How to Make Sourdough Bread

You can now bake artisanal sourdough bread like a pro!

Sourdough bread is a crusty, flavoursome loaf that's treasured by many bakers and passionate foodies. It goes well with almost anything and everything – butter, avocado, Nutella, sliced fruits, jam, cream cheese or even just plain. While some make the easy effort of purchasing sourdough from the bakery, others may choose to bake it from scratch. Sourdough bread may not be the easiest kind of bread to bake, but with the right steps and preservation tools, you'll have the confidence to make a delicious and perfectly crusty loaf.

Before you get started on baking your very own sourdough loaf, you'll need to make the sourdough starter first. By combining the ingredients, the starter will begin to ferment and cultivate naturally occurring wild yeasts and bacteria within the flour. The yeast contributes to the sourdough flavour and helps the dough to rise. Making the sourdough is a simple process, but it takes approximately 7-10 days for it to be ready.

Using the Kilner Sourdough Starter Set, you'll be able to make your sourdough easily.

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Making the Sourdough Starter

You will need the following:

• All-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
• Filtered water or pre-boiled water which has been cooled
• Kilner® Sourdough Starter Set

Method:

Day 1: Using the Kilner® measuring lid, measure out 60 grams of flour and 60 grams of water (please see the diagram of measurements) and empty into the jar.

Using the spatula, stir well until smooth, making sure there are no clumps. Use the spatula to stir and clean the inside walls of the jar. Screw the metal lid on loosely, as you will need to allow some air to enter the jar. Leave to rest at room temperature of 20–22 °C (68–72 °F) for 24 hours.

Day 2: Stir the starter to incorporate air, screw the lid on loosely again and let it rest for another 24 hours at room temperature.

Day 3: Start the feed. Using a clean jar, measure out 60 grams of the starter you created in days 1 and 2, and remove the rest of the mixture. The excess mixture can be used for pancakes and naan bread. In the same jar, using the Kilner® measuring lid, measure 60 grams of flour and 60 grams of water, and combine with the starter.

Use the spatula to stir the mixture and clean the inside walls of the jar. Mark the level of the starter with the rubber band. Screw the metal lid on loosely, as you will need to allow some air to enter the jar. Leave to rest at room temperature of 20–22 °C (68–72 °F) for 24 hours.

Time and date your starter using the white labels to keep track. The sourdough starter will now start to activate, and you will start to see bubbles appearing inside the jar.

Day 3-7: Feed twice a day. Repeat every day up to 7-10 days. The yeast should already be activating, so the starter will rise when it starts to warm up and gets active.

The starter will leave a mark on the sides of the glass walls when it’s hungry. It is much easier to see if the starter has risen when you keep the glass jar walls as clean as possible using the spatula. You won’t need to clean the jar each day, but ensure to keep the jar as clean as possible.

During the feeding, discard 60 grams of your starter, then scrape away as much of the residual as you can from the glass walls. Twice a day, weigh out 60 grams of the starter and discard the rest. In the same jar, using the measuring lid, measure 60 grams of flour and 60 grams of water and combine with the starter.

Use the spatula to stir the mixture and scrape the residue from the inside walls of the jar. Mark the level of the starter with the rubber band. Screw the metal lid on loosely, as you will need to allow some air to enter the jar. Leave to rest at room temperature of 20–22 °C (68–72 °F) for 24 hours.

By day 4, look for the hunger signs. This’ll be shown through the starter's rising and falling. If the starter shows no signs of whether it has risen or fallen, then only feed once every 24 hours.

Feeding the starter when it isn’t hungry will dilute the growing yeast. By days 5 to 7, the starter should look visibly active, with bubbles rising and close to doubling in size.

Day 7: The starter should hopefully be doubling in size within 4-6 hours of feeding. Let the starter rest at room temperature for 8 hours. At this stage, the starter should be active, with bubbles through and nearly reaching the top of the jar.

Float Test

Day 7-8: To test the starter, place a teaspoon from the top of the starter in a glass full of water. If it floats, you can now make Sourdough Bread! If the starter does not float, it’ll just require a few more days. Continue to feed once or twice a day until you see a consistent rise and fall, and do the float test again.

If you need to take a break, keep the starter in the fridge for up to 7 days and try it again.

Recipe source: Kilner

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Sourdough Bread Recipe

• 500g strong unbleached white bread flour
• 300g mature sourdough starter
• 250ml filtered water
• 2tsp salt
• Flavourless oil

Method:

1. Mix the flour, sourdough starter and 250ml / 8.5 fl oz filtered water in a mixing bowl. Add the salt.
2. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes.
3. Place the kneaded dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove for 2 ½ -3 hours.
4. Tip the dough onto a work surface and knead briefly to knock out any air bubbles.
5. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and dust it with flour.
6. Line a medium-sized bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it really well, or use a proving basket.
7. Place the dough, seam-side up, into the bowl or proving basket and cover loosely.
8. Leave at room temperature until it roughly doubles in size. This can take anywhere from 4-8 hours.
9. Place a large baking tray in the oven and heat to 230°C/210°C fan.
10. Fill a small roasting tin with a little water and place this in the oven to create steam.
11. Remove the baking tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour, then carefully tip the dough onto the tray.
12. Slash the top of the dough, if you like, then bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
13. Leave to cool on a wire rack before serving.

Recipe source: Kilner

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