Sourdough Bread
You have to have a starter. So if you’re a reader that is fortunate enough to know me in person, I can give you some. Makes knowing me worth it, huh?
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1 cup purified water (You just can’t have chlorine in it. Another option is to let tap water sit out overnight so the chlorine can evaporate.)
3 cups unbleached enriched bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
Dutch oven
Directions:
Mix starter and water.
Mix flour and salt separately.
Add drys to wets.
Knead.
Let rise for 12-24 hours in a lightly olive oiled bowl. Depends on how warm your place is.
Knock the air out of the dough.
Let rise again for another 2 hours.
While the dough rises again, preheat the oven to 475F with a Dutch oven inside. Be very careful with the heat.
Score the loaf of dough with a knife. “Score” means cut some slices into the top to help vent the air -like what you see on top of baguettes. Wet the top of the dough with some water. When the water steams, it will make the bread crusty.
Carefully drop the loaf into the hot Dutch oven. It should sizzle. Put the lid on and put the Dutch oven back in the oven.
Drop the temperature to 450F.
Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on then take it off and bake for 15 minutes more.
Voila!
Don’t forget to feed the starter everyday. Pour out some of the starter, then add equal parts unbleached enriched bread flour and purified water (like 1/4 cup of each). Stir and let sit out on the counter with a towel over the container. Put the starter in the fridge if you don’t want to feed it everyday -it’ll keep in the fridge for about 3 months.