Sourdough: Everything Old is New Again
Archeologists have found evidence of leavened bread made from wild yeasts from as far back as 3700 BCE, so sourdough has a very long history. The commercial yeast we’re used to picking up in the grocery store has only been around for a couple of centuries, and before then, bread was made with sourdough or discarded yeast from brewing beer.
When people found themselves stuck in their homes during the early days of the pandemic, one of the ways they kept themselves busy was by rediscovering the joys of baking with sourdough. This truly ancient baking technique has regained a place in many homes, and with good reason! Not only is sourdough good for you, but it’s delicious, and once you’ve mastered the basics, remarkably easy to prepare, especially when using quality stainless steel from 360 Cookware!
Why Stainless Steel is Ideal for Baking Sourdough
If you look at any sourdough site online (and there are MANY), you’ll probably find somewhere the advice not to use metal utensils, bowls, or cooking surfaces with sourdough. It is true that aluminum and copper can react with the acids in the sourdough and leach toxins into your sourdough. Nonstick pans are also a bad choice for baking sourdough. Some brands start releasing toxic fumes at temperatures as low as 365°F, while a loaf of bread is best baked at temperatures well above that!
On the other hand, stainless steel is non-reactive and has no coatings to leach toxins into your food, making it an ideal choice for baking your loaf of sourdough bread. While cast iron is often recommended, a high-quality pan such as a 360 Cookware stockpot is an excellent choice for baking an artisan boule. Its 3-ply construction, with a layer of high-conductive aluminum sandwiched between two layers of surgical-grade stainless steel, ensures excellent heat distribution to bake your loaf evenly. When you move on to sandwich loaves, buns, and other sourdough breads, you’ll find that our loaf pans, jelly roll pans, and baking pans will be perfect for all your sourdough baking needs!
Getting Started with Sourdough
To make a loaf of sourdough bread, you need to start with a sourdough starter. Don’t worry about fancy equipment: this process is simple and cheap. You’ll need a glass quart jar (reusing an old one is fine), and preferably an inexpensive kitchen scale for measuring accurately.
You can make your own starter by mixing 60 g of flour and 60 g of water in equal quantities in a glass jar. It’s best to use water that hasn’t been chlorinated or softened. Start with white all-purpose or bread flour, as that will give you more versatility than using whole wheat or rye flour. If you have organic grapes on hand, you can add a few whole ones to the mixture, as the natural yeasts on the fruit can help to jump-start the process.
Tie a piece of cheesecloth over the top of the jar. The mixture needs to breathe, and wild yeast has to be able to get to your flour and water mixture, but fruit flies especially will be drawn irresistibly to the yeasty mixture unless you keep them out. Set the jar in a warm corner and leave it to develop for a couple of days.
Every day after that, remove half of the mixture from the jar, and discard it (NOT down the sink, as it will clog your pipes!). Add another 60 g each of water and flour, and stir until smooth, and return to its warm spot. By the end of 7 days or so, you should have a bubbling, spongy mixture, ready to use to make a loaf of bread!
If this process sounds intimidating, you may know someone who has a starter that they’d be happy to share with you, and you can also buy sourdough starter from baking supply sites online.
Many sourdough bakers recommend keeping your starter on the counter all the time, and going through the discarding/feeding process every day to keep it fresh and active. You’ll end up accumulating a lot of discard, which can be used to make a variety of baked goods, including crackers and quick breads.
However, if you prefer to skip the discard, you can instead keep a small amount of your sourdough starter stored in the refrigerator until you’re planning to bake. Bring it out, and add flour and water equal to the total amount required for your recipe. For instance, if you’re baking a loaf of bread that needs 100 grams of starter, add 50 g of flour and 50 g of water. Mix it well, and put it in a warm spot for several hours until it’s doubled in size and bubbly. Then, after you’ve measured out your starter for the recipe, just put the lid back on and pop the jar back in the refrigerator until you need it again!
Mixing and Proofing Sourdough
For your first adventure in sourdough baking, start with the simplest of recipes, a basic artisan loaf. The recipe couldn’t be easier:
- 150 g active starter
- 250 g water
- 25 g olive oil
- 10 g salt
- 500 g all-purpose or bread flour
In a large bowl, stir together everything but the flour until mixed well. Then add the flour and stir until it forms a shaggy, rough dough. Cover it with a damp tea towel and let it sit for half an hour. Then, for a total of 4 times, every half hour, uncover the dough and start by pulling up an edge and folding it over towards the center. Then, go around the dough and repeat 3 or 4 times. Cover the bowl again and let it rest for another half hour before repeating.
Once you’ve done this 4 times, your rough, shaggy dough will have been transformed into a smooth, elastic ball as the gluten develops and the sourdough yeasts start to work. Now, cover the bowl (if you have a silicone lid, that’s a perfect choice, but plastic wrap will work too) and let it complete its bulk fermentation at room temperature for 8 to 10 hours. It should almost double in volume and have a few surface bubbles. When you poke the dough, it should spring back slowly but not completely. Then it’s ready.
While you can proceed to shape the dough for final proofing at this point, you can also put the covered bowl in the refrigerator overnight.
Shaping and Final Proofing
If you look online, you’re going to see many bakers using bannetons to shape their sourdough loaves for final proofing. Don’t feel that you need to invest all that money in fancy equipment right away, though. A ceramic or stainless steel bowl and a sheet of parchment paper will work just fine!
Once your sourdough has passed the poke test, dump it out of the proofing bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Form it into a loose ball and let it rest for 30 minutes before proceeding to the shaping.
After the dough has rested, lightly flour the top and then turn it over so the sticky side faces you. Stretch it out gently into a rough rectangle, and then start by folding the lower third up to the center, pinching the dough so that the fold is sealed. Then, do the same with the top of the dough, making sure it overlaps the seam. Next, take the lower right-hand and upper left-hand corners and pull them together in the middle, and then do the same with the opposite corners. Flip it over so the seam side is down.
At this point, the dough should be in the shape of a smooth ball. Tighten up the surface by dragging it gently across the counter until it’s taut and smooth. Place it in the bowl lined with a sheet of parchment paper, and cover it. At this point, you can let it rise on the counter for a couple of hours, or put it in the refrigerator to rise slowly for 8-12 hours before continuing with baking.
If you prefer to use a stainless steel loaf pan, grease it or line it with parchment paper. After folding the dough from the top and bottom, sealing the seams, pull the top corners into the center and seal them down. Finally, complete the first two folds again, securing the seals each time. Place it seam-side down in the prepared loaf pan, cover with a cloth, and let it rise until it’s reached the top of the pan sides.
Baking Sourdough in Stainless Steel
About half an hour before baking, place your covered pan into the oven, and set the temperature at 450°F. You want both the oven and pan to be good and hot before adding the dough. Slash across the top of your loaf with a sharp knife or razor blade, and carefully lift it onto the parchment paper and place it in the pan. Throw in a couple of ice cubes, replace the lid, and return the pan to the oven. After 30 minutes, remove the lid, and leave it for 15 more minutes. When the crust is golden brown, and an instant-read thermometer registers around 205°F in the center of the loaf, remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool completely on a rack before cutting into it.
If you’re using a loaf pan, let the oven heat to 375°F. Set a shallow pan with a handful of ice cubes on the lower rack, and place the loaf pan on the middle rack and let the bread bake for 35-45 minutes when an instant-read thermometer registers around 205°F in the center of the loaf.
Congratulations! You’ve baked your first loaf of sourdough bread! Now you can explore the many websites and books dedicated to the world of sourdough. Enjoy!
