Sourdough bread recipe

Sourdough Bread
Just the steps to make the bread
*Definitions:
Starter: is a combination of flower and water stirred together that will be used to mix with bread flour to make your bread.
Business letter turn/fold: you stretch dough in to rectangle facing away long ways away from you. Fold up bottom 3rd. fold dough from top all the way down to bottom. turn so that sealed dough side is on right and repeat. It is like air is a gift and you are wrapping it to make sure it wont escape.

To Start: (STEP one)
Mix 3/4 cup bread flour and 1/2 cup bottled or filtered water in a glass 4 cup measuring cup leave next to coffee maker. MUST S: BREAD FLOUR/NO TAP WATER (Tap water will kill the yeast and non bread flour will not have the protein necessary to allow bread to rise use these ingredients throughout this recipe) I added a ¼ tspn commercial yeast to this mixture when I start out. it is not necessary but I have had limited success with growing a starter without using yeast from the start. This mixture is called the starter*

STEP two:
Twice a day, Every day for a minimum of 5 days I remove ¼ cup of starter* and add ¼ cup of flour and 1/8 of a cup of water. I leave it at the coffee maker because I set coffee to brew at night and make myself coffee in the morning so I see it and remember to feed it. I have done this feeding only once a day and no discolorations or rottenness has occurred. Colorful discolorations in the starter require you to throw it away and start over. There will be a multitude of smells this is okay. If after 5 days the mixture has grown larger than 2-1/4 cups move on to step 3. If not continue to feed twice a day until it does.

STEP Three: Pull off 1/2 cup of starter place in a new 4 cup measuring cup, (throw away remaining starter or add flour to it and place in refrigerator feeding once a week in order to use again) add 1/4 cup of bread flour to the mixture if all of the flour is not absorbed add a little non top water until it is. Let double in size about 6 hours. After bread has doubled pull off 1/2 cup and add 2/3 cup bread flour 1/3 cup non tap water mix with hands dough should not be sticky continue to add flour until dough feels very stiff still elastic but not dry this takes practice and I don’t know how else to explain it. Use hands so you can feel it and can create muscle memory for future bread. let double in size approximately 6 hours again.

STEP four: Refrigerate dough up to 24 hrs or until you have 12 hours to finish making bread. Hopefully just over night to make the next day.

STEP five: Pull dough from fridge one hour before you wish to mix dough beginning of 12 hour cycle. In mixer bowl add 2.5 cups of bread flour and 1-1/3 cups non tap water. Once hour is up add 2/3 cup of starter torn into pieces into mixing bowl with flour and water. Mix at #2 w/dough hook for about 10 minutes. If it starts to climb i will increase blender speed to throw dough to the side. No flour should be on the sides of bowl. Cover with plastic wrap let rest 1 hour.

STEP six: after one hour scrape dough onto floured counter and fold dough counter and do two business letter turn/folds.* let rest another hour in mixing bowl. After this hour scrape dough and do two business letter turn/folds* again and Place dough in a seethru greased container mark spot on bowl so you know when it is doubled.. about 5 hrs


STEP seven: do not deflate dough round it into a ball by basically pulling down sides of dough so that it is tight and then pinching dough so it will stay in place and has a half of a ball shape. your going to invert dough into a colander with a floured towell pinched size up covered with oiled plastic wrap and let it rise 4 hours the pinching is where the rise will come thus eliminating the look of it.

one hour before bread is just about ready pre heat oven to 475 degrees (keep reading). and you will need two to 3 cooking sheets and/or a cast iron pan.

BEFORE PREHEATING
A cast iron pan on bottom of oven (or baking sheet(1))
a baking sheet(2) on the middle rack.
need to be in the oven.

keep baking sheet (3) out

STEP Eight: after the bread has risen appropriately you need to transfer it from colander to baking sheet (3) without losing the rise. you can do this but placing an oiled paper plate on the bottom of the dough then inverting it onto baking sheet (3) and then slide out. place baking sheet(3) perpendicular on top of other baking sheet(2) so it is easy to take off when you move bread to it. and add 1 cup water to pan on bottom of oven at same time. bake 5 minutes reduce temp to 450 cook 10 minutes. pull bread off of baking sheet(3) place on baking sheet (2) bake until sound hollow and long skewer pulls out clean about 15 more minutes.