Richard Bertinet answering bakers' dilemmas at the Real Bread Festival 2012

If you’re around the south bank in London this weekend, drop in to the Real Bread Festival, running 5-7th October 2012 along the riverside outside the Royal Festival Hall (nearest tube: Waterloo).

There’s a handful of bread stands, along with the Real Bread Theatre with demos and talks through the day, and a few stalls selling cakes, cheese, jams, ciders and some gorgeous oak chopping/display boards (yes, I bought one).

Admission: Free.

Some pictures from today:

In other news:

• From breadwinners to breadmakers: Last month’s Observer Food Monthly featured the E5 Bakehouse over in East London, posing the question: “What drives a bunch of thirtysomething men bristling with PhDs to start a bakery in east London?”
• Dough Nuts: The Independent reports on a ‘rising trend’: men who bake their own bread. With an emphasis on the ‘men’ part. Really?

Lastly, during some recent sourdough pizza research, I happened across this Youtube video of Italy’s national team of ‘acrobati pizzaioli’, who take pizza spinning to whole new levels. Who ever said don’t play with your food?

This is my go-to sourdough recipe. The one sourdough loaf I make at least once a week without fail. It’s predominantly a white wheat sourdough, with some wholewheat flour to add flavour and texture.

The recipe is unapologetically skeletal, intended for those with some bread baking experience. (Need a refresher on how to tell when your dough has been kneaded ‘enough’, when the first rise is ‘done’, how to shape free-form loaves, prep a banneton and more? Check out the Baker & Loaf range of classes. [/End Sales Pitch])

Ingredients

150g refreshed white wheat starter (instructions on refreshing here)

125g strong white wheat flour

50g whole wheat flour

85g teipd-to-warm water

5g salt

Method

1. Weigh out all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well.
2. Knead dough until gluten is well developed.
3. Leave to rise in a covered bowl, in a warm place (around or above 20°C / 68°F) .
4. When dough has risen to roughly one-and-a-half times its original size, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and shape.
5. Leave to prove until dough is again roughly one-and-a-half times its original size.
6. At least 30 mins before baking, preheat your oven to 250°C / 480°F.
7. Place bread in oven, turn oven down to 240°C / 460°F. Bake until done (roughly 25 minutes).
8. Cool on a wire rack.

<< Previously: Day 5 – Feeding Your Sourdough Starter

Day 6 – Baking Day

So, you refreshed your starter overnight. If it’s ready to bake with, it should look nice and active, and smell pleasantly yeasty.

‘Active’ might look like this:

Refreshed Starter - Good

‘Active’ can also look like this:

Refreshed Starter - Good

If your starter wasn’t quite ready when you refreshed it, it may still be acting sluggish:

Refreshed Starter - Less Active

In this case, give it a stir and a feed (see Day 2 instructions). Refresh it again that evening (see Day 5 instructions) and try baking tomorrow. Again, patience is key.

If your refreshed starter is live and kicking, then fantastic — you’re now the proud owner of your own sourdough culture! Time to now use your starter in recipes that call for a ‘refreshed sourdough starter’.

Don’t forget to keep back some of your sourdough starter before using it in a recipe. When not using it, keep your starter in a tupperware in the fridge, and refresh it at least once a week. Good luck on the sourdough journey!

Looking for a sourdough recipe? Why not try out My Everyday Sourdough Recipe, which uses a white wheat starter.

These posts are part of a Sourdough Tweet-Along taking place from Sunday 22nd April (a.k.a. Day 1) until… well, until your starter is good and ready! Follow along at @BakerAndLoaf on Twitter, or follow the hashtag #SourdoughTweetAlong

<< Previously: Day 4 – Feeding Your Sourdough Starter

Day 5 – Morning

It’s the big question day: Is my sourdough starter ready to be ‘refreshed’?

If it looks like this picture, then the answer is ‘Yes, finally, yes!’ Frothy, extra-bubbly, airy, all these are good signs.

Day 5 - You're Ready

If your starter was very active yesterday, but has now developed a thin liquid on the surface, this is fine too.

Day 5 - Not a Problem

So now’s the time to be really honest with yourself. Does you starter look like either of the pictures above?

Option A: Yes It Does

In that case, congratulations, you’re ready to refresh your starter. Here’s how to do it:

In a clean medium-sized bowl, weigh out 25g of your active sourdough starter. (Stir in the liquid before hand if any has developed.) Add 90g tepid-to-warm water, and stir well until there are no lumps of starter. Add 70g of strong white flour, and stir until well mixed.

