The Kitchen Whisperer

Artisan Sourdough Breads

June 11th, 2012 |

She’s pretty, isn’t she?

So I’ll be the first to admit, I love carbs. I mean love is an understatement. I think I have this unbridled passion for bread. Wait, let me rephrase that. I have this unbridled passion for really GOOD bread. Nothing against those loaves of bread you buy in the market, all sliced and ready for it. If you like it cool, but that’s not me. I want warm, fresh out of the oven, so hot the butter melts before you put it on the slice. I like to know that I controlled what went in it. AND okay yes.. I like knowing that I didn’t have to pay $6 for a loaf either.

Call me a snob perhaps, so be it. But if I know I can make it myself, whenever I want, without having to leave my house or put a bra on (c’mon admit it ladies.. NO ONE likes wearing one if you don’t have to) and most importantly, knowing I can make it 10,000 times better well by God I am Wait.. did that sentence even make sense? LOL

Sunday my in-laws came up for the day (which was AWESOME by the way!). And of course I baked a bunch and made lots of food. There’s one thing I bake every time they come up; a few loaves of my breads. It doesn’t necessarily have to be sourdough bread but it must be bread none the less. See my mother in law is like me, she could live on just bread. It’s just so comforting… all warm and soft; almost like that soft blankie you had a child

Since I hadn’t made sourdough in a while, I decided to go with my trusty dusty recipe. Now before you hit print, no I’m not giving you my TKW signature recipe but this one by King Arthur is awesome and a lot easier than mine. I’ve made this often and do love it. Let me put it this way, if I didn’t think it was good, I would never post it nor encourage others to use it.

Now before you jump right in and make you, you need to make sure you have Sourdough Starter already made. It takes about 8 days to make it and once you make it, it will last generations (okay, as long as you feed it and take care of it). I’ve been using the same starter base for over 10+ years now. The longer you have it, the more amazing the flavor gets!

Assuming you have your starter made and in the fridge, you’ll need to Feed your starter the night before you want to make this.

Ready? Let’s bake bread!

Artisan Sourdough Breads

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Author: The Kitchen Whisperer

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Ingredients

1 cup “fed”
Sourdough Starter
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups High-Gluten Flour or Bread Flour
1 egg beaten with 1 Tbl water
*Artisan toppings: equal parts toasted sesame seeds, baby sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds, flax seeds

Instructions

Combine all of the ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough.
Allow the dough to rise, in a covered bowl, until it’s doubled in size, about 90 minutes.
Gently divide the dough in half; it’ll deflate somewhat.
Gently shape the dough into two oval loaves; or, for longer loaves, two 10″ to 11″ logs.
Place the loaves on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Cover and let rise until very puffy, about 1 hour.
Place a pizza stone on the bottom of your oven.
Move one rack to the bottom and put an empty metal pan there (a 9X13″ metal pan works fine).
Place the other rack in the middle settings.
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Make two fairly deep diagonal slashes in each loaf; a serrated bread knife, wielded firmly, works well here.
Brush each loaf with the egg wash.
Sprinkle 2-3 Tbl of the Artisan topping on top.
Lightly drizzle more egg wash on top (not a lot.
Fill a squirt bottle with very hot water and put 1 cup of very hot water in a container.
Place the bread on the middle rack.
Working quickly spray the sides of the oven and the bread.
As fast you can, pour the 1 cup of very hot water in the 9×13″ metal pan and close the oven door!
Wait 2 minutes, quickly open the door, re-spray the oven walls and loaves.
Reduce heat to 425°F.
Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans half-way through. *Note: If you make smaller loaves, they will be done in 15-20 minutes.
Remove it from the oven, and cool on a rack.