Sour dough bread

Recipe by Adrian Martin

A WORD FROM THE CHEF

The most sought after recipe during lockdown. This requires quite a bit of patience, but it only requires four ingredients.

This weeks recipe is the most requested one over the last number of weeks. The sourdough bread with the best Odlums (AD)

Posted by Chef Adrian Martin on Tuesday, 29 June 2021

INGREDIENTS

(Makes one large or two medium sized loaves)

800g of Odlums Strong Flour

10g of salt

460ml of water

320g of sourdough starter (see recipe below)

METHOD

You can make this two ways, by hand or in your stand mixer. Both work out the same.

Start by adding all the ingredients to a bowl. If doing by hand mix with a fork to combine, on the machine turn it onto a medium speed and mix with a dough hook for five to eight minutes.

By hand, tip the dough out onto the surface and knead really well for a good 10 minutes. Once kneaded, place the dough into a bowl and leave to prove for four hours.

Four hours later, knock back the dough by punching all the air out and shape with your hands into a niceround ball.

Flour your proving basket and tip the dough with the flat side into the basket. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove for a further three hours.

Preheat the oven to 230oC. Place a tray of boiling water into the bottom of your oven to create some steam. Tip the dough out from the proving basket onto a floured tray. Bake for 30-35mins and enjoy the most delicious bread ever.

Sourdough Starter Recipe

INGREDIENTS

250g of Odlums Organic Wholemeal Flour

METHOD

Day one

Mix 50g flour with 50g lukewarm water in a jar.

Leave for 24 hours at room temperature.

Day two

Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into the mixture. Leave slightly uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hours.

Day three

Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into the mixture. Leave slightly uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hours.

Day four

You should start to see some bubbling now at this stage. Mix 50g flour with 50g tepid water and stir into the mixture. Leave slightly uncovered, at room temperature for another 24 hours.

Day five

The mixture should be very active now and you should be ready to make your starter. It should smell quite sour like yoghurt. If it’s not very active, continue to feed daily until it becomes active.

Day six

You now have your starter, which is the basis of your bread. Keep it in the fridge and you’ll need to look after it by feeding regularly if you aren’t making bread regularly.

Twenty-four hours before baking bread, throw away half the starter and add 100g of flour and water to the mixture. Leave at room temperature to reactivate the starter.

ABOUT THE CHEF

Adrian Martin from Bawnboy is a regular on our TV screens and recently appointed ambassador for Odlums.

His latest cook book is ‘Create Beautiful Food at Home’.

YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY:

Recipe: Odlums 'No Knead' Focaccia