Adventures in Sourdough

First attempt at AB's sourdough loaf,
following the directions to the letter

I've been on a bread-making kick lately, even though I just got rid of the bread machine.  I've had bread machines before that I loved, but this one made a tall round loaf.  Like a regular loaf of bread, but in a cylinder.  It's weird.  Also, I could never get that particular machine to thoroughly mix the ingredients.  So, off to the thrift store it went.

I've made Alton Brown's Knead Not Sourdough a couple of times, and I've been very pleased with the texture and the crust.  And it's very easy to make, even though it takes about a day from start to finish.  However, I don't know if it's a true sourdough since it doesn't utilize a starter.  Instead, any sourness it develops comes from a scant 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and a 19-hour rise time.  I want something a little stronger than that.

Braumeister's Wife loaf

Then I found The Braumeister's Wife's series on sourdough and followed her directions on creating a starter about two weeks ago.  That was easy-peasy.  When I feed my starter, I use half flour and half distilled water.  It has tiny bubbles and a strong odor, so something is going on in there.  I made her loaf, but I wasn't thrilled with the results.  It was a little too dense on the bottom, but it had the air bubbles I was looking for on the top.

So now I'm attempting to modify AB's loaf to use a sourdough starter.  Here's the original ingredient list:

• 17 1/2 oz bread flour (Note, I didn't have any bread flour so I searched for a substitute.  I've been using 15 oz by weight of all-purpose flour, 1 TB of vital wheat gluten, and then I finish out the weight (a little less than a quarter cup) with whole wheat flour.)
• 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 12 oz filtered water (I used distilled.)

Here's my finished ingredient list:

• 1/2 cup starter (this makes 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water)
• 15 oz by weight of all-purpose flour
• 1 TB vital wheat gluten 
• 1.66 oz by weight of whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 9 oz filtered water (personally I think I can lower this a bit)

I mixed all the ingredients in a stand mixer outfitted with a dough hook.  I wasn't going to add the whole wheat flour, but the whole dough was a tad on the runny side, which is why I think I may need less liquid next time.  I proofed the dough in a cold oven with just the light on for two hours, and then moved it into the fridge for a couple of hours.  I read that a cold rise helps the sour flavor to develop better.  Before I went to bed, I pulled it out and let it sit at room temperature on the stove overnight.  At this point, I wasn't too terribly sure it was going to work because the dough didn't rise a lot, and it wasn't really holding its shape.

In the morning, I turned the dough out onto a floured cutting board and tucked the edges under and rolled it a bit.  Then I sprinkled a piece of parchment paper with cornmeal and put the dough on that.  I sprinkled the top of the dough with cornmeal as well and covered with a floursack towel.  I let it rise for about an hour and then preheated the oven to 450 degrees with the dutch oven inside.  Then I put the dough and parchment in the oven and baked covered for 30 minutes.  When the timer went off, I removed the lid and meant to reduce the temperature to 375, but apparently my oven didn't get the memo, so it baked for another 15 minutes at 450 and then I really did reduce it to 375 until the internal temp was 200.  I removed the dutch oven from the oven and moved the loaf to a cooling rack.  Thirty minutes later, I had this:

The crust is a bit darker and harder than I prefer, but I think that's due to the temperature mixup.  But the inside?

 

The inside is soft and chewy, and it has a hint of sourness.  I'd prefer a little more flavor, so I may use more starter next time.