Perfectly Preserved Podcast Ep 25 - How we do Sourdough

Sourdough is naturally leavened bread and in this episode we hope to teach you a little bit about what’s worked for us starting sourdough and we hope this episode leaves you feeling like sourdough is achievable and fun.

Sourdough starters are created by combining even parts flour and liquid (water or milk), discarding half of the mixture the following day, feeding 50% liquid, 50% flour, and repeating several days until the mixture is rising and falling predictably and smells like something you’d want to eat. Refer to this blog post for more great info about starters. https://thedomesticwildflower.com/4-types-of-sourdough-starter/

An instagram account that I learned a lot from is @simplylifebykels and I highly recommend her ebook. She gave me a lot of great ideas for making sourdough fit into my life. This is her website: http://www.simplelifebykels.com/

Anna and I love how sourdough is a natural counterpoint to canning and is the winter’s answer to the busy canning season. 

We love The Bread Bible and Tartine and recommend them to beginners as well as Sourdough Biscuits and Pioneer Pie which will give lots of discard recipes and history around sourdough in the west. 

I recommend baking sourdough discard recipes and learning to love that extra tang. 

I loved this recipe for sourdough cheese scones:https://bakingwithbutter.com/sourdough-cheese-scones/

Anna's sourdough recipe:

175 g. leven (sourdough starter)

810 g. white flour (high protein flour)

90 g. wheat flour

680 g. water at 90F 

18 g. sea salt

Instructions:

1. Feed Starter 8pm. Let grow overnight

2. Next morning mix all dry ingredients (flours and salt)

3. Add water and mix until dry ingredients are hydrated. Autolyze 30-60 minutes.

4. Add leven (175 g.) mix thoroughly.

5. Wait 15-30 minutes and do a stretch and fold. Repeat this step 2 X's. 

6. If gluten is formed, bulk ferment @ room temp for 3-10 hrs. Dough should increase in size by 50%. Do not exceed 90-95F. 

7. After bulk fermentation, shape and form in banatons.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. 12-20 hrs.

8. Preheat oven with cast iron at 475F degrees for 45 minutes. 

9. Place loaf on parchment paper and score the top. Pick up edges of parchment and gently place in the cast iron. Fit lid on cast iron or dutch oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 25-30 minutes until the top is dark brown.

10. Take dutch oven out and remove loaf. Place loaf on cooling rack and DO NOT SLICE UNTIL LOAF IS COMPLETELY COOLED!! This is super important. If you slice into it when it's hot, your bread will be gummy.