Whole Wheat Sour Dough Bread
It's easier than you think to bake up a loaf of fresh sourdough bread. Got butter?
Equipment
- Heavy enameled Dutch oven pan with lid
- large sheet of Parchment paper
- sharp knife
Ingredients
- 200 grams sourdough starter
- 400 grams warm water, no more than about 100°
- 450 grams all purpose flour
- 200 grams whole wheat flour
- 17 grams salt
Instructions
Feed Starter:
- Start by feeding your starter. For best results use a kitchen scale to measure out 50 grams all purpose flour, 50 grams whole wheat flour, and 100 grams of water.
- Stir to combine. Allow starter to activate for at least 4 hours.
Making the loaf:
- In a large bowl, mix together (measure it out with a kitchen scale for best results) 200 grams of the activated/fed starter, the whole wheat flour, the all purpose flour, and the water.
- Stir together until completely incorporated. The dough will be quite sticky.
- Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- 1st kneading: After 30 minutes, wet hands with some water, sprinkle the salt over the dough in the bowl and pull and stretch the dough from the outside to. the center, turning the bowl a quarter turn each time. Don't over work the dough.
- Cover the bowl with a dish cloth and allow the dough to rest for another 30 minutes.
- 2nd kneading: After 30 minutes, wet hands with some water, pull and stretch the dough again, being carful not to over work the dough.
- Cover the bowl with a dish cloth and allow the dough to rest for another 30 minutes.
- 3rd and final kneading: After 30 minutes, pull and stretch the dough again, being carful not to over work the dough.
- Cover the bowl with a dish cloth and allow the dough to rest for another 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour your work surface and your hands. Tip the dough out onto your work surface. Use your hands to shape the dough into a round ball, stretching the dough to get good surface tension. This helps to stretch the gluten strands in the dough.
- Stretch the dough from the outside toward the sides and underneath turning the dough sightly until you have a nice taught round ball of dough. Don't overwork the dough or you will remove the bubbles that have formed in the dough. The goal is to maintain those air bubbles so the loaf bakes up light and airy in the center.
- Place a cotton dish towel in a bowl. Sprinkle the dish towel generously with flour.
- Place dough ball in the bowl, seam side facing up. Pinch together the seam with your fingers if desired.
- Sprinkle the bottom of the loaf with little more flour. This will prevent the dish towel from sticking to the dough.
- Fold the corners of the dish towel over the loaf and let it rest for one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 475°F.
- Place a Dutch oven pot in the oven while the oven is preheating for a good 45 minutes for both the oven and Dutch oven pot to get really, really hot.
- When ready to bake the loaf, fold back the corners of the dish towel and place a sheet of parchment paper over the bowl. Set a cookies sheet or cutting board on top of the parchment paper.
- Carefully turn out the loaf over and onto the parchment paper.
- Use a sharp knife to score the loaf with the design of your choice.
- Remove the Dutch oven pan from the oven and remove the lid, being careful not to burn yourself. The pot will be very hot!
- Grab the four corners of the parchment paper and carefully place the loaf of bread into the preheated, very hot Dutch oven pan.
- Cover the pan with the lid and place it back in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 430°F.
- Bake the loaf, covered, for 35 minutes.
- After 35 minutes, remove lid and continue to bake the loaf for another 10-20 minutes until the loaf is golden brown.
- Tap the loaf with your finger, if it sounds hollow when you tap it, it's done.
- Use the four corners of the parchment paper to lift the loaf out of the Dutch oven pan.
- Allow the loaf to cool completely on a wire rack for a minimum of 45 minutes before slicing it.