No knead one stage sourdough is a success after years of doing the same thing
Hi,
A bit over ayear ago I posted a few questions about ano-knead sourdough recipe that had a long rise (about 16 hrs). Due to the long rise with the acidic medium of the sourdough the phytic acid probably breaks down which is better for digestion and overall absorption of minerals and vitamins. This is something I read about in Nourishing Traditions. I would like to repost the recipe and encourage anyone to try it and to keep trying it with no changes as it will work!!! Things I learned over time were to leave enough time between foldings to make sure the gluten relaxed enough to be able to give the dough a good strech. Letting the dough rise just enough in the first rise and then the second rise when it is shaped into a loaf. If it rises just enough then it will not split when baked. I have only baked whole wheat breads, but the experts here have used all sorts of other flour combinations. I am eager to apply the method to JMonkey's Cinnamon rolls. I plan on substituing the yeast for about the same amount of starter as I use in the no-knead long rise sourdough in proportion to the quantity of flour used. So the long rise in the buttermilk should produce the same health benefits as in the bread.
The recipe:
Take 20-35 grams of active starter and disolve it in 765g of low chlorine or filtered water. Add to the water and starter, 1090 grams of flour and 20g of salt. Mix the salt into the flour first. Stir until all the flour is wet and set aside for an hour. Tip the dough out onto the counter and do a "french fold" or do a "letter fold" 4 or 5 times. Put into a clean oiled container and allow to double. This should take around 16 to 20 hours. After it has doubled turn it out shape and allow to proof 4 hours or so and bake as normal. This recepie makes a 70% dough. I have found that 35 grams of my starter will double after 16 hours on a 70 degree day. I scaled back to 20 grams or so to get the full 20. Cool thing about this is you can throw it together 8 or 9 pm. let it set until 4 or 5 the next day, shape and bake around 9 or 10pm. If you make it with cold water I imagine you could stretch the fermentation time out even longer. I also sometimes give it a second folding the first night if I think it needs it. This bread also has wonderful flavor as well. Hope this helps.
Da Crumb Bum
This calculator ought to help:
http://www.metric-conversions.org/weight/grams-to-ounces.htm
The flour is the tricky bit. Since we're told that the dough is 70% hydration, we know it should be a really Quite Wet dough, it should probably pour very very slowly, like cold molasses, but still be workable enough to do the folds. So, add flour until you're there!
Sorry for bringing up an old thread, but I wonder... why is stretching/folding required during the fermentation period with a no-knead recipe? My understanding is that the purpose of stretching/folding is to relax the gluten, however after 12 hours of fermentation the gluten will be completely formed and relaxed on its own without needing to be touched by human hands. Stretching/folding after the fermentation and during shaping makes more sense, as it will result in a tighter gluten matrix and better gluten sheath on the outside of the boule. That will help maintain the boule's shape during the final proof.
Thoughts? Ideas?
For me some stretch&folding during the fermentation period does seem to contribute to the shape of the final loaf. Perhaps it's like the way a vine will grow without human intervention but can still be "trained" to grow around a trellis.