Hi everyone,

If I had to mention something positive in connection with COVID, that would be learning how to make sourdough bread and becoming a regular home baker during the lockdown.

I am not saying that I never baked bread before, I used to bake yeast breads occasionally and I also had a go at making sourdough starter maybe twice, but both turned out to be a failure as I did not have the time and energy to follow the process. So I thought that being at home 24/7 would be the perfect time to give the project another chance. I started out back in March 2020, made my own sourdough starter from scratch and I managed to keep it alive ever since. Bread baking became my favorite kitchen activity and I am still fascinated that you can create wonders from just 3 basic ingredients: flour, water and salt.

Most of the time I am using the same white loaf recipe but that is just a starting point. In this Instructable I’d like to show you how to play with that simple white dough and add color, flavor, present it in different forms or just make it look more appealing to add that wow factor. Yes, all those breads in the photos were made using the same white sourdough bread recipe as basis.

Having fun time baking the bread is just one thing. The other I like about sourdough bread is that tangy sourness in the taste that just cannot be compared to yeast bread.

If you follow through this unusually long Instructable, you’ll learn how to

- make the dough,

- form the dough into round and oval loafs,

- score the dough,

- make breadsticks, buns, deep-fried flatbread (lángos) from that very same dough,

- add other ingredients for a specific flavor (pull-apart garlic bread)

- play with colors and decorate the loaf with bread stencil.

The very beginning when making sourdough bread is to acquire the sourdough starter itself. I saw that it is sold online, but you might as well make your own, just follow the steps here.

Making the starter takes 7-10 days, but from then on it survives kept in the fridge provided that it is fed at least once a week. It is also true that the more you use it, the stronger (more effective) it gets.

As for the process of making the dough, attached please find a pdf summary so that you can plan timewise. It seems to be and in fact is a long process, but most of the time is spent waiting for the sourdough to develop like it should. I indicated a schedule and also the active time needed to get through the steps. Feel free to adapt the schedule to your daily routine,

Schedule.pdf
Download

Supplies

As for the exact quantities of ingredients, I’ll give you information in the specific step so that you don’t have to scroll back and forth in the text.

In general, for the basic recipe be prepared with the following:

Ingredients:

mature starter
strong white bread flour
salt
water
sunflower/olive oil for greasing the bowl

Please note that further ingredients needed to make the trickier breads (from pic.3) are listed along with the specific instructions, so read first, before jumping into making the recipes.

Tools:

digital scale
mason jar
spoons
saucer
stand mixer (kneading can also be done by hand – good for a workout)
kitchen towel
banneton or bowl to proof the dough

The banneton should be big enough to hold the dough. I am following the cold bulk method, and though there won’t be a considerable change in the volume. The banneton should not be too big, as the aim is to support the sides of the dough while going through the bulk fermentation so that we do not end up with a flat disc.

For this basic recipe (roughly 900 g net dough weight) I use

an oval banneton (length: 26 cm top, 22 cm bottom, width: 9 cm bottom)
or a round plastic bowl with a diameter 20 cm measured on top, 12 cm bottom, height: 13 cm

For scoring:

precision knife / bread lame
small sieve
cornmeal / semolina flour / rice flour to make sure that the loaf does not stick to the peel
peel / not too heavy yet sturdy wooden board

For baking:

oven (preferrably one that can produce high temperature - 230-250 Celsius)
a baking tray is OK, but you get better results with a baking steel/stone or Dutch oven

Step 1: Refresh Starter 1.

Before you start to make the dough, you need to refresh the starter ie. give it a boost of energy by adding twice its quantity of flour and water to get it ready to raise the dough.

You’ll need:

clean jar
mature starter
strong white bread flour
water (room temperature)

[If you do not use your starter regularly it may need to be refreshed twice to get nice and strong. In this case, take the stock starter out of the fridge at 10 pm (Day 0) and follow the same process as written below.]

8 am (Day 1)

Measure 50 g starter, 100 g flour and 100 g cold water into a clean jar, mix well and let it sit – loosely covered with a lid on the counter at room temperature. Regarding consistency, it should be denser than pancake batter, check video.

(Discard the rest of the stock starter or save it for making crackers for instance.)

Step 2: Refresh Starter 2.

You will experience a significant change in the volume and the structure of the starter, its volume will double (at least) and it will get bubbly (you can see the holes in picture 3).

