Sweeten a cold day — bake sourdough bread

I’m not a fan of winter, but in the interest of looking for the bright side, at least it’s the best time for baking. I’ve been on a bread kick lately and I think I found a keeper with my latest recipe, a ‘cheater’ sourdough.

I haven’t yet made real from-scratch sourdough, but I got a sample of a sourdough yeast that is an all-in-one starter that cuts out a lot of the time and work (Platinum yeast, if you’re looking for someone to sponsor...) and the results spoke for themselves with my testers.

The yeast has a dried sourdough starter in it, so for those of you who are intimidated by a homemade starter, or like me, not motivated to make it from scratch this is a nice compromise.

All that’s required is mixing the dry ingredients, adding water, proofing and shaping the dough and with very little hands on work you can have freshly baked bread.

My husband, who unbeknown to me, is a sourdough bread critic, likes this because it had a perfectly hard crust but was still tender inside. My kids liked it, especially the second day when I used it for a make-your-own grilled cheese bar.

Whether you’re a novice or expert I recommend giving this one a try. If you make something good with it, drop me a note to let me know how it turned out.

Sourdough Boule
Recipe courtesy of Platinum Yeast

Ingredients

4½ cups (572 grams) bread flour

1 (0.63-ounce) package (18 grams) Platinum Instant Sourdough Yeast

1 tablespoon (9 grams) kosher salt

1¾ cups (420 grams) warm water (105°F/41°C to 110°F/43°C)

Instructions

Step 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, instant sourdough, and salt. Add 1¾ cups (420 grams) warm water, and beat at medium-low speed until a sticky dough forms, about 30 seconds. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) for 2 hours. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Step 2. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and generously dust with bread flour.

Step 3. Turn out dough onto a floured surface. Gently stretch and fold bottom third over to center. Stretch right side out, and fold right third over to center; repeat with left side. Finish by folding top third over previous folds. Roll loaf away from you, and using both hands, cup dough and pull it toward you to seal. Turn dough 180 degrees, and pull again until a tight, smooth, oval boule forms. Place dough seam side down on prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°F/24°C) for 1 hour. (Alternatively, place dough on prepared pan; cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, remove dough from refrigerator, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place [75°F/24°C] for 1 hour.)

Step 4. When dough has 30 minutes left to rise, place a 5- to 7-quart oval enamel-coated Dutch oven and lid in cold oven. Preheat oven to 500°F (260°C).

Step 5. Using a lame or razor blade, score top of loaf. Carefully remove hot Dutch oven from oven; remove lid, and place dough, still on parchment, in Dutch oven. Cover with lid, and place back in oven.

Step 6. Immediately reduce oven temperature to 425°F (220°C). Bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid, and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center registers 205°F (96°C), 10 to 15 minutes more. Immediately remove loaf from Dutch oven, and let cool completely on a wire rack. Recipe credit: Platinum Yeast

Kim Shute can be reached at (815) 879-5200 or kshute@shawmedia.com Follow her on Twitter at NT_Princeton2