With some extra time on our hands, and flour back on the shelves, many of us are discovering the chewy texture and rich flavour of homemade sourdough bread – there is nothing quite like it.
How to Raise a Loaf is the most accessible beginner’s guide to sourdough, packed with drool-inspiring pictures of what is arguably the greatest food group. The book makes the key techniques of traditional baking easy to understand, with step-by-step photo instructions and a simple overview of the magical processes that turn wild yeasts into a living baker’s starter, and a bowl of flour into a glowing crusty loaf.
This recipe for Overnight White Sourdough is perfect for beginners. The loaf is baked in a casserole dish, which helps to create steam and makes the most impressive, glossy crust. Yum!
Photography by Rita Platts.
Overnight White Sourdough
Ingredients
50g starter (see here for Roly’s starter recipe)
400ml warm water
600g strong white bread flour
10g (2 tsp) fine salt
Method
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the starter and warm water.
Add the flour to the wet mixture and mix thoroughly until you have an even dough. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
Mix the salt into the dough, adding it slowly to ensure that it is evenly spread.
Wet your hands, then pull, fold and rotate the dough eight to ten times so that it forms a ball. Cover the bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave the dough to prove for about 8—10 hours (or overnight) at room temperature. The dough will become soft and puffy and expand significantly.
About an hour before you want to bake, lightly flour the work surface, and tip the dough out onto it. The dough will stick to the bowl: use your fingertips to ease it away. Pull, fold and rotate the dough 8—10 times, so it becomes tighter, and you have shaped a round loaf. Place the ball gently into a floured proving basket and let it rest for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 230°C (210°C fan) and cut a piece of baking parchment about 35—40cm square. When the oven is ready, tip the loaf gently out of the proving basket and onto the centre of the baking parchment. Place the parchment and dough into a 1.8l casserole and use scissors to make a couple of cuts,1—2cm deep, into the top of the dough. Put the lid on the casserole.
Place the casserole on the middle shelf of the oven. There is no need to add a source of steam, as the loaf will steam itself in the casserole.
Roly Allen
After 20 minutes, remove the lid of the casserole so the crust can brown. After another 25 minutes, remove the casserole from the oven, remove the loaf, and tap its base: if it sounds hollow, the loaf is done. If not, place it back directly on the oven shelf for another 5—10 minutes, then test again.
Leave to cool on a wire rack before eating.
About the Author
Roly Allen only baked his first sourdough loaf because he thought it would be difficult and he wanted a challenge. To his surprise, it turned out to be incredibly simple. He now shares his expertise and techniques so that everyone can enjoy the pure bliss that comes with baking bread.
—How to Raise a Loaf by Roly Allen (Laurence King Publishing) is out on the 11th of May.
How to Raise a Loaf
and fall in love with sourdough
A new generation is discovering the chewy texture and rich flavour of real bread, and sourdough is one of the biggest stories in food.
You don't need to be an expert baker to make your own sourdough at home; though once you're hooked, and want to get fancy, the book will tell you what lames, bannetons, brushes and stones to invest in. The book makes the key techniques of traditional baking easy to understand...
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Comments
October 8, 2020 at 1:18 pm
For all the messing around you only get a small loaf which would not last long in my house. I sourdough bake two big loaves in bread tins which only last about 6 – 8 days, I then have to bake again. I only eat Sourdough Bread and have done for about 6 years.