Rustic sourdough bread

Meenakshi

Rustic sourdough bread. For me, it is a dark sourdough bread boule, a tangy deep flavor, with crispy crust, chewy and open crumb! This recipe is more of a basic sourdough bread recipe, which happens to fit into the perfect definition of rustic sourdough bread. I have kept it simple, and true to the texture. Adding the flavors is totally up to you.

5 from 10 votes

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Prep Time 2

Inactive time 14

Course Bread

Cuisine American, French

Servings

Calories 143 kcal

Ingredients

Ingredients

For levain:

6 g starter
36 g bread flour
36 g water

For the bread

Bread flour-400g
Levain-75g
Salt-8g
Water-290 (retain 10 g for adding along with salt)

Instructions

Start by preparing a levain. In a jar add 6g of the Sourdough starter and 36 g of bread flour and water each. Mix well and level it. Now place a rubber band around it or simply mark with a starter. Let it reach its peak. When the levain has doubled and is near its peak, start working on the dough.
In a bowl add bread flour and 280 g of water. Combine the flour and water till everything comes together and flour is evenly hydrated.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on how much time your levain finally took to reach its peak.
Now spread the levain on the dough. Using the tip of your fingers poke the levain into the dough. Do this for about 30 seconds and then start doing stretching and folding to combine the starter into the dough. You can either use the Rubaud method or the Pincer method.
Stop when you feel that the levain is well incorporated with the dough. Clean the edges and cover the bowl.
Let it rest for 30 minutes.
Now sprinkle the salt over the dough and also the retained water. Poke down the salt and water into the dough gently with the tip of your fingers for about 30 seconds, before starting stretching and folding the dough to incorporate the salt and water into the dough ( or use the Pincer method or Rubaud method).
Once the salt is well combined into the dough, lift the dough and flip. Let it rest for 30 more minutes.
Now do the first stretch and fold of the bulk rise phase. (do not know how to do it, read the stretch and fold section) Flip the dough, so the folds face down. Cover and let the dough rest for 45 minutes, before doing the second round of stretch and folds.
Repeat the process and do 3 more rounds of stretch and folds similarly, spaced about 45 minutes apart.
30 minutes after the final round of stretching and folding, remove the dough onto a lightly floured work surface for conducting a pre-shape.
Gather all the sides and tuck them at the center to form a round-shaped dough loaf.
Gently flip it and place it on a flour-dusted surface with the gathered seams facing downward.
Dust the top surface of the pre-shaped dough, cover, and let it rest, and relax for about 20-25 minutes.
Then, flip the dough on a dusted surface. Stretch the right side and bring it to the center and seal. Now, stretch the left side and seal it while bringing it to the center. Similarly, stretch the bottom side, and while sealing it roll the entire dough so that all the seams face down.
Cup your hands and place at the farthest end of the dough( from you). Now, gently pull the dough towards you in a way that tightens the surface of the boule. Now rotate the boule about 45 degrees and repeat.
Do two more rounds to cover the loaf from all the sides. This helps to build the tension on the surface of the boule and assist in achieving a better oven spring.
When done, gently lift the shaped boule and place it in the flour-dusted banneton with the seam facing upwards.
Cover and let it rest at proof at room temperature for about 30 minutes, before putting it in the fridge for the cold retard.
Let the dough cold retard in the fridge from 10- 12 hours before baking.
When the dough is ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 500 ⁰F with the Dutch oven and its lid inside. ( to understand the right stage to bake the dough,do the poke test)
When the oven is ready, take out the dough from the fridge and flip it over on parchment paper. Now, score the loaf as you like. I am just making a cross here.
Transfer it to the Dutch oven and cover. Bake at 500⁰F for 22 minutes and then, remove the lid. Let it brown for another 20 minutes at 450 ⁰F. ( read baking notes for more )
When it has browned to your liking, remove it from the oven and let it cool for about 40 minutes before slicing.
Serve, store and enjoy!

