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Step 3

FEED 3 | Once Feed 2 has doubled

💡*TOP TIP: Use warm water and a warm environment to cause Feed 3 double in as little as 3-6 hours. Use tap water and a cooler environment if you will be leaving it overnight or during the day to double. This will slow down the process so that can be awake or home, to check growth and continue when the sourdough starter doubles.

1. Stir 60g warm water* (2.12 oz) into the jar/bowl and mix vigorously, get some bubbles happening!

2. Add 60g of bread flour (2.12oz). Mix well and replace the lid/cling wrap. Move the elastic band to the new level of sourdough starter or make a fresh line with a whiteboard marker. This will allow you to clearly see when the mix has doubled.

3. Leave for 3-24 hours until doubled.

⚡ FAST TRACK: Leave at 30°C (86°F) for 3-6 hours or until doubled ⚡

🕔 9-5: Leave in a cooler spot – under 21°C (70°F). Use max leave times as a guide. Check am/pm to see if it has doubled. 🕔

IMPORTANT TROUBLESHOOTING: If your starter is not growing, place it in a warmer spot. Please note, it is possible that it is growing and doubled BUT you didn’t see it. This can happen when it’s in a warm environment and left too long, such as overnight or while you are at work.

The mix rises, hits its peak, then deflates because it was left without doing the next step in time. Essentially, it got tired of waiting.

At first glance, deflated sourdough starter looks exactly the same as one that didn’t rise. It will be at the same level as the elastic band – just like when you mixed it. Hence, it appears to not have grown.

HOW TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE
The difference between the two is that one is not active and the other is very active. In the active (now deflated) mix, the structure has been broken down by over fermentation, this makes the mix runny. Tilt your jar to see if there is movement – the consistency of pancake mix. There will be a lot of bubbles on the surface as well. If this happens, read: A rescue for deflated sourdough

Sourdough starter that is not growing will remain thick and lifeless due to the lack of fermentation. It needs to be made a little cosier. Read: How to keep sourdough starter warm

WATCH THIS STEP

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Once doubled. your pantry sourdough starter is active! You have made 180g (1 cup) and can use it in any sourdough recipe you can find! You may need to adjust quantities to suit.

To make sourdough pizza bases click here

To make sourdough bread, continue below 👇

Step 4

DOUGH | When Feed 3 has doubled

*Use warm for a faster rise. Use tap water for a slower rise such as overnight or throughout a workday.

1. If your sourdough jar is large enough, add 265g of water* (9.35 oz) directly to the jar with the sourdough starter, replace the lid and shake the jar like crazy! Tip the contents of your jar into a large mixing bowl.

If your jar is not large enough, scoop your sourdough into the mixing bowl, add the water** and stir vigorously to dissolve all solids.

2. Add 415g of bread flour (14.6 oz) and 9g of salt (0.32oz) to your bowl and mix well. If you want to add seeds now is the time to do so.

3. Squeeze the mix (like a sponge) for 1-2 minutes using your hands. This will help ‘push’ water into the flour and hydrate it. Clump the dough into a ball shape and wash your hands.

4. Cover the bowl** (see tip below) with cling wrap^.

5. Leave until doubled: 4-12 hours depending on temperature

Remember Warm = fast-growing. Cool = slow growing.

⚡ FAST TRACK: Leave at 30°C (86°F) for 5-6 hours until doubled ⚡

🕔 9-5: Leave in a cooler spot – under 21°C (70°F). Use max leave times as a guide. Check am/pm to see if it has doubled^^. 🕔

Your dough is ready to shape when it’s twice the original size, puffy and a number of bubbles are poking through the surface.

If you are home during the day while the dough is rising, and want to, you can fold your dough several times throughout. This will give you a more gassy and puffy loaf but isn’t essential.

HOW TO FOLD A RISING DOUGH

Option 1
Leave the dough in the bowl and with a wet hand, pull one side of the dough towards the ceiling and fold it across the bulk of the dough. Rotate the bowl and repeat 4-5 times working your way around the edge of the dough, creating several folded layers in the middle. Do this up to 4 times leaving a half-hour rest time in between.

