SOURDOUGH TECHNIQUE EXPERIMENT: NO KNEAD VS. THE WORKS

Sourdough Technique Experiment: No Knead vs. The Works image

Experimenting with different baking techniques can yield surprising results. In this case, Breadtopia Select Bolted Organic Bread Flour performed as well with the no knead technique as it did with more elaborate gluten developing steps.

Provided by Melissa Johnson

Categories Recipes

Time 40m

Number Of Ingredients 4

Ingredients

500g Breadtopia Select Bolted Organic Bread Flour (~3 1/2 cups)
370g water (~1/5 cups) / 410g water in the third non-experiment version (~1 3/4 cups)
75g sourdough starter, mature and floating (1/4 cup)
9g salt (1.5 tsp)

Steps:

No Knead
Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly and let the dough ferment until puffy, bubbly, and roughly doubled. This was about 8 hours for my dough at a room temp of 76F. Resume the instructions below under the header Preshape.
The Works
Mix the water and flour thoroughly. Cover and let rest for 1-4 hours to autolyse.
Add the starter and salt to the dough, mixing thoroughly. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch and fold the dough four times, every 20-30 minutes, covering between handling.
Let the bulk fermentation continue until the dough is puffy, bubbly, and roughly doubled. This was about 8 hours for my dough at a room temp of 76F.
Preshape
Scrape the dough onto a well floured surface. Gently press it into a rectangle shape. Fold it in third and then in half.
Cover and let it rest 20-25 minutes while you prep a basket/tea towel with all-purpose and rice flour, or bran flakes.
Shape the dough into a boule or batard, depending on your baking vessel. Lay it in your basket seam side up for smooth scoring, or seam side down for a rustic look.
Let the dough proof 1-3 hours at room temperature, or 6-10 hours in the refrigerator. I did 8.5 hours in the refrigerator.
Thirty minutes before the end of the proofing stage, preheat your oven to 500 F with the baking vessel inside. (Follow the temperature limits of your baker.)
Flour your hand and flip the dough out of the basket. Gently place it in the hot baking vessel. Score the top, cover, and bake:
500 F for 25 minutes lid on
450 F for 15 minutes lid off
Or until the internal temperature is over 205 F.