As for how long it takes, my experience is that it is ready to go into the dough within 5-7 hours after being refreshed. However, actual time may depend on the strength of the starter (how old it is and how often it’s used) and also the surrounding temperature.

If you are unsure about whether the starter is ready, place a spoonful into cold water, it should float (pic.5.).

Please note that when the starter runs out of food it will start to fall, which means that it loses its strength and may not be active enough to raise the dough.

Step 3: Autolyze

The purpose of autolyze (which is just a fancy word for mixing flour and water) is to help gluten to develop and to make it easier to work with the dough.

You’ll need:

500 g strong white bread flour
380 g water (room temperature)

2:00 pm

In the bowl of the stand mixer, combine flour and water (I usually use a chopstick or the handle of a spoon) and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel.

Autolyze should last for at least half an hour and up to approximately two hours. It is said that allowing flour and water to autolyze for a longer period may result in unwanted phenomenon, that is breaking down the dough as a result of enzymatic activity.

Step 4: Combine the Dough

You'll need:

flour and water mixture (see previous step)
110 g refreshed starter (see steps 1 and 2)
2 teaspoons salt

3:00 pm

Add the starter to the flour and water mixture and knead with the stand mixer equipped with a dough hook attachment at low speed twice for 2-3 minutes with a one-minute break in between.

Add salt (salt and wild yeast do not get on well, therefore I suggest to let the starter work itself into the dough first and add salt only at this point). Knead for another 2 minutes.

Now, it is very important that not all flours are exactly the same, some may require a little more water. What we are aiming at is a dense but not too stiff dough. If it climbs on the dough hook and stays feel free to add another tablespoon of water or two. I think the ideal consistency is when part of the dough starts to climb on the dough hook but slides down relatively easily when lifting the mixer head. At this stage the dough may feel sticky, it is completely normal, it will lose its stickiness as you proceed.

In picture 2 you can see the threads of gluten already developing in the starter. These threads will support bread structure and will enclose gas developed during fermentation.

In the last picture you can already see that the gluten is holding firm, you can stretch the dough without breaking it (aka gluten test).

Step 5: Knead by Hand

Dump the dough onto the lightly floured countertop. Lightly oil a bowl (you may also use the same mixing bowl).

There are various methods how to knead bread, my preference is the so called slap and fold method in which as the name suggests, you slap the dough on the counter then fold it (see video) repeating the process for a while. I usually count them till 100.

Another method is classic kneading, that is pushing the dough forward with your palm, then lifting it back with your fingers and turn (check out the video here (step 2.).

Finally, form the dough into a ball, put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turn the dough do that it is covered with oil all around, cover with a kitchen towel and let it sit for about 45 minutes.

Step 6: Folding

First of all, what is the purpose of folding? Stretching the dough and folding it back into itself helps to equalize dough temperature, trap air into the dough (you will see more and more bubbles developing after each fold) and helps to strengthen the dough (so that it will not flatten out when removed from the banneton before baking).

Please note that these times are not set in stone, the rule of thumb is that the dough should have a rest of 30-60 minutes between every two folds and 90 minutes following the last fold.

4:00. pm - First fold

Dump the dough onto the lightly floured countertop and stretch it with your hands into a rectangle (actually it may be stretched into an unexpectedly large rectangle: roughly 50x70 cms).

Fold the dough from the short side like an envelope (three – fold), turn it 90 degrees so that once again it is the short side close to you. Fold it in three from this direction also (or roll it like a cake roll), then put it back into the bowl (covered) and let it rest. You may have to add another tablespoon of oil into the bowl to prevent sticking.

4:45 pm - Second fold

Repeat the process written above (from this folding on I always make three-fold from one direction and then rolling from the other).

As the dough gets stronger, you will not be able to stretch the dough as much as the previous time.

5:30 pm - Third fold with the same technique

6:15 pm - Fourth fold with the same technique, transfer it back into the bowl, cover and let it rest for 1.5 hours this time.

Step 7: Shape

At this point we are giving the loaf its final form before putting it to sleep into the fridge. There are various methods of shaping both round and oval loafs, I normally follow the procedure described hereunder and shown in the videos. I very rarely make videos for my Instructables, but it is undoubtedly easier to understand shaping by watching a video than reading and photo documentation.

You'll need:

lightly floured work surface
rested dough
bench knife (optional)
banneton

Prepping banneton:

Line the banneton with a kitchen towel, dust generously with flour. Especially when you start making bread it is always better to add too much flour than not enough.

