A tasty, homemade loaf of bread can be yours with just a few simple steps. You’ll start with basic ingredients like flour, yeast and water, and then mix them together in the right order with just the right consistency to create your own sourdough bread in your very own home. Follow these steps to knead sourdough and enjoy your fresh bread every day of the week when you knead sourdough.
Ingredients, Equipment and Hydration
– 1/4 cup of sourdough starter
– 4 cups of flour
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 2 tablespoons oil or butter (optional)
– 3/4 cup water, or more as needed
Preparing for the Rise
For an overnight rise, combine the ingredients in a bowl and let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before putting the dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside. For an immediate rise, mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and allow it to rise for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.
Allowing the dough to rise
Once the dough has risen, it should be punched down and kneaded again. This second rising will give the bread its final shape. After this, the dough will be turned out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and shaped into a ball or loaf.
Shaping, Resting and Proofing
Kneading the dough is an essential step in the process of making sourdough bread. It aerates the dough, develops gluten and enhances flavor. It’s important that you don’t over-knead your dough because it will develop too much gluten and make your bread tough. After kneading for about 10 minutes, put your dough into a bowl or plastic bag and allow it to rest for at least 1 hour or up to 2 hours.
Baking
Sourdough bread is a type of bread that uses yeast and a Lactobacillus culture (either homemade or store-bought) as leavening agents. This process creates a sour flavor profile in the bread. To make your own sourdough starter, you’ll need one cup of flour and one cup of water, plus something acidic like lemon juice or yogurt. Mix together in an airtight container and leave out at room temperature for 24 hours.
Storage, Flavors and Nutrition
The more you use your sourdough starter when you knead sourdough, the stronger it will get. If you are done using your sourdough starter, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. When you’re ready to use it again, take out some of the starter and let it sit on the counter at room temperature for a few hours before baking with it. To keep your sourdough healthy, always remember these three steps: feed it, store it and neglect it.