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  

Sub Style Tuna Fish Sandwich#FishFriday

Fish or Seafood Sandwiches is the theme for the event for Fish Friday Foodies this month our host is Sue Lau.  Baked a Long French Loaf With Seeds for Bread Bakers last week.   Made a Sub Style Tuna Fish Sandwich, delicious and yummy.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 Long French Loaf With Seeds - can use any french loaf

1 Small Tin Tuna fish 

1/2 Cup Mayonnaise With Egg - Homemade

6 Lettuce Leaves 

Tomato Slices

Cucumber Slices

Olives - Green or Black - sliced

Other add-inns of your choice

Black Pepper powder as required

Sweet Chilly Sauce as required

Method

Drain the tuna in sieve. Flake it and keep aside

Cut the bread in two pieces.  Slice each piece in the center.

Spread Mayonnaise, then the lettuce leaves, tuna,  sprinkle black pepper powder.  

Arrange the cucumber,  tomato slices, add some olives ( forgot to add it) again top it with mayonnaise 

and sweet chilly sauce.  

Cover it and enjoy.

Labels : Sandwiches, Tuna, Sub Style Sandwich, French Loaf, Lettuce, Tomato, Cucumber, Olives, Seafood/Fish

An InLinkz Link-up

A Tangzhong Method French Loaf With Seeds#BreadBakers

The Tangzhong method involves cooking one part of  flour with five parts of water to form a roux. When the Tangzhong is added into other ingredients that go into a bread dough, it produces light, tender and soft bread.
This method of using Tangzhong is often seen in South Asian breads and  it seems to have created by a Chinese woman.

This bread was on my to do list from a long time, but, somehow making this was always not now.. next time.  This month I, just wanted to bake a french loaf to make a Sub Style Sandwich, thought why not make a seeded bread. Here is my soft and delicious Tangzhong method bread. 

Our Host for Bread Bakers this month is Mayuri Patel, the theme given to us by her is "Bread With Seeds".

Ingredients
For The Tangzhong (Flour-Water Roux)
1/4 Cup All Purpose Fllour
1.1/4 Cup Water

For The Dough
500 Grams All Purpose Flour - reserve 1/2 Cup for dusting
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Heaped Fresh Yeast
1/4 Cup Milk
1/2 Cup Water
All of the Prepared Tanzhong
50 Grams Butter -cut into small pieces
Oil as required
1/4 Cup  Mixed Seeds

Method
The Tangzhong (Flour-Water Roux) 

Whisk together lightly the flour and water in a saucepan until smooth and there are no lumps. Place the saucepan on the stove, and over medium heat, let the roux cook till it starts thickening. 

Keep stirring/ whisking constantly so that no lumps form and the roux is smooth. 

The roux will turn pale and thicken, do not thicken it too much since when it cool is will thicken more. Let the roux/ tangzhong cool completely and rest for about 2 to 3 hours at least. I left it in the fridge and used it the next day.

The Bread Dough 

I made this dough in the food processor. This dough can be made by hand but the dough is a bit sticky and can take some time and effort to knead by hand. Do not add more flour to make it less sticky either!
Put the flour, salt, sugar, milk, water and yeast in the processor bowl and pulse a couple of times to mix. Then  add the tangzhong and run it till smooth , add the flour and run on slow speed until the dough comes together. Add the butter and process till you have a smooth and elastic dough which is just short of sticky dough.

Take this dough on to oiled work surface, oil your hands too. Sprinkle little four and start to knead the sticky dough using your bench scraper lift the dough and give it about 20 to 30 turns or till it's smooth.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl turning it so it is well coated. Cover with a towel and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes or till almost double in volume. 

Once double in volume, place the dough on your work surface dusted with flour. Divide it into two parts. One part keep it bigger, to make a long 15 inch french loaf bread and one half of the size of what is made.

Pat the dough into a flat rectangle sprinkle the seeds(reserve a few for the top) and fold the dough to incorporate it well. Again pat it onto 15 inch long rectangle and roll the dough into a long long loaf. Brush the loaf with milk sprinkle the remaining seeds on top and press them lightly. Place the bread on to baking tray and brush it again with milk. 

Leave it to rise for another 45 minutes. In the meantime preheat the oven to 200 degrees and bake it for 30 minutes. Brush the loaf with butter and keep it to cool on a wire rack. Slice slather it butter or mayo and enjoy.  

Made a delicious Sub Style Sandwich  with this bread recipe to be posted on 18th of this month.

Labels :Seeds Bread, French Loaf, Bread Bakers, Breads, Tangzhong Method

Check out the Seeded Breads that our fellow Bread Bakers have baked this month:

Almond Poppyseed Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Crunchy Seed Braid from All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
Fennel and Poppy Seed Rolls from Mayuri’s Jikoni
Onion &amp Poppy Seed Bialys from Baