Growing up in an Armenian family ,bread has always had a special significance for me .It epitomizes the blessing ,the love,the warmth and magic of creating something so simple yet delicious with just 3 ingredients : water,flour & salt . The divine aroma that the bread exudes in the kitchen ,combined with that crumbly super fresh bite with some butter or cheese is what dreams are made of in cold and doomy winter days.
Below is the foulproof recipe of my sourdough bread.
Basic Sourdough Bread:
Ingredients:
- 480 g unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
- 100 g active sourdough starter
- 350 g water
- 7-10 g Kosher Salt
Procedure
I have tried different methods with and without autolyse haven’t really seen a difference.So I just do the simplest way .
- Usually, I start preparing my bread at around 7:00 pm
- I mix everything in a stand mixer
- I let the dough outside at room temperature for 2-3 hours
- I do 3-4 stretch & folds every half hour
- I transfer the dough to the fridge to bulk ferment
- The next morning around 8:00 am I take the dough out and let it at room temperature at this stage dough rises
- After 3 hours I shape the dough and put it in a banneton .
- I let it proof outside for additional few hours until it looks ready.(The speed the dough rises and ferments on temperature at winter fermentation is slower,while at summer much faster)
- Meanwhile I turn on the over let it preheat till 500 degrees (maximum heat) with a Dutch oven inside
- Once the oven reaches 500 degrees ,I score the bread and transfer it to hot Dutch oven
- I let it bake for 40 minutes with cover closed ,I then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and let it cook for another 20 minutes or until the bread is nice golden brown and sounds like hollow wood when tapped.
Optional:
Olive Bread:I have added half a cup of Kalamata olives, dry oregano, thyme and a teaspoon of olive oil to the same recipe to make a delicious sourdough olive bread.I also replaced the unbleached flour with 100% integral wheat flour.
*Flour plays the most important role in the bread ,I get the best results using a mixture of 50% unbleached wheat flour 30% Whole wheat/integral flour with whole wheat flour and 20% blend of: Rye,spelt, buckwheat ,oatmeal , & corn flours. My favourite flours are :Miller’s Pride & La Milanaise organic flours
