Serves 4 to 6


Sourdough

  • Prep Time 10 Minutes
  • Cooking Time 30 Minutes
  • Method

Ingredients

  • Water
  • Fine salt
  • Brown bread flour
  • White bread flour
  • Rice flour

Nutrition

Instructions

  1. Levain (08:00) –
  2. Mix together 40g starter + 40g water + 40g flour (40g brown + 40g white)
  3. Be sure to cover container with a lid.
  4. Store for 5-6 hours around 24°C. If your kitchen is too cold, you can store in the oven or microwave with the light on.
  5. The levain is ready once it’s roughly doubled in size. It will be bubbly on top and slightly domed.
  6. Autolyse (12:00) –
  7. Mix the following:
  8. 304g white bread flour
  9. 150g brown bread flour
  10. 305ml water (lukewarm)
  11. Cover the bowl and store with levain (again 24°C) around for 1 hour.
  12. Mix (13:00) –
  13. Mix the following:
  14. autolyse
  15. levain
  16. 9g fine salt
  17. *store dough in a tub or bowl for bulk fermentation, again at 24°C.
  18. Bulk Fermentation (13:10-17:10) –
  19. Perform 4 sets of stretch & folds (every 30min)
  20. This is a good technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9zWEupVMFs&feature=youtu.be
  21. After the 4th set of stretch & folds let the dough rest for another 2 hours.
  22. *The dough should have risen between 20% and 50% at the end of your bulk fermentation.
  23. Pre-shape (17:15) –
  24. Lightly flour your counter before placing the dough on it. Use a dough scraper to turn the dough in circular motion so the dough’s edges fold in on itself. It should form a circular shape and slight tension on the top of the dough.
  25. Let the dough rest for 5min on the counter.
  26. Shape (17:20) –
  27. This is a good technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWA0RAAsBHg
  28. Rest & Proof (17:25-09:30) *next day –
  29. Cover your shaped dough in rice flour and place upside down in a basket/bowl. You can use bread flour for this, but the rice flour makes it much easier to remove from the basket after the overnight fermentation.
  30. Place the basket in a sealed plastic bag or sealed container to prevent it from drying out and refrigerate for 16 hours. Ideally you want your fridge to be set at 3°C.
  31. Preheat & bake 08:30 –
  32. Preheat your cast iron pot or Dutch oven inside your oven for 1 hour at 250°C.
  33. Once your oven and pot is ready, remove your dough from the fridge.
  34. Put a sheet of baking paper on a chopping board or pizza peel. Rest the board & paper on the basket containing your dough and flip it over. Remove the basket your dough will be left resting (right way up) on the baking paper.
  35. Score your loaf with a sharp razor blade. I recommend looking at some scoring techniques online ad finding what works for you.
  36. Remove your pot from the oven. Remove the lid insert your dough.
  37. Place the lid back on and bake for 20 minutes at 250°C.
  38. After 20 minutes, remove the lid and allow to bake for a further 20min at 200°C (without the lid).
  39. Wait 1 hour before cutting your bread. This is a vital step in ensuring the interior is set.
  • Preparation Time: 10 Minutes
  • Braai Time: 20 Minutes
  • Total Time: 30 Minutes
  • Serves: 4 to 6
  • Skill Level: Intermediate to Difficult
  • Braai Temperature: 200°C -250 °C
  • Equipment: Dutch Oven Duo