Babish Basic Sourdough Bread
December 2021
Adapted and adjusted the
original recipe
from the
YouTube instructions.
Supplies
- Cast-iron dutch oven, basically a pot and a frying pan combo that
mate together. Alternately a ceramic or steel pot works fine, just
ensure it has no plastic handles or knobs.
Ingredients
For the levain:
- 35 g bread flour
- 35 g whole wheat (or rye) flour
- 35 g mature sourdough starter
- 70 g filtered water
For the dough:
- 810 g bread flour
- 90 g whole wheat (or rye) flour
- 680 g filtered water at 90 deg F
- 18 g fine sea salt
Directions
- Mix levain ingredients and rest in a warm area (70-80 deg F) for 5
hours, e.g., in a lightly covered mason jar
- One hour before the levain is ready, mix together flours and add
580g water to the flour mixture, leaving 100g water for later
- Mix just until the dough comes together. Cover and rest in a warm
area for one hour so it can autolyse. Dough should be supple,
levain should be bubbly.
- *If the levain is not bubbly enough for you, you can cheat a little
here by adding 3+ g of commercial dry yeast in the next step.
- Mix dough and levain using a little of the remaining water. E.g.,
cover flour with levain, dimple, add water, then knead dough for 2
min until smooth and slightly stretchy. Rest 20 min in covered bowl
in warm area.
- Dissolve sea salt in remaining water then mix in to dough until
well incorporated which yields a soupy, sloppy mess. Slap and fold
on an unfloured surface for 2-4 minutes until the dough is smooth
and begins to catch some air (forms into a ball). Rest 15 minutes
in covered bowl in warm area.
- Perform 6 sets of stretch and fold in the bowl spaced out by 15
minutes for the first 3, then 30 minutes for the next 3. Wet hand,
reach down side of bowl, pull up a portion of dough across the top
of the ball,then repeat 3 more times, basically at each compass
position. Rest in covered bowl in warm area between each set.
- Rest dough for 4 more hours in covered bowl in warm area, that’s a
total of 8 hours. At end you should see nicely risen dough,
possibly with surface bubbles.
- Dump out dough onto clean, unfloured work surface, divide into 2
even pieces then shape each piece into a boule (round). Use a metal
bench scraper to scrape across the work surface and around the
bottom of each boule until they take a nice shape. Rest 5-10
minutes.
- Shape the boules into batards. Lightly flour blade and boule, flip
dough onto its back, pull edges to fold like an envelope, then put
seam down. Flour your hand, lift boule with scraper, then place
seam side up into bannetons dusted heavily with rice or wheat
flour. Lightly flour top, then cover banneton with a reusable
shower cap or place into a plastic bag.
- Cold proof the dough by resting in refrigerator overnight.
- Preheat a ceramic, cast iron or steel baking pot from cold to 500
deg F for 1 hour.
- Remove pot from oven, place each batard into the hot pot*, score
the top a quarter to half inch, place the lid on the pot then bake
for 20 minutes. *If using the preferred cast iron combo cooker,
put the dough into the lid and add the base as the cover.
- Remove the top from the pot, lower the oven temperature to 450 deg
F and bake for 20-30 minutes more, until the loaf is deep brown.
- Remove pot, dump out loaf and cool on a wire rack until room
temperature.
Sample Schedule
- 9am: mix levain
- 1pm: autolyse dough
- 2pm: combine levain and dough
- 2:20: mix in salt and water
- 2:35: Fold #1
- 2:50: Fold #2
- 3:05: Fold #3
- 3:35: Fold #4
- 4:05: Fold #5
- 4:35: Fold #6
- 8:30: Shape and place in fridge
- Next morning: preheat and bake
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