Sourdough

Sourdough is a delicious bread with a golden

crisp crust and chewy flavoursome inner.

Perfect for toast, or as is with cheese or butter.

Ingredients

500g high grade unbleached white bread flour, plus extra for flouring
300g sourdough starter
250ml water
10g brown sugar
10g salt
Flavourless oil, for greasing

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough starter is a live culture that needs feeding. If you know someone with a starter, ask for some and feed it up. Otherwise, we recommend this recipe by The Clever Carrot.

Method

Preheat oven to 230C.

1. Mix flour, sourdough starter, and water. Add sugar and salt. Turn out onto clean kitchen surface. Knead for 10 minutes, or until you get the 'windowpane effect' (where the dough can be stretched so thin that it becomes transparent).

2. Put dough into lightly oiled bowl, cover with damp tea towel, leave to prove for 2.5-3 hours. You won't notice as much of a rise in the dough as you would with normal, yeasted bread, it will take longer.

3. Turn out dough onto clean kitchen surface and knock back. Portion dough into two and mould into ball-shaped loaves. Flour generously, and place each loaf seam side up in a bowl, lined with heavily floured tea towel (without the cloth, your loaf will stick in the bowl and you won't be able to turn it out.) Leave to prove for a further 2.5 hours.

4. Turn dough onto a floured casserole pot and score two or three times on top with a sharp knife. Place lid on the dish, bake for 20 minutes. Then remove lid and bake for another 15 mins uncovered, or until a good crust has formed and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the base.