Homemade Sourdough Bread

We started working on a recipe during COVID lockdowns. My wife and I wanted to be able to make a sourdough that was as easy as it was tasty. I made a lot of mistakes along the way and finally came up with the following recipe. This recipe produces a tasty bread that’s relatively cheap and easy to produce. It’s soft in the centre with a crispy crust. 

 I’m still experimenting to get it fluffier and bubblier, like using a stretch and fold technique or adding some apple cider vinegar to the mix, or partially cooking it in a clay pot to keep moisture in. 

the Sourdough Starter

Your first Starter will take about a week. After that, you can split it and feed it once a week and keep it in the fridge. We make bread every Saturday or Sunday from the starter we keep in the fridge. Believe it or not, it’s about three years old and still thriving.

To make your first starter, get a glass (or ceramic) vessel big enough to hold six or seven cups of liquid because the starter will need space to grow. Add a cup -and-a-half of flour and about half a cup of water (tap water is fine, but if you want to get fancy you can use bottled water) and stir it up so it is a uniform mixture, it should be moist and gooey, not firm. The best flours for starter is Rye or Whole Wheat or a mix of flours. Put it in a warm place that is draft free, but where you are able to monitor it. Cover it with a thin cloth like cheesecloth or paper towel tied closed or with a rubber band, or don’t cover it-that works too. I like to keep the cloth moist. That’s the first twenty-four hours or so. Ensure it’s in a warm draft -free spot out of the sun.

The next day you should discard half of the starter, sometimes  I just compost it, but you can make something with it like biscuits or pancakes. Feed the remaining starter with about a half-cup of flour and about the same amount of water. I add the water in increments to get a texture that is thick and gooey Put it back where you were storing it for about another day. Do the same again in 24 hours; get rid of half the starter and feed it again. By now you should start seeing bubbles and it should start smelling sweet. If it smells like something stinky, toss it and start over. If it is coming alive, it should double in size and stay bubbly and fresh smelling. Monitor and feed it every twelve to twenty-four hours. Patience is key, you may have to split and feed it; and monitor it for a couple of more days. Once it doubles in size, is bubbly and sweet smelling, it’s good to use and store.

At this point, you can half it, feed one of the  halves; and that half can be stored covered in the fridge for your next feeding in about a week. I keep my starters in sealer jars. The fridge slows the growth so you don’t have to check it every day. When you take it out of the fridge if it has a slightly discolored liquid on top, that’s called “hootch”; pour that out before using the starter. Now the other half can be used for a loaf of bread, Naan, buns, pizza,  spaghetti, or you can just toss it.

When I split my starter, sometimes I feed it and start another one, or share it with a friend or neighbor.

The Bread

I make mine in a deep plastic container, something I can put a cloth cover on, But you could use a ceramic, glass or metal bowl. I also use bread flour, not all-purpose.

Add the starter to around 165 grams (about three quarters to a full cup) of warm water and 5-10 grams of sea salt. This will make two small loafs, or one big loaf. Some folks save the salt for the end, when all the other ingredients are mixed. Add as much starter as you like, I usually add 1-2 cups

To speed up the rising and for extra flavor, I add about a tablespoon of Fleishmann’s Fresh yeast. It comes in a block–kind of like butter. The Italian market I buy it from sells it frozen. I cut it into pieces, or cut off about the equivalent of a couple of tablespoons and put the rest back in the freezer,  so I don’t waste it in the fridge. Thaw it before adding it to the mix. Stir up the water, yeast and starter.

Add the bread flour to get the texture of a smooth velvety dough, not too sticky, pasty, or too dry. I mix it with a thin spatula or narrow wooden spoon. If it starts out being too watery, add flour in increments until you get the right consistency so you’re not pushing and pulling between too moist or too dry.

Cover it and let it rise until it’s doubled in size by putting it in the oven with the light on, or any non-drafty place out of direct sun. Then I prepare two rectangular bread pans with olive oil–you can be generous with the oil. A casserole dish can be used too, but the metal ones seem to work the best for me. When it is risen, I pour in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. I just glug it on, not really measuring it. I get it on my hand so I don’t stick to the dough. I knead the bread around and around working the oil into the dough. If you mix it around with the oil it should stop sticking to your hand.

Once I get it so I can lift it out, I spread a few tablespoon amounts of flour on the counter. I put the bread on that and roll and flip it around so the whole surface has enough flour on it so I can flatten it and fold over the edges to introduce some air into the dough.

Then I split it and put it into the two oiled pans, and then back into an oven with the light on. Once they’ve doubled in size again I slice a line across the top with a sharp knife to allow for expansion and pop them into a 450 degree oven, and spritz the oven interior with water to create some steam.  I Bake them for 20 minutes, then pop them out of their pans and put them directly on the rack in the oven for another 15 minutes. If your bread is sticking to the pan, don’t force it, just put it back in the oven to allow it to cook a bit more. I find that allows the bread to shrink away from the pan a bit.

Finally, I take one out and tap the bottom, if it doesn’t make a hollow sound I’ll put them back for another five to ten minutes, and test it again.

Once they sound hollow, I put them on a cooling rack until cooled. After about fifteen minutes you can cut into one and have fresh bread and butter. You can use sourdough starter for a ton of different recipes, I’ve used it to make sumptuous Naan bread, crusty pizza dough, and spaghetti. It adds so much flavor to them.