Cheddar and Apple Sourdough
Cheddar and Apple Sourdough, adapted from Paul Hollywood
I have enjoyed making a number of Paul Hollywood recipes, and this one is a favorite of my friends. They aren't as fond of sourdough, so I had to do something different. My sister likes this recipe, too, and she is not into bread or sourdough. It's tough not to live cheddar, apples and sourdough together. I halved the recipe to make one loaf instead of two, as these loaves tend to be quite big. I’ve left the original recipe below, which will result in two loaves.
The dough, stuffed and ready for the oven.
Ingredients
750g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
500g sourdough starter
15g salt
350-450ml tepid water
Olive oil for kneading
200g cheddar, grated, plus extra for sprinkling over the top
3 dessert apples, cored and roughly chopped
A bit out of sequence here, but look how yummy it looks inside when baked.
Method
Put the starter in a large bowl and mix in the water. Add the flour a little bit at a time and leave a bit extra for later. When the dough is stiffer, fold in the salt.
When it gets too difficult to mix in the bowl, flour your surface and ease the dough out and knead it for 5- 10 minutes until the flour is incorporated and the dough is silky and smooth. Add the extra flour as you need it. Now, put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Leave to rise in a warm place for about five hours or until doubled in size. I put it in the oven with the light on.
Paul Hollywood’s recipe calls for two trays to be covered with cloths and dusted heavily with flour. I skipped this and just used a baking tray with parchment paper and lightly floured it.
Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface, and fold it in on itself a few times to knock out all the air. Divide the dough into 2 pieces, and flatten each piece into a rectangle about 30x20cm and 1-2cm deep. Put the dough on the floured tray or cloth.
Sprinkle half the grated cheese over one side of the rectangle, and top with half of the apples, leaving a 1cm clear margin along the edges. Fold the dough over to make a smaller rectangle and press down the edges firmly to seal.
Put each loaf on a floured cloth (or the floured baking tray with parchment paper) and place inside a clean plastic bag.
Leave to proof at room temperature for 13 hours, or until the dough is doubled in size and springs back when lightly prodded with your finger. (I actually put it in the refrigerator for a few hours and then took it out right before I went to bed. This dough really does get very big; I am not sure you need the entire 13 hours. I’ve made it before, and it really does get big, so watch the dough rather than the clock!)
When the dough is ready, heat your oven to 200C (395F). Line two baking trays with baking paper if you have used floured cloths and transfer your loaves to the prepared baking trays.
Make an indentation in the middle of each loaf and sprinkle some more grated cheese over the surface of the loaves.
The final product went pretty fast.
Bake for 35 minutes, until the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the base.
Cool on a wire rack.