Sourdough bread
- 525g water
- 150g sourdough
- 750g flour (450g wheat flour, the rest can be mixed as you like – rye, wholemeal, emmer,…)
- 37g water
- 15g salt
- Bread spice
You need:
A well-active sourdough, a cast iron pot with a minimum of 25cm diameter and a lid, a fermentation basket (also works in a bowl) and good flour (organic, min. 11-12g protein).
Best to buy from smaller organic stores, farm markets or online e.g. Krusteundkrume or Kornelia Urkorn!
Sourdough:
The sourdough must be well active. That means before baking bread, the dough should be fed in the evening and the morning. This ensures that it has enough strength to bake the bread at noon.
Time management:
It takes about half a day to prepare the bread. Ideally, you start at noon, fold it in the afternoon and let it rest overnight in the cooking basket. The following day you bake in the morning.
Preparation:
Step 1
Mix a large amount of water with the sourdough and flour by hand in a large bowl – autolysis. Cover with a cloth and let rest for 40 minutes.
Step 2
Mix salt, a little water and bread spice to the dough by hand. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Then fold it every 30 minutes in the bowl for 4 hours. Pull one side up at a time and fold back over the dough, repeating in circles (5-6 times) until you have formed a nice ball again.
Step 4
Now carefully fold the dough on the work surface – you can find many videos on Instagram under #finalshape. Then place the dough in a well-floured cooking basket with or without a cloth. Then let it rest in the refrigerator overnight.
Step 5
Preheat a cast-iron skillet in the oven at 250°C for at least 30 minutes. You can now flip the dough from the cooking basket directly into the hot pot, cut into the top and bake, or first, turn it out onto a flat baking sheet, score the desired pattern, and then lift it into the pot (works well with some baking paper underneath).
Step 6
Bake for about 30 minutes at 250°C with the lid on top and then for 15 minutes at 220°C without lid. The lid can be removed when the bread has risen well, but it still has a little color on top.
Remove from the pan and let cool for at least 40 minutes; even an hour is better.