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Sourdough: Basic Loaf – Day 1

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This post uses instructions for those that are following my 2 to 3 day process (see here).

However, if you have active starter you are of course able to use this recipe using your starter, but it will make more sense to you if you read the notes on my process first.

Also, if this is the first time you have ventured into making sourdough, it would be worthwhile for you to cast your eyes over just a few of my other sourdough posts as that will explain to you so much of what I do.

To get you to those posts quicker, here are the links:

  • Sourdough:  The equipment I use (see here)
  • Sourdough:  What ingredients I use (see here)
  • Sourdough:  Maintaining your starter (see here)
  • Sourdough:  How I keep it (see here)
  • Sourdough:  Overview of 2 to 3 Day Process (see here as noted above)

So … let’s get moving!


Sourdough: Basic Loaf - Day 1
 
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Starter, rye flour and water ready to feed my starter

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Ingredients
INGREDIENTS TO ACTIVATE YOUR STARTER

  • 80g rye flour
  • 120g filtered water

INGREDIENTS TO MAKE A SINGLE LOAF

  • 80g active rye starter
  • 240g filtered water, room temperature
  • 400g unbleached bakers flours, or white spelt flour
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt

  • NB: you can use a combination of white and wholemeal spelt if you like, but initially I wouldn't recommend you use more than 200g wholemeal spelt or you will get a very heavy loaf. A good combination is 300g white spelt and 100g wholemeal spelt and see how you like that combination first before you use more wholemeal spelt

INGREDIENTS TO FEED YOUR STARTER TO GO BACK INTO THE FRIDGE

  • 60g rye flour
  • 90g filtered water
Instructions
STEP 1: ACTIVATE YOUR STARTER

  1. Remove your starter from the fridge and add the flour and the water and stir vigorously. Once it's doubled in size this will give you 500g of active starter which is enough to make 4 loaves using 80g per loaf, and enough left over to feed to put back into the fridge for next time.
  2. Scrape around the sides of your container so that you can see what is happening to the starter as it is rising, and make a mark with your non permanent marker pen on the outside of the container where the level of the starter is.
  3. Put starter aside until it is bubbly and active … this will take 4 to 8 hours to double in size. If it is very cold then I will usually place the starter container on a board that I have placed close to the light under the exhaust … this creates enough warmth from the light for the starter to rise in about 6 hours. Otherwise i just leave it on my bench top.
  4. Once the starter is bubbly and active it is ready to use (you will see air bubbles within the mix, the mix will have risen within the container and look fluffy, when poked you will see large air bubbles that will pop in the mix).

STEP 2: USE YOUR STARTER

  1. Before you start making your dough, place a plastic freezer bag on your bench, one for each loaf you are making, and spray with olive oil
  2. For each loaf of bread add to your TM bowl in the order listed: starter; water; flour and salt.
  3. Knead dough for 30 seconds
  4. Turn the TM bowl upside down onto the freezer bag and twiddle the base of the blade of the ™ bowl to help the dough drop onto the oiled bag … remove the last of the dough by Turbo x 1 and add to the mix on the bag
  5. NB: If you are using spelt flour, you will find it particularly sticky ... I keep a separate spatula in a jug of water near the plastic bags as I dip that into the ™ bowl and use that to scrape around the bowl as the dough does not stick to the wet silicon spatula
  6. Continue until you have done your desired loaves (no more than 4)
  7. Rest dough for at least 20 minutes before you progress to the next kneading stage (this resting period is called “autolyse” which allows the flour to absorb more fully into the liquid and is an important step to do)

