Australian Gourmet Traveller - (07)July 2020 (1)

Masterclass

THESTARTER

Unlikeconventionalbread,whichusesyeasttorise,sourdoughusesa naturalleaven

knownasa starterorlevain.Allyouneedis flourandwater- plusa gooddoseof

patience.Tostart,mixequalpartsfilteredwaterwithgoodquality,unbleachedbaker’s

flourtoforma batter.Addingryeflourwillhelpdevelopanauthentic,sourflavour.

Leaveatroomtemperatureforthefermentationtobegin.Thiswilltakeabouttwo

daystokick-off.Toboostyourstarter,addsomefruitsuchasdicedapple,ora few

sultanasorraisins.Yourstarterneedstobefedeveryday.Todothis,remove 75 per

centofthestarterandaddfreshbattertomakeupthelostamount.Forexample,

if youmadea 300gmstarter,youwoulddiscard220gmandreplaceit with110gm

ofwaterand110gmofflour.Failingtofeedyourstarterformorethantwotothree

dayswillresultinit becomingtoosourorit maydie.It willtakeaboutsevendays

beforeyourstarteris readytouse.It shouldhavea fresh,souraromaandbefull

of bubbles. Every sourdough is different, so patience and perseverance is key.

1 2

5

Leftovers

Youwillhavetomakesourdoughevery

seconddaytokeepyourstarterhealthy,

althoughit canbefrozenif youwanta

rest.Anydiscardedstartercanbeturned

intoa tastysavourypancake,according

toSandorKatz,authorofTheArtOf

Fermentation. Freshsourdoughis the

best,buta goodsourdoughloafwillkeep

for2-3daysinanairtightcontainer.

400 gmflour(allunbleached

flour,oruse¼darkryeand

¾unbleached), plus extra

fordusting

260 gmwater

200 gmsourdoughstarter

Semolinaflour (optional),

for baking

1 To makethedough,only

justmixingredientstogether

(exceptsemolina)andrestfor

atleastanhour.Thisis called

autolysis,a processthatslows

thefermentationandmakesthe

dougheasiertohandle.Return

andkneadthoroughly,before

adding1 tspsalt.Kneadagain

andsetasidetoproveinan

oiledbowl,covered,until

double in size (this can take

anywherefrom4 hoursto

overnightdependingonthe

temperatureandactivityof

thesourdoughstarter).

2 Whendoughis ready,turn

ontoa bench(ifit is a bitsticky,

usea dustingofflourbutnot

toomuch)andpullandstretch

thesides,foldingit backonto

itselfwhilerotatingthedough.

Thiswillworktheglutentohold

shapeandcreateairpockets.

3 Tocreateextrasurface

tension,foldthedoughback

ontoitselfuntilyougeta nice

smoothsurface.Thisis called

blanketfolding.If youhavea

doughwithhigherhydration,

youcanusea coil-shaping

method,whichis toliftandfold

thedoughunderneathitselfin

a bowluntilit hasa smoothtop.

4 Heavilydusta bannetonwith

flour, thenplacethedough

inside with the smoothest side

facingdown.If youdon’thave

one,youcanplaceyourdough

ona semolina-dustedflattray

orpeel,whichcanslidestraight

intotheoven.Coverandleave

untildoughhasdoubledagain.

5 Preheatyourovenashot

asit willgoandplacea pizza

stoneorlargecast-iron

casserolewitha lidintothe

oventoheatforanhour.This

createsa burstofheat

tospringthebread.If using

a banneton,carefullyturnthe

doughontothetray.Scorethe

topofyourdoughtocreate

a patternusinga sharpknife,

whichwillalsohelpthedough

expandintherightplaces.

Whenyouaddtheloaftothe

ovenyouneedtoaddsteam,

whichwillpreventthecrust

formingtooquickly.Youcan

spraytheovenwithwateras

you place the loaf in, or place

a trayofwaterintheovenasit

heatsup.Baketheloafonthe

pizzastoneorinsidethe

casseroleuntilpuffedand

golden(25-30minutes).

Coolbeforecutting.

NoteThestandardhydration

ofa sourdoughis somewhere

around 65 to 75 percent.

A doughwith 70 percent

hydrationhas70gmwater

toevery100gmflour.

Thewetteryourdough,the

softerit willbe,whichwill

makeit hardertohandlebut

canproducea betterresult,

creatingmoreairpocketsand

a chewytexture.Hydration

alsovariesdependingon

theflourused.Rememberto

includetheflourandwaterin

yourstarterwhencalculating

yourtotalquantities and

percentages.●

Sourdough

MAKES1 LOAF(72 PER CENT HYDRATION;

SEE NOTE)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 47

WORDS LISA FEATHERBY. PHOTOGRPAHY BEN DEARNLEY. STYLIST SOPHIA YOUNG.