Sourdough Boule
Is there anything better than homemade sourdough bread? I don't think so. I'm breaking down my recipe for all of you because I think EVERYONE should share in my joy!
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Sourdough Boule
Full Video Walk Through Here! - How to Make Sourdough Bread
Adapted from the Tartine Bread Cookbook and Bon Appetit
Serving Size: Makes 2 Large Boules
Time: I usually do this over 3 days, starting my leaven Friday night, prepping the dough Saturday and baking Sunday morning
8-12 Hours for Leaven (Inactive)
12 Hours for Prep (Semi-Active)
4-6 Hours for Baking (Semi-Active)
2 Hours for Cooling (Inactive)
Tools (This is everything I use, if you're curious!)
Pyrex Glass Measuring Container
Lame (or just razor blades)
Ingredients
For Leaven
15-30g Mature Starter
200g Warm Water (75-85 Degrees F)
140g Bread Flour
60g Rye Flour
For Dough
750g Warm Water (75-85 Degrees F) - 700g first, 50g later
500g Sifted Bread Flour
500g Sifted AP Flour (plus more for dusting)
150-200g Leaven
20g Salt
Olive Oil (to coat your bowl)
Rice Flour, for dusting
Instructions
For Leaven - THE NIGHT BEFORE
In your jar, start with 15-30g of your mature starter*
Add in 200g warm water and mix with a spatula
Add in 60g rye flour and 140g bread flour and mix until no dry spots remain
Cover with your lid and wait 8-12 hours (or whenever it is bubbling and doubled in size)
For the Float Test and Autolyse - 30 MINUTES TO 2 HOURS BEFORE
Once you think your starter is ready, perform a float test*. If it floats, proceed! If it sinks, it may need more time.
In a large bowl, combine flours* and add 700g warm water
Stir with a dough whisk until little to no dry spots remain, using your hands toward the end if necessary
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours
For Dough
Lightly coat a large clear bowl or container with olive oil and set aside
Once autolyse is complete, pinch in your 150-200g of leaven* - think like a crab! - using your hands/claws
Once your starter is combined, pinch in salt and mix in 50g warm water with your hands. You can use less if your dough starts to feel wet, I start with just a small amount at a time and add from there if i feel it’s needed
Take the temperature of your dough. It should be around 78 degrees, which will equate about 4 hours of bulk fermentation, depending on the temperature of the air*
Using a flexible bench scraper, scrape dough onto your counter and perform Slap and Folds* for 2-5 minutes, or until it gets too sticky for you to handle
Add the dough to your olive oil coated bowl or container, give it a turn to lightly coat it and cover with plastic wrap to begin bulk fermentation process. I like to put my container in the oven - TURNED OFF - with just the light on to try to achieve consistent/warmer temperature. Your ideal temperature for Bulk Fermentation is between 75 and 85 degrees F
Every 30 minutes for the next 2-4 hours, remove the cover from your bowl or container, lightly oil your hands and perform a set of four stretch and folds* (north, south, east and west). For this process, grab a corner of the dough, stretch it as high as you can without tearing and fold it completely over to the other side, rotate 180 degrees and complete with the other side, finishing with east and west to complete the set
Once you’ve completed 2-4 hours of stretch and folds to the point where your dough has risen about 30-50% of what it was and it feels smooth and cohesive, allow your dough to bulk rise, untouched, for an hour. You want to see some large quarter-sized bubbles that indicate there is air in the dough
Once you’ve let your dough rest and you’ve got the bubbles you’re looking for, lightly flour your work surface and bench scraper
Use your bench scraper to separate the dough into two even halves (weigh these if you need to!)
With floured hands, turn each half on the counter while pulling toward you to pre-shape the dough
Pull each shaped loaf to the front of the counter, leaving about 2-3 inches between them, dust lightly with flour and cover with a towel
Allow to rest for 30-40 minutes. Your dough should appear rounded and fat at the edges, not melty and drippy. If it isn’t rounded and fat, you can perform another pre-shape to build tension
Flour two proofing baskets with rice flour, set aside
For your final shaping, heavily flour your work surface and use your bench scraper to flip the dough upside down. Gently tug on the edges to flatten the dough and form a rectangle. Perform an envelope fold* - grab the bottom of the rectangle - the side closest to your body - and stretch it gently upward and away from you, fold it up and over to about ⅔ of the way to the top of the rectangle. Stretch the right side of your dough out horizontally and over to about ⅔ of the way to the left. Then repeat with the left side, folding it toward the right. Lastly, stretch out the top of the dough and fold it toward you, over the previous folds and gently press into place with your fingers. Grab the side of the package nearest to you, give a light stretch and roll the whole package away from you, completing the folds, so that the seam is at the bottom.
