About the Recipe
With just a few simple ingredients — flour, water, salt, and your starter — you can create a loaf that is full of flavour, with a beautiful open and airy crumb.
Sourdough is all about taking your time and letting natural fermentation do the work. As the dough slowly ferments, the wild yeast and beneficial bacteria in your starter develop the flavour and structure of the bread. The result is a loaf with a crisp, golden crust, a soft and chewy centre, and plenty of character.
It’s perfect served warm with butter, alongside a hearty meal, or simply toasted the next morning. And when baked in a wood-fired oven, the intense heat can help create an extra-crispy crust with a beautiful rustic finish — making it a great way to put your outdoor oven to work!
Ingredients
Ingredients:
100g active sourdough starter
500g flour — bread flour if possible but we just use High Grade
5g salt (up to 11g if you want more)
375g water
Cast-iron Dutch oven, if possible
Baking paper
A sharp knife or bread lame for scoring
Preparation
1. Mix the Dough
In a large bowl, combine the water and sourdough starter, then add the flour with the salt on top of the flour. We try to keep the salt away from the yeast (starter)
Mix everything together until a sticky, rough dough forms. Its ugly but no stress — the dough will strengthen as it rests, stretches and folds.
Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.
2. Bulk Fermentation
Bulk fermentation is the first rise of the dough.
Every 30 mins for the first two hours stretch and fold the dough. To do this you gently pull one side of the dough up and fold it back over itself. Rotate the bowl and repeat until you have brought the bowl around full circle (4 times). Every time you do this, you should notice the dough becoming smoother, more "together" and elastic.
After the fourth set of stretch and fold, cover the dough again and leave it until it has increased in volume by roughly 50–75%.
This stage can take different amounts of time and it is fun to watch the dough rise rather than just relying on the time.
3. Shape & Bench Rest
Once the dough has increased in volume by50-75%, turn it out from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface.
Gently shape the dough into a round by turning it with your hands on the side, being careful not to knock too much air out of it.
Let it rest on the bench around 20–40 minutes., affectionally known by sourdough cooks as "the bench rest". Don't leave it here for a long period of time, it won't be pretty if you do! An over fermented loaf will spread in the bake.
While the dough is resting, prepare a "proofing" bowl by lining a bowl with a clean tea towel and lightly dusting it with flour.
4. Final Shape & Cold Proof
After the bench rest, shape the dough again, this time making a tighter, more structured round and place it into the prepared proofing bowl. Cover it again with the trusty tea towel, and put it in the fridge "cold proof".
Ideally, leave it in the fridge for 12–48 hours. This is where flavour is developed but it will also make the dough easier to handle and score.
5. Score & Bake
Ready to bake? Take the baking dish you intend to use for the bake (Dutch oven or like) and preheat in the Outdoor oven to around 230°C.
Take the dough from the fridge and turn it out onto a sheet of baking paper (gentle, gentle).
Carefully score the top of the dough with a sharp knife or blade - any cut will expand as the bread bakes.
Transfer the dough, along with the baking paper, into the preheated Dutch oven with the lid.
Bake covered at 230°C for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the lid, check the oven temperature, it should have cooled to approx 200°C, bake for another 15 minutes, or until the loaf is a deep golden brown and the crust is nicely crisp. We like to tap the top of the loaf for a nice hollow sound.
Remove the loaf from the oven, let it cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack.
The smell will be divine and your puku will rumble but try to avoid cutting it for approx 1 hour to allow the bread to finish setting and its too hot to cut too soon.
Some Sourdough Tips & Tricks
1. Using a fridge in the process helps slow the yeast growth down which will produce a better bread
2. A bubbly starter that is climbing the jar (double the size from feeding) is vital pre bake. If the starter is not bubbly the loaf may not rise well and the result will be dense.
3. Patience is key, it will take time but we tend to make the dough on Friday for Saturday lunch, it is just part of the process and rewarding especially when it tastes so good!
4. Watch the dough, temperature can make a huge difference. A warm kitchen area can cause your dough to ferment much faster than expected, while a cooler kitchen can slow things down considerably. Look at the changes in your dough, we want to see bubbles, and an expected increase in volume.
5. Be mindful of adding flour. You will want to, especially if the dough feels sticky (sticky is normal), but too much flour can make the finished loaf heavy and dense. To get around the sticky, lightly wet your hands when shaping the dough.
6. The stretch and folds help develop the gluten in the bread so it is vital this step is not missed and you will see the change in the dough almost immediately. When you know, you know.
7. A tight, round loaf will hold its shape better in the oven and encourage the bread to rise up not out. Enjoy this part and take your time.
8. To score the bread, you can keep it simple with one large score or get creative with your own patterns, do a quick google for inspiration.
9. If you don't have a Dutch oven which captures all important steam to create a nice crust, you can add a small dish of water in the bottom of the oven.
Take your time, enjoy the process, and most importantly — enjoy the bread!