Everyday sourdough
The loaf Tram bakes most often. One overnight rise, no special equipment beyond a Dutch oven.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Bake
- 45 min
- Total
- 18 hrs
- Makes
- one 850 g loaf
- Difficulty
- Moderate
Ingredients
- 400 g bread flour
- 50 g whole wheat flour
- 330 g water
- 90 g active sourdough starter
- 9 g sea salt
Method
Mix the flours and water and let them sit for an hour. This is the autolyse, and it does more for the crumb than anything else you can do in five minutes.
Add the starter and salt. Squeeze them through the dough until no dry patches remain.
Over the next three hours, fold the dough over itself four times, roughly forty minutes apart.
Shape into a round, place seam-side up in a floured banneton, and refrigerate overnight.
Heat a Dutch oven to 250C. Score the loaf and bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 25 until deeply coloured.
Cool completely on a rack before cutting. Cutting it warm will make the crumb gummy.
Tram’s notes
The dough should feel alive rather than slack. If your kitchen is cold, give it longer rather than more starter.
Substitutions
Whole wheat can go up to 30 percent, but add a little more water if you do.