Special Occasion Sourdough Bread Food

SPECIAL OCCASION SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine the starter, eggs, butter and sugar. Mix well.
• Stir in flour, salt and water (if needed). . Knead until the dough is smooth and shiny.
• Let dough rise in a greased, covered bowl about 3 hours or until puffy.
• Gently fold to deflate. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a floured brotform or other baking pan.
• Let rise for another hour.
• Preheat oven and baking stone to 375 degrees. Slash the top of the round and slide onto the hot stone. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Move bread to a cooling rack and let cool completely.
• Serve lathered with cultured butter for a true taste treat.

HOW TO MAKE SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• First, make your starter. In a large bowl, mix together 100g of the flour with 125ml slightly warm water. Whisk together until smooth and lump-free.
• Transfer the starter to a large jar (a 1-litre Kilner jar is good) or a plastic container. Leave the jar or container lid ajar for 1 hr 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, tip away half of the original starter, add an extra 100g of flour and 125ml slightly warm water, and stir well. Try to do this at the same time every day.
• 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 indicator that the starter is working.
• On day 7, the starter should be quite bubbly and smell much sweeter. It is now ready to be used in baking.
• Tip the flour, 225ml warm water, the salt, honey and the starter into a bowl, or a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir with a wooden spoon, or on a slow setting in the machine, until combined - add extra flour if it's too sticky or a little extra warm water if it's too dry.
• Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins until soft and elastic - you should be able to stretch it without it tearing. If you're using a mixer, turn up the speed a little and mix for 5 mins.
• Place the dough in a large, well-oiled bowl and cover. Leave in a warm place to rise for 3 hrs. You may not see much movement, but don't be disheartened, as sourdough takes much longer to rise than a conventional yeasted bread.
• Line a medium-sized bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it really well or, if you have a proving basket, you can use this (see tips below). 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 loosely and leave at room temperature until roughly doubled in size. The time it takes for your bread to rise will vary depending on the strength of your starter and the temperature in the room, anywhere from 4-8 hrs. The best indicators are your eyes, so don't worry too much about timings here. You can also prove your bread overnight in the fridge. Remove it in the morning and let it continue rising for another hour or 2 at room temperature. The slower the rise, the deeper the flavour you will achieve.
• Place a large baking tray in the oven, and heat to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Fill a small roasting tin with a little water and place this in the bottom of the oven to create steam. Remove the baking tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour, then carefully tip the risen dough onto the tray.
• Slash the top a few times with a sharp knife, if you like, then bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown. It will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool on a wire rack for 20 mins before serving.

SOURDOUGH HOT CROSS BUNS

Steps:

• Before you start, ensure the sourdough starter is very bubbly (if it's not, feed it and wait until 1 tsp of the starter floats in warm water). Tip 200g of the starter into a large bowl with all but 2 tbsp of the egg, the milk, flour, sugar, cinnamon, mixed spice, orange zest and raisins. Mix with your hands until you have a shaggy dough (all the flour should be mixed in). Or, do this in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel and leave to prove for 30 mins. Cover the rest of the sourdough starter and keep chilled.
• Work the butter and 1 tsp salt into the dough by squashing it in using your hands. Once fully combined, tip the dough onto a surface and knead gently for 5 mins until smooth and springy (again, this can be done in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook). Form the dough into a ball, then return it to the bowl. Cover and leave somewhere slightly warm for 3-4 hrs to prove until the dough has almost doubled in size.
• Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead briefly, then divide into 12 pieces, about 100g each. Roll the pieces into balls and arrange on a baking tray lined with baking parchment, leaving some room between each. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel, then leave to prove again for 2-3 hrs at room temperature until doubled in size, or chill overnight (this will result in better flavour and a neater shape).
• If the buns have been chilled, remove from the fridge 1 hr before baking. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush the buns with the reserved egg. Tip the remaining starter into a piping bag fitted with a small nozzle, and pipe crosses onto the buns. Bake for 20-25 mins until light brown. Leave to cool slightly and serve warm, or cool completely. Best eaten on the day, but will keep for two days in an airtight container.

HOMEMADE SOURDOUGH BREAD

Steps:

• To make the sourdough starter, whisk 50g strong white flour and 50g strong wholemeal flour with 100ml slightly warm water until smooth. Transfer to a large jar or plastic container. Leave the lid ajar for 1 hr or so in a warm place, then seal and set aside for 24 hrs. For the next six days, you will need to 'feed' it. Each day, tip away half the original starter, add an extra 25g of each flour and 50ml slightly warm water, and stir well. After a few days, you should start to see bubbles on the surface, and it will smell yeasty. On day seven, the starter should be bubbly and smell much sweeter. It is now ready to be used, but make sure you keep half back and carry on feeding for your next loaf.
• Tip both the flours, 300ml warm water and the starter into a bowl, stir with a wooden spoon into a dough and leave somewhere for an hour.
• Tip in 25ml more water and the salt and bring everything together. Cover and leave somewhere warm for 3 hrs, folding the dough onto itself several times in the first hour. The dough should increase in size by about a third.
• Line a medium bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it really well, or flour a proving basket. Tip the dough back onto your work surface, shape into a tight, smooth ball and dust it with flour.
• Place the dough, seam-side up, in the bowl or proving basket, and leave at room temperature for 3 hrs - or better still in the fridge overnight - until risen by about a quarter.
• Heat oven to 230C/210C fan/gas 8 and put a casserole dish with a lid or a baking stone in the oven for at least 30 mins to heat up, and a large roasting tin filled with boiling water underneath. After 30 mins, carefully remove the casserole dish, invert the loaf into it and slash the top. Cover and bake for 20 mins, then take the lid off and bake for another 20 mins. Or invert onto the baking stone, slash and bake for 40 mins, or until the crust is as dark as you like it.

SWEET SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• First, make sure your sourdough starter is active and bubbly. If it isn't, feed it again and set aside. You can check it's ready by putting a tsp of the starter in warm water - if it floats, it's ready to use. Tip the starter, most of the egg (reserving a little if you want to glaze it later), 1 heaped tsp salt and all the other ingredients except the butter, into a bowl. Mix with your hands to form a rough dough, making sure all the flour from around the bowl is mixed in. You can do this in a tabletop mixer with a dough hook, if you prefer. Leave the dough covered with a damp cloth for 30 mins.
• Tip the dough onto a clean surface and knead for 15-20 mins by hand, or 5-8 mins in a mixer with a dough hook on a medium speed, until springy and glossy. Use your hands to work the butter into the dough - this will take about 5 mins. At first, it will look like it's not coming together, but keep working the dough through your fingers and it will become smooth and glossy. Form the dough into a ball and put back in the bowl. Cover and leave in a warm place for 2-3 hrs until nearly doubled in size. Your dough is now ready to use to make enriched breads, from cinnamon rolls and babka to sweet buns and doughnuts.
• To make two tin loaves, tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead briefly, then spilt into two. Shape the dough into two rounds, then leave for 10 mins. Form the rounds into rough oblongs, then sit them in two 900g loaf tins. Leave the loaves out for another 2-3 hrs or in the fridge overnight until the dough has doubled in size again. For a plaited loaf, place the dough in the fridge for an hour to stiffen, then split into three, roll out into equal sized lengths of dough and neatly plait together. Lift the plaited loaf onto a lined baking tray, cover and leave at room temperature for another 2-3 hrs or in the fridge overnight, until the dough has doubled in size.
• To bake, heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush the top of the loaves with the reserved beaten egg and bake for 30-35 mins until golden brown. Leave the loaves in the tins to cool a little, before transferring to a cooling rack.