Recipe: Sourdough Bread

A simple, easy recipe for Sourdough Bread. The prep work and mixing takes about 10 minutes, the dough rises for 8-12 hours and baking lasts one hour.

This sourdough tastes great and is super easy to make. The sourdough culture I use is made by Cultures for Health and called "San Francisco Sourdough Style Starter Culture." I mix and start proofing the dough at night so I can bake it in the morning. You can do everything in the morning and bake in the evening too. I measure out all the ingredients on the scale right in the mixing bowl to save time.

Ingredients:

1. 10g Salt

2. 25g Extra Virgin Oil

3. 250g water

4. 150g of sourdough starter

5. 500g Unbleached Organic Flour

Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Step 2:Cover bowl with shrink wrap and let proof for 6-12 hours. The colder your kitchen, the longer it takes. I know the dough is ready to go when it rises up and starts touching the shrink wrap.

Step 3: Once the dough has finished proofing, remove the shrink wrap and start folding and shaping the dough. You basically stretch out and fold it for a few minutes then place the dough in a greased bread pan. I use a glass Pyrex one.

Step 4: The dough goes through it's second proof for about 45-60 minutes uncovered.

Step 5: Score the dough with a razor or sharp knife. This step is so the bread lets out steam as it bakes, keeping a proper texture. This step can be simple or very elaborate. Make it your own and experiment with a few patterns.

Step 6: Bake the bread in the oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

Step 7: remove the bread and let cool on a rack for about an hour. Rushing this step and cutting into the bread too soon will leave you with especially brittle bread.

Step 8: Enjoy!