Hi
I am a complete newbie sourdough bread maker and would like a few pointers
I found this forum and have followed the "Make your own Sourdough Starter" to the letter
My starter is now 14 days young
When i feed it every 24 hours it probably doubles in size in aout 3 to 4 hours and then starts to drop back to its original size so is it redy to use?
I would like to make a sourdough loaf with a nice crisp crust etc and is there a recipe that i can use
I have had a look at a few recipes but they talk about autolyse and preferments but i am getting a little confused which to do and it all sounds a little daunting
All i want is a simple recipe to follow to get my confidence up and start my journey into the world of sourdough
I have purchased a baneton to shape the loaf but i havent yet got a bread stone (Is this essential)
Any help would be greatly appreciated
This is a great site and thanks to all
Charliewon
Replies
Hi Charlie,
I made some easy sourdough sandwich bread today. I made the dough in the breadmachine but you could use a mixer or do it by hand. Here's the link to my "The Fresh Loaf" blog where I posted recipe and pics. If you don't have all the ingredients listed, using only the first 6 will be ok.
Hoecake
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/26103/sourdough-sandwich-bread
Hello Charlie,
I don't think that you can go past the Pane Francesa (1) recipe that SourDom uses in his beginners blogs. Only four ingredients - starter (levain), flour, water and salt.
A stone is not essential. Any sort of baking tray will do. The stone just provides some thermal mass that reduces the effect of temperature drop from opening the oven and puts the heat right at the base of the loaf from the first. A baking tray will take a few minutes to get up to temperature.
Let us know how you go.
Farinam