Patty’s Wild Bread - Classic Sourdough
This is my “tried and true” recipe - makes 2 loaves
Ingredients
490 g – Water
244 g – Starter at 100% - AP starter
17 g – Sea Salt
17 g – honey (optional)
60 g – Whole Wheat flour
411 g – All Purpose flour
310 g – Bread flour (700 g Bread flour and 71 g of Whole Wheat or Rye if desired)
Mix
When the starter is bubbly --- I add the ingredients in this order:
Water (in the winter I add warm water – not hot!)
Then starter, give a stir
Then 60g of whole wheat flour and 211g All Purpose flour , stir well
Add sea salt (and optional honey or barley malt) and stir well
Now add (remaining) 200 g All Purpose flour and vigorously stir until all ingredients are blended well
Then add remaining 310g bread flour.
I mix the final flour in by hand (in the bowl) and stay at it about 4 or 5 minutes until it’s all mixed well
and is the right dough feel. Sometimes that takes a bit more flour.
Method
Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and mark the time on the plastic with a sharpie.
After one hour stretch and fold the dough in the bowl. Then stretch and fold every
30 minutes for 2 more hours. Now you’re ready to divide the dough and put it in your bannetons.
I dump the dough on the counter, cut it in half and weigh it to get even amounts. I shape them
both into rough oblong or round boules (depends on the shape banneton I’m using) and let sit
a few minutes. While they are sitting there I get my bannetons dusted.
[If you want flour rings to show, dust with AP flour. If you don’t, dust with white rice flour and
brush off before baking.]
Shape each boule gently one more time and put seam side up in bannetons.
Bulk fermentation: - Put the bannetons in plastic bags and close with a clip. Let the dough
ferment in the fridge overnight or between 8 – 18 hours.
Bake
Heat oven to 450°.
[I let my gas oven heat for at least 30 minutes to get the stone very hot.]
I take the banneton out of the frig and turn it over to drop the bread onto a sheet of
parchment with my pizza peel underneath. I brush off excess flour and then score the dough.
I slide the parchment with bread onto the hot baking stone, spray around it with water
(trying not to get the flour wet.) I immediately place a roasting pan lid over the bread (this will
create steam.)
Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on then remove and bake for remaining 10 minutes
(I rotate the loaf after 5 minutes to bake evenly around) Place on baking rack to cool
for several hours. Wait until completely cool to slice.
