Knead CrustyWhite Bread is leavened with commercial yeast and makes an outstanding loaf. It's a hit in the bread classes at Sur La Table because it's easy to mix, easy to build flavor and easy to bake off. It's also easy on the schedule, because it stays in the fridge until the day the spirit moves you to bake fresh bread.

In a recent class, one of the guests wanted to know if you could do the same thing with a sourdough starter, that is, mix it a little, leave it to sit and bake it another day. Would a similar method work with leavening only from wild yeast? Yes.

If you've got a sourdough starter, you're in business. Refresh it the day before you plan to mix the bread dough, as fresh or "young" starters yield the best results. Here's how to go wild, adapted from "Breadtopia."

No-Knead Sourdough Artisan Bread

1 cup (5 oz.) whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups (11 oz.) ap flour

2 tsp. salt (.45 ounces)

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup sourdough starter, refreshed the day before mixing the dough

Method

In a large bowl, add water, then sourdough starter and stir to dissolve it. Now add the whole wheat flour, ap flour and salt, stir into a shaggy mass.

Cover, allow dough to rise for 18 hours at room temperature. (Start the dough in the early afternoon, then work with it the next morning.)

After rising, remove dough from bowl. Fold the dough by this method:

How to Fold

1.   Lightly flour work surface, place dough on it and pat into rectangle.

2.   Take the left side and fold over about 1/3 to the middle (like folding a business letter). Gently press down.

3.   Take right side and fold it over the left, gently press down.

4.   Take top side and fold to the middle, gently press down.

5.   Take bottom side to the middle, gently press down.

6.   Turn it over, place in the container or leave on work surface but cover with plastic wrap.

Rest dough for 20 minutes, then shape into ball and place in a flour-dusted wicker banneton, basket with lightly floured linen or on a sheet of parchment, lightly sprayed with cooking spray. The dough should be seam side up. Cover with plastic wrap you've sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking, allow to rise 2 more hours. During the last half hour, preheat oven to 450. If you have one, I recommend using a cast iron Dutch oven or enameled casserole or cocotte such as Staub makes (but remove the top handle). Place it in the oven to preheat. 

Why cover the dough with a pot? It concentrates the heat like hearth baking in Old Europe. It keeps the dough contained, so it rises round and full, instead of creeping out in irregular style. Because it's preheated, it keeps the heat even around all areas of the bread, so no area bakes unevenly. It re-circulates moisture that evaporates from the dough, keeping the outer edge gently steamed. Simply put, the bread looks vastly more artisan, more golden, brown and delicious. 

Here's the real reason: Because I said so.

When time to bake, place a piece of parchment on a baking peel (this is the easiest way to get the dough inverted) and cover the dough basket with the peel, inverting dough onto the peel. I suggest trimming the paper down so it just barely peeks out from the dough.

Stencil the bread if desired and score the top using a French lame razor blade or sharp knife, then gently place in the bottom of the hot Dutch oven and cover it with the top. Another option? Use a baking stone and the bottom of the Dutch oven, placing the dough on the stone and the Dutch oven over it, dome style.

Don't be afraid to leave the parchment under the dough; this helps to move it onto and off the stone, or lift it down into the Dutch oven.

Bake the bread 20 minutes, remove Dutch oven lid (carefully, and lift away from yourself so you don’t steam your fingers). Bake an additional 10-15 minutes to allow top to finish browning. If using a digital thermometer, you're looking for at least 200 degrees internally in the bread.

Remove pot from oven, gently take bread out of the pot and place it on a cooling rack. Please do not cut bread until it has fully cooled. (The minute you slice it too early, you release precious moisture and begin the staling process.)

Do NOT store this gorgeous bread in the refrigerator. Store it in a paper bag at room temp, or slice it and freeze it, using a slice at a time or reserving for croutons, casseroles and breadcrumbs.

Now go try this at home.