Sourdough.
Because we are always cooking in the gathr kitchen, the Riverwoods Mill showroom often smells of food, whether its cookies, soups, roasted chicken, etc. But occasionally the aroma of freshly baked bread wafts throughout the building. This intoxicating smell is usually our homemade sourdough country loaves being baked. Only those who have had this bread know just how good it is and will do anything to get their hands on a loaf. Since Riverwoods isn’t an actual bakery and we aren’t able to give everyone a loaf of this special bread, we decided to share our process, tips, and tricks. It is a recipe that never fails us and always makes a fantastic loaf of bread. If you do not have a sourdough starter (not many do), we are willing to share our home-grown starter we keep safe in our gathr space.
A couple things before we get started. Check out our list of tools you absolutely need to make sourdough. They are necessary. Baking in general is a little bit of an investment at first, but well worth it. Also, check out our Sourdough 101 post for a quick tips on starter maintenance and explanations on terms that will help you understand the sourdough process. This recipe/method is based off of the Tartine Bakery method and Maurizio Leo’s method from The Perfect Loaf. Check out Tartine Bread or Maurizio’s website for more in-depth information on everything sourdough. They are master bakers and have spent years perfecting their skills and knowledge.
This recipe might seem long and intimidating, but this loaf of bread is very forgiving and very worth it. We have added photos and videos to visually guide you with each step. Don’t think of this as a recipe, but more of a method for baking sourdough bread.
Sourdough recipe
Levain:
30g mature starter
30g whole wheat flour
30g bread flour
60g water - 75°-78°
Dough:
843g bread flour
94g whole wheat flour
705g water - 75°-78°
20g salt
Mature levain
* Use purified water, not tap. Tap water contains chlorine and other bad stuff that sourdough does not like.
method
Levain—Night before 10:00 p.m.
Mix the levain the night before and leave out on the counter. It should be ready in 12 hours. You know it is ready when the levain has reached its peak and the top begins to sink back down.
2. Autolyse—9:00 a.m.
Turn the oven on proof mode at 85°. In a large bowl, mix flour and water (reserving 50g of water for later). Ensure there is no dry flour remaining. The dough should look very shaggy and messy. Cover with a towel and place in the oven for 1 ½ hours. If your oven does not have a proof mode, find a warm spot in your home where the ambient temperature is around 80°-85°. Temperature is key here and can make or break your loaf. Use a meat thermometer to periodically check the temperature of your dough.
3. Mix, Step 1 – 10:30 a.m.
Add all the mature levain to the dough with 30g of the reserved water and mix the dough until it is well incorporated. It will look separated at first, but will come together. Put the towel back on and place back in the oven for 30 minutes.
4. Mix, Step 2 – 11:00 a.m.
Spread all the salt on top of the dough and use the remaining water to help mix in the salt. The dough should seem very wet and slack at this point (if you think your dough is too wet, mix in the salt without the additional 20g of water). Once the salt is mixed in, turn the dough out onto the countertop and begin to slap & fold until the dough starts to hold its shape on the counter, about 3-6 minutes. The dough should be very sticky, but once it begins to develop some structure, it will be easier to handle. Do not use any flour during the slap and fold process. Use a bench scraper to scrape any dough bits that stick to the counter surface. Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a towel and place back into the oven.
5. Bulk Fermentation – 11:15 a.m. for 4-5 hours
Perform 5 sets of stretch and folds during the bulk ferment:
· First 2 are at 15-minute intervals
· Last 3 are at 30-minute intervals
The temperature of the dough should be kept around 80° for the entire bulk ferment. Using a meat thermometer, periodically check the temperature of the dough and adjusting the oven proofing temperature accordingly. After the five folds, let the dough rest for the remainder of the bulk fermentation. The bulk fermentation should go for about 4-5 hours in total. What you are looking for towards the end the of the bulk fermentation is a gassy, bubbly dough. The entire mass of dough should jiggle when moved from side to side.
6. Divide & Preshape – 3:15 ish
Divide the dough into two halves and gently shape each dough into a round mass (about 900g each). Cover with a towel and let rest on the counter for 15-30 minutes. If your dough seems too loose or spreads too much during this rest, this is because the dough was underdeveloped during the bulk fermentation. To fix, simply shape each loaf back into a round mass again and let rest another 15-30 minutes. The tension of shaping into a round mass with help build more structure to the dough. If the dough continues to spread too much and not hold its shape, continue with the shaping and proofing. Your result might not be great, but you have come this far, and the bread should still be delicious.
7. Shape – 3:45
Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and using your bench scraper, flip the dough upside down so the floured top is on the counter. Shape into a boule or a batard then place it into a banneton/proofing basket lightly dusted with flour.
8. Proof
Cover the batards with plastic (preferably in a proofing bag) and place them in the refrigerator for 15 hours, up to 18 hours. If the dough is left in the fridge longer, you might end up with over-proofed bread (although we would bake it anyway).
9. Bake – The next morning: Preheat oven at 8:00 a.m., Bake at 9:30 a.m.
Place your Dutch oven or combi cooker in the oven and preheat oven to 500° on bake mode. Let the oven sit preheated for at least an hour. Remove dough from fridge (you do not have to let the dough come to room temperature) and remove the plastic. Carefully dump the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Using a bread lame, score the top of the loaf. Carefully transport the parchment with the loaf into the hot Dutch oven or combi cooker, put the lid on and place in the oven. Immediately turn the temperature down to 475° and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid (keeping the lid in the oven to help retain temperature) and turn the temperature down to 450° and bake for 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread reads 210°.
10. Cool and serve
Remove bread from Dutch oven or combi cooker and allow to cool for a least an hour. If you cut into the loaf while it is warm, the interior of the bread will turn gummy and ruin the loaf. Serve with salted butter and enjoy your beautiful loaf.