Cover the bowl, and leave in a warm place (around 20°C / 68°F) for 12-24 hours (i.e. until the next morning).

[Variations: If using whole wheat flour, follow instructions above using 90g water and 60g flour. If using rye flour, follow instructions above using 100g water and 50g flour.]

Option B: No, It Doesn’t, Argh What Do I Do Now?

Let’s do a sourdough health check. Does it look completely dead? No bubbles and yeasty smells at all? If so, it’s time to try using a different brand of flour, and a warmer room. But if you’ve been following the instructions, this scenario should be very unlikely.

So does it have some bubbles? If so, great, there’s life in there. Now it’s time to nurture it further.

In a clean bowl, weigh out 50g of your sluggish-yet-slightly-active sourdough starter. Now feed it, following the instructions from Day 2, until it reaches an active state (see pictures above). Then (however many days later) move on to the instructions in Option A above.

Tip #1: Make sure you’re leaving your starter somewhere warm (around 20°C / 68°F) while it grows. You know those people who always complain they’re cold? Your sourdough starter is just like them. Crank up the heating, or move your starter to an airing cupboard.

Tip #2: Similarly, make sure you’re using tepid-to-warm water – i.e. around skin temperature. Too cold, the yeasts will be slow. Too hot, and you’ll kill off the yeasts.

Tip #3: Stir well when you mix in the water and new flour. It’s all food to your starter; make sure it’s distributed well.

Next up: Day 6 – Baking with your Sourdough Starter  [Link goes live on Fri 27 April.]

These posts are part of a Sourdough Tweet-Along taking place from Sunday 22nd April (a.k.a. Day 1) until… well, until your starter is good and ready! Follow along at @BakerAndLoaf on Twitter, or follow the hashtag #SourdoughTweetAlong

<< Previously: Day 3 – Feeding Your Sourdough Starter

Day 4 – Morning

By Day 4, a mildly bubbly starter should have gained more bubbles, and might look like this:

Day 4 - More Bubbles

If your starter was particular active yesterday, it may have developed a pale liquid on the surface (see photo below). Don’t worry, just stir this back in and carry on.

Day 4 - Don't Panic, Just Stir Back In

To feed: Add 35g tepid-to-warm water to your starter, and stir well. Then add 25g strong white flour, and stir well again.

Cover the bowl, and leave in a warm place (around 20°C / 68°F).

Day 4 – Evening

Give your starter a bit of a stir. Cover again.

Variations

If using whole wheat flour, use 30g flour to 45g water.

If using rye flour, use 25g flour to 50g water.

See the Day 0 FAQ for questions on flour types.

Next up: Day 5 – Refreshing your Sourdough Starter. [Link goes live on Thu 26 April.]

These posts are part of a Sourdough Tweet-Along taking place from Sunday 22nd April (a.k.a. Day 1) until… well, until your starter is good and ready! Follow along at @BakerAndLoaf on Twitter, or follow the hashtag #SourdoughTweetAlong

<< Previously: Day 2 – Feeding Your Sourdough Starter

Day 3 – Morning

By Day 3, your starter should have developed more air bubbles, and might look something like this:

Day 3 - Less Active

If you’re lucky, your starter could be becoming rather active, and might look like this instead:

Day 3 - More Active

To feed: Add 35g tepid-to-warm water to your starter, and stir well. Then add 25g strong white flour, and stir well again.

Cover the bowl, and leave in a warm place (around 20°C / 68°F).

Day 3 – Evening

Give your starter a bit of a stir. Cover again.

Variations

If using whole wheat flour, use 30g flour to 45g water.

If using rye flour, use 25g flour to 50g water.

See the Day 0 FAQ for questions on flour types.

Next up: Day 4 – Feeding your Sourdough Starter. [Link goes live on Weds 25 April.]

These posts are part of a Sourdough Tweet-Along taking place from Sunday 22nd April (a.k.a. Day 1) until… well, until your starter is good and ready! Follow along at @BakerAndLoaf on Twitter, or follow the hashtag #SourdoughTweetAlong

<< Previously: Day 1 – Mixing Your Sourdough Starter

Day 2 – Morning

By the next day, your starter may have developed a few air bubbles and a light layer on condensation on the inside of the clingfilm/shower cap. If it hasn’t, don’t worry. Just carry on with the next step.

Day 2

Add 35g tepid-to-warm water to your starter, and stir well. Then add 25g strong white flour, and stir well again.

