Sourdough Bread recipe

PREPARATION:

In a large ball (mixer ball or by hand) mix 1 cup of sourdough starter with 3 cups of lookwarm water until the starter is fully dissolved.

Add 3 cups of flour and mix well until smooth. Cover the ball and let stand in room temperature for 8 hours (over night). I like to put it in the over with only the oven light on to a little warmth. This stage is called "making a sponge" . when you uncover the sponge it should be bubbly and frothy and smell like sourdough with a hint of alcohol.
Add 1 cup of four, mix well and take off a cup for next generation starter (plastic container in the fridge).

Add salt and the remainder of the flour. mix until most of the flour has gotten wet, cover and let stand for 20 min or so. This will allow the flour to absorb the water and the dough will become easier to handle.
Knead the dough for 5 minutes until it is less sticky and can be formed into a ball. Lets stand for 5 minutes and knead some more. By now the dough will be smoother and less sticky.

Split the dough into 4 equal parts (I use a scale) and form into 4 balls. place on slightly oiled baking sheet and let is rise for an hour (I use put it in the oven with the oven light on which makes it 80f or so) . To prevent the dough from drying out and developing a skin I also put a baking pan with a few cups of hot water in the over to make the oven humid.. After a couple of hours the dough will raise to almost double its original size.

4 balls of dough

Take the dough out and shape it into 4 loaves of whichever shape you like (I like loaves), and place them on baking sheets or special bread forms.



use a sprayer/spritzer ($1 at Costco) with clean water to keep the bread from dying out and forming a a hard skin. sprinkle black seeds on top of the bread (spruse a sprayer/spritzer ($1 at Costco) with clean water to keep the bread from dying out and forming a a hard skin. sprinkle black seeds on top of the bread (spraying the bread with a bit of water will help the seeds stick).

You can now puts some cuts in the bread using a razor blade or a box cutter. it will make the bread look better and also allow it to expand easier as it rises and bakes. the cuts should be less then a 1/4 inch deep.



Place the bread into the middle rack of the oven with the light on. Place a small pan with hot water on the bottom rack. this will help warm up the oven to promote rising and also humidify the over so the dough doesn't dry.. On dry summer days remember to spray the oven lightly with water..

Remember what the bread looks like when it went in, because you need to let it triple in volume. Depending of temperature and the four type, it would take from 3 to 5 hours.



Once the bread is risen take it out of the oven (remove the water pan too), and preheat the oven to 550f (or as as high as it can).
Wet the bread with the water sprayer and place it on the middle rack, try to minimize the time that the oven door is open so you don't loose too much heat..
After 4 minutes open the oven and spray the bread (and the inside of the oven) with water and close the door as soon as you can.
When the bread starts showing signs of browning (little gold patches, typically after 25 minutes of baking) turn the temp down to 430f (if you have convection, switch to convection at 410f).
Continue to bake until the bread is light mahogany brown but NOT burned. Take the bread out, and let it cool down for at least half an hour.

It is very tempting to eat the bread warm, but sourdough tastes a lot better after 2 hours..

As I said at the introduction, this process looks long and complicated but the actual time that it takes is less then an hour over 2 days..

TIPS:

when you make the sponge you can make the bread more (or less) sour by playing with the temperature. Cooler temperature (65f) promotes the bacteria the makes it sour, and warmer temperature makes it less sour but faster fermentation. If you choose to use lower temperature, you may need to add 2-3 hours to the fermentation time..

If you want to add another flavor dimension to the bread, add a tablespoon of brewers malt*** to the sponge mixture. You will not taste the malt in the final product but the bacteria LOVES that stuff and the flavor is amazing.. if you have some coarse sea salt you can sprinkle some on top of the bread before baking.

NOTES:
* Flour - I use "Gold Medal - better for bread - unbleached unbromated" flour found in most supermarkets

** Black seeds have no American name. Latin: Nigella sativa or Ketzah (Hebrew), in middle eastern store you can find it under the name Black Cumin or Black Caraway seed. In Indian stores it is called Black Onion seeds

*** Brewer Malt is a type odd sugar that is extracted from Malted Barley and can be bought at beer brewing supply stores

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THE STARTER

Sourdough bread, like a car, starts with a "starter" which is made of flour water and good-luck. You need to make a starter only once, and in theory it could be used for hundreds of years.

To make your first starter, take a shallow ball with large surface area, mix 3 cups of flour* and 2 cups of filtered/bottled water (no chlorine!) and mix well until smooth. Place the ball uncovered next to a window where fresh air flows and wait. Make sure to mix it well whenever you have a chance (a couple of times a day or more).
If you were good and did not angry the Gods (have the right bugs floating in the air), you will get the good bugs to "infect" the dough.
Sourdough is made by a yeast and a bacteria that live symbiotically in the dough. The yeast makes CO2 and Alcohol, and the bacteria (Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis) makes the acid/vinegar which gives the sourdough that tangy taste. You need to do this only once!! once you achieved a good culture you can propagate it for years, and in theory, forever..
Once the starter is bubbling and creating some foam, add a half a cup of flour and put it in the refrigerator in a plastic container. Remember to "feed" the starter every week. a couple of tablespoon of flour and water, mix, and its good for another week..

Now to the bread..