Sourdough Loaf

In order to make a loaf of sourdough, the first thing I did, was create a fresh batch of starter by feeding a little starter with fresh flour and water and setting it in the proofer. It took about 6 hours to bloom. Then, I mixed the bread flour and All Purpose flour with water and set that in the proofer to allow the flour to absorb all the water. Then I added the starter and the salt and mixed it by hand till it was absorbed before proofing it and stretching it every 30 minutes before allowing it to proof uninterrupted. After that, I put it in the fridge in a flour covered kitchen towel in a bowl after shaping it into a round loaf. It rested in the fridge for about 12 hours.

In the morning, I put the Dutch Oven into the oven uncovered and turned the heat up to 525 and left it there for about 2 hours so it would be very hot when I put the loaf in. When the time came to put the loaf in, I took it out of the fridge and flipped it out onto a piece of parchment paper that I had cut in anticipation. I scored the loaf when looked perfect, and immediately took hold of the parchment and dropped it into the steaming hot dutch oven and covered it immediately, the into the oven it went with the temp at 500. After 20 minutes, I took the cover off and left it to bake. at 20 minutes I checked the color and the temperature (internal temp of 112 degrees) and decided to take it out. Onto the wire rack it went for an hour of cooling.

When it cooled, I cut a slice to taste it and check the crumb. During the proofing process, I made several folds to see if I could trap air in the dough, and low and behold, it looks perfect, and tastes like a perfect sourdough loaf! The crumb is open and its close to perfect! Just a few little refinements next bake to include a shorter proofing, slightly shorter in the fridge too, and to be comically gentle when I shape the next loaf!