2018-11-04
Based on
Influences
https://brodandtaylor.com/make-sourdough-more-sour/
https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/sourdough/how-to-make-truly-sour-sourdough-bread/
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/1040/lesson-squeeze-more-sour-your-sourdough
https://www.culturesforhealth.com/learn/sourdough/how-altitude-affects-sourdough-baking/
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Weight (grams) | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| King Arthur Bread Flour | 457 | 100.0% |
| Filtered water | 276 | 60.4% |
| Kosher salt | 10 | 2.2% |
| Sourdough Starter * | 300 | 65.6% |
* Ischia Island (Italy) sourdough starter at 100% hydration
Total hydration: (276+(300/2))/(457+(300/2)) = 70.2%
Process
Feed starter and allow to ferment at 85.0 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 hours. I use a sous vide circulator to maintain temperature while fermenting starter.
Mix 400 grams of flour and all of the water until combined, cover, and rest (autolyse) for 30 minutes.
Add salt and sourdough starter. Knead by hand for 12 minutes. Add more flour (I added 57 grams) to form a stable, but somewhat wet dough.
Transfer to a lightly olive-oiled container with top, cover, refrigerate, and bulk ferment for ~1.5 days (until dough smells sweet and nutty, but before it forms large bubbles on the top.
Remove dough from refrigerator and allow it to warm up at room temperature for 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 410 degrees Fahrenheit with a cast iron skillet on the bottom rack.
Flour work surface. Fold dough into thirds 4 times. Add flour if needed to form a firm dough. Shape dough into a round, and place seam-side-down on parchment paper, cover with a large bowl, and proof at 72 degrees Fahrenheit until dough passes the poke test (about another hour and 20 minutes).
Flour the top of the loaf and score with a sharp knife at a 30 degree angle.
Place loaf and parchment paper in hot cast iron skillet, spray with filtered water, place top on skillet, and spray sides of oven with water. Close oven door immediately.
Bake with top on the cast iron skillet for the first 20 minutes, then remove top and spray top of loaf and sides of oven again with filtered water. Close oven door immediately.
When internal temperature reaches 205 degrees Fahrenheit, turn oven temperature to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for a few minutes longer to brown the crust.
Notes
Starter may have been a little dormant compared to usual before kneading. Usually it has decent size bubbles and smells quite sour but due to the short time in the sous vide circulator it may not have been fully active.
Oven spring was quite good.
Crumb was a little tougher than I’d like. This could be due to either using some rye flour in the starter or too much kneading.
Crust could’ve been a little deeper brown and a little crispier. Crumb was good–soft, not gummy with decently large bubbles near the top. I think doing less bulk fermentation and more proofing was a good decision.
After bulk fermentation the dough only had a minimal number of bubbles. This seems to be linked to the lower activity of the starter. This seemed to leave more sugars/starches for the yeast to consume during proofing/baking, leading to larger oven spring.
Images
Upcoming experiments
Consider making the dough a bit drier for the bulk fermentation stage. Some articles mention that a drier starter makes a more sour bread. Might extend to the bulk fermentation phase as well. This bread was (275+150)/(444+150)=71.5+% hydration during bulk ferment; maybe try to get below 68% (or lower) and see how it goes.
Consider using a banneton without liner for improved shape.
Consider turning on convection bake (and turning oven temp to 450 degrees Fahrenheit) earlier, maybe when internal temperature is 185 or 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Also consider leaving loaf in the oven for ~5 minutes after it reaches 194 degrees Fahrenheit.
Consider letting the bread bake to a hotter internal temp (206-209 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the crumb a little drier/less tough/fluffier.
Consider kneading less before, and folding less after bulk fermentation.