San Francisco Sourdough
Serves: 3
Vicente Kshlerin
1 January 1970
Based on User reviews:
55
Spice
56
Sweetness
47
Sourness
40
mins
Prep time (avg)
5.7
Difficulty
Ingredients:
Directions:
1
Combine the levain and water in a 2-quart clear plastic container with a lid
2
Break up the levain well with a wooden spoon or squeeze through your fingers until it is broken up
3
Stir until the levain is partly dissolved and the mixture is slightly frothy
4
Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until very thick and sticky
5
Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula
6
Cover with plastic wrap and put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degree) place for 24 hours
7
Final dough: 2 cups (16 fluid ounces) spring water 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups (27 to 32 ounces) organic white flour with germ 1 tablespoon (3/4 ounce) fine sea salt
8
Combine the poolish and water in a 6-quart bowl
9
Break up the poolish well with a wooden spoon and stir until the poolish becomes loose and the mixture slightly frothy
10
Add 2 cups (10 ounces) of the flour and the salt; stir until well combined
11
Add just enough of the remaining flour to make a thick mass that is difficult to stir
12
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding remaining flour when needed, until dough is firm and smooth, 15 to 17 minutes total
13
The dough is ready when a little dough pulled from the mass springs back quickly
14
Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest on a lightly floured surface while you scrape, clean, and lightly oil the largest bowl
15
Place the dough in the bowl and turn once to coat with oil
16
Take the dough's temperature: the ideal is 78 degrees
17
Cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degree) draft-free place until doubled in volume
18
Deflate the dough by pushing down in the center and pulling up the sides
19
Cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap and put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degree) draft-free place for 30 minutes
20
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured board and knead briefly
21
Shape into a tight ball
22
Cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap, and put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degree) draft-free place for 30 minutes
23
Divide the dough into 2 equal portions
24
Flatten each with the heel of your hand on a lightly floured board
25
The dough may be very soft and loose at this point
26
Shape into 12-inch-long torpedoes
27
You may also choose to shape the dough into rounds
28
Place the torpedoes, seam side up in a well-floured couche*
29
Cover with a clean damp towel or plastic wrap
30
Put in a moderately warm (74 to 80 degrees) draft-free place until increased in volume about 1 1/2 times, or until a slight indentation remains when the dough is pressed with a fingertip
31
Place rounds on a cornmeal-dusted surface to rise
32
Preheat the oven and baking stone to 450 degrees, 45 minutes to 1 hour before baking
33
The oven rack must be in the center of the oven
34
If it is in the lower 1/3 of the oven the bottom of the breads may burn, and if it is in the upper 1/3, the top crusts may burn
35
Gently roll one loaf from the couche onto a lightly floured peel so that it sits seam side down
36
Using a very sharp, serrated knife or a single-edged razor blade, score the loaf by making quick shallow cuts 1/4 to 1/2-inch deep along the surface
37
Using the peel, slide the loaf onto the hearth
38
Quickly repeat the process with the second loaf
39
Quickly spray the inner walls and floor of the oven with cold water form a spritzer bottle
40
If there's an electric light bulb in the oven, avoid spraying it directly; it may burst
41
Spray for several seconds until steam has filled the oven
42
Quickly close the door to trap the steam and bake 3 minutes
43
Spray again in the same way, closing the door immediately so that steam doesn't escape
44
Bake until loaves begin to color, about 15 minutes
45
Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake until loaves are a rich caramel color and the crust is firm, 15 to 20 minutes
46
To test for doneness, remove and hold the loaves upside down
47
Strike the bottoms firmly with your finger
48
If the sound is hollow, the breads are done
49
If it doesn't sound hollow, bake 5 minutes longer
50
Cool completely on a wire rack
51
Add the flour directly into the container with the full batch of room-temperature, batterlike ripe chef
52
Stir vigorously to add fresh oxygen to the mixture
53
This will form a stiff consistency more like a stiff dough than a batter
54
This firm texture is important for ripening levain, because a dense rather than loose levain creates delicious sour bread without an overpowering tangy bite
55
Scrape down the sides, cover tightly, and let stand in a cool to moderate (about 70 degrees) draft-free place for 8 to 10 hours
56
The levain should have doubled in volume
57
The texture will be somewhat light, with many tiny bubbles throughout
58
Do not let the levain stand for longer than 10 hours, or the yeast will become exhausted and not raise the final dough
59
This recipe yields 18 ounces of levain
60
Day 1: Combine the flour and water in a tall 2 to 3-quart clear plastic container with a lid
61
Stir well to make a thick, soft dough
62
The exact consistency of the dough will vary with the brand of flour or water at this point to adjust the texture
63
Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula, cover tightly with lid and let stand in a moderate (about 70 degree) place for 24 hours
64
Day 2: 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 ounces) 20 percent bran wheat flour 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) spring water
65
The chef should have almost doubled in volume
66
You will see tiny bubbles on the surface, and you might notice a slight musty smell
67
Add the flour and water to the mixture and stir vigorously to distribute the fresh ingredients and add fresh oxygen to the chef
68
The texture will still be like a soft dough
69
You may add a little more flour or water to make this texture, if necessary
70
Scrape down the sides, cover and place in a moderate (70 degree) draft-free place for 24 hours
71
Day 3: 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (4 ounces) 20 percent bran wheat flour 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) spring water
72
It will have almost doubled in volume and be quite bubbly
73
Add the flour and water, and stir well to make a thick batter
74
(You may have to add a little more water if your flour's absorption level is high)
75
With a marker pen, mark the level of the chef on the side of the container
76
Scrape down the sides, cover tightly, and let stand in a moderate (70 degree) draft-free place for 24 hours
77
It should now be loose in texture, like a pancake batter
78
It will have doubled in volume from the last addition of flour and water
79
The chef may rise and fall, but as long as it doubles at some point during this last period, it's fine
80
You now have a fully ripe chef ready to transform into a levain
81
If you don't want to make the levain immediately, the chef can be refrigerated for up to 3 days