soft crust sourdough
Hi All,
My new starter is days away from being ready to use. I have a favorite recipe for a sourdough bread that has a nice crispy crust. However, I now have an adolescent who only eats soft crusted bread, but really likes commercial sourdough ( specifically, Sacramento Baking Company local bakery). The one he likes best is identified as a Sour Dough French bread. He does not care how sour it is, it is the texture he desires. It is like a sturdy white bread.
Two requests:
1- Does anyone have a favorite , and fairly easy to make recipe for such a loaf( it is not shaped like a french bread, as it is looks as if it was baked in a bread pan, without a lid)
2- Does anyone have a way to modify this recipe(I think in the baking portion) to create a soft crust vs a crunchy crust:
Ingredients
110 grams 100% starter
308 grams room temp water
550 grams flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Dissolve starter in water
2. Add flour and mix either by hand or in mixer with dough hook until just mixed. (It is ok if a little of the flour is still dry. It should not look like a nice dough yet, should still be a shaggy mess. )
3. Let the dough sit for 20 minutes.
4. Add the salt and mix thoroughly.
5. Knead for about 6 minutes in mixer or by hand until the dough makes a nice , slightly sticky ball.
6. Form dough into a ball, and place in an oiled bowl , cover with either a dishtowel or plastic wrap. (I use those shower cap looking bowl covers)
7. Place bowl in a warm place , such as the oven with only the light turned on, and let rise for about 2 hours. It should have risen slightly, but most likely will not be doubled.( Sometimes I can only tell it has risen because it deflates when I remove it from the bowl.)
8. Turn dough out onto counter and gently pat the dough out into a rough rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds first in the long direction, then again in the short direction.
9. Flip the dough over, and gently stretch it out again into a slightly smaller, thicker rectangle. Roll the dough up from the short side, tucking the ends in slightly, and place roll in a a greased bread pan. Cover the pan with the plastic wrap and place pan in the refrigerator for 8-24 hours.
10. Remove pan from the refrigerator, and place in a warm spot (the oven with the light on is again a good choice) remove plastic wrap and cover with a moist dish towel. Let warm and slightly rise for about 2 hours. (IF it is very warm, and the bread starts to rise bake it sooner, or you will loose the oven spring. )Again, the dough may night appear to rise at all, that is ok, as long as your starter is good, you will get a nice oven spring and the bread will still be tasty.
11. As it gets close to the two hour mark, preheat for at least 10 full minutes at 450 degrees.
12. Make a quick slash in the dough , cover the bread pan with another bread pan of equal size, and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
13. Remove the top bread pan and continue baking at 450 for 20 minutes.
14. Remove bread from pan immediately and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Thank you for any assistance you have!
S Sandy
Th
15.
Put any baked sourdough loaf, once cooled, in a plastic bag and leave overnight on the counter? Works for me and makes it easier to slice. Sourdough usually retains plenty moisture inside.
Not sure if this is too far from what you’re looking for, but former TFL member Txfarmer posted many wonderful soft-crusted sandwich loaves. I have made them many times and they always work beautifully.
Here is her blog index. Scroll down past the baguette headings to the next headings (“sourdough breads can be very soft and fluffy”). Scroll down below that heading for the whole wheat sandwich loaves, which are also soft-crusted.
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/24437/blog-index-will-keep-updating-and-linking-it
Thank you, I will take a look.
The aforementioned plastic bag approach will soften your crust but you may also try brushing the crust with melted butter after it comes out of the oven (a trick from a finnish cook book to help keep crust soft) or adding some oil, milk, or milk powder to the recipe. These additions help soften the crust but may also affect the texture of the interior of the bread, making it also softer.
I have seen posts with the recommendation to cover with plastic, etc. However, my crusty crust is pretty thick, and not at all nice when it is softened. I guess I was wondering if either lengthening the amount of time it was baked covered/uncovered, or lowering the temperature of the oven would provide a softer crust? When I bake non-sourdough breads, such as whole wheat, they are not baked at such a high temperature. I think (without looking at my recipe I bake that bread at 350 degrees and it has a nice soft crumb and crust, regardless of how I store it. Could I bake the sourdough at a lower temperature ?
Not sure how 350 dF would impact oven spring, but I’d bet if you use steam it’ll work.
You might also think about enriching the dough a bit. Maybe test out replacing water with milk by 25% increments. But at higher proportions I would expect the crumb to get less chewy, which might not be where you want to get.
And for what it’s worth, I recently had unexpected and agreeable success with @txfarmer’s Extremely soft sourdough sandwich bread. The crumb is definitely NOT the sturdy stuff of most artisan loaves, but it’s quite a revelation with a delicately crunchy crust, more like a white brioche. It may not be what you are after but it’s absolutely worth a try. See my notes at @danayo’s recent post on following @txfarmer’s lead for my fumbling but ultimately successful bake.
Let us know what works for you.
Best of luck,
Phil
Hi Phil,
I thought the idea of covering the pan created steam? I know SD is a tougher bread, but if 100% whole wheat bread made with regular yeast will bake in 45-55 minutes at 350, uncovered and have a soft crust, wouldn't a SD bread also cook covered at that temperature? I am going to try adding yogurt, or oil to my recipe and see if that also helps. I use all my brain cells at work, and don't have any to spare for my recreational baking *giggle* hence questions regarding the purpose of the cover and temperature.
For everyday bread, my husband prefers crust that is a bit softer, but also enjoys the "tang" that sourdough adds to bread. The recipe I have been using is similar to yours, with an additional Tbsp of oil. Most often I use canola, but olive oil works well too.
If you try it, you might hold back a little bit of water when mixing. Some flour is less thirsty, and adding that little bit of oil with the prescribed amount of water was a bit too much a few times. It baked up just fine, but a loaf pan bread is a bit more forgiving that way.
I also use a matching loaf pan "lid", but bake at a little lower temperature.... 400F for 20 min, then lower the oven temp to 350F for 15 min, lid on. Then remove the top pan and bake at 350 for another 10 -15 min. to an internal loaf temp of 206F. I wrap it in a thin tea towel while it cools, then bag as mentioned elsewhere. I'll take a photo in a bit and edit to add.
Hopefully something in all that proves helpful.
Mary
Here you go, In case it helps any. We had already cut into the loaf, but I figured what the heck, this isn't Instagram. 😁
This loaf is 60% whole wheat. It's not a wonder bread soft crust, but is definitely improved by doing the above. I tried to zoom in on the crust, not sure if it helps...
IMG_20220325_115328720.jpg
IMG_20220325_115343768.jpg
IMG_20220325_115355901.jpg
Your loaf looks much like mine do at first glance, including the color of the crust. I see in that last picture, particularly, though, that your crust is not as thick as mine is, I don't think.
Thanks for sending the pictures. And they are lovely, certainly IG ready!
Thanks Mary, I will try your method of adding oil and then changing the temperature as you described.
When it comes to cooking, I will just throw things together and see how it works and eat the results. I am more skittish when it comes to baking breads and cookies and cakes. That feels like there is a need for more "science". not sure why.
Sandy
I think it is Danni who has mentioned that yoghurt softens a crust, which also probably retains or enhances the sour flavour compared to, e.g., milk or oil. I usually substitute about 10% water with plain Greek yoghurt for my regular SD bakes and am very happy with the outcome.
Thank you, I will try that also.