My Sourdough Journey

I have always loved bread, especially sourdough. I was lucky enough to be gifted a wonderful 100+ year old starter from a friend which really started me on my sourdough journey. Although it was tricky at first, the insane amount of videos I watched and blogs I read really helped me, so I thought I would compile some of them and the tips I learned. This is in no way a recipe, but more a guide. Some of the videos are recipes, but any recipe you find will require the starter and then the amounts of water flour and salt. These tips just help you to develop the dough.

I want to start by saying that I was so set on making a traditional looking sourdough boule. Basically the very classic round loaf dappled with flour and scored. These tips are really geared toward that sort of look, taste and feel, although I am certain they would help with any bread making.

The tools needed are not super extensive but if you are serious about making bread please get a dutch oven. I am sure you can find some that are on the cheaper side. But they TRULY make all the difference. I do not have a lame (used for scoring) but I do own insanely sharp knifes that work just as well. I have not needed a bench scraper, but they look super handy. Buy a scale. Seriously they are not that expensive and I am almost certain the scale + my dutch oven are what helped me finally achieve the boule I wanted.

Discard starter after using some to make the dough. Very active. I store it in the fridge and one to two days before I bake I take it out and feed it a couple of times to get it super active.

The Starter and the feeding:
As I mentioned, I was super grateful to receive a very active starter. If you do not have one you can make your own or maybe reach out to a friend for some.

For reading I recommend King Arthur’s guide to feeding. It helped me sort of get my foot in the door for understanding how to maintain my starter. Here is the link

As for videos on feeding the starter, I watched Food52’s Test Kitchen video. It was super helpful for me to grasp where my starter was at and how to feed it.

When you use starter for a recipe, after you feed the starter you won’t use all of it. Partition out how much you need for the recipe and SAVE some in a jar. This could be about a quarter to half of the jar. This is really important especially if you want to make bread again. Refer to picture for the amount I saved. The starter you have left after saving some is the discard.

I do not think you need to feed your starter every day. I just leave mine in the fridge and 2-3 days before I know I will bake I start feeding it. I left mine untouched in the fridge for a month and it made the best bread after 2 feedings.

There will be some discard depending on how much the starter grows, how many times you feed it prior to using, and instead of throwing this out just use it in pancake batter or something! @maxlamanna on Instagram has tons of tips on using food waste so I would check him out before you toss any!

Making the dough:
Yes, this was tricky. But there is consensus on one thing mostly and that is autolysing the dough prior to adding any starter. I have learned that this is a crucial step that should not be missed.

These videos are so helpful. I watched the Bon Appetite one probably 5 times and then again as I was making the dough. Both videos go through many tips and tricks and the Bon Appetite one is a full video on how to make the dough from start to finish, so please watch that one. The second video is more just common mistakes and how to make dough properly.

Shaping the dough:
1. How to shape in a Boule
2. Shaping the bread (it will be sticky)

Proofing:
Prior to baking you need to proof the bread in a proofing basket. Since I do not own one and do not think it is necessary to purchase, I just used a colander and lined it with a towel and dusted with flour like you would normally with a proofing basket. Then I let the dough sit overnight in the ‘basket’ in the fridge. This is a slow proof and allows for more flavor development.

Cooking:
Baking the bread at a high temperature and preheating the dutch oven before adding the dough are two very important steps. Like I mentioned before, HIGHLY recommend a dutch oven. If you do not have one, this baker puts a sheet pan with water in the oven with the bread. What the dutch oven does is trap steam in the pot for the first 15 minutes of cooking. This allows the bread to rise and give it that extra springiness. Removing the lid on the dutch oven for the next 30-40 minutes allows the bread to then crisp up. After the bread is cooked it is so important to let it rest for 2 hours on a cooling rack before cutting into it. This allows the bread to continue cooking in the center.

I still have so much to learn, but researching the basics and the chemistry behind the starter and dough really helped me to develop the type of bread I wanted. It might seem like a lot, but with practice it will get easier. Here are some of my before and after pictures!

© 2019 Sabrina Endicott