Rustic Country Sourdough Bread Recipe - Baking.Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good sourdough bread? ›

ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR [FLOUR, REDUCED IRON, NIACIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID], WATER, FERMENTED WHEAT FLOUR, YEAST, SEA SALT, EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL, WHEAT SEMOLINA, WHEAT GLUTEN, CALCIUM PROPIONATE AND SORBIC ACID (TO PRESERVE FRESHNESS), VINEGAR.

There are several ways to make sourdough bread lighter and less dense, such as: Increasing the hydration level of your dough, which means adding more water or using less flour. This will create more open spaces in the crumb and a softer texture.

We recommend baking sourdough in a Dutch oven. This lets you cover your bread for the first one-third of its baking time, allowing steam to build. This steam helps the loaf reach an ideal color and texture of crust.

Whole wheat flour is an excellent choice for creating a sourdough starter due to its nutrient-rich composition and potential for fostering a robust microbial community. However, it's important to note that the quality of whole wheat flour can vary between brands.

Sourdough bread should be cooked in a Dutch Oven for 45 minutes at 230C or 450F (with the lid off for the last 10 to 15 minutes). You can lower the temperature for the last 10 to 15 minutes of the bake.

The inside of the bread should be bubbly and chewy and the bread should have a slightly tangy taste. Real sourdough bread does not contain additives like oil, milk, corn, and dough conditioners. It is made with whole grains and is generally more expensive than regular bread.

The mixture is combined with a sourdough starter which provides the signature character and aroma that is The Rustik Oven™. The dough is kneaded until firm and the sourdough helps to provide a distinctive texture, great flavor and aroma—all without adding any artificial flavors or colors.

Sourdough bread provides vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B, iron and calcium, and is a great source of antioxidants and prebiotics, as well, the experts note.

Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.

What makes sourdough bread more flavorful? ›

Generally a more mature and well established starter will produce a more flavorful, sour loaf. Hydration of the Dough - this affects how long your dough will take to ferment. A slightly lower hydration will take longer to ferment than a higher hydration loaf, leading to a bigger depth of flavor and sourness.

It might be cold dough. One of the most common mistakes is having a dough temperature that's too low for the starter to feed on all the flour in the dough, resulting in a crumb that's dense, with fewer openings. "Starter is happiest and most active at around 75 degrees.

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

Rather than placing the dough in the refrigerator overnight, leave it covered on the counter for 1 to 4 hours until it's ready to bake. Since the dough is proofed at room temperature, I find using the poke test a very effective way to tell when the bread dough is ready for the oven.

I usually bake at 500℉ with the lid on for the first part of the bake. Steam is the key to a perfect sourdough loaf with an airy crumb and crispy crust. When the lid is on the Dutch oven, water inside the dough vaporizes, creating steam.

Generally a more mature and well established starter will produce a more flavorful, sour loaf. Hydration of the Dough - this affects how long your dough will take to ferment. A slightly lower hydration will take longer to ferment than a higher hydration loaf, leading to a bigger depth of flavor and sourness.

There are two main acids produced in a sourdough culture: lactic acid and acetic acid. Acetic acid, or vinegar, is the acid that gives sourdough much of its tang. Giving acetic acid-producing organisms optimal conditions to thrive and multiply will produce a more tangy finished product.

So don't leave your dough in a warm oven, on a radiator or in sunlight. It will likely be too warm and will dry out your dough too. Instead, find a cosy spot, with no drafts, for your dough to rise. And, if your sourdough starter is struggling to get going, consider finding it a warmer spot too.