Ready to take your starter for a spin?!
This beginner loaf uses straight sourdough starter and a bit of yeast to help with the rising. With this recipe, we're more interested in getting that great sourdough flavor than the slow-rise sourdough technique. Don't worry--we'll get there! Just taking a few baby steps on the way...
Beginner Sourdough Loaf
Makes 2 loaves
2 cups (16 ounces) water
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
2 cups (16 ounces) sourdough starter
4-5 cups (20-25 ounces) flour
1 1/2 Tablespoon sea salt (or table salt)
1 cup extra flour, as needed
In a large mixing bowl, combine the water with the yeast and let sit 1-2 minutes until the yeast is completely dissolved. Add the sourdough and stir to combine.
Add 4-5 cups of flour to the liquids, one cup at a time and mixing completely between each cup. When the dough becomes too stiff to stir, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface to knead (see left).
Knead for a minute or two just to bring the dough together into a ball. Sprinkle the dough with some of the remaining flour and let sit for 5 minutes. During this time, enzymes will begin to break the starches into sugar and relax the gluten strands, making it easier for you to knead.
After 5 minutes, flatten the dough with the palm of your hand and sprinkle on half of the salt. Fold the dough in half, flatten again, and sprinkling on the rest of the salt. Fold in half and knead the dough for 10 minutes. If the dough becomes so gummy that it's sticking to the board or your hands, add a tablespoon or two of the extra flour. A bench scraper can help unstick the dough at this stage!
Let the dough sit for another 5 minutes and then knead for a final 10 minutes. The dough is ready if it springs back when you poke it with your finger (see below).
(Note: All the kneading can be done with a standing mixer, but we suggest kneading by hand a few times so you know how the dough feels at each stage. In a mixer, use a dough hook and knead at medium speed for about 12 minutes total, taking breaks to let the dough rest as described.)
Clean out your mixing bowl and lightly coat it with oil. Set your dough in the bowl and turn it a few times to coat it with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place like the top of a fridge for 2 hours. Unlike a typical yeast dough, this dough will only rise to about a quarter of its size (see below).
Divide the dough into two equal portions, loosely shape them into balls, and let them rest for 20 minutes to relax the gluten. Meanwhile grease two loaf pans with nonstick spray, butter, or other grease.
Shape the dough into loaves by slightly flattening each ball and shaping them into rough rectangles. Fold the rectangles in three like a business letter and pinch the seam closed. Flatten slightly and fold the dough in half one more time, pinching the seam again. (This extra fold helps give the dough a smooth, taut surface.)
Place loaves in the pans seam-side down and let rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the dough has just crested the top of the pan (see below).
When the loaves have been rising for one hour, preheat the oven to 450-degrees Fahrenheit. Place an oven-safe pan (like a broiler pan) in the very bottom of the oven.
When the loaves are ready, bring two cups of water to a boil. Using a sharp serrated knife, slash the tops of the loaves in three or four places about 1/2 inch deep. Slide the loaves into the oven and pour the boiling water into the pan. Close the door immediately to trap in the steam.
Bake for 10 minutes and then rotate the loaves in the oven for even baking. When the loaves begin to show color, decrease the heat to 400-degrees Fahrenheit.
Continue baking for a total of 25-30 minutes. Loaves are done when they are deeply golden and brown, when they sound hollow if you thump the bottoms with a finger, and when a thermometer registers an internal temperature of 190-degrees Fahrenheit.
Allow to cool completely before slicing and savoring!
(All photos by Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)
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What a beautiful loaf! I'm curious--what type/brand of loaf pans would you all recommend for someone who's starting out & would like to learn how to make sandwich loaves?
-Christina
okay I think I am ready to try this but will have to wait for the weekend. My starter has been ending up with that liquid layer on top and none of it really smells sour...but maybe that's okay? I keep adding more flour and water and mixing it well...I guess I could try it and hope for the best!
I didn't get my starter started until last night, but I glad you posted this recipe before it is ready to go. Thanks.
Your bread is beautiful! I've never made a sourdough loaf in a pan - and am now of course wondering why not! I can't wait to try the recipe.
Christina,
I absolutely love my Chicago Metallic loaf pans and spread the word about them whenever I can, including here:
http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/2007/11/easy-delicious-6-holiday-gift-idea.html
They work beautifully for all kinds of breads and cakes, and for the price of a couple of loaves of bread will give you years of us (they come with a 25 year warranty). I honestly don't know how I used to bake sandwich bread without them! : )
P.S. If you're looking for an easy basic white sandwich bread recipe, you might want to check out my Farmhouse White. Lots of people have had tasty success with it, and it's really easy to make variations to the recipe suit your personal taste (like using half white whole wheat flour, tossing in a little wheat and oat bran, etc.):
http://ayearinbread.earthandhearth.com/2007/05/t-his-bread-which-i-call-farmhouse.html
Happy bread baking!
Susan,
Thanks! The pans look great and aren't too expensive either. (A good thing, since one of the reasons I'm interested in baking is because good bakery bread is the price of solid gold around here!) The beer bread on your link looks tasty, too--I'll be trying that and the Farmhouse White soon!