Shaping a round loaf:

(the videoshows shaping a bicolor boule, the process is the same if you use just simple white dough)

Flip the dough from the proofing bowl onto a lightly floured countertop.
Spread it out gently to form a rectangle(ish) form,
Fold the longer left side of the dough a little over the middle, then fold the longer right side on top.
Fold down the dough starting from the top as if you were rolling it.
With both hands or with a bench knife tuck and drag the towards you a couple of times turning the dough in between to create tension on the outside of the dough.
Place the dough seam side up into the (kitchen towel lined and floured) banneton. Should the seam split, pinch it together with your fingers.
Dust the sides and the top of the dough with flour and fold the kitchen towel over.

Shaping an oval loaf (batard):

Flip the dough from the proofing bowl onto a lightly floured countertop.
Gently stretch the dough into a rectangle.
Fold the left side of the rectangle over a little past the mid-line.
Fold the right side over so as to overlap slightly the folded right side).
Fold down from the short side towards your body making a stop after each fold and gently pressing the folded part into the rest of the dough until you get to the bottom.
Turn seal side up, pinch along the seam if necessary and also seal the ends by pinching it.
Place the dough seam side up into the (kitchen towel lined and floured) banneton.
Dust the sides and the top of the dough with flour and fold the kitchen towel over.

Step 8: Standing Time

Rest in the fridge

Leave the covered banneton at room temperature for 20-30 minutes, then place it in the fridge (4-8 degrees Celsius) for 12-24 hours.

Preheat the oven

Switch the oven on to 250 Celsius at least 45 minutes before the bread is supposed to go into the oven.

There are two distinct methods of baking bread at home: in a Dutch oven or without it.

Let's start with the latter.

When I started making bread regularly, I used the normal baking tray that came with the oven. It is OK, it also needs to be preheated in the oven. After a while I bought a baking steel and that makes a major difference. It sort of mimicks the environment of a classic wood-fired oven, a preheated baking steel gives the bread a boost of temperature as soon as the dough lands on it and the result is a thin, yet crispy crust.

When I'm baking bread on a bread steel / stone I always throw into the oven a couple of ice cubes along with the bread to provide for a steamy environment at the start of baking.

Dutch oven is the alternative. In this case you should heat the Dutch oven with the lid on for the same period at the same temperature, remove it from the oven (wearing a protective gear on your hands) and place the bread sitting on a piece of parchment into it. Parchment makes it easier to lower the bread into the hot pot. No ice needed, the Dutch oven will help retain moisture.

Anyhow, place the baking tray or oven rack in the lower part of the oven and place the baking steel / baking stone / Dutch oven with the lid on top. Set temperature to 250 Celsius.

Step 9: Scoring - Theory

Scoring has two main purposes, firstly it helps to control the enormous expansion when baking ie. the bread is more likely to open up along scored lines rather than just erupting like a volcano wherever it happens to be the weakest.

Also, scoring is fun, and we end up with a more beautiful loaf.

In accordance with the above, there are actually two kind of cuts:

I strongly suggest to make at least one deep cut minimum 15 mm deep to help set the direction for the bread where to expand in the oven. First I was afraid that making a deep cut would ruin the structure of the dough, but along the way I learned that it actually does not.
Decorative cuts are totally optional. They should be less deep, but you should still cut through the skin slightly. These cuts could actually have different depths depending on to what extent you are expecting them to open up while baking. This is something you'll learn by experience!

Tips:

The sharper the tool you use for scoring, the better. At the beginning, I borrowed a precision cutter from my hubby, then I bought a lame.
Start off with a simple slash or cross, and get on with more elaborate designs later on. Gain experince with practice and find your style.
When you make decorative cuts, I suggest to make a scratch to mark the place of your deep cut first, then do the decorative scoring, then cut deep along the pre-marked line. The reason for this is that the deep cut opens up faster, so you don't have to worry about your bread losing its shape while fiddling with the decor.

Step 10: Scoring - Practice

Remember that the oven should be pre-heated to the highest temperature at least 50 minutes prior to the start of baking!

