This bread turned out beautifully with a great crunch and a delicious sourdough character.
Ingredients:
100g active wheat sourdough starter
300g lukewarm water
3g fresh yeast
350g strong white bread flour
6g (=1 tsp) salt
Method:
1. Mix sourdough starter, water and yeast until the fresh yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and stir until well combined. Cover with cling film and leave for about 30 minutes. Add the salt and stir for a couple of minutes. Cover with cling film again and leave to rise for an hour.
2. Wet your hand and stretch and fold the dough a few times. The method of folding isn’t precise as long as the dough is stretched and air is folded in. Repeat after one hour and then finally one hour later. Leave it to rise for about 30 minutes.
3. Place a tea towel in a bread basket and cover it generously with flour. Turn out the dough on a floured work surface and stretch it gently into a square. Fold the edges into the middle and turn the “parcel” face down onto the prepared tea towel. Leave to rise for about 30 minutes. Heat the oven to 250°C with a casserole or cast iron pot in the oven to get really hot.
4. Remove the hot casserole or cast iron pot from the oven, remove the lid and transfer the dough from the tea towel (best done by letting the dough roll into the casserole). Place the lid back on and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 25-30 minutes (if you have a digital thermometer use it to measure the internal temperature reaching 96°C). Leave to cool on a wire rack.
