I jumped on the sourdough bandwagon during COVID. It took me about two dozen tries to stop making doorstops. Then I made loaf after loaf after loaf. It got to the point that the boys asked if I could make any other kinds of bread. Ummm...yes. But I love my sourdough starter. Because we are ardent Star Wars fans, I named it Dough-Ba Fett.
Dough-Ba Fett's Resurrection
After the pandemic, Dough-Ba went into hibernation. But I have recently revived him. I realized two things: he didn't like being fed with einkorn flour and I had to turn on the heater to activate him. He, apparently, objected to our 55 degree Fahrenheit house.
Ingredients
makes two boules
200 grams recently fed sourdough starter
600 grams warm water + 50 grams warm water
1000 grams all-purpose flour + more as needed
20 grams salt
rice flour for sprinkling in Dutch oven
Also needed: banneton proofing baskets or bowls lined with floured tea towels, Dutch ovens, parchment paper
Procedure
Place 200 grams starter in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Pour in 600 grams warm water. Add in the flours and salt. Use your hands to blend everything together so that all of the flour is moistened. Let stand for 30 minutes.
Pour in another 50 grams warm water and gently knead the dough until the water is completely absorbed.
Now start the folds: rotating 90 degrees four times every thirty minutes for 4 hours. Run your hand under warm water, grab one side of the dough and pull from underneath, folding it over the top of the ball. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Rotate. Repeat. And a fourth time so that the bowl has completed a full circle.
By the end of the 4 hours, the dough should be billowy and increased in volume. Lightly flour a workspace and use a dough scraper to divide the dough ball in half. Transfer the dough balls to the work surface. Lightly flour the banneton or towel-lined bowl.
Repeat the folds, with dry hands, to shape the boules while creating tension in the top. Keep the floured side of the ball down and fold from top to bottom four times while rotating the dough. This keeps the sticky side inside.
Flip the ball over and work the dough into a tight round. Let stand for 15 minutes. Repeat three times.
After the third shaping, place the dough ball, rounded side up, in the floured or towel-lined banneton.
Now proof. I typically put the dough in the fridge and leave it there till I'm ready to bake. For these boules, I left them in the fridge for 24 hours; I've left them for as much as 72 hours.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the empty Dutch ovens (bottoms only) into the oven. When the oven reaches temperature - an in-oven thermometer is very, very helpful - let the oven stay at 500 degrees for 1 hour.
After an hour, remove the Dutch ovens and reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Gently pull the dough away from the sides of the banneton and invert the boules onto a floured piece of parchment paper. Lower them into the Dutch ovens.
Place the lid on the Dutch oven and return the pots carefully to the hot oven. Bake for 35 minutes.
After 35 minutes, carefully remove the lid and return the pots to the oven again. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. The loaves should be firm and crunchy on the top, golden brown, and feel hollow when the bottom is tapped.
Move the loaves to a wire rack and let cool for at least an hour before slicing!