How to make Sourdough Bread

How to make Sourdough Bread – updated version!!!

 1) Preparing to Feed:

Warm up: If you choose to keep your sourdough starter in the fridge, allow it to wake up and warm to room temperature before feeding. I take mine out of the fridge the night before I start.

Discard a portion: you need to discard a portion of the active sourdough starter before feeding. How much you discard depends on how much you are going to feed it.

To discard, first stir the starter. Remove desired amount, discard the rest. You can feed the discard to the chickens, make discarded sourdough lemon cake or compost.

After a portion is discarded, it is time to stir in fresh flour and water.

2) Feeding your starter:

To feed a sourdough starter using weight, simply combine equal parts starter, flour, and water. I use for making 1 bread for example, 40 grams leftover sourdough starter, 40 g of water and 40 g of brown rice flour.

Or for a larger starter, 100 grams of each.

Or you can use 1 part leftover sourdough starter, 1 part water, and just under 2 parts flour. For example, 1 cup starter, 1 cup water, and nearly 2 cups of flour.

Put in a biggish glass jar with lid on and put it in a warm place (airing cupboard, by the fireplace or in an oven with the light on.

This will take around 6 -8 hours to rise.

3) Getting Your Starter Ready for Baking

My recipe, like most sourdough recipes call for the sourdough starter to be “active” or added at “peak activity”. A sourdough starter is considered at peak activity when it is expanded and bubbly, it has doubled in size and is no longer growing but has not yet started to fall back down or deflate.

I suggest feeding your starter twice before baking to get it active, especially if it was stored in the fridge.

4) Second time feeding your starter

 120 g Sourdough starter (from your first feed 40g starter, 40 g water, 40 g flour)

100 g water

100g brown rice flour

This will take around 3-6 hours to rise.

It should get its last feeding at least three to four hours before you want to start making dough. I make the dough that evening, proof overnight in the fridge, and bake Saturday morning.

5) Make sourdough bread

Gluten free Sourdough bread recipe

6) Rest the Dough (Bulk Ferment)

This stage can take between 3 to 5 hours.

1. Place the formed dough ball in the bottom of the bowl

2.Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic bag (This will prevent the dough from drying out)

3.Put the bowl somewhere warm.

7) Proof Overnight

Transfer the dough into a proofing basket or banneton for a cold proof in the fridge. Cover it again with a damp towel or wrap in plastic bag.

This will take around 7-12 hour cold proof

8) Preheat the Oven

Preheat the oven with a Dutch oven or Cast iron cooker inside for 30 minutes 240 degree Celsius (Gas 8)

9) Transfer Dough to the Hot Pan

Tip you bread gently out of your proofing basket onto a tray with baking paper. Score the Dough with a sharp knife like an X or twice through the middle. Carefully slide the bread on the flat bottom portion of your hot pan, grab a couple of ice cubes and put them under the baking paper into the flat pan. Place the lid on top and put it all in the oven.

10) Bake

Bake the loaf covered for 50 minutes on 240°C.  Next, pull it all out and take the lid off. Bake uncovered, for a final 15 minutes at 200°C (Gas6) to finish browning the top.