Dough Making Day - end 3rd week of feeding starter

Today is Dough Making Day.

This is the day my starter* becomes dough.

*(A starter is the key component in baking sourdough bread. It is used in place of yeast. Through natural fermentation and feeding, the starter grows. Each day more flour and water are added and left for 24 hours. On day five the dough weighs 800g, then 700g is discarded so that the five day cycle can be repeated for three weeks to produce a strong starter.)

On the day of dough making the starter needs three extra feeds before making the dough. It will need to be proved overnight for baking in time for lunch tomorrow. Yes, still more patience involved!

I began these extra feeds yesterday. First feed of 50g each of flour + water was at 1pm. Second feed of 100g each of flour + water was at 9pm. Third feed was at 6am today. By lunch time

This is what it looked like at 1pm today.

Now here is the process to make sourdough bread. 400g of my starter was placed in the bowl with a dough hook attachment. To this plain flour and water were added. This was mixed for about 7 minutes until the rough dough was formed. The bowl was covered and rested for 20 mins.

Then sea salt was added and the dough mixed until it became elastic. After second mix, a little dough ball was stretched out to see its elasticity. When it looks like this and doesn't break, then it is ready for another hour's rest in a lightly greased bowl and covered with plastic to bulk prove for an hour.
Bulk proving is where the dough has come out of the mixture and sits in an oiled container.

'elastic' stage reached means it's ready for bulk proving

After an hour, the dough is ready to be knocked back. This is where the dough is folded over itself a few times to help redistribute dough temperature, activate the gluten strands after resting and let built-up gas to be released. First I flattened out the dough with my hands, then folded one third into the centre,

 

and second fold over the first.



 

 

Then the dough is turned 90 degrees and the same folding is repeated.

 

 

After the last fold, the dough is put back into the oiled bowl and left to bulk prove for another hour.

 

At 5pm the dough is finally ready to be divided into 3 x 500g portions. Each portion was firstly shaped into a ball and left to rest for 20 minutes.

Finally each ball was shaped into a batard, which is a shorter, wider loaf than a baguette. The technique for shaping was similar to above but by repeatedly folding the dough in on itself, creating tension and a smooth form. The seam is closed and placed face down.

After shaping they were rested for the retarding phase for 8 - 12 hours. This is a long slow fermentation allowing the bread to develop its characteristic sourness. I put them out in my conservatory until tomorrow morning, as it as cold as the fridge.

Then tomorrow, I'll see if it all turns out!