The Story Behind the Sourdough in Your Welcome Basket
You arrive at Number 18 and soak up the space and the light, after uncorking the chilled wine slice your sourdough bread with it’s crackly crust and airy crumb and start to unwind.
Like most people making sourdough bread has been testing to say the least! The only way to get into it and persevere is to embrace slow living and try, try & try again.
The secret to success for me was the starter, after making my own starter, or trying to, the results were never satisfactory, the dough was too wet, it wasn’t getting aeration or the bread was too flat, too heavy and un edible! Then I met someone who gave me some of their starter which was 20 years old and everything changed.
Some of my finest work! That unmistakable crackling sounds as it comes out of the oven… and the smell!
Of course there’s more to it than having the right starter but getting off to the right start is definitely a game changer. Then there’s the flour, Tipo 0 from the Mulino or supermarket is my go to, high in protein - at least 13%, then the timing of the stretch & folds, (the clock app on my phone has never had so much use), and patience, lot’s of patience.
I’ve followed home baking YouTubers and watched literally hours of content trying to find the method that works here for me, and after exhausting my daily screen time limit I found a simple method that works time & time again. My insiders tip is once you find a method that works stick with it. I have tried new methods to get that bit more aeration or a slightly better rise or some other marginal gain but it rarely if ever works consistently & I go back to the original because my own feeling on this is it depends on many local factors right in your kitchen. The temperature of the room, the humidity levels, the type of flour (protein mix and gluten content), water temperature and my level of confidence to read what’s happening with the dough & how it feels for that particular mix. Sometimes the dough only needs 4 half hourly stretch & folds whereas sometimes it needs 6. So do try different methods and find whats right for you in your country & local climate, your kitchen climate, and the types of local ingredients you can find in your local mill or supermarket.
What I have yet to master is making 2 loaves using a single bowl for mixing, stretching & folding. It just doesn’t work for me. The mix is always too wet and never gets the right “tension” after stretching similar to a single loaf mix. So if you have any tips please let me know & I’m still tr
Sourdough making & baking for me has been a metaphor for slow, intentional living in the Monferrato countryside (water, flour, salt, time).
My tip for keeping your sourdough fresh during your stay
Sourdough bread has a fairly long shelf life due to the naturally occurring acids that develop during fermentation but there are a few things that can help as well.
Sourdough should have some aeration in the form of holes in the dough, but every loaf or batch is different… back to the drawing board!
Use the provided Breathable Linen: Store the loaf in the clean, heavy linen drawstring bread bag provided with your bread. Fabric allows subtle air circulation so the crust doesn't go soft and chewy, while keeping the crumb from drying out in ambient room air.
If you are using the bread throughout the day you can keep it dough side down on the wooden chopping board. The crust keeps moisture out protecting the dough from drying out.
We will offer a sourdough loaf on arrival and/or during your stay, just be sure to give 48 hours notice of when you think you’ll need more!
New Sourdough Recipe! 14th August
I tried a new recipe today and it worked, I wanted to be able to make 2 loaves from 1 bag of flour but I hadn’t wanted to risk messing with the recipe I’d tried & tested (anymore!) a small change but it’s worked and I get to make the most from a single bag of flour, winner!
So here’s the new recipe:
500g of type 0 flour.
292g of tepid water.
83g of sourdough starter.
10g of salt.
I’ve essentially scaled down all the ingredients to fit with the new 500g flour mix. It’s a slightly smaller loaf but came out perfectly formed.
My first 500g sourdough loaf fresh out of the oven.
I also use an Anova Precision Steam Oven, it’s the perfect size oven for a single loaf of bread and the settings that I use are:
232 degree’s centigrade for 45 minutes.
Put your Dutch oven in the oven for the pre heat so it’s at the right temperature to bake.
Score your dough just before it goes in the oven.
When it’s reached temperature put your readymade dough in the oven.
With 10 minutes to go (after 35 minutes) take the lid off the Dutch oven to crisp the crust.
And that’s it! If you’d like to try my sourdough bread either on arrival or during your stay let’s make a plan for that.