You'll need:

formed dough
cornmeal/ semolina flour / rice flour (1 handful)
peel (or a rather thin yet sturdy wooden board)
brush
small sieve / tea strainer
lame / extremely sharp knife (you can also use scissors to make cuts)

Instructions (video tutorialavailable):

Dust the peel with cornmeal to avoid the dough sticking to it. Note: If you are planning to bake the bread in a Dutch oven, transfer the dough on a piece of parchment instead. Otherwise it would be impossible to place the dough into the burning hot pot.

Gently turn the dough - holding it back with one hand - onto the dusted peel.

If there are lumps of flour on the surface of the dough, remove them with a brush.

Dust the dough in an even, thin layer with flour. Dusting will help the pattern stand out.

(Mark the line where the deep slash will go and make the decorative cuts. - Optional)

Make at least one deep slash in the dough.

Step 11: Bake

After proper pre-heating ...

Version A/ Baking Steel or stone

Slide the dough onto the baking stone from the peel.

Toss a few ice cubes into the bottom of the oven.

Bake at 250 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes, then open the oven door for a couple of seconds to let the steam out, lower the temperature to 210 degrees Celsius and keep on baking for another 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. You know that it is ready when you hear a hollow sound when you tap the bottom of the loaf.

Version B/ Dutch oven

Using oven gloves, take the Dutch oven out of the oven, lift the lid, gently lower the dough with the parchment, put the lid back on and place the Dutch oven back into the oven. Probably no need to say, but the door of the oven should not be left open while the dough is being transferred into the Dutch oven.

Bake at 250 Celsius for 20 minutes, then remove the lid of the Dutch oven , lower the temperature to 210 and keep on baking for another 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. You know that it is ready when you hear a hollow sound when you tap the bottom of the loaf.

You can see in the picture that a cosiderable growth in volume takes place in the oven. This is the so called oven spring.

Step 12: Done

I guess here comes the hardest part of the process, to wait till your loaf cools before you get to eating it. :-)

Step 13: Variations - Rolls

Follow the process until step 8. then:

Turn the dough out onto the dusted peel.

Cut the loaf with a dough scraper / sharp knife.

Score if you wish.

Bake for 10 minutes at 250 Celsius then lower temp to 210 and bake until golden brown (10-15 minutes).

Step 14: Variations - Grissini 1.

You'll need:

2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 tablespoons pesto
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
100 g shredded cheese
2 tablespoons chopped olives
1 egg yolk and 1 tablespoon milk to make egg wash

Extra equipment:

clingfilm
rolling pin
pizza cutter
silicone mat / parchment
brush

Instructions:

Follow the process until step 6., and following the fourth fold place the dough - without shaping it - into an oiled bowl covered with clingfilm and put it into the fridge for at least overnight.
Next day, dump the dough out on a lightly floured surface (pic 3.).
Roll it about 5 mm thin with a rolling pin (pic 4-5.).

Step 15: Grissini 2.

Instructions (continued):

Leave one half of the dough empty and spread the cream cheese, pesto and tomato sauce on the other half (1/3 of the area each, pic 1.).
Add olives on top of the tomato sauce then scatter shredded cheese all over (pic 2.).
Fold the empty half of the dough on top, press it down with your fingers and roll it slightly more (pic 3-5.)
Cut into strips with a pizza cutter (pic. 6.)
Twist each strip and line them up on a baking tray lined with silicone mat (pic 7.).
Apply egg wash (pic 8.)
Bake them in the preheated oven at 180 Celsius for about 12-15 minutes until they get golden brown.

Step 16: Variations - Lángos (deep Fried Flatbread)

You'll need:

about 0.5 liter - 1 liter vegetable oil depending on the size of the saucepan you're using

saucepan

Instructions:

Follow the process until step 6., and following the fourth fold place the dough in an oiled bowl covered with clingfilm into the fridge for at least overnight.
Next day, pick a saucepan according to the planned size of the lángos. Add enough vegetable oil so that it is 4-5 cm high in the pan (suitable for deep frying). Start to heat it on medium / medium-high heat.
Dump the dough out on a lightly floured surface.
Divide the dough into pieces (size is up to you).
Stretch a piece of dough by hand and dump it into the hot oil. It is very important that the oil should be hot, otherwise lángos will soak up lots of oil and that's no good.
Fry on both sides until golden brown.

