Best Keths Basic Sourdough Bread Recipes

THE BEST BEGINNER SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the starter and water.
• Stir in the flour, and then add the salt.
• Use a fork to mix everything together until it becomes stiff- then switch to your hands to bring the dough together in a rough ball (Remember: don't overmix! This is supposed to be a no-knead-style wet dough.)
• Keep the rough dough in the bowl, cover it, and let sit for 30 minutes.
• After this resting time is complete, stretch and fold the dough a few times to form it into a ball. (See the video for a walk-through on how to do this.)
• Cover the dough with a clean dish towel and let it rise in a warm place overnight or until doubled in size (or about 8 hours). I like to make the dough before bed and leave it in my turned-off oven (I leave the oven light on) to rise overnight.
• The next morning (or after 8 hours), turn the dough out on your counter. Fold it over a couple of times to tighten it into a ball, then let sit for 15 minutes.
• After this resting period is complete, gently shape the dough into a ball once more place into a well-floured proofing basket or a bowl lined with a well-floured dish towel. Remember: don't add too much flour and do not knead the dough!
• Cover and rise for 2-3 hours, or until doubled.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal in the bottom of a Dutch oven (optional, but this helps the bottom not to scorch).
• Tip the loaf out of the proofing basket onto a sheet of parchment. Lower the parchment into the Dutch oven.
• Place the lid on the pot and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove the lid and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until the loaf is deeply browned and crispy on top. (For a less crusty finish, bake for the entire time with the lid on.)
• Move to a cooling rack and allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing it.

KETH'S BASIC SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Sponge: Mix together the starter, the water, and 1 1/2 cups flour in a reasonably sized bowl. A slightly bigger bowl is always better. After all, this sponge is supposed to rise, and much as you want it to rise well, you don't want it to rise out of the bowl! (This is also something to watch out for when you feed your sourdough starter.)
• Cover the bowl with a damp cloth. If the cloth is dry, then the top of the sponge will dry out slightly as it ferments. Let it sit until foamy. The time of this is bound to vary considerably, depending on the starter. With my starter, it usually takes about 15 hours to get it really foamy. However long it takes, don't let it sit for too long. Too many cookbooks say to let it sit for a time that's too long, and by then the yeast's activity is way down, and the lactobacilli damage the gluten. If that happens, the bread almost certainly won't rise, at least not as much.
• Dough: Add the salt and the rest of the flour. Knead well. In the middle of kneading, wash out the bowl. This gives the gluten in the dough a chance to relax, and will make kneading it easier. Let rise in a greased bowl, covered by a damp dishtowel. When it's finished rising, punch it down. How long it takes for the dough to rise depends on your sourdough starter. Test the dough to see if it's done by prodding it with a finger. If your finger hardly dents it, it isn't done. If it leaves a depression that doesn't start filling in, the dough is ready for the next step.
• Lightly grease a baking sheet, or sprinkle it with cornmeal. (I prefer the texture of the bottom crust with the cornmeal. Also, the baking sheet is much easier to clean.) Shape, place on the baking sheet, and let rise again, still covered. Just before putting it in the oven, slash the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. This is more than just decorative; it allows the bread to rise better. If you don't slash it, the upper crust could lift off the bread (called a "flying crust"). (It does take some practice to slash the bread well.)
• Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 25 minutes. Let cool on a rack before cutting, or the bread won't be fully cooked inside.
• Variations:.
• Egg-Onion Sourdough: Before you add the salt to the sponge, mix in 2 eggs and 4 tbs. dried minced onion. This recipe produces a much larger loaf than the basic one, so you may want to divide it into two loaves.
• Oatmeal Sourdough: Replace the water you add to the sponge with 3/4 cups rolled oats cooked in 1 cup water. The oats don't make the loaf heavier than usual. This bread has an interesting taste, but it doesn't have a strong oatmeal flavor. The crust is wonderful, dark and crisp. The oats aren't very visible in the final product.
• Cheese-Pepper Sourdough: Add two oz. shredded gruyere and ½ teaspoons ground black pepper to the dough, just before you add the salt. (I've always used processed gruyere. Unprocessed would work too, but it might not blend into the bread's crumb as well. The crust is the best part, so this recipe would be very good as breadsticks.) I bet cheddar or parmesan would be good, too.