Sourdough - Step by step

Ah yes, the moment you've all been waiting for...

How To Make Sourdough.

Let me just say, people get really excited when they find out I make sourdough and instantly ask if they can have the recipe. It takes me a moment to collect myself before blurting out some half answered response that goes something like this; "ah, it's pretty involved. It takes me a day and a half to make bread and it, ah, is pretty complex." If I've managed not to stumbling all over myself answering their question and they press on, most give up saying that it sounds like work. HA! You betcha! But for those of you brave enough, and with enough time and patience, it's one of the most rewarding experiences (in my humble option) you will ever have. Making, preparing, feeling, experiencing, sensing, folding, shaping, scoring, baking and finally tasting the fruits of your labour is worth all the effort. 

So here, in a nutshell, is the process of sourdough making. 

Day 1: Feed starter (in my case, RUBY)

Day 2: Feed starter (RUBY is a hungry girl and loves being feed)

Day 2: Making leaven - this is similar to feeding your starter but is the "yeast" that is added to your flour and water mix that kick starts the fermentation. Leaven is made with a really bubbly and lively starter which can be anywhere from 4-12 hours later depending on the starter you use. Is this starting to get more complicated? This is where I will start to lose people...

Day 3: Mixing flour and water. The choices of flour are endless! I generally use a 80% organic white and 20% Red Fife. Once your leaven is at it's microbial peak, it's time to mix and add in the leaven. Either 2-4 hours later for whole grain or 7-9 hours for white roller milled. Ok, I'm really starting to lose people now.

Day 3: An hour or so after mixing, the salt and rest of the water is added and dimpled in. Let rest for another 20-30 minutes then begin the stretch and fold.

Day 3: You are ready for the stretch and fold. Pretty simple: stretch the dough without tearing the gluten and fold it over itself x4. This is done up to 3x's depending on the tighness of the dough. So generally, every 1/2 hour for an hour. 

Day 3: Shape. Two methods: Ambient (baked straight away) or Retarded (left to ferment in the fridge for a further day or so to increase maximum digestibility). The retarded method is what I use so after a day of making bread, I wait a further 24-48 hours before I bake. Ambient only required a preshape. Retarded requires a preshape and a final shape. 

Day 3: Once the dough has relaxed, it can go into the baskets for the final proof. This can be as little as 20 minutes depending on temperature and humidity or up to an hour-plus.

Day 3: Now it's time for the dough to have a little rest in the fridge, happily fermenting, and creating a more digestible and sour loaf. Lucky you if you've stuck with me this far. You might be ready to learn to master the art of sourdough making. 

Day 4: Bake DAY!!! This is a very exciting day! Crank the oven to 500 (yup, that's one hot oven), preheating your dutch oven(s), and gently flip your dough into the hot pot. 
SCORE!! No, that's not what I mean. Score-as in quickly and precisely, with a shape blade, score the top of the dough. This takes A LOT of practice. After a year, I'm still working on my scoring. If done well, you will get the coveted 'ear.' This is the delight of every sourdough baker. 

Step 5: Or wait, Day 5? Ok, I've lost track. And likely some of you have too. 
Doesn't matter. The only thing left to do (after admiring your bake-and taking a million photos if your obsessed like me) is to enjoy. EVERY. SINGLE. BITE. 

So is it worth it? Absolutely, 100%. Do I have a recipe? Uh, yeah. It's called this blog and you'll have to follow along to learn each part of the making step by step;)

Now that you you've gotton a glimpse of what's involved in the making of sourdough, I'll start to break down each section to give a little more clarity. And if you've followed any of my million posts and stories on Facebook or Instagram on my sourdoughs, you'll discover that I have a phone full of pictures and videos to share with you all to help with the explanations:)

Happy baking:)
xoheather