Step 17: Variations - Pesto, Cheese and Garlic Pull-apart Bread

You'll need:

2 tablespoons pesto
100 g shredded cheese that melts easily like mozzarella
2 cloves chopped garlic

Extra equipment:

clingfilm
rolling pin
pizza cutter
parchment paper
30 x 10 cm loaf form

Instructions:

Follow the process until step 6., and after the fourth fold place the dough in an oiled bowl covered with clingfilm into the fridge for at least overnight.
Next day, line the mold with parchment paper.
Dump the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll it about 3-5 mm thin with a rolling pin.
Spread pesto, and scatter garlic and mozzarella evenly.
Cut the dough into squares that will fit into the mold considering the cross section size of the mold.
Place the dough squares one by one into the mold. Let it rise for an hour covered.
Bake for about 40 minutes in the preheated oven (200 Celsius) until golden brown.

Step 18: Variations - Pane Incamiciato 1.

I left this one for last beacuse I have to admit, pane incamiciato is a little tricky to make but certainly not impossible. The name literally means bread in a shirt and what happens is that you shape the loaf, then brush it with oil, cover it in seeds and wrap it in another layer of dough. It is left to rest in the fridge overnight. Next day, when scoring, you cut through the outer layer of dough ie. the wrapping (seeds help to separate the outer layer from the rest of the dough). It looks absolutely spectacular when baked.

My goal with this was also to show you how to make a bicolor dough and also to show a different kind of decoration, using bread stencil. As for coloring, I suggest to use natural colors in a powder form. I generally use ground turmeric for yellow, ground paprika for orange and beetroot powder for a reddish (beetrootish) color.

Step 19: Colors

You'll also need to make bicolor (swirled) bread:

3 teaspoons of ground turmeric

Other stuff needed to make pane incamiciata:

1 - 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
about 7-10 tablespoons of various seeds to cover the loaf (I used sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and poppy seeds)
1 teaspoon charcoil for coloring the wrap (optional)
bread stencil (optional)

Instructions:

If you are planning on making a swirled bread, follow the initial process until step 5, that is do the slap and fold and leave the dough rest for a while. Here comes the trick: prior to making the first fold, you have to separate a smaller part of the dough that will be colored and from here on you go on with the process separately with both doughs that will be reunited when shaping.

In detail:

Cut off about 1/5 - 1/6 of the dough and color it with turmeric: stretch it apart, dust with turmeric, rub it in slightly, roll from top to bottom into a rope, then dust with a little more turmeric and roll across into a ball.
Practically, you are also coloring the small dough along with the first fold. No big deal.
Place it into a small oiled saucer and cover.
Make the first fold also with the rest of the dough (white dough).
Make the second, third and fourth folds with both the white and the yellow doughs separately with the necessary rest in between folds as described in step 6.

Step 20: Shaping

As for how to shape a bicolor pane incamiciata, I suggest to watch video tutorial.

In brief:

After the last fold, leave the doughs to rest for 1.5 hours.
Cut about 1/4 of the white dough and set it aside (this will be made into the "camicia").
Stretch the bigger piece of white dough by hand into a rectangle.
Stretch the yellow dough also into a retangle (somewhat smaller than the white dough).
Place the yellow dough on top of the white.
Form the dough into a boule as desribed in step 7.
Set it aside for a while.
It is the time to get back to the piece of dough that we cut off from the white dough (see point 2.) Stretch it into a square / rectangle / circle.
If you want to color the wrap, this is the time, Dust the top with half of the charcoal and rub it in.
Using a brush, apply oil on the top and the sides of the round dough (leave out the bottom), then grab the dough and place it oily side down into the bowl with the seeds in it and rotate, so that seeds cover the top and the sides of the dough.
Place the loaf, seedy side down in the middle of the wrap, gently pull the wrap from all sides and pinch the sides together.
Place the dough as usual, seam side up into the banneton lined with kitchen towel and well-floured.
Let it sit on the counter for 20 minutes, then transfer it into the fridge for minimum 12 hours.

Step 21: Score and Bake

Next day, gently turn the dough out onto a peel dusted with cornmeal or covered with parchment.

Dust the outside with the rest of the charcoal and rub it in slightly.

Apply a design if you wish.

Using a bread stencil is a great way to decorate bread, just lay it on top of the bread, dust with flour and remove.

Then make at least two cuts (a cross) on the outer dough, this way it will open up when baking. Bake according to the instructions detailed in step 10.

This time I used a dutch oven. The first photo shows the raw dough just placed into the sizzling hot pot, the second, half - way baked (lid just removed), the third ready baked.