I think it is high time I post a sourdough recipe! A long post (once again) because what do you expect from sourdough. It sucks your time and effort but it is worth it because it comes out really yummy!
And remember my initial disdain for all the folks who were trying their hands on sourdough in the initial lockdown? I got so sick and tired of people's stories on sourdough. Why?! Because I have loved bread and sourdough all my life. People used to hate carbs but suddenly this lockdown turned them into some bread/carbs connoisseur. Bleargh. And they were sucking up my flour stock, I was without flour for like 2 weeks and I was really anxious.
Okay enough of my repetitive rant. Now that the hype isn't there anymore (I hope), I'm sharing for those who are really interested to make. hehehe.If you're craving for bread, like you must HAVE IT NOW, this is not for you. This takes minimally 1 day, so that's the only downside. You have to pre-plan your cravings, fyi.
Oh and if you're looking for a basic sourdough, just omit the miso, ginger and furikake. It is my go-to recipe and I make it when I feel like I need to be less wild.
NOTES
Please read through the steps and estimate the time needed. I've written down a rough estimate of the timeline.
Timeline
9am/The night before - Levain Build
2pm - Dough build
2.45pm - Bulk Ferment
6.45pm - Divide & Pre-shape
7.15pm - Shape & Rest
7.25pm to the next morning - Cold Proof
10am - Bake
Also, I'll leave out the baker's percentages and not scare you with them, like what you usually see in other sourdough recipes. Firstly, it's because I'm very kind. HA HA HA. But actually it is because, I hate maths and percentages scare me. Do we all need to be rocket scientist to make a sourdough?! NO. The basic sourdough recipe is at least 80% hydration (if I remember it correctly but I am not going to calculate the %). With all the miso and whatever, I don't know if this has changed. HAHAHAHA. And I cannot be bothered to figure it out because we don't need to act smart, as long as it tastes good. Who cares (and once again, I really suck at maths)
You'll have to perform stretch and folds, and this is how you do it:
(You can view my igstories for some of the steps)
Stretch and folds
In a bowl, pull one side of the dough over to the other side. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat.
1 set of stretch and fold includes 4 folds.
If you've seen my igstories, sometimes I do a spiral coil instead. I'm not sure of any scientific impact it has on the loaf but I quite prefer a spiral coil just because I like that action. HAHAHAHA. You can also youtube how to do a spiral coil on a sourdough.
Mature sourdough
You'll have to use mature sourdough starter, i.e. after you feed it once or twice, and use the starter when it is in the midst of rising or right after it falls slightly.
MISO GINGER AND FURIKAKE
One 8" loaf, about 500g
Levain Build
15g mature sourdough starter*
15g whole wheat flour
15g bread flour
30g water, room temperature
Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl, cover and set aside.
Build levain in the morning for 5-6 hours or build it the evening before at cooler temperature.
Dough Build
405g bread flour
32g whole wheat flour
1tbsp ginger powder
75g mature levain (the one you made above)
110g white/shiro miso paste (less salty)
367g water
6g salt
2 tbsp furikake
In the morning, mix the water and shiro paste together till most of it is dissolved.
In a large mixing bowl, using your hands, mix the flour, ginger powder and roughly 90% of the miso water together.
This stage doesn't require intensive mixing, it is okay if the dough looks shaggy at this stage. Just make sure there aren't hard lumps of flour and everything is well-incorporated.
Cover and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
Then, add in the salt and remaining 10% of miso water.
Daringly, pinch the dough with your hands, squishing it together to mix the salt and water well together.
Perform about 30 stretch and folds till it becomes relatively smooth and is able to hold itself. It is okay if it is still slightly shaggy, it will come together in the next few intervals.
Cover and set aside.
Bulk Ferment
You'll have to do 6 sets of stretch and folds here. (Each set requires 4 folds).
Before your first set, sprinkle 2 tbsp of furikake on the dough. Then perform the stretch and folds. It will slowly be incorporated in after the sets, you don't have to force it to be incorporate fully after the first set.
Intervals
1st - 3rd set @ 15 mins intervals each
4-6th set @ 30 mins intervals each
i.e. First fold at 2.30pm, second fold at 2.45pm, 3rd fold at 3pm.
4th fold at 3.30pm, ...6th fold at 4.30pm
After your last set, cover and let it rest for 1hr 45minutes untouched. It should grow significantly after the end of the bulk ferment, and be obviously smoother and rounder in the bowl.
Divide and Pre-shape
On a lightly floured countertop carefully remove the dough from the bowl onto the floured surface.
Using a bench scraper, lightly round the dough. How you do this is swiftly slide the bench scraper into the base of the dough and then pull the dough towards you, and then slide it out. Repeat this action until you have a relatively round dough.
Flour the surface of the dough and let it rest for 30mins uncovered.
Shape
With your bench scraper, flip the round upside down.
Then, shape it into a boule and tighten it. Make it taut by pinching the sides and pulling it into the middle, repeat a few times.
Toppings
1 tbsp furikake
1tbsp sesame seed
1/2 tbsp poppy seeds
On a clean kitchen towel, sprinkle all the seeds in the centre of it.
Gently transfer your shaped dough onto it and move the dough around so that the toppings stick on it.
Then, transfer the entire cloth with the dough in it into your banneton.
Leave it on the bench for about 20 minutes uncovered.
Cover it and let it cold proof for 12-16 hours in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, 30 minutes before baking, preheat your oven with the dutch oven in it at 250'c.
Once your oven is ready, remove the dough from the fridge and topple it out on a parchment paper. Using your bread lame, make a score on the surface to help the bread rise prettily.
Remove the dutch oven and place the dough in it. Cover and bake for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the lid of the dutch oven and let it bake for another 20 minutes or until the colour is darkened to your liking.
Let cool COMPLETELY (this will take about 2-3hours). It's the hardest part of bread making but just watch 2 episodes of kdrama and forget about it for awhile.
Slice and it can keep for up to a week (in the fridge). Or freeze it and it can keep FOREVER (kidding. for months?)