Mad about bread

Right now it's still dark outside and I should be tucked up in bed waiting to woken up by my husband and 2 lovely boys for my birthday breakfast in bed - but - there was sourdough waiting on the bench.  I could have left it till 7 or 8am, not 5am!  What's happening to me?

I guess it just that I have a real passion for bread now, I have even put away my bread maker that I used to do all my kneading.  I love the feel, taste and smell of the stuff.  I love coming in the from the garden to a kitchen filled with the aroma of baked bread, the tang you can only get from a loved and nurtured sourdough loaf and the chewy but soft crumb that waits beneath a glorious crust.  Beautiful.

My sourdough batter was tucked up like a baby last night.  Warm water, flour and a dollop of my wild yeast, stirred and wrapped up with layers of cloth to do its work over night.  I woke up feeling just a little like a kid on Christmas morning, how could I go back to sleep when there is a little bit of magic working in my kitchen.  I was rewarded to find my batter was full of life and waiting for some good kneading to transform it from a sloppy, bubbly batter to a smooth and elastic dough.

Sourdough Bread

Overnight Batter
650ml Warm Water
250g Wholemeal Flour
250g High Grade Flour
Soughdough Starter (about a cupful - but a bit more or less will do)

In the morning
475g High Grade Flour
125g Wholemeal Flour
20g Salt

Oats/flour for dusting

Before you go to bed combine the overnight ingredients in a large bowl and give a good stir.  Cover the bowl with a plastic bag and wrap with a couple of layers of tea-towels.

In the morning you will have a bubbly batter, add the morning ingredients to this and bring together with your finger tips.  When the dough is looking a little raggedy tip everything onto your bench, giving the bowl a scrape down as you do so.  Now, don't be afraid of the sticky mess in front of you, just start working with it.  Knead, pull, stretch and roll then every few minutes pull the doughy mess off you hands.  Soon you will see the gluten starting to work, your dough becoming smoother and pulling away from the bench cleanly - keep going.  After 10 minutes of giving your arms and the gluten a good workout you should have a smooth, strong and elastic dough.  Form this into a ball and add a slug of oil to your mixing bowl.  Roll the dough in the oil, cover the bowl and leave to start rising.

After an hour grab an edge of the dough, pull it up and over to the center of the dough and give it a push to hold in the middle, turn the bowl by an eighth and continue to pull the sides to the middle until you have worked your way around the bowl, this is giving the gluten structure.  Repeat this stage every hour for 3 to 4 hours.  As each hour passes you will feel your dough becoming more light and airy.  Give 3 hours in warmer seasons, more for cold.

Lightly oil 3 loaf tins (mine are 29 x 14.5 x 7cm).  Divide your dough into 3 pieces, weighing them out so they are the same size for even cooking.  On a floured surface flatten a piece of dough to a rough square with your knuckles, about 22cm wide.  Fold the top down by a third and the bottom up over the first fold - like a letter.  Push the seam down a little to hold.  Holding the short ends lift and gently pull the dough so it is about 50% longer.  Now fold the left and right sides in by thirds.  Using your knuckles again push the dough into a square, to the width of your loaf tin.  Starting from the edge farthest from you, begin to roll the dough into a sausage, rolling nice and tight to keep all the tension you have created from the folding process.  Roll the dough in your oats or flour to coat and place seam side down in you loaf tin.  Repeat with other dough balls, cover, and leave to rest for another 3 or so hours, till the dough is about double in size and feels soft and airy when you squeeze the sides.

Turn your oven on to 250C Fan Bake (a little higher for standard bake), put a roasting tin on the bottom shelf of the oven and turn on the kettle.  Once the oven has reached temperature gently slice the top of the loaves a couple of times, about 2 cm deep -  use long pulls with a bread knife while gently holding the loaf - don't saw it.  As fast as you can put the loaves in the oven and a cupful of boiling water into the roasting tray.  Don't bang the loaves around or slam the oven door - this will deflate air from your bread.  The steam helps your loaves rise by letting the crust stay moist and elastic for longer.  Cook for 10 minutes at this high heat then turn down to 180C and switch over to standard bake, cook for 35 minutes longer.  If you take the bread out of the tins 10 mintues before the bread is due to finish cooking you will get a better crust.

Let the loaves cool completely before you tuck in - you'll squish all your lovely air bubbles down if you try and cut while its hot.