The Sourdough Diaries: Let's Get It Started!

Making Bread

Freshly baked bread has always reminded me of home and family, specifically of being a little girl baking homemade bread with my mom. At the age of 4, I had my own child sized apron, rolling pin, grating block, and workstation in the kitchen. My love of food, cooking, and making things with my hands started there in a little village in the Chicago suburbs.

The last time I remember making sourdough bread, I was in the 4th grade. My literature class had read a story in our Houghton Mifflin reading textbooks about making bread and as a class project, we each made our own sourdough starters. Two and a half decades later, I am living on the West Coast, staying safe at home during a pandemic, and jumping on the bread making train to avoid the grocery stores, crowds, shortages, and price hikes!

Sourdough Starter Recipe

Ingredients

7 cups of all purpose, bread, or whole wheat flour (I have been using all purpose flour.)
3 1/2 cups of water

Required Tools

Mixing Bowl

Dry Measuring Spoons and Cups

Liquid Measuring Cup

Plastic Wrap

Optional Tools

Kitchen Aide Mixer

Bread Hook

Steps

In a large bowl, stir (this is where I used my mixer) together 1 cup of flour and ½ cup water. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place (~70°F) for 24 hours.
24 hours later, stir in 1 cup of flour and ½ a cup of water. Cover the bowl loosely and let it stand in a warm place for another 24 hours. Repeat every 24 hours for 7 days when the mixture is very bubbly and aromatic.
If you will not be using your starter immediately, then store it in the refrigerator to slow down the fermenting process and feed it once a week. Before feeding, let the starter come to room temperature, then repeat step 1.
When you use your starter, remove the desired amount and feed the remaining starter following step 1. Then let it stand at room temperature at least 24 hours before returning to the fridge. When your starter gets to be too much, discard half of it before feeding or give away to an aspiring bread maker!

I used my mixer and bread hook instead of stirring by hand.

First Loaf

When your sourdough starter is ready, use the steps below to make 2 loaves (10 slices each) of sourdough bread.

Ingredients

3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups of all purpose, bread, or whole wheat flour (I have been using all purpose flour.)
1 1/2 cups of warm water
1 cup of sourdough starter
1 Tbsp. sea salt
Olive Oil

Steps

In a large bowl or your mixer, combine 3 cups of the flour, the water, and sourdough starter until mixed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 4 hours. Then, place the bowl in the refrigerator and chill overnight.
Remove the dough from the fridge the nest morning and let it come to room temperature over 2 hours. Stir in the sea salt and remaining flour. If you are not using a bread hook to fold your dough, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead in enough of the flour to make a smooth dough (2 to 3 minutes).
Place in an olive oil greased bowl, turning to grease the surface of the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until slightly increased in size.
I cook my bread in my cast iron dutch oven or pizza stone and coat it with olive oil. If you you have a cast iron dutch oven, then line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Divide the dough in half and shape each dough half into a loaf. Place the loaves on/in the prepared baking surfaces and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature about 2 hours.
Preheat your oven to 425°F. I have been cooking my loaves in my Breville convection toaster oven or on my grill. (I use my grill thermometer to know that my grill is at the right temperature.) Use a sharp knife to make two or three diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the bread is golden and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
Remove the loaves from the heat and place on a wrack to cool. I usually leave my loaves to cool in the cast iron so I do not burn myself.