STEP 3: FEED YOUR STARTER TO GO BACK TO THE FRIDGE

  1. While you are waiting for the dough to rest, you can feed you starter to go back into the fridge
  2. Firstly, you want to keep 150g of starter in your container to feed and no more
  3. Secondly, tare your digital scales before putting your container onto it
  4. Thirdly, add the weight of your container (if using a 1 litre Decor round container like I do it is 60g without the lid) to the 150g of starter you want to keep which = 210g (if you are following my process you would have weighed your container before using it to house your starter)
  5. Then place your container with starter inside on the scales and see what the weight is
  6. Use a spoon to remove excess starter until the scales measure 210g ... you now know you have 150g starter left in your container
  7. Feed your leftover starter 60g rye flour and 90g filtered water and stir vigorously until well combined
  8. Scrape around the sides of the container so that it is relatively clean, and again make a mark on the outside with a non permanent market pen on the level of the starter (you are only marking the container to give you feedback on what your starter is doing whilst in the fridge ... it will sometimes rise a little but that tells you it is very happy which is good to know)
  9. At the same time mark today's date on top of the container so you know when you last fed it
  10. Put the container back into the fridge until you need to use it next time
  11. You are now ready to finish the final step in Day 1

STEP 4: FINAL KNEAD

  1. Starting with the first dough you prepared, pick up the bag with the dough on it and allow the dough to drop into the ™ bowl (it should just slide off because of the oil on it)
  2. Knead the dough for 1 minute
  3. Whilst doing that, place the freezer bag back onto your bench and spray it with a little extra olive ... this is important as it will help stop the dough from sticking to the bag when you remove it on Day 2 or Day 3, it also adds a little extra moisture to the mix which does it good
  4. After kneading turn the TM bowl upside down over the same plastic bag the dough was originally on, and again twiddle the base of the blades to help the dough drop out ... it will be a little stickier this time because of the extra kneading so use your wet silicon spatula to help remove it, and turbo x 1 if needed
  5. Lift the bag up with the dough on it in one hand, and use your other hand to pull the underneath of the bag back and over the top of the dough so that you are enclosing it ... before you close the bag, spray the inside base of it with oil where the dough is going to come in contact with it and loosely tie the bag up and leave it on your bench
  6. Continue with your next dough using exactly the same process
  7. For ease of handling, put the bags of dough into a container and place into fridge until tomorrow or the day after
Notes
CLEANING YOUR ™ BOWL:

Whenever I make a dough in the ™ bowl, I always clean it by adding water to just to the top of the blade shaft, add a very little touch of detergent, then heat 3 to 4 minutes / 60 degrees / speed 6. Remove the bowl and put aside for 30 minutes, or up to an hour if you have the time, and the bowl should be really easy to clean as per usual

 

 

Comments

  1. Jess says

    Hi Gina,
    Thanks so much for your wonderful sourdough guide! I’m new to this and look forward to giving it a go once my starter is ready :).
    I was wondering if it would be possible to increase the quantities and make larger loaves with this recipe? I saw on Tenina’s page that you mentioned you could pop 2 quantities of dough in a jumbo tin but that it might not rise evenly – but would it be possible to make 2 or 3 slightly larger quantities of dough and put into a 450 or 680g tin?

    Thanks again,
    Jess

    Reply

    • Gina says

      Hello Jess … it is so lovely to hear from you and thanks for your query. Always happy to answer any questions you have and if you need to call me please know that you can do that … sometimes a quick conversation can help better than waiting for a reply. My number is 0404 857 467.

      I personally prefer to make the quantities I do with the recipe as stated: 80g starter / 240g water / 400g flour, as I know that volume does no harm to the shaft of the Thermomix blade. You can increase the quantities by a half, but any more than that can strain the shaft of the blade and potentially cause it to break over time. I hope that makes sense. So 1-1/2 quantities of dough will fit in a medium sized tin (450g).

      Jess … when I used to do the sourdough classes I had a booklet that I gave participants … it has more detail in it than what Tenina was able to share on her website … there are about 30 pages to it … are you happy for me to email it to you as it may help to answer some questions you have? If this is okay, email me on: torisam@bigpond.com and I’ll reply with the booklet attached.

      More than happy to talk to you too before you get started if you have the time as it may help to guide you better, as I would love you have to success with this process xo Gina 🙂

      Reply

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