The Bread and Baking Thread

I have heard of starters being kept in the fridge for a year!

ps that bread looks very yummy - recipe?
 
This is what I do, Sue.
You've been baking much longer than I have and won't need all the information I've included here, but I thought that it might be of interest to others.

COLIN’S NO-KNEAD SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE


Ingredients

400g strong white flour
100g strong wholemeal flour
50-150g active starter
water to make starter up to 400g
12g ( 2 teaspoons) salt
100g seeds if desired


Method

Day 1:
Feed your starter with flour and water to make a fairly stiff batter-like mix. About three quarters of a jam jar in total is a good quantity to make up.
Pour half of the three quarters of the jar of ‘batter mix’ into a second jam jar. You now have two jam jars a bit less than half full of ‘batter mix’. One of the jars will be used for the sourdough bread you are about to make and the second will be used as a the starter for your next sourdough loaf.
Put an elastic band around the jars at the level of the ‘batter mix’. This will let you see how your starter increases in volume as it develops.
Leave both jars overnight to get bubbly.

Day 2:
Put one of your jars of bubbly starter in the fridge for your next loaf.
Pour the contents of the other jar into a mixing bowl.
Add water to make the total up to 400g.
Add the salt and stir to dissolve the salt and mix in the starter.
Add the flour and seeds (if used) and mix until just combined. I use a plastic scraper for this, thus keeping my hands clean.
Leave for 20-60 mins then, using the plastic scraper, fold the dough in from the edge and into itself ~8 times.
Cover and leave to double in size overnight.

Day 3:
Once doubled, and again using the plastic scraper, fold the dough in from the edge and into itself 6-8 times.
Line the bottom and sides of a casserole dish with baking paper and lightly flour the base.
Tip the dough into the middle of the casserole dish, replace the lid and leave to ‘prove’ for 1-4 hours. (Some people do this ‘proving’ in the fridge overnight).
Lightly flour the top of the dough and score the top with a fancy pattern using a sharp knife (the scoring controls where the loaf will split as it expands).
Put the lid back on the casserole and place in an oven preheated to 250°C. Bake for about 45 mins.
Remove casserole lid and bake for a further ~15 mins until the crust is the way you like it.
Remove loaf. It should sound hollow when tapped on the base.

Leave on a wire rack to cool before slicing and enjoying.

The loaf will have a long life if kept in a plastic bag or sealed container in the fridge.

Colin :):):)
 
Last edited:
This is what I do, Sue.
You've been baking much longer than I have and won't need all the information I've included here, but I thought that it might be of interest to others.

COLIN’S NO-KNEAD SOURDOUGH BREAD RECIPE


Ingredients

400g strong white flour
100g strong wholemeal flour
50-150g active starter
water to make starter up to 400g
12g ( 2 teaspoons) salt
100g seeds if desired


Method

Day 1:
Feed your starter with flour and water to make a fairly stiff batter-like mix. About three quarters of a jam jar in total is a good quantity to make up.
Pour half of the three quarters of the jar of ‘batter mix’ into a second jam jar. You now have two jam jars a bit less than half full of ‘batter mix’. One of the jars will be used for the sourdough bread you are about to make and the second will be used as a the starter for your next sourdough loaf.
Put an elastic band around the jars at the level of the ‘batter mix’. This will let you see how your starter increases in volume as it develops.
Leave both jars overnight to get bubbly.

Day 2:
Put one of your jars of bubbly starter in the fridge for your next loaf.
Pour the contents of the other jar into a mixing bowl.
Add water to make the total up to 400g.
Add the salt and stir to dissolve the salt and mix in the starter.
Add the flour and seeds (if used) and mix until just combined. I use a plastic scraper for this, thus keeping my hands clean.
Leave for 20-60 mins then, using the plastic scraper, fold the dough in from the edge and into itself ~8 times.
Cover and leave to double in size overnight.

Day 3:
Once doubled, and again using the plastic scraper, fold the dough in from the edge and into itself 6-8 times.
Line the bottom and sides of a casserole dish with baking paper and lightly flour the base.
Tip the dough into the middle of the casserole dish, replace the lid and leave to ‘prove’ for 1-4 hours. (Some people do this ‘proving’ in the fridge overnight).
Lightly flour the top of the dough and score the top with a fancy pattern using a sharp knife (the scoring controls where the loaf will split as it expands).
Put the lid back on the casserole and place in an oven preheated to 250°C oven. Bake at for about 45 mins.
Remove casserole lid and bake for a further ~15 mins until the crust is the way you like it.
Remove loaf. It should sound hollow when tapped on the base.

Leave on a wire rack to cool before slicing and enjoying.

The loaf will have a long life if kept in a plastic bag or sealed container in the fridge.

Colin :):):)

Thank you! Haven't tried using wholemeal flour yet, will give it a go. I'm afraid I stick to my 3 recipes, so am now going to step outside of my comfort zone!

There's a good way of testing if the starter is bubbly enough: put a small amount in a glass of water if it floats it's good, if it sinks ... needs a bit more tlc
 
Today's sourdough loaf with pumpkin, sunflower and linseeds is going on holiday to Salisbury C&CC site:

IMG_20200910_075722.jpg

It won't enjoy it's holiday for long.

Colin 🙂🙂🙂
 
To date I've made sourdough loaves in a lidded casserole dish. This is because the advice I've been given and the recipes I've seen advise that the steam generated in the lidded casserole during the early stages of baking helps the crust to develop. I guess the theory is that the steam helps keep the crust soft while the loaf rises during the early stages of baking.
The resulting loaves generally look:

IMG_20200922_183919.jpg

.....and certainly suit my taste.
I've experimented a fair amount in order to reduce the time and effort I spend at all stages of the bread making process, and I thought that I'd now try baking a couple of small loaves in conventional 1lb. bread tins without covering at any stage while baking.
So I made my standard sourdough bread dough (see post #322 for the recipe) and, instead of placing the whole dough batch in a lidded casserole, I split the dough in two and baked a couple of loaves in 1lb. tins at 250°C for 35 minutes each:

IMG_20200929_130746.jpg

The crust is good, though not as dark as my usual loaves because I didn't want to risk drying the smaller loaves in the oven.
I'll let you how the crumb and taste is in due course, but right now I'm happy with the experiment.

Colin 🙂🙂🙂
 

Users who viewed this discussion (Total:0)

Back
Top