What is better than freshly baked, crusty, artisan sourdough bread?
HOMEMADE freshly baked, crusty, artisan sourdough bread 😜
And so the loaf affair continues ...
In 2020, our exciting experiment of the year was homebrewed kombucha (still love it till this day, although we usually take a break during the winter months), and in 2021 it was the year of foraging and preserving food – or rather the first year of actually implementing it.
For 2022 it was my goal to add something new to our kitchen habits, and that is making our own sourdough bread using our own sourdough starter from scratch!
So today I want to show you how I make my easy artisan sourdough bread that is low in gluten, nutritious, and most important of all, delicious! With a lovely crust and an airy inside ("crumb"), yum!
HOMEMADE freshly baked, crusty, artisan sourdough bread 😜
And so the loaf affair continues ...
In 2020, our exciting experiment of the year was homebrewed kombucha (still love it till this day, although we usually take a break during the winter months), and in 2021 it was the year of foraging and preserving food – or rather the first year of actually implementing it.
For 2022 it was my goal to add something new to our kitchen habits, and that is making our own sourdough bread using our own sourdough starter from scratch!
So today I want to show you how I make my easy artisan sourdough bread that is low in gluten, nutritious, and most important of all, delicious! With a lovely crust and an airy inside ("crumb"), yum!
The main character of this loaf story: an active sourdough starter.
Beautiful rustic crust.
The Bread Baking Schedule:
OPTION 1 – afternoon bread (how I usually do it)
DAY 1 (Friday):
NIGHT: An hour before going to bed, at around 10 p.m., I begin my dough by building the levain. I cover the bowl with a wet tea towel and a plate on top, and set it aside at warm room temperature to do its magic overnight. Then I head off to bed.
DAY 2 (Saturday):
MORNING: As soon as I get up, say 9 a.m., 'cause it's the weekend, I take my bubbly levain and mix it levain with the remaining ingredients to make the main dough. I let it hydrate for 30 minutes, then start stretching-and-folding my dough every 30 minutes for a total of 4 times, so 2 hours.
MID-MORNING: At around 11:30 a.m. my dough is ready to bulk ferment for another hour or two, covered once again with the wet cloth (and plate).
NOON: At around 1 p.m. I shape the bulk fermented dough into a loaf. I place the loaf in a proofing basket, and set aside to proof for another hour. In the meantime, I preheat the oven for 1 hour.
I then bake the bread, and at about 3 p.m. it's ready!
OPTION 2 – bread for breakfast
DAY 1 (Saturday):
11 a.m. Build levain. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 4 hours.
3 p.m. Mix main dough. Cover with wet cloth.
3:30 p.m. Stretch-and-fold dough every 30 minutes, 4 times in total.
5:30 p.m. Bulk ferment for 3 hours, covered with wet cloth.
8:30 p.m. Shape loaf. Place in proofing basket at room temperature, covered with wet cloth.
9 p.m. Place basket in the refrigerator to proof overnight. (Sleep well, little loaf!)
DAY 2 (Sunday):
9 a.m. Take loaf out of the fridge. Preheat oven for 1 hour.
10 a.m. Bake bread.
11 a.m. Enjoy oven-fresh bread for a late breakfast or brunch. (If you want to eat breakfast earlier, you'll just need to get up earlier 😉)
OPTION 3 – bread for dinner
DAY 1 (Monday):
6 p.m. Build levain. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 4 hours.
10 p.m. Mix main dough. Cover with wet cloth.
10:15 p.m. Stretch-and-fold dough every 15 minutes, 4 times in total.
11 p.m. Bulk ferment in the refrigerator overnight, covered with wet cloth and a plate on top. (Sweet dreams, sourdough!)
DAY 2 (Tuesday):
7 a.m. Shape loaf. Put proofing basket in the refrigerator, covered with wet cloth and plate.
5 p.m. Take proofing basket out of the fridge, uncover and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to warm up. Preheat oven for 1 hour.
6 p.m. Bake bread.
7 p.m. Enjoy oven-warm bread for dinner!
OPTION 1 – afternoon bread (how I usually do it)
DAY 1 (Friday):
NIGHT: An hour before going to bed, at around 10 p.m., I begin my dough by building the levain. I cover the bowl with a wet tea towel and a plate on top, and set it aside at warm room temperature to do its magic overnight. Then I head off to bed.
DAY 2 (Saturday):
MORNING: As soon as I get up, say 9 a.m., 'cause it's the weekend, I take my bubbly levain and mix it levain with the remaining ingredients to make the main dough. I let it hydrate for 30 minutes, then start stretching-and-folding my dough every 30 minutes for a total of 4 times, so 2 hours.
MID-MORNING: At around 11:30 a.m. my dough is ready to bulk ferment for another hour or two, covered once again with the wet cloth (and plate).
NOON: At around 1 p.m. I shape the bulk fermented dough into a loaf. I place the loaf in a proofing basket, and set aside to proof for another hour. In the meantime, I preheat the oven for 1 hour.
I then bake the bread, and at about 3 p.m. it's ready!
OPTION 2 – bread for breakfast
DAY 1 (Saturday):
11 a.m. Build levain. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 4 hours.
3 p.m. Mix main dough. Cover with wet cloth.
3:30 p.m. Stretch-and-fold dough every 30 minutes, 4 times in total.
5:30 p.m. Bulk ferment for 3 hours, covered with wet cloth.
8:30 p.m. Shape loaf. Place in proofing basket at room temperature, covered with wet cloth.
9 p.m. Place basket in the refrigerator to proof overnight. (Sleep well, little loaf!)
DAY 2 (Sunday):
9 a.m. Take loaf out of the fridge. Preheat oven for 1 hour.
10 a.m. Bake bread.
11 a.m. Enjoy oven-fresh bread for a late breakfast or brunch. (If you want to eat breakfast earlier, you'll just need to get up earlier 😉)
OPTION 3 – bread for dinner
DAY 1 (Monday):
6 p.m. Build levain. Cover and set aside at room temperature for 4 hours.
10 p.m. Mix main dough. Cover with wet cloth.
10:15 p.m. Stretch-and-fold dough every 15 minutes, 4 times in total.
11 p.m. Bulk ferment in the refrigerator overnight, covered with wet cloth and a plate on top. (Sweet dreams, sourdough!)
DAY 2 (Tuesday):
7 a.m. Shape loaf. Put proofing basket in the refrigerator, covered with wet cloth and plate.
5 p.m. Take proofing basket out of the fridge, uncover and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to warm up. Preheat oven for 1 hour.
6 p.m. Bake bread.
7 p.m. Enjoy oven-warm bread for dinner!
All of these different stages of baking and terms like starter, discard, levain, bulk fermentation, banneton, lame, dutch oven, crumb etc. can seem overwhelming. But don't worry about getting everything "right" the first time. Trust the process! Once you get the hang of it, it's really not that complicated, and most of the time is inactive waiting, with only a couple of minutes of actual work 😊
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