Sourdough Mannaeesh Food

SOURDOUGH MANNAEESH

Steps:

• Measure starter into large mixing bowl.
• Add salt and sugar to the warm water and stir briefly to dissolve.
• Add this mixture to the starter and mix well.
• Add flour, 1 cup at a time, stirring until it is too stiff to mix by hand.
• Turn onto a floured surface and knead in remaining flour until dough is satiny.
• Divide into 10 equal balls.
• Roll the balls into flat rounds about 1/4 inch thick.
• Proof the rounds, covered, at 85 degrees F for 1 to 2 hours.
• Mix the olive oil, thyme, marjoram, and sesame seeds together and spread some on the surface of each round.
• Preheat the oven and the baking sheet to 450 degrees F and using a large spatula, slide the rounds onto the heated baking sheet one at a time.
• Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until the rounds puff up suddenly, forming a central cavity.
• Cool on wire racks.
• NOTE: This recipe can be halved and made in the bread machine on the dough cycle.
• Shape and bake as above.

SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• First make your starter. In a large jar (a 1litre kilner jar is good) or plastic container, mix 100g of the flour with 125ml slightly warm water. Whisk the batter until smooth and lump free, whisking will help incorporate some airborne yeast particles to get your starter going. Leave the jar or container lid ajar for an hour or so in a warm place (around 25C is ideal), then seal and set aside for 24 hrs.
• For the next 6 days you will need to 'feed' the starter each day. To do this, tip away half the original starter and add an extra 100g of flour and 125ml slightly warm water, whisking well each time, try to do this at roughly the same time everyday. After 3-4 days you should start to see bubbles appearing on the surface, and it will smell yeasty and a little acidic. This is a good indication that the starter is working. The time it takes for fermentation to begin can vary between 1 to 5 days depending on temperature and environment, persevere for up to 6 days, if you still don't see any signs of life, or the starter smells unpleasant, throw it away and start again. On the 8th day the starter should be quite bubbly and smell much sweeter. It is now ready to bake with.
• Now you can make your first loaf. Tip the flour, 225ml warm water, salt, honey and sourdough starter into a large bowl, or a table top mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir with a wooden spoon, or on a slow setting in a machine, until combined, adding a little extra flour if it's too sticky or a little extra warm water if it's too dry. Tip onto a work surface and knead for about 10 mins until soft and elastic, if using a mixer, turn the speed up a little and mix for 5 mins. The dough is ready when it bounces back when gently pressed with a finger.
• Place the dough in a large, well oiled bowl and cover with an oiled sheet of cling film. Leave in a warm place to rise for 3 hrs. You may not see much movement after this time, but don't be disheartened, sourdough takes much longer to rise than a conventional yeasted bread.
• Line a medium-sized bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it well, if you have a proving basket you can use this. Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead briefly to knock out any air bubbles. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and dust it with flour. Place the dough, seam side up, in the bowl or proving basket, cover with a sheet of oiled cling film and leave for 6-8 hrs, until roughly doubled in size.
• Place a large baking tray in the oven, set to 230C/210C fan/gas 8, to heat up. Fill a small roasting tin with a little water and place this in the bottom of the oven to create some steam. Remove the large tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour then carefully tip the risen dough onto the tray.You can slash the top a few times with a sharp knife if you like. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 20 mins before serving.

CHEF JOHN'S SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• Measure out starter into a bowl. Add water, salt, and bread flour. Mix until ingredients are well blended into a very sticky dough. Cover with aluminum foil; let rest 4 hours at 70 to 75 degrees F (22 degrees C).
• With wet hands, fold dough over on itself 3 or 4 times. Cover with foil and allow dough to ferment for 2 more hours.
• Generously dust a bread form with rice flour (see Chef's Note for banneton substitution).
• Scrape dough out onto a lightly floured work surface (you can use bread flour or all-purpose flour). Shape into a ball with a smooth, unbroken surface, using just enough flour on the surface to keep it from sticking. Transfer smooth-side down to banneton. Pinch together the rougher edges of the surface toward the center to smooth them and maintain the round ball shape.
• Cover and refrigerate 12 hours to slow the fermentation process.
• Remove loaf from the refrigerator and let it rise in a warm spot until the dough springs slowly back and retains a slight indentation when poked gently with a finger, about 3 to 5 hours.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Dust surface of dough with flour. Gently invert banneton over the baking sheet and transfer dough onto parchment paper. Gently brush off excess rice flour. Score the top of the dough about 1/8-inch deep with a sharp knife to create a shallow slit running across the center. Mist entire surface lightly with water.
• Bake in the center of preheated oven until beautifully browned, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Transfer to a rack to cool completely (do not slice loaf while it is still warm).