Notes

Flavoring with herbs and toppings: This is a simple and basic recipe that can be flavored the way you like. A few of the flavors that I have made this recipe with are;
olives, pistachios, thyme, dried tomatoes, candied orange peels, sunflower seeds, and capers. And they were great in this rustic bread. In addition, there are other options like rosemary, cheese, mint, dill, flaxseeds, sesame seeds, sprouted grains, etc. that you can try.
Add the herbs and topping at the time of final stretch and fold. If you add the herbs and topping earlier, it does hamper the development and strengthening of gluten structure.
Flour: You can add 5 percent of whole wheat flour if you want, but do not add anything beyond that. The hydration level of the dough will change considerably and the overall texture of the loaf will differ.
Also, if you will use regular all-purpose flour for making this bread, the results might differ.
Water: Use filtered water to make the levain. You can use tap water if you are sure that it is chlorine and fluoride-free.
Use cold or warm water to make the dough depending on your ambient environment.
Levain: We need a ripe starter to make levain. The levain should ferment for at least 7-8 hours before reaching its peak. So, I like to prepare my levain in a 1:6:6 ratio.
You can always reduce the feeding ratio to suit the duration of fermentation you desire.
But if you keep your starter refrigerated, I recommend that you stick to the ratio of 1:6:6 or even go to 1:7:7.
To see if the levain is ready: It is a good idea to mark the level of the levain in the jar with a rubber band so that you would know when it has doubled and is near its peak. You can do a float test to see if the levain is ready.
Preparing the dough: Please note that while combining flour and water, you might feel that the dough is very dry and you might feel tempted to add more water. But as you will go in with your hands and start to combine the flour with water, you will observe that the dough will become fully hydrated without any need for further water. I like to use the Pincer method, which means just going in with your hands and grabbing the dough in your hand, and just squeezing it. Then, leave it and grab some more. Your hands will act as a pincer in this method. We keep on moving and work with our dough for a good 1-2 minutes, or till everything is well combined.
If you want to use your stand mixer for combining the water, levain, and salt. You can also use that. Just stick to the time gaps in between each stage.
Stretching and folding: The dough might not be ready after the fourth session of stretch and folds. In such a case, give the rest of 30 minutes and do another round. You can always do a windowpane test to confirm that the dough is ready for pre-shape.
Bulk rise: If you want to bulk rise for 4.5-5 hours aim for the Final Dough Temp. (FDT) of 76 0 F and determine the temperature of the water using the formula:
Water temp.= FDTx4 - ( kitchen temp+ flour temp.+ levain temp. +friction factor)
Try to keep a fair idea of your fridge temperature. It will help you in understanding, how much time does your dough needs to proof. Knowing the right time to bake is very crucial to get the oven spring in the rustic sourdough bread. If you restocked your fridge on the day of proofing the bread, it might proof much faster.
Scoring is optional. If you want to have the real rustic look with the uneven cracks on the surface, skip the scoring. But scoring helps to achieve a lighter texture and open crumb.
Baking: Check the temperature of the baking stone or Dutch oven as well. The oven air reaches 500 0 F much earlier than the baking steel, or Dutch oven. An optional step: Note the temperature of the Dutch oven and baking stone using an instant-read thermometer. Work out a safe time limit that it usually takes to reach 500 0 F for future baking.
It is a general suggestion to let the Dutch oven preheat for about an hour before putting the sourdough bread into it.
If you bake on a baking stone or baking steel, do not forget to arrange the steam in the oven by placing a tray on the lower shelf with water just enough for the first half of the baking time.
Dutch oven does not need any extra arrangement for steam as the moisture from the bread gets trapped inside it and acts as steam. But I still recommend adding a cube of ice under the parchment paper.
You can brown your sourdough bread according to your liking, just increase or reduce the final bake time.

Storage of sourdough bread

The sourdough rustic bread has a longer shelf life than the commercial yeast bread because it is more acidic. Hence, the food spoiling bacteria and molds do not develop that easily.
Also, it has a thicker crust that prevents sourdough bread from getting dry.
Freshly baked sourdough bread can last 4-6 days at room temperature without any chemical preservatives if stored properly.
It is best stored wrapped in a cotton cloth or a cotton bread bag. Place it in a cool corner of your kitchen.
It is not advisable to refrigerate the sourdough bread.
Though you can freeze it if you baked in bulk and want to store the sourdough bread for longer. Place the entire loaf or slices in a freezer-safe bag, with air removed. Now warp it with a double layer of foil, mark the date and place it in the freezer.

Nutrition facts

Nutrition

Calories: 143kcal

Keyword All-purpose flour sourdough bread, rustic sourdough bread, rustic sourdough bread recipe, white sourdough bread

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