(Overnight) Sourdough Bread — Another Great Bake

This is a great recipe for the beginner baker looking for a tasty and attractive Sourdough bread.

This recipe is a real time saver because the dough rises overnight. You mix the dough and fold it in the evening and bake it in the morning. It does not require a lot of morning proofing so if you start early with the half hour proof and the 45 minute bake you can be done early.

NOTES

Take your starter out of the fridge first thing in the morning
Allow it to warm up for 1-2 hours
Feed your starter and plan on it rising for the next 7-8 hours
Mix the dough in the evening

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

Scale (if you don’t have a scale, I suggest getting one but I’ve also included approximate measurements)
BPA free plastic bins with tops (you can use a bowl with plastic wrap)
Proofing baskets (you can also use a towel lined colander dusted with a lot of flour to prevent the dough from sticking)
Dutch Oven
Lame (or a sharp knife for slashing)

INGREDIENTS

150 grams of freshly fed and bubbly starter (see slideshow images) or 1 cup = approximately 235 grams of starter so 1/2 cup + 1/8 cup)
300 grams of room temperature water (approximately 300 ml)
500 grams of organic bread flour or approximately 4 1/8+ cups (If you don’t have bread flour I have been using AP flour as well and can honestly say that I don’t notice difference)
11-12 grams of sea salt (approximately 3/4 of a tablespoon)

For more weight to volume measurements see the King Arthur Weight Chart

DIRECTIONS

Mix all the ingredients together. I agree with my co-baker Daisy that it helps to do the initial mix with a wooden spoon (see helpful hints section of Daisy’s blog) and then mix by hand for about another minute.
Cover for 30 minutes
1st Fold
Fold the dough by reaching your hand under the dough ball, grab about 1/4 of the dough, stretch and fold back into the center (see slideshow), rotate bucket a 1/4 turn and repeat, repeat 2 more times, cover and let dough rest for 30 minutes. To help prevent the dough from sticking to your hands it helps to wet them.
2nd Fold
Repeat previous step
(see slideshow)
Cover and let it rise overnight. It should have doubled in size (see slideshow)
In the morning
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position, put dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 475 degrees
2. Lightly flour the counter and gently ease out the dough. Be careful to not get flour on top of the dough
3. Fold and Shape
  1. Reach hand under dough, stretch and fold the outside thirds into the center. Repeat 3-4 more times making sure that you pull the outside of the dough as tightly as possible (this will help it keep it’s shape)
  2. Move dough off floured surface and flip it over so that the folds are face down. Cup your hands around the dough and drag the dough ball towards you. Repeat until you get the shape you want.
  3. Put in proofing basket seam side down, cover and proof for 30 minutes.
4. Bake
  1. Roll out dough onto a piece of parchment paper (what used to be the seamed side will now be facing up)
  2. Slash with a Lame or sharp knife
  3. Remove heated dutch oven, remove the top, gently place the loaf into the dutch oven, put the cover back on and place back in oven.
  4. Reduce the heat to 425 degrees (at this point I have switched over to convection baking at 425 degrees), bake for 20 minutes and then remove the top and bake for another 25 minutes.

Freshly Fed Starter

1. Initial Mix

2. Cover for 30 minutes

3. Fold (Stretch the dough)

3. Fold (Fold to Center)

After the 2nd Fold

5. Doubled in Size

3.1 Stretch to Shape

3.1 Fold to shape

3.2 Cup to Shape

3.3 Shaped Sourdough

3.3 Covered Sourdough

4.2 Slash with Lame

4.3 Place in Dutch Oven

Finished Product

VARIATIONS

Sun-dried Tomato and Cheddar Sourdough Bread

RECIPE

1/4 cup of diced sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

Follow steps 1 and 2 from above
Add ingredients to rested dough, squelch in the ingredients and fold dough as directed above in
step 3.
Follow the directions as directed (starting at step 4)