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Sourdough Bread and Sourdough Starter

2nd October 2011 By Urvashi Roe Leave a Comment

Now I have been desperate to bake this bread but have always been put off by the long process.  I had a go at making a sourdough starter once and the resulting loaf was awful 🙁  So I have been shy to try again.

However after reading Lea Harris’s blog post and receiving a starter based on Andrew Whitley’s method from Tim Keates of GB Food Cycle fame, I couldn’t just leave it in the fridge could I?!  I also made some Apple Marmalade to go with it. another first!

You’ll need

  • 300g production leaven or starter (see below for instructions to make this).
  • 400g strong white or wholemeal flour
  • 300ml lukewarm water
  • 8g salt

To make it

  1. Prepare a baking tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper.
  2. Combine all the ingredients to form a soft dough.
  3. Knead this dough until it’s smooth and elastic – I used my KitchenAid with a dough hook on for approx 10 minutes.
  4. Flatten the dough into a circular shape and then fold the edges into the middle so you have a more defined circle shape.
  5. Turn it over, sprinkle with flour and leave it on a baking tray covered with a tea towel until it has doubled in size.
  6. Bake it for approx 30-40 minutes in a 200C oven.  To get a good crust throw a shot glass full of water into the base of the oven before closing the door to create some steam.

To make the starter or leaven

Andrew Whitley’s instructions for making a sourdough starter from scratch are as follows.

Day 1

  • 30g white flour
  • 7g wholemeal flour
  • 23ml warm water (30oC)

Mix all the ingredients to make a firm dough, cover this loosely with a polythene bag and leave it in a fairly warm place (around 30oC is ideal).

Day 2

  • 60g starter from Day 1
  • 30g white flour
  • 7g wholemeal flour
  • 23ml warm water (30oC)

Refresh the starter from Day 1 by mixing the ingredients well then knead briefly and cover as before and leave for 48hrs.

Day 4

  • 120g starter from Day 2
  • 30g white flour
  • 7g wholemeal flour
  • 23ml warm water (30oC)

Mix all the ingredients together well then knead briefly and cover as before. After one more day, refresh again:

Day 5

  • 180g starter from Day 4
  • 60g white flour
  • 15g wholemeal flour
  • 45ml warm water (30oC)

After 24 hours you should have a leaven which smells nicely acidic. This is your ‘production leaven’.  You should have around 300g.  You need 160g in the recipe above and you can keep the rest in the fridge and refresh it again by bringing it to room temperature and starting from Day 2 above.  That’s what I did and it worked for me!

Related

Filed Under: Recipes Tagged With: baking, bread, sourdough, sourdough starter

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Comments

  1. Sarah Finn (@sarahknows1) says

    2nd October 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Love this, I’ve just tasted a Raisin and Rosemary Sourdough, so I’m looking forward to making a batch now. Its one I haven’t made before. Thank you for sharing! x

    Reply
    • Urvashi @ The Botanical Baker says

      2nd October 2011 at 4:22 pm

      You’re welcome Sarah. If it doesn’t go right first time then keep at it. he taste is amaaaazing x

      Reply
  2. Tracey Todhunter says

    17th April 2012 at 7:28 pm

    Thanks for this – I tried sourdough years ago and failed, I’ll let you know if this works for me 🙂

    Reply
    • Urvashi @ The Botanical Baker says

      17th April 2012 at 8:35 pm

      Please do. It took me a few attempts to get the mojo!

      Reply
  3. Mike Batho says

    3rd October 2013 at 5:01 pm

    I use Andrew Whitley’s method too, though you’ll get a much better loaf if you follow all his stages: Start with an overnight sponge, build it up into your dough then prove, stretch/fold, then shape & prove, then bake. His book Bread Matters is a fine investment.

    Reply
    • Urvashi Roe says

      3rd October 2013 at 8:17 pm

      I’ve been meaning to get the book for a while. I like the sound of the project on your website by the way. Look forward to seeing it come to life

      Reply

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Hi I'm Urvashi!

I love food. This blog is a little glimpse into my foodie world which is an escape from two teenage girls, a busy job and my little cafe.

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