sarea | Sourdough resources

More fun/useful sourdough links and recipes, mostly for me to keep as a resource but if they help someone else, awesome. :-)

Sourdough starter resources

Raising a starter from scratch

Maintaining your starter

How to convert a liquid sourdough starter to a stiff/sponge starter

General good tips

The importance of steam in baking bread and how to achieve it
Summary: Place a shallow pan filled with lava rocks (the kind used for barbecue grills) on the bottom rack and allow it to preheat with the oven. Position it as far forward and to one side as possible, with the baking stone a couple of racks above it. Two or three minutes before loading the proofed loaves, throw a damp dishtowel into the oven and remove it just prior to loading the bread (tongs are good for this). This pre-humidifies the oven chamber. Once the bread is in the oven, pour about 3/4 cup hot water into the stone-filled pan and shut the door. An oven mitt is essential to avoid getting a steam burn, and a long-spouted watering can is a good idea too. After the first 10-15 minutes remove the steam pan from the oven; although all the water may have evaporated, opening the door to vent the moisture is important.

Folding dough during first fermentation; Video of it being done

Windowpane images for proper gluten development

Open crumb: There are several things that go into achieving an open crumb. In general, the more water you use, the more open the crumb will be. The gluten needs to be developed sufficiently to support the large(r) air pockets, but if it’s developed too much the crumb will be very regular. Also, make sure you’re not overproofing the loaves or the crumb will be dense.

Crisper crust: Leave the oven door cracked open a bit for last 5 minutes of baking to help any remaining moisture escape and ensure dry loaves.

Shaping a Couronne Bordelaise (Star-Shaped Loaf)

How to Shape a Baguette (plus Parisian Daily Bread recipe)

Recipes

"Norwich" Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bagels

Sourdough English Muffins

Ciabatta Bread

Grissini (Thin Bread Sticks)

Tortas de Aceite (Olive Oil Wafers)

Whole Wheat Pitas

Challah with Honey

Saffron Challah (mostly look at braiding techniques)

Random Non-Bread Recipes

Macaron Chronicles at Veronica's Test Kitchen; Here is a Seattle bakery that sells macarons: Honore Artisan Bakery

Cream of Scallop Soup - and here is white fish stock recipe

Tuile cookies recipes

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake With Meyer Lemon Mousse and here is a recipe for candied citrus slices

Baking tools (What I use, where I got it, how much it cost)

Baker's Couche: Folds of hardy linen cloth that hold shaped baguette dough during the final proofing stage -- helps keep shape and encourage crusty bread. Purchased from link, $22.

Pizza Baking Stone: Not just for pizzas -- necessary also for bread baking to yield the best crust. Purchased from link, $50.

Super Peel: Dough moving tool that easily moves shaped/sticky dough from location to location (such as a preparation station to pizza stone). Purchased on eBay, $35.

Lava Rocks (the kind used for grilling): Used as part of the steaming process. Purchased at Lowe's, about $4 for a 7lb bag.

Digital Kitchen Scale: So you can measure by weight as well as volume if need be. Purchased on eBay, $30.

Stand Mixer with Dough Hook(s): You'll want a good/sturdy one as some doughs can be quite stiff -- almost impossible to mix by hand, and a weak mixer may break. Purchased on eBay, about $210.

1-quart glass canning jars: Perfect for raising/storing starters; ideally round -- rectangular-shaped jars will work also but it's a little more of a pain to make sure the four corners are clean/well incorporated. Purchased at Big Lots, $3 each.

Proofing Box: Helps maintain temperature in a small, enclosed space for ideal yeast conditions (85°F). Generally made from a large styrofoam cooler, light socket base, an ordinary dimmer switch, and a 25-watt light bulb. The whole thing can be made for under $30. Add in an accurate thermometer (such as an instant-read kind stuck into the side of the box) and it still won't go above $35. I purchased the electrical parts at Lowe's, the thermometer at Target, and the cooler from Big Lots. You could probably even find the parts for less than I did (especially if you know more about electrical stuff than I do).

Dried starter cultures: If you want professional-grade cultures instead of capturing/raising your own from scratch (which is free), this is a good place to find some from all over the world, including famed San Francisco sourdough. I wouldn't recommend the book unless you want some bread recipes, which is 80% of it. But if you don't get the book you'll definitely want to get at least one starter than comes with instructions (which is the most useful part of the book) so you know how to activate and take care of your starter. Runs about $9-14 each culture.

Flour: I use King Arthur all-purpose. I also have KA bread flour. Flour isn't super important, so buy the least expensive unbleached kind you can find. Another one that seems popular with online bakers is Heartland Mill

Wooden/metal spoons: To stir your cultures with. Either kind works.

Water: I just use tap water. Many people, especially if they live in highly polluted areas, prefer to use bottled. I usually put a kettle of water to boil on the stove and wait for it to get fairly warm, then I turn off the heat. Depending on how hot the water is, I will mix it with cold tap water to achieve the neutral 80°F-ish water that yeast likes. I also try to remember to set out a large pitcher of cold tap water on the counter for a day or whatever so that as much as possible of the chlorine in it dissipates, and I use that to mix with the 'hot' water.