Using your hands or your bench scraper, GENTLY round it out on the work surface, pushing away and pulling toward you to create additional tension.
Let the dough rest on the seam side for 1-2 minutes then, using your bench scraper, gently flip over into floured proofing baskets, lightly flouring the sides and the top and pinching together the seam
Place proofing baskets with dough inside plastic bags and let rest for 10 minutes more and then put into the fridge and let sit overnight (12-20 hours). You can check these occasionally, your perfect proof scenario is when you poke it with your fingers and it springs back slightly - if it springs right back, give it more time and if it stays indented, it’s overproofed (but bake it anyways because it will still taste great! Just won’t have as much of that professional look you’re goin for)
One hour prior to baking, remove any pots or pans from your oven, arrange oven racks so there’s one on the very bottom and one in the middle and preheat your oven to 500 degrees F. When it reaches temperature, preheat your dutch oven and lid (or baking vessel) for 45 minutes.
When you’re ready to bake, pull one loaf out of the fridge and remove from the plastic bag.
Line a cutting board with parchment paper and flip the loaf over onto the parchment paper/cutting board
Cut around the parchment so that it’s large enough to hold the loaf but won’t crinkle on the sides too much in your dutch oven
Score your loaf to personal preference, I like a 90 degree angle straight down the middle. If you want a more pronounced ear, lower the angle between the blade and the dough so that the blade is more horizontal with the dough
Place a large cookie sheet on the bottom rack of your oven to prevent burning the bottom of the loaf and encourage even heat distribution in your oven
Carefully but quickly pull your preheated dutch oven or baking vessel out of the hot oven (trying to minimize how long your oven is open so it maintains temperature)
Gently drop your dough with parchment paper underneath into dutch oven, spray the inside of the dutch oven with water, cover with your lid and place it back in the oven, reducing the temperature to 475. Bake for 20-30 minutes with the lid on - NO PEEKING!
Carefully but quickly open your oven to remove your lid, close the door and turn the oven down once more, this time to 450. Bake for another 30-40 minutes with the lid off. The crust should be dark, but not burnt and internal temperature should be over 208 degrees
Turn off the oven and let the bread sit inside the dutch oven inside the oven for at least 20 minutes with the door slightly cracked*
Once that 20 minutes is up, remove the dutch oven and carefully remove the bread and transfer it to a wire rack to cool for at least 2 hours. Make sure that your bread is completely cooled prior to cutting into it - this is a requirement. Knock on the bottom for that beautiful hollow sound!
Repeat process with your second loaf, starting with step #22
Enjoy that delicious sourdough!*
NOTES:
Starter: If you don't have one, I wrote out instructions in a previous post, check it out! I find that the more starter I use for the leaven, the less time it takes to peak so if you're in a hurry, give it a try. I've used as much as 100g for my leaven in the past.
Flour: For me, the combination of Bread and Rye flours in my starter makes for the strongest starter, but you could use any combination you like/find works best for you.
Leaven Amount: I’ve found that the less starter you use, the longer bulk fermentation takes, so adjust to how much time you have. With more time, there is more opportunity for flavor development.
Float Test: For this, simply spoon a tiny amount of starter out of the jar, and gently drop it into a cup of water. If it floats, it's ready! I've baked with my starter before without doing this and I'm not sure how much of a difference it made, but I figure it can't hurt to try to bake with your starter when it's at its peak activity.
Temperature: I find that my loaves take longer to bulk ferment in the winter, and less time in the summer. Once you’ve made this a few times, you’ll learn what to look out for.
Slap and Folds: Claire and Brad do this beautifully at around 7 minutes into this video
Stretch and Folds: Until I post a video of my own (coming soon!) you can google “sourdough stretch and folds” for examples
Dough: Be gentle - you want to keep the air in the dough so that it gets that beautiful oven spring!
Envelope Fold: Same here, I’ll be posting a step-by-step video soon but you can google “envelope fold” which should turn up plenty of results
Oven Cooling: This is not a requirement, but I do find better results when I complete this step. If i’m in a hurry and wanna get both baked quickly, i’ll skip it, but if you have the time - go for it!
Storage: After I let my bread cool completely, I’ll slice one of the boules and store it in the freezer to pull out slice by slice whenever I want it. I’ve kept bread in the freezer for up to four weeks, but I’m sure it could last longer. For the boule I leave on the counter, I store mine in a plastic bag and it’s usually good for a week.
IF it's not perfect: YOU CAN STILL EAT IT (usually)! It took me a long time to get things just right, and I'm still not turning out perfect boule's 100% of the time. At the very least, make breadcrumbs, or croutons and remember - you're always one loaf away from getting it jusssttt right and everyone's gotta start somewhere!
