- I prepared the sourdough starter in the evening.
20 g of starter
50 g of white flour
50 ml of water at room temperature
(My starter is already very active, that's why I used less starter than flour and water, so it will last until morning and won't go into hibernation)
In the morning, the starter is very, very active, it hasn't let up and is ready to offer me a wonderful bread.
- For a loaf of bread we will need
100 g of active starter
350 ml of water (room temperature)
150 g of corn flour (1 cup)
500 g of white flour (4 cups)
12 g of salt
Steps
* In a large bowl, put the starter, water and corn flour, mix well, cover with a towel and leave for 30 minutes. Thus, the corn flour will hydrate, swell and become soft.
* After 30 minutes, add the white flour and salt, knead for 3-4 minutes, until the flour is well incorporated. We will get a soft dough, don't panic, that's how it should be, along the way the corn flour will hydrate and the dough will become denser.
* Cover the dough and leave it at room temperature.
* After 40 minutes, do a series of folding and stretching.
If you wish, you can repeat 2 more times (it is not obligatory)
* In total, the dough will need 4-5 hours to rise. (it depends on the ambient temperature, if you notice earlier that the dough has become spongy to the touch, the dough is ready!, If you see that nothing changes, put the dough in a warm place, or leave it at room temperature until the next day. )
* After the dough has risen, form a loaf and put it in the shape you have (you can use a pan with a wiper, a deep bowl, specialized shapes - if you have them, or other deep dishes. PS. if the dish is narrower and deeper, your bread will be higher and fluffier !)
* Put the bread in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours.
* Bake the bread in a bowl with thick walls and with a lid (cast iron cauldron, pyrex glass casserole, pan with a lid, that does not have plastic, or on a simple tray, just don't forget to add ice or water for steam)
* The oven and the dish in which you bake bread must be preheated to the maximum temperature of your oven! For 20-30 minutes!
(This bread can be baked in any kind of oven, electric - at least 230 C / 446F
Gas oven - the gas must be on medium flame, if you can measure the temperature must be around 250 C / 482F
But if you're lucky enough to have a wood-oven, then you've won everything in this life!😉 here you don't need a baking dish, just put the bread in the oven, without a tray, and bake until it's brown!
* So the temperature must be above 230 C/ 446 F, the most perfect 250 C/ 482 F
* The bread is baked for 45-60 minutes, with a lid!
* After 45 minutes you can lift the lid to see if the bread is browned, if it is not, remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes until it is browned!
* After baking, immediately remove the bread from the cauldron, because excess steam will soften the crust and spoil the quality of the bread!
I wish you success, and know that I am here for your questions!