Cover the bowl, and leave in a warm place (around 20°C / 68°F).

Day 2 – Evening

Give your starter a bit of a stir. Cover again.

Variations

If using whole wheat flour, use 30g flour to 45g water.

If using rye flour, use 25g flour to 50g water.

See the Day 0 FAQ for questions on flour types.

Next up: Day 3 – Feeding your Sourdough Starter.

These posts are part of a Sourdough Tweet-Along taking place from Sunday 22nd April (a.k.a. Day 1) until… well, until your starter is good and ready! Follow along at @BakerAndLoaf on Twitter, or follow the hashtag #SourdoughTweetAlong

Day 1 – Morning

In a medium-sized bowl, weigh out:

• 25g strong white flour
• 35g tepid-to-warm water

Mix into a paste. It should look something like this:

Day 1

Cover the bowl with clingfilm or a shower cap, and leave in a warm place (around 20°C / 68°F).

Day 1 – Evening

Give your starter a bit of a stir. Cover again.

Variations

If using whole wheat flour, use 30g flour to 45g water.

If using rye flour, use 25g flour to 50g water.

See the Day 0 FAQ for questions on flour types.

Next up: Day 2 – Feeding your Sourdough Starter.

These posts are part of a Sourdough Tweet-Along taking place from Sunday 22nd April (a.k.a. Day 1) until… well, until your starter is good and ready! Follow along at @BakerAndLoaf on Twitter, or follow the hashtag #SourdoughTweetAlong

French Sourdough Boule

One of the questions I often get asked at my Essential Artisan Bread Making course is: ‘So how do you make sourdough bread?’

I’ll be the first to admit that my main two answers — a) ‘grow a wild yeast culture in a paste of flour and water’, and b) ‘come along to my Wild Yeast & Sourdoughs class!’ — are somewhat lacking.

So recently I’ve been going with c): ‘I’m about to write a series of articles over at the Baker & Loaf blog on how to make sourdough, I’ll send you the link, I promise.’

So true to my word, here’s the first in a series of posts on How To Make A Sourdough Starter.

~*~

Day 0 – The Set-Up

First up, an extremely short shopping list.

Ingredients:

• 1kg bag of strong white wheat bread flour

Equipment:

• a medium-sized bowl (i.e. bigger than a cereal bowl)
• a spoon
• cling-film / shower cap / something to cover the bowl with

Know-how:

• Some practical experience of making conventional yeasted breads — i.e. those made with shop-bought yeast. No need to be a master baker, just enough bread making experience that you can turn out a ‘everyday’ loaf of bread that you’re happy with.

FAQ

Does it matter what brand of strong white bread flour I use?

Not really, no. I’ve grown several sourdough starters from a range of flours — all worked, though some took longer than others.

What about organic flour? I’ve read that it’s better to use for starters.

I’ve read that too. The theory seems to be that organic flour is more likely to contain more natural yeasts. But in a recent starter experiment, I found that the non-organic flour (Allinson Strong White Bread Flour) actually produced better results than the organic (Shipton Mill’s Untreated Organic White Flour No. 4).

Go figure.

What about wholemeal/wholewheat flour or rye flour? Can I use that instead?

Yes, you can also use these flours to make sourdough starters, and I’ll be including instructions on using these flours instead of strong white flour. However, all the photos of the sourdough starter at different stages of its life are of a white wheat starter — so if you want to benchmark against these, stick with white flour. Personally, I prefer to keep a white wheat starter as my ‘main starter’, and convert it into other types of starter as and when I need them.

Why do I need to have made yeasted breads before? I want to go straight to the good stuff!

It’s not essential to have made yeasted breads before, but it sure does helps. Conventional yeasted breads rise faster and more reliably than sourdough, making them good practice for your sourdough baking.

To get the best out of your bread making, it’s good to have a fair idea of what bread looks/feels/smells like at different stages of the bread making process. Sourdoughs are different for each and every baker, which means you’ll be relying on your baker’s senses, not your kitchen timer!

How long will it take for my starter to be ready?

Building up a starter from scratch can take anything from 4 to 10 days. With any luck, you’ll be baking your own sourdough around week from now.

Next up: Day 1 — Mixing Your Starter.

These posts are part of a Sourdough Tweet-Along taking place from Sunday 22nd April (a.k.a. Day 1) until… well, until your starter is good and ready! Follow along at @BakerAndLoaf on Twitter, or follow the hashtag #SourdoughTweetAlong