An Intuitive Bread Baking Lesson....

Ok….I’m back!! LOL

It’s been a long summer and I have done quite a bit of cooking, baking and creating in the kitchen….and I’ve learned quite a bit – being busy means needing to find shortcuts but also something else, that is perhaps far more important.

I don’t really ‘like’ to follow recipes! But let me clarify that a bit better here….I love looking at the ingredients list and deciding if I can make something or other. I enjoy the final product and of course the process in between.

But, being a ‘spiritual’ foodie and interested in this inner connection we should have with our foods – certainly the ones we grow and create ourselves – I am far more interested in putting things together until they ‘feel’ right.

Perhaps the best way to explain this is with my breads….I have long been known to be able to whip up a quick batch of bread and have it come out tasting absolutely fabulous. To be honest….it often amazes me! LOL

Because I really don’t ‘think’ about any recipe…..I just put things together (in this case, flour, water, baking soda or sourdough) and see what happens. It really is quite an intuitive process – but this also means each and every dish may turn our differently.

So….for today’s lesson! LOL An Intuitive Bread Baking Class

Get a bowl – deep and preferably stoneware, a wooden spoon and some water. Take your sourdough starter culture out of the fridge and let it sit for an hour at room temperature.

Next get some flours out of the cupboards and see what you have – I like to mix them a bit especially for sourdough because it is nice if it rises and is soft on the inside – ie. It’s not a brick!

Today I used strong white bread flour, malted grain flour (whole grains) and of course rye for feeding my sourdough starter. I like the malted flour because it contains several dark flours and is made with fermented grains – so the goodness is already present before we even begin.

Into the bowl I pour flour – until the bowl is about ½ to ¾ full. Often about an equal portion of each of the strong white flour and the malted but sometimes a little more white to make a softer bread. Don't measure anything - just fill the bowl to a little more then 1/2 full.

Next, I spoon out my sourdough starter, enough to make at least ½ cup and upwards to 1 full cup if I am trying to keep these sourdough starters freshened. Then I always replenish my starters with 2 -3 tablespoons of rye flour and ½ the amount of water before anything else.

Once the starters are dealt with I can move onto mixing the bread. Which is simple – I pour in enough water to make a doughy substance that is not wet and not dry. Each time this might take a little more or less water. And yes, I use cold water (or whey if I am making cheese that day). 

Then I let nature take it’s course and the  sourdough sponge is placed somewhere warm to rise for the next 18 to 24 hours or so. Again, the length of rising time all depends on the heat in the house, the time I have, the type of bread I want, how active the culture is that day and so on.  

Then I knead it down, add more flour and work with the dough until it is soft and silky. Usually about 10 to 15 minutes or so. Then, back into the bowl for another rise (usually 4 to 6 hours) until it is ready to be kneaded again and shaped for the bread tins.

I bake my breads at 250C for 15 minutes, then turn down the oven to 200C for 20 minutes or so. This seems to work out best (sourdough doesn't rise for me in a fan oven). But each oven is different - so you have to play around with this. 

Is this a recipe? Perhaps or perhaps not…..to be honest when I look at the complicated list of details for making sourdough bread that are on the internet and in the recipe books – my eyes glaze over.

It’s just not that complicated. And neither is life!

April

Sourdough dough after 2 rises....ready to be shaped into loaves