White Sourdough Recipe 🍞 by The Hampshire Real Bread Company
(Makes 2 large loaves)
Day One
(Levain)
– Strong White Flour 136g
– Water 170g
– Wheat Starter 28g
Mix the ingredients for your levain in a small bowl until fully combined as a loose batter.
Cover and leave to stand for 12 – 16 hours.
Day Two
– Strong White Flour 680g
– Strong Wholewheat Flour 91g
– Water 420g
– Levain (from above) 306g
– Salt 17g
- After your levain has stood for 12 – 16 hours, it should be lovely and bubbly and smelling fermented.
- Combine the two flours in a large bowl, make a well in the middle and add the water and the levain (don’t add the salt at this stage).
- Mix until just combined then cover and allow to stand for 30 – 60 minutes.
- Sprinkle the salt over the surface and gently knead the dough on an unfloured surface for 2 – 3 mins until the salt is fully incorporated.
- Return the dough to the bowl, cover and let stand for 2½ hours. During this period, fold the dough at 50 minute intervals (wet your hands and stretch one side of the dough over to fold over to the opposite side of the bowl – rotate the bowl slightly and make another stretch and so on until all sides of the dough have been stretched and folded).
- After 2½ hours, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal pieces.
Loosely shape into a round and allow to bench rest, uncovered, for 30 minutes. - After the bench rest, the dough can then be shaped (round or oblong) and placed in a floured banneton/bowl lined with a floured tea towel.
- Cover and allow to prove at room temperature for 2 – 2½ hours or place in the fridge overnight.
- Preheat oven to 240°C.
- Turn out the dough onto a floured peel or a tray, score the top of the dough and bake for 10 mins before turning down the oven temperature to 220°C and baking for a further 25 minutes or so.
(Note: Placing a shallow tray, containing a little water, in the bottom of the oven, or spraying the oven with a plant mister, before baking the bread will create a little steam that helps form a great crust).
Find The Hampshire Real Bread Company along with their delicious range of sourdoughs, speciality loaves, croissants and donuts at Hampshire Farmers’ Markets.
