Sourdough French Bread#BreadBakers

The sourdough bug has got on me and now I am only baking sourdough breads, be it flatbread which I make daily to enjoy with sabzi or curry. I have revived my sourdough starter in the month of December 2024 which I had freezed in year 2021.

This sourdough French bread recipe makes two long, soft and fluffy loaves of bread that are perfect for making po' boy sandwiches, sub sandwiches, garlic bread, or French bread pizza.

Makes 2 Loaves

Ingredients
For The Active Sourdough Starter Feeding
25 Grams Sourdough Starter
50 Grams Bread Flour
50 Grams Water
Main Dough 
430 Grams Bread Flour
50 Grams Whole Wheat Flour
300 Grams Water
100 Grams Active Sourdough Starter
50 Grams Milk
14 Grams Olive Oil
14 Grams Honey
10 Grams Salt
Method

The day you want to bake early in the morning, take 25 grams of leftover sourdough starter out of the fridge and feed it 50 grams of water and 50 grams of flour. Mix together thoroughly, mark the top of the starter with a rubber band, and set it on the counter. Let it rise for 8-12 hours ((if you are in a city like Mumbai it make take about 5 - 6 hours depending on temperature of the kitchen). The starter should have doubled in size in 5 -6 hours.

After the starter has reached it's peak, begin mixing all of the wet ingredients into a mixing bowl, adding the flour last. Mix water, milk, honey, olive oil, starter, and salt together until well combined. Then, add the  flour and whole wheat flour. Mix until a shaggy dough is formed.
Cover up the bowl of dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch & Folds

- Perform the first set of stretch and folds. Stretch an edge of the dough up into the air and fold it over the top of the dough. Turn the bowl and grab another edge of the dough and do the same. Repeat this process, stretching and folding until you feel the dough tighten and resist stretching( about 8 turns). Then cover the dough and let it rest for 30 more minutes.
- Perform two more sets of stretch and folds with 30 minutes of rest in between the sets.
Shaping The Bread

After the last set of stretch and folds, flip the dough over in the mixing bowl so that the smooth side is facing up. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise at room temperature for 4-8 hours (if you are in a warm country like India it make take between 2 -3 hours depending on temperature of the kitchen). This step is commonly called the first rise, or bulk fermentation.

Once the dough has doubled in size, place the dough, sticky-side-up, on a floured counter. Stretch the dough out into a rectangle, and then divide the dough into two equal smaller rectangles with a bench scraper or knife.

Roll each rectangle longways into a long, tube-shaped loaf ( about 14inches  long). Place the shaped loaves onto a metal sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Cover up the loaves with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 2-3 hours. This is the second rise, or the final proof.
30 minutes before you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 220°C and place a metal cake pan or any metal pan onto the bottom rack of your oven. You will put boiling water into this hot pan later to add steam to the oven. ( Do not place a glass dish or else you will break your's  like mine cracked into pieces)

When the dough is done proofing, it should have increased in volume and feel slightly puffy to the touch.
Score five diagonal lines into the top of each loaf with a razor blade, bread lame, or a serrated knife.

Transfer the sheet pan of Sourdough French Bread into the middle rack of the oven and pour a cup of boiling water into the metal pan on the bottom rack. Steam will fill the oven and allow the bread to expand as it bakes, giving it a better crust.
Let the bread bake for 15 minutes, then remove the pan of water. Bake for an additional 15 - 20 minutes, or until the bread has a brown color on the crust that you like.

Let the bread cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes before slicing into the bread. A perfectly baked Sourdough French Breads.

Serve slices with olive oil or butter, turn the slices into garlic bread, or cut the sourdough French bread lengthwise to make sandwiches or French bread pizza. Enjoy!

Labels: French Loaf, Sourdough, French, Bread Bakers, Breads, International Cuisine, Eggless 

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month’s theme is French Breads.  

• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Brioche 
• Food Lust People Love: Cheater Pain aux Raisins 
• The Wimpy Vegetarian : Fougasse 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: La Couronne Lyonaise 
• Culinary Cam: Pain au Chocolat 
• A Messy Kitchen: Pain Brié 
• Zesty South Indian Kitchen: Pain de campagne 
• Sneha's Recipe : Sourdough French Bread