Join us in the Serendipity Farmhouse Test Kitchen as we put The Rose Homestead’s sourdough sandwich bread recipe to the ultimate test! 🍞 Whether you’re a seasoned baker or just starting your quest for great sourdough bread, this post and our YouTube video have something for everyone. Let’s see if The Rose Homestead’s recipe lives up to the hype! 🚀
Hi! Old Fuzz Face here! Between the recent cold spell and my unique ability to capture defeat from the jaws of victory, this SFH-TK test has been a real challenge. Nevertheless, I’m happy to report that our test of this bread recipe by Mary Rose produced a great loaf of bread.
When I started putting our YouTube video together, Executive Chef Blondie cautioned me that some of the content would put viewers into a deep sleep or even a vegetative state. Of course she wasn’t able to tell me that until I woke her up. So, this post will provide you some of the geeky material that I edited from the video.
When you go to the video you will find these highlights:
- Step-by-step tutorial: Follow along as we mix, prepare, and bake this highly recommended recipe.
- Essential tips: Learn the techniques to achieve a perfectly fluffy and flavorful sourdough loaf.
- Ingredients: Discover the ingredients that make a difference.
- Test results: See how this recipe stacks up and hear honest feedback from our dear friend Miss Nancy.
Baker’s Percentage Analysis
Baker’s Percentage is a way of expressing the ratio of ingredients to the total weight of flour in a recipe. It may not look like much fun working with percentages, but it can be very helpful in scaling a recipe up or down. Here’s the baker’s percentage analysis for this recipe:
- Flour: 100% – (assuming 3.25 cups as the average) 3.25 cups = 390 grams (assuming 1 cup of flour weighs 120 grams)
- Water: 60.8% – 1 cup = 237 grams (assuming 1 cup of water weighs 237 grams)
- Sourdough Starter: 30.8% – 1/2 cup = 120 grams (assuming 1/2 cup of starter weighs 120 grams)
- Olive Oil: 13.8% – 1/4 cup = 54 grams (assuming 1/4 cup of oil weighs 54 grams)
- Honey: 10.8%- 2 tbsp = 42 grams (assuming 1 tbsp of honey weighs 21 grams)
- Salt: 2.3% – 1.5 tsp = 9 grams (assuming 1 tsp of salt weighs 6 grams)
Yes, it adds up to more than 100%. But don’t sweat the small stuff. That’s a problem for mathematically inclined bakers.
Why this Recipe Works
When you break out a recipe this way, you can see beforehand what characteristics will be present in the bread. Here’s the breakdown for Mary Rose’s recipe:
- Hydration: The hydration level (water to flour ratio) is around 60.8%, which is typical for sandwich bread. It should yield a dough that is a bit sticky and easy to work with. It will give the bread a soft crumb and help in achieving a tender texture. It’s perfect for sandwich bread.
- Sourdough Starter: Adds a mild tangy flavor characteristic of sourdough bread. The starter provides natural leavening and flavor. The 30.8% starter is a substantial amount of starter, which will result in a noticeable sourdough flavor and quicker fermentation. The bread should have good structure and a nice tang from the natural fermentation process.
- Olive Oil: Adds a subtle, rich flavor and tenderness to the crumb. It also helps keep the bread soft and moist.
- Honey: Adds a touch of sweetness which balances the tanginess of the sourdough, and also creates a slightly caramelized crust.
- Salt: Enhances the overall flavor by bringing out the sweetness and sourness, while also strengthening the gluten network for better structure.
Substituting Freshly Milled Hard White Wheat
If you substitute 1 cup of freshly milled hard white wheat for 1 cup of all-purpose flour, here are some changes you might need to consider:
- Hydration: Freshly milled flour tends to absorb more water. You might need to increase the water slightly to achieve the same dough consistency.
- Texture: Freshly milled flour can make the bread denser. Consider sifting the flour to remove some of the bran for a lighter texture. (We prefer not to sift in order to retain the natural nutrients in the bran.
- Fermentation: Whole wheat flour ferments faster due to higher nutrient content. Keep an eye on the dough and adjust fermentation times as needed.
Potential Improvements
As you will notice, I have converted the test recipe to grams to improve consistency. Weighing the flour instead of using cups can help achieve results that are reliable and repeatable.
In our video, I have a special section showing how I totally destroyed a loaf of bread due to over proofing. The lesson here is that you need to adjust the fermentation time based on room temperature. Warmer temperatures may require shorter fermentation times, while cooler temperatures may need longer. In this case I tried to compensate for very low room temperatures. In my own characteristic way, I managed to overcompensate. Let me tell you, Chef Blondie was not amused.
Resources
- The original post and printable recipe can be found here: Easy No Knead Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- The video showing how to prepare this recipe can be found here: Easy NO KNEAD Sourdough Sandwich Bread Tutorial
- Sourdough Bread for a Practical Man
- Sourdough Starter for a Practical Man
- Sourdough Troubleshooting for a Practical Man
No Knead Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Notes
This recipe is by Mary Rose at The Rose Homestead. We have converted this recipe to grams in order to use Baker's Percentages in our analysis and testing.
The original recipe can be found here: https://therosehomestead.com/sourdough-sandwich-bread/
Ingredients
- • 1 cup filtered water (237 grams)
- • ½ cup sourdough starter (120 grams)
- • ¼ cup olive oil (54 grams)
- • 2 tbsp honey (42 grams)
- • 1 ½ tsp salt (9 grams)
- • 3-3 ½ cups flour (390-455 grams)
Instructions
- The night before, mix the water (237 grams) and starter (120 grams) together well.
- Add in the oil (54 grams) and honey (42 grams) and mix until incorporated.
- Add one cup of flour (120 grams) at a time. After you add the first cup, add the salt (9 grams).
- Continue adding flour until you get a shaggy dough. This may be more or less than 3 cups (390-455 grams).
- At this point, use your hands to turn the dough in the bowl until it all comes together and there is no more dry flour in the bottom of the bowl.
- It should be a soft, easy-to-work-with dough, meaning it shouldn't be too sticky or too dry.
- Grease the bowl and add the dough back in, flipping it to make sure the dough is covered in the oil.
- Cover and ferment overnight on the counter for 8-12 hours.
- The next morning, punch down the dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface.
- Pat the dough out to a rectangular shape and start rolling it tightly while tucking the ends to make a loaf shape.
- Place in a greased loaf pan and cover.
- Allow to rise again for 2-3 hours or until it tops over the pan.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Brush the loaf with an egg wash. Optionally, sprinkle with everything bagel seasoning.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes. Every oven is different, so check it after 30 minutes. You want the internal temperature to be 195-205 degrees F (90-96 degrees C).
- Allow to cool on a cooling rack completely before slicing.