Option 2
Place each hand on opposite sides of the dough. Lift through the middle until it disconnects from the bowl. Lower the dough back down into the bowl allowing the ends to fold underneath it as you do. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and do this one more time. Do this up to 3 times leaving a half-hour rest time in between

**If you don’t mind doing an extra step, use a clean, lightly oiled bowl which will release the dough much more easily, once it’s doubled, maintaining more of the lovely air pockets that form. This isn’t necessary, just work lightly with the dough when you tip it out in the next step. If the sides of the bowl aren’t scraped gently to release the ‘stuck’ dough, the dough can stretch and tear the wonderful air pockets that help it rise.

^Using a clear reusable shower cap over your bowl, instead of cling wrap, helps put less plastic in landfills.

^^If you find using a rounded bowl makes it difficult to see when the dough has doubled because the bowl is bigger at the top than it is at the bottom, use a large, lightly oiled, straight-sided plastic container. The straight sides make it easier to see when the dough has doubled because the rise is evenly distributed. Mark the level of the dough with a whiteboard marker, it will come off with a gentle wipe when you’re done.

WATCH THIS STEP

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Step 5

SHAPE
1. Lightly spray your bench-top with oil* and gently tip out your dough. If you made enough for two loaves and have made it as one dough, use a dough scraper or firm plastic spatula to cut the dough into two equal halves.

Work gently from here. You want to keep as many air bubbles in your dough as possible.

*Spray oil stops the dough from sticking to your benchtop top, just like flour, but it is much easier to clean up. If you don’t want to oil your bench, oil a large baking tray and use it as a mat.

2. Using wet hands, pinch one side of the dough and stretch it up towards the ceiling, then fold across the dough to the other side. Pinch next to where you pinched last time and repeat. Work your way around the dough, overlapping the previous fold through the centre each time. This process is like wrapping a present tightly. Pull and stretch 12-14 times until your dough becomes tight. It will start to resist as you work until it becomes too difficult. Then you know you’re done!

3. Grab a piece of baking paper. Some doughs stick to the non-stick paper. You may like to lightly oil the paper first. Gently place your dough onto the paper with the seam side facing down.

4. Use the baking paper to lower the loaf into a large Tupperware container or oversized bowl.

5. Seal with the Tupperware lid or cling wrap and place into your refrigerator for a minimum of 10 hours, and up to 24 hours.

That’s it until you bake!

I suggest you read ahead to the next step: Bake and become familiar with the vessels and method that is going to best suit you. That way, you can dive straight in when you are ready to bake!

WATCH THIS STEP

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Step 6

BAKE
Depending on what items you use, the baking process will differ. If you have a Dutch oven, casserole dish or pizza stone, you are already sorted! If you don’t have any of these, don’t worry, you probably have some things in your kitchen cupboard that you can use to mimic them.

Once your loaf is cooked, it’s important to allow it to cool. This will give excess moisture, trapped inside, time to leave through the crust. You will end up with a better loaf and improved crumb (interior texture).

Baking sourdough bread with a Dutch oven or casserole dish

Dutch ovens and casserole dishes are the best way to bake sourdough bread. They provide a tight, incredibly hot environment that traps steam during the baking process which is vented partway through, resulting in great oven spring and a glossy, golden crust.

Baking sourdough bread with a pizza stone

Pizza stones are also a great way to bake sourdough and perhaps a more traditional way, but without covering the loaf to trap the steam or adding boiling water to the oven, the sourdough crust finishes matte and light in colour. This is a more rustic presentation of sourdough bread. It is not a bad thing in any way! A glossy crust simply offers a more dramatic version of the same loaf. In my pizza stone baking instructions, I’ve added some ideas for adding or trapping steam. You can of course, bake your sourdough bread on a pizza stone without it.

If you don’t have any of the above – there is always…

Baking sourdough bread with everything else

The link below is to an article that will help you find things at home, which you probably already have in your kitchen, and you can use to bake your sourdough. They will mimic the use of baking sourdough bread in a Dutch oven or pizza stone with some pretty decent results. The article will then send you to the correct instructions for the items of your choice.

Read:
Faking it – Baking your sourdough without a dutch oven or pizza stone

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Baking instructions are also provided on the Quick Reference Card that came with your sourdough flakes.

Remember to celebrate & tag us!
#mysourdoughlovestory
#beautifullivingmadeeasy
@beautifullivingmadeeasy

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Making more than one loaf at a time
Fuss-free BLME Sourdough Schedule
Bread flour storage ~ made easy
Make your own BLME Bread Mix