Small Improvements to My Everyday Sourdough

I finally used up the Golden Yacht I had been struggling to shape, and Amazon has it back in stock — so my usual Kitanokaori has arrived. Time to bake.

This one shaped up well and rose beautifully. I think the reasons were these.

· Kitanokaori bread flour suits sourdough.

· Stretching properly and folding properly during the stretch and fold — pressing the edge in slightly as you fold.

· Adding a cold ferment in the fridge at the end.

Step 1 — Preparing the sourdough starter

I had not baked with bread flour alone for a while, and the starter in the fridge had lost some vigour, with liquid separating on top. Even when you are not baking, you need to add flour and water to the starter and stir it at least once a week. Feeding matters.

That said, liquid on top does not usually mean it is finished. Smell it: if there is no smell of rot, it is fine. If it merely smells strongly of alcohol, I use it.

1. On the morning of the day before baking, take the starter out of the fridge, discard about two thirds, and add bread flour and water in equal parts.

2. Half a day later, once the starter has recovered a good deal. Before going to bed, discard about half again, then

add bread flour and water in equal parts.

3. By the next morning it had fully recovered to its usual lively self.

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Step 2 — Making the dough

I have increased the water slightly this time; from here, please refer to the usual How to bake a basic sourdough loaf page.

How to bake a basic sourdough loaf

What you need:

• Starter60g
• Bread flour (Kitanokaori)250g
• Water (around 20°C)170cc
• Salt4g
• Scraper
• Banneton basket (21 × 15 × 8cm)
• Digital scale

One thing I tried differently: after the usual final proof, I gave the dough a further three hours of cold fermentation in the fridge. Simply because I normally bake in the early evening, before making dinner, and this time the timing did not work out. Some people apparently leave it in the fridge for half a day.

It has been a while since I used Kitanokaori, and compared with Golden Yacht it is overwhelmingly easier to work with for sourdough. Sourdough is mostly a matter of leaving the dough alone to build gluten and ferment rather than kneading it, and over that time Golden Yacht inevitably loses its structure and goes slack. The result is a loaf that spreads sideways instead of rising, with a score that will not open properly.

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Step 3 — Baking

What you need:

• Dutch oven (220mm internal diameter, 100mm deep)
• Baking paper
• Razor blade

1. Put the Dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 250°C. Meanwhile take the dough out of the fridge and let it warm up a little.

2. Once it is up to temperature, turn the dough out of the basket onto a sheet of baking paper.

3. Score with the razor. This time I cut a pattern as well, thinking of an ear of wheat.

4. Take out the Dutch oven, lower the dough in on its paper, put the lid on, and bake at 230°C for 25 minutes.

5. Take the lid off and bake at 240°C for a further 10 minutes.