San Francisco Style Sourdough Bread
Note:
San Francisco sourdough starter must come only from San Francisco. After you
bring it to your area, it will take on your local yeasts. If you purchase SF
starter and use it a few times, it will never be as good or sour as the first
couple of loaves. So, my suggestion is simply make your own starter. Go to the starter
page and pick one that sounds good to you. Remember that good sourdough
starter needs no yeast.
The
recipe in red is the one I use over and over. I don't remember just who
sent it to me but I have used it for about 3 years.
See the photos of good results.
San
Francisco Style Sourdough BREAD
First
make up a sponge (from the starter below) and let it sit at 74 - 80 degree draft
free place for 24 hours:
Starter:
2/3
cup Water (de-chlorinated)
1 cup White flour
1-1/2 cup
your starter
Final
dough:
Water - 2 cups
White flour - 5 1/2 - 6 1/2 cups
Fine sea salt - 1 T (or no-iodine salt)
Mix
final dough and knead it for 15 to 20 minutes. Let it ferment at 74 - 80 degrees
in a draft free area for 2-1/2 hours in a large bowl, covered with a damp towel
or plastic wrap. Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center and pulling up
on the sides. Cover bowl with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and let sit in
a warm (74-80) draft free place for 30 minutes. Turn out on a floured area and
knead briefly.
Shape
into a tight ball. Cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and put in a
warm (74-80) draft-free place for 30 more minutes. Shape. You may divide the dough
into two pieces and shape into two round logs or into round loaves (free form)
or one large freeform loaf.
Proof
the loaves in a warm (74-80) draft free place till they rise 1-1/2 times the
size - about 1 hour - on a floured towel. Make about 4-5 diagonal slashes across
the top of the loaves.
Now
is a good time to preheat oven for an hour before baking. Bake on a baking stone
at 450 for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 425 for 20 minutes longer.
Turn
out and thump the bottom to test for doneness (sounds hollow) or use a
thermometer (180-200 degs. F.) and cool on a wire rack for 25 minutes before
cutting.
Do not cover bread because the flavor is still developing.
For
the extra crunchy crust:
Spritzing
the oven at the beginning and each 3 minutes for the first 10 minutes will make
a harder crust. However, I get a loaf that is perfect in hardness for me without
spritzing.
You
can use two conventional baking pans if desired. I use one round Corning Ware
bowl and 1 regular bread pan. I sometimes make dinner rolls instead of using the
regular bread pan. Place 3 small balls in each oiled muffin pan hole. Press down
just a little. The rolls are delicious, light and airy.
My newest recipe (original) is "Almost
Flat Bread".
Another Great Sourdough Bread site worth exploring
and spending some time there is:
http://www.sourdoughhome.com/index.html
San Francisco Style Sourdough Bread
Makes 2 loaves:
Sponge:
1 2/3 cups unbleached bread flour
1 1/3 cups warm water
1/2 cup starter
Mix until mixture has batter consistency; let stand until bubbly
Dough:
Add the ingredients below to the Sponge:
3 cups unbleached white flour
1 2/3 teaspoon salt
Mix until dough has a dough-like consistency
Knead for 10 minutes or so
Let rise until doubled
Punch down
Divide dough in half
Shape into loaves
Let rest again until almost doubled in size
Bread:
Bake for 50 minutes (more or less) in a pre-heated, 400°F. oven.
Note: To keep a starter from dying, all you have to do is
feed it *every 7-14 days with some warm water and flour.
A glass jar or container is a must since metal will corrode
and plastic is hard to sanitize.
San Francisco Style Sourdough French Bread
Makes 1 large loaf.
1 cup sourdough starter, room temperature (do not feed starter and bake on
the same day)
3/4 cup lukewarm water (110 degrees F.)
2 teaspoons plain salt (or sea salt)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour*
Cornmeal
* The thickness of your sourdough starter can determine how much flour
needs to be used. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a
tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and
gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).
Heavy Duty Mixer: In a large bowl or in the bowl
of a 5 quart stand mixer, combine starter, water, salt, baking soda, and bread
flour. Using dough hook, mix everything together into a uniform dough. Turn
the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until elastic, about 15
minutes. NOTE: In an electric mixer, it should take about 9 minutes. Cover the
bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.
After resting, knead dough on a lightly floured board by pulling the dough
towards you and then pushing down and forward with the palms of your hands
(kneading gives the bread the elasticity and lets it rise).
Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl. Place a damp towel over the
bowl and then cover with plastic wrap (the humidity in the bowl helps in the
rising process). Let rise until it doubles in volume (when you can put your
finger in the dough and it leaves and indentation and doesn't spring back
out--the window test)
approximately 4 to 8 hours (depending on the temperature and the starter used,
the rising time can vary as much as 12 hours).
NOTE: I have not tried this in the bread machine.
After dough has risen, remove from bowl, and place on a lightly floured
board. Knead in flour to feed it one more time before baking. Shape dough into
a loaf shape and place on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet that is dusted with
cornmeal. Cover with plastic wrap
and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 to 3
hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After rising, slash the bread with a bread
razor or a very sharp knife making several 1/2-inch deep diagonal slashes. Brush
or spray the top of the bread with cold water and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or
until nicely browned. (A good check is to use an instant digital
thermometer to test your bread. The temperature should be between 200 and
210 degrees.) Remove from oven and place the bread on a wire rack to cool. Let
baked loaf cool for 30 minutes before cutting (this is because the bread is
still cooking while it is cooling and the flavor is still developing).
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