-C.
I'm curious if anyone has a recipe without any yeast and preferably with an alternate to white flour. I'm thinking something along the lines of Rye or Spelt.
CWillows, you can actually try making this same recipe without any yeast. Traditional sourdoughs actually don't use any commercial yeast at all.
I'll put some thought into alternates to white flour. It's hard to find good recipes that don't use any at all, but they're out there. Anyone else have any good white-flour alternative recipes?
if this is a duplicate...i'll apologize now. However, I'm making the starter as described and I'm now on the 4th day. The formula calls for 1/2 cup (4 oz) of water and 1/2 cup of AP Flour. My question is regarding the flour. Is that 1/2 cup as measured in a measuring cup (dry) or 2.5 oz on a scale? I'm using the latter method and I'm thinking that perhaps I should have used 1/2 cup measuring cup instead of the scale. Please advise....thanks
My loaf didn't taste very sour at all, and I wonder if anyone else had similar results
Without having made this recipe, I can say I'm not surprised Sarahj's bread wasn't very sour. The rising time in the recipe isn't nearly long enough to get that sour sourdough flavor. The trick is to let it rise overnight in the fridge. I've done this using no extra yeast at all and with 3/4 tsp instant yeast and they both work fine. After I knead the dough, usually in the afternoon, I let it sit at room temp for an hour, then put in the fridge. The next morning, pull it out and let it sit at room temp again for at least two hours. By the end of that time it should be bubbled up like crazy, which is what you want if you're making boules or baguettes. (In this case, don't over handle the bread when you shape it into loaves.) If you're doing sandwich loaves, just punch the bubbles out before the second rise.
As for other recipes, this one's not bad (decreasing the yeast and increasing the rise time):
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/rustic-sourdough-bread-recipe
And for other types of flour, Rose Levy Birnbaum has good ones in her Bread Bible -- the one where you add in bulgur to white flour as a way of making faux whole wheat (you're leaving out the bran, which is what makes bread dense and bitter) is great. Not avail online as far as I know but her book is a good investment. Otherwise, you can just experiment with other flours until you find what works -- there's really no wrong way, as long as you can make it rise.
I have an outdoor grill (a big green egg) and I'll be trying this one out on it later today. Just wondering if the pan of water is then necessary in my situation?!
I hope the bread is well worth the effort it took to get the dough to come together! The liquid to flour ratio is way off. It took twice as much flour than what the recipe calls for and for a new baker, who is not familiar with normal ratios they may think they've done something wrong. I bake bread all the time, and I have a feeling that my bread is going to be very dense and heavy because of all the flour I had to add.
Agreed, not very sour and the liquid ratio is insane. I tried it again with 1.5 cups of starter, and halved everything else, just adding flour until it felt right. I also let it rise overnight. Not the sourest sourdough, but really hearty and delicious with a little butter and salt. Awesome rich crust too.
Does anyone know what adding some sugar would do? I like my bread somewhat sweet but i dont want to mess with the science!
This was the third loaf I made from my new wild starter. I started slowing activating/feeding my starter a few days before making the bread. I had a lot of success. It rose beautifully, and I even subbed wheat flour for about half of the white (high gluten) flour. But agree that it wasn't terribly sour. Good standard recipe. I halved it with no problems. Will probably try again but allow to rise overnight in the refrigerator and maybe mix in some rye or other flours.
Ok, I have a starter in the fridge, or a levain as the recipe calls it, and I can never tell if it is active enough to bake with. I've produced some loaves with it and with and without the extra dry active, but I want a chewy bread with big airy holes and I can never seem to achieve that - chewy airy hole advice?
I have had a starter in the fridge for the past 3 days and am so excited to use it tonight. I followed this starter recipe http://www.canadianliving.com/food/whole_wheat_sourdough_bread.php from a recommendation and am going to use the above for the loaves.
I want to do the overnight rest as most of the recipes I've seen out there instruct but I just can't wait. Maybe I'll put half in the fridge to rest overnight and bake tomorrow and bake the other half tonight...it'll be really great to see the difference in how sour it is.
I love warm, toasted sourdough bread with a good smear of butter.
I. cannot. wait.
Okay ... not a newbie to bread or sourdough, but this recipe is totally awesome. I've been nurturing and feeding sourdough starter (original from King Arthur) for a few weeks. Been trying to find a bread recipe that would use the starter but also have great texture inside and crunch outside... and this is IT!
I made the loaves in two smallish pans (8-1/2 x 4-1/2) and a glass pan that is supposed to be 9x5. After removing them from pans and putting back in a cooling oven really made the crunch of the crust! But what amazes me is the inside. Moist, chewy, tasty, and holding together so well even after thin slicings.
I will be coming back to this recipe again and again. Thanks!
I'd like some clarification on the boiling water in the pan below the bread pans. I understand the benefits to the bread, but won't the buildup of steam in the oven hurt the oven? I read another site that discusses this specifically and I'd just be afraid to do this. Can you suggest an alternative? Thank you very much. drufner