Sourdough bread experiment

There is nothing that smells better than fresh bread out of the oven. It fills the entire house with a pleasant aroma that just makes your mouth water. I am salivating now just thinking about it.

Making anything out of minimal ingredients appeals to me hence the desire to see sourdough bread come to fruition. Just starter, flour, water, and salt. (The only ingredients in my starter is flour and water.) It may have taken months to get to this point but that's okay. It was well worth the wait. 

On to my experimentation with sourdough. Prior to my low-carb weight-loss journey, I commenced a sourdough starter and have been keeping it going for a long time. So, in the last few days, I decided to use my starter to make some sourdough bread. I came across a recipe on the internet at www.thestonesoup.com and immediately took a shine to its simple elegance. As with all my recipe adventures, I stuck to the proffered directions the first time and then played around with them on subsequent attempts.

My last sourdough bread was exquisite. So much so, that I (of low-carb dieting status) ate an entire large slice with butter. Of course, I had to remove the temptation of stuffing bread into my gullet by sending it with my husband this morning to work. Hopefully, he shares with his colleagues there.  :)

So, without further ado, here is the recipe and directions for sourdough bread.

- 325g (11oz) all purpose flour

- 200g (8oz) sourdough starter (mine is made from organic spelt flour and water)

- 275g (10oz) filtered water

- 1 teaspoon find grained salt

Method (mostly identical to that of stonesoup's):

1. In a large bowl combine flour, starter, water and salt until just mixed together.

2. Cover with cling wrap and leave overnight for 12 hours.

3. Remove the sourdough from the bowl with a spatula and place on top of a generous amount of flour (I used a pastry mat placed on my kitchen counter). Sprinkle generously with more flour. Gently fold the edges from the outside in to form a round loaf using the spatula. Once the dough is not so sticky, knead it for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as required.

4. Place your dough in a proofing basket that has been lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean dish towel. Allow to sit for 4 - 6 more hours.

5. Place a large oven proof dish with a lid in the oven. Preheat oven and the pan 200 degrees Celsius.

6. Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven. Remove lid. Gently remove the parchment paper from your proofing basket and place loaf (and paper) in the pan. At this point, you can cut the top with your desired pattern or leave it plain. 

7. Pop the lid back on and bake for 30 minutes.

8. Remove the lid and bake for a further 15 minutes until the loaf is deep brown.

9. Cool on a wire rack uncovered for at least 30 minutes.

This recipe is easy but requires forethought. If I want sourdough tomorrow for dinner, then start the process the night before. If I want it for breakfast, then start the morning before. It's pretty simple and amazingly delicious.  Bon Apetit!