Give me a good loaf of crusty sourdough bread. Give me good bread I can afford. While you’re at it, give me bread made by someone I know. Give me the whole loaf, not just half.
Okay, if you can’t give me what I want, then I’ll make it myself. And it will be far better and cheaper than what you tried to sell to me. I’ll even mill my own wheat, to make it more nutritious.
Hi! Old Fuzz Face here. – Let’s get right to it.
I’m a practical man. When I encounter problems, I try to find solutions. – As you just saw, finding good crusty bread at an affordable price is a problem. My solution was to make my own.
Thanks to Farmhouse on Boone, The Rose Homestead, and especially Jill Winger at The Prairie Homestead, I now have the know-how to make a good loaf of sourdough bread, – every time. – So, using Jill Winger’s recipe, with my modifications, in my YouTube video I’ll show you how to make Sourdough Bread for a practical man.
Sourdough Bread – Just the Beginning
There are a lot of guys out there like me. They want a good loaf of crusty sourdough bread. You can bet those guys are all practical men. I like to think of them as my ‘companions’ – the ones with whom I share my bread.
That’s why I’ve decided to put together a short series of posts and videos to encourage them to make the bread they’ve always wanted, but could never find in local grocery stores. The series will talk about sourdough starter and how to maintain it. I also intend to provide some background on ancient and modern grains.
Since I will be talking to practical men, I’ll also get into the various types of equipment one can use when making good sourdough bread. – But this discussion won’t be for men only. After all, what I know about making sourdough bread was taught to me by some very capable and enterprising ladies.
Now, read the basic basic recipe and print it out. Then go watch the video and learn just how easy making a good loaf of crusty sourdough bread can be.
Sourdough Bread for a Practical Man
This is a simple sourdough bread for the practical man (or woman). It's a basic recipe that can be modified in many ways, allowing for the use of different types of grain. Based on a recipe by Jill Winger at The Prairie Homestead, we at the SFH Test Kitchen have come up with a version that suits the needs and tastes of any practical person who wants a great tasting sourdough bread - every time.
Notes
Note 1 - I usually pour the water into the bowl first, and then add the starter. That's because a classic test for determining if your starter is ready, is – If it floats in the water, it’s ready to go.
Note 2 - Watch the video to see how to make a breadmaking schedule.
Note 3 - Remember: don’t add too much flour and don't knead the dough.
Ingredients
- • ½ cup active sourdough starter (learn how to make sourdough starter)
- • 1¼ cup lukewarm water
- • 3 cups all-purpose flour
- • 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt (I use Redmond Salt*)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the starter and water. (Note 1)
- Stir in the flour, and then add the salt.
- Use a Swedish dough whisk or fork to mix everything together until it becomes stiff, then switch to your hands or dough scraper to bring the dough together in a rough ball (Don’t overmix. This is a no-knead-style wet dough.)
- Keep the rough dough in the bowl, cover it, and let sit for 30 minutes.
- After this resting time is complete, stretch and fold the dough a few times to form it into a ball.
- Cover the dough with a clean dish towel and let it rise in a warm place overnight or until doubled in size (or about 8 hours). (Note 2)
- The next morning (or after 8 hours), turn the dough out on your counter. Fold it over a couple of times to tighten it into a ball, then let sit for 15 minutes.
- After this resting period is complete, gently shape the dough into a ball once more place into a well-floured proofing basket or a bowl lined with a well-floured dish towel. (Note 3)
- Cover and rise for 2-3 hours, or until doubled.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Sprinkle a thin layer of cornmeal in the bottom of a Dutch oven (optional, this helps to avoid scorching the bottom of the loaf).
- Tip the loaf out of the proofing basket onto a sheet of parchment. Lower the parchment into the Dutch oven. (I prefer to use a silicone bread sling.)
- Place the lid on the pot and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until the loaf is deeply browned and crispy on top. (For a less crusty finish, bake for the entire time with the lid on.)
- Move to a cooling rack and allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing it.
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Love this! Thanks, ole fuzz face!!
He says thank you!!!
Hi! I came from the YouTube video as the recipe looked delicious and simple. I wanted to reach through the screen for a slice.
You had mentioned weight in the video but here is cups. As someone from the UK we don’t, generally, use cups in baking. I wanted to make a suggestion about possibly adding weights for all ingredients as well as cups.
Thank you so much for showing that it does not need to take 3 days to make a beautiful sourdough.
Hi! Thank you for the great comment. You’re absolutely right that Chef Blondie and I should start making our recipe measurements more usable by adding weights. The best sources I can find say 1 cup is equal to 125 grams. Yesterday, I made a loaf that was half all-purpose flour and half hard white wheat I milled myself. To get the correct amount of wheat berries I took the total 375 grams, divided by 2, which meant I needed 187.5 grams of hard white wheat berries. – I’ve had the good fortune to visit and work in the UK several times, and I loved every minute there. Thanks again!