How to make sourdough bread

Video: How To Make Sourdough Bread Masterclass

Content

Method 2 of 3: Making the dough
Method 3 of 3: Finishing the Bread Making
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

1 Choose a starter container. "Sourdough" is a mixture of flour and water that provides the right environment for the yeast to thrive. A high yeast concentration is required for the starter culture. Any glass or plastic container with a lid is perfect for it.

Empty jars (for both pickling and jam) are perfect.
Make sure the jars are clean to keep the starter from getting dirty.

2 Fill a container with equal parts flour and water. In a separate bowl, combine equal parts flour and water (the amount is not important as long as you mix enough to fill most of the jar). Stir well until the ingredients combine. Pour the mixture into a jar, leaving just a little room for air.

Any type of flour works well, but remember that you need enough gluten for the bread to rise (wheat, barley, rye contain gluten).

3 Place the container in a warm, dark place. There will be a lot of yeast in the mixture, as it is present in the air and in the flour. In order for yeast to multiply, it needs 4 things: heat, darkness, water, and starch or sugar. You have already created the right conditions for the yeast, so it should start multiplying quickly. Leave the lidded jar alone for 24 hours.

The room temperature should be warm enough to provide proper conditions for the yeast to multiply. If the room is cool, place the jar in a warm part of the kitchen.
Cover the jar with a dark cloth to keep it dark.

4 Feed the yeast every 24 hours. Once a day, pour out half of the mixture and replace it with a fresh batch of mixture that is half water and half flour. Within a week, the leaven forms a bubbly foam and a pronounced sour smell. When this happens, the leaven is ready and you can bake the bread.

5 Refrigerate the starter. If you don't want to use the starter right away, put the jar in the refrigerator. In the cold, the yeast will remain alive and passive. The starter culture can be left in the refrigerator indefinitely if you feed the yeast once a week according to the procedure above.

Method 2 of 3: Making the dough

1 Check the dough. To do this, pour all of the starter into a bowl and add equal parts flour and water, stirring occasionally, to combine the ingredients. The total amount of water you add should not exceed the amount of water specified in the bread recipe. 1 cup (235 ml) is a good amount of water for a loaf of bread. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the yeast multiply for a few hours. This process is called "proofing". The resulting mass is called "dough".
2 Stir in flour and salt. When the dough becomes bubbly, it means you need to stir in other ingredients. Add a pinch or two of salt, then gradually add flour until the dough sticks together but is still sticky.
- Flour has its capacity to absorb, so it is not as useful to use accurate measurements as it is to do it on your own.
- You can easily stir the dough using just your hands and a bowl.
3 Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise for a few hours. The yeast will act at different rates depending on the conditions, so be patient. When the dough has increased in volume, it is ready for the next step.
- The dough rises faster when it is in a warm and dry place. You can turn on the oven at 90 ° C and put a bowl of dough in it until it rises. Leave the oven door ajar.
- You can put the dough to rise in the refrigerator overnight.

Method 3 of 3: Finishing the Bread Making

1 Knead the dough. Sprinkle some flour on a clean work surface and place the dough on top of it. Squeeze in the dough and massage for about 10 minutes. Add flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.
- The dough should be smooth. Continue massaging until the dough is the desired consistency.
- A mixer with a dough attachment can be used instead of hands.
2 Leave the dough to rise again. Shape the dough into a ball and cover it with a towel. Let the dough stand and rise until it doubles in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220 ° C.
3 Bake bread. When the dough has doubled in volume, place it on a baking sheet or in a bread pan or heavy saucepan and place in the oven. # * Bake for 45 minutes at 220 ° C. Take out the bread and let it sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting.