Daily Sourdough Bread

This sourdough bread is easy to make and very flexible in timing. I got the recipe from here and I modified it slightly by adding in wheat germ and chia seeds. At the same time, I reduced the dough by half.

The whole process is divided into 3 parts. The first part is creating the preferment and letting it develop over 12 hours. The second part is creating the final dough and shaping which takes around 3 hours. The last part is the baking which can be done on a separate day, but not longer than 4 days from the creation of the final dough. The dough is kept in the fridge after the second part of the process until you are ready to bake.

preferment
* 72g bread flour
* 5g rye flour
* 75g water
* 30g of starter

Preferment is created by using part of the flour and water together with the starter. This preferment is allowed to ferment and will be used to proof the main dough after that. By using a preferment, the bread has better flavours and the time to proof the final dough is faster.

final build
* 303g bread flour
* 20g rye flour
* 100g wholewheat flour
* 25g wheat germ (5% addition)
* 25g chia seeds (5% addition)
* 10g salt
* 275g to 295g water
* the preferment

Total flour (excluding starter) - 500g (20% wholewheat, 5% rye)
Total water (excluding starter) - 350g (70% hydration) to 375g (75% hydration)
Total ingredients - 940g (with wheat germ and chia seeds)

Method

Combine all the ingredients for the preferment and mix into a thick paste. Let it stand and rest for about 12 hours. It will get bubbly. I did it in the  morning before going to work. By the time I am back from work, it is ready to be used.

Combine the rest of the ingredients except the preferment and the salt. No need to knead yet, just let it stand for about half an hour. This is called “autolyse“, a method to pre-create some gluten and to reduce the kneading time.

All the ingredients except salt and preferment

Add the preferment and salt to the rest. Now it’s time to mix. I used the Bosch mixer to knead and develop the gluten. If it feels too dry, you can add the additional 20g of water slowly. The wheat germ and chia seeds can absorb water, making the dough drier than the original recipe.

Shaggy mess before kneading

The dough comes cleanly off the sides during kneading, almost ready

From the time of adding the preferment, shape the dough after 2 hours. The kneading should have been completed long before that. Just leave the dough in the machine bowl and cover it to prevent the dough from drying up on the surface. You wouldn't want the dough to be left outside for too long in case it gets over-proofed. When you put the dough in the fridge, it will take some time before the cold temperature puts the wild yeast to sleep so the dough will still be proofing for a while in the fridge.

I shaped it into a boule and placed it in a bannetton. Cover it with cling film to prevent it from drying in the fridge. Transfer it to the fridge for as long as you need, but not more than 4 days.

Dough is shaped and floured

Before going into the fridge

The night before baking, I took the dough out of the fridge and let it proof in the living room while I sleep. The next morning, about 7 hours later, it is ready to bake.

Fully proofed dough

Preheat the oven at 240°C together with the cloche. I use a cloche to trap the steam. This helps the dough to rise better and also forms a nice brown crust. After 20 mins, I remove the cover and let the bread continue baking to dry up the crust and develop the brown crust. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until the bottom sounds hollow on tapping. Or until the internal temperature is around 96C.

Nice crust and "ear"

Let the bread cool down before cutting into it. Enjoy! :)

I forgot to add 25g of flax seeds in this version. If you want to do so, soak 25g of flax seeds with 50g of water for 24 hours before adding it in the main dough.