Light brown sourdough bread
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Chewy tangy light bread risen by inclusion of sourdough starter.
Makes two small loaves.
Ingredients
Method
Make the dough
Mix the flours and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil.
Mix the sourdough starter with the warmed water, and use this liquid with the flour to form a dough. The dough will be soft and sticky. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. The stickiness will reduce and a soft dough will be created.
Put the dough back into an oiled bowl and set it to rise in a warm place until doubled in volume. This can take between 1 and 4 hours depending on how lively the starter was feeling.
Deflate the dough, knead briefly, and set to rise again. It will be quicker on the second rise.
Repeat the deflate and rise process once or twice more if you wish.
Baking
Preheat the oven, gas mark 9 (240 °C; 475 °F) or 10. Split the dough and form into rounds. Dust with flour and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Allow to rise for baking (up to 30 minutes).
When ready to bake, slash the top of the bread with a sharp knife or blade and use your favourite slashing pattern.
Bake at gas mark 9 (240 °C; 475 °F) for 10 minutes, and then gas mark 6 (200 °C; 400 °F) for 15 minutes.
Check if it’s ready by tapping the bottom and listening for a hollow sound.
Notes
Sourdough dough is very soft and would benefit from support (using proving baskets or floured cloths) during the final rise.
Sourdough is “slow bread”, it needs lots of time to achieve the same lift as modern yeasted breads.