Adventures in Sourdough, Chapter 4: Sourdough Bread n:o 2

The starter was tested again, three days later. The recipe and temperatures were changed slightly which resulted in a loaf with slightly lighter crust, but delicious.

The starter was fed in the evening and left on the counter. In the morning it had obviously risen and then fallen back.

Ignoring any ideas about peak timing, baking commenced.

The recipe was 1 dl starter, 2 dl hand warm water, 5 dl all-purpose flour and 1 tbsp salt.

The starter was mixed with the water and salt until the salt had dissolved, then the flour was added.

After some mixing and kneading the dough had reached a firm yet supple state and was folded 4 times over, shaped into a round and left to rise under a wet towel.

After about 5 hours on the counter the dough had approximately doubled.

I shaped it into a loaf and placed it on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

I considered letting it rise a second time, but decided to heat the oven to 230 °C and bake as soon as it was warm. The loaf was sliced once length wise.

A frying pan was once again placed on the bottom of the oven to heat up. Once the oven was warm the pan was filled with water in order to create steam in order to facilitate the forming of crust.

The baking tray was placed one rung lower than middle and the temperature lowered to 200 °C.

After 40 minutes the loaf was deemed ready. It had risen moderately, sounded slightly hollow when knocked and had reached a medium golden brown crust.

It was removed from the oven and left to cool. Tasting some 40 minutes later revealed that the crumb was fairly fine with smaller bubbles throughout. The resulting butter and cheese sandwiches were delicious and this one will therefore be imaginatively named Sourdough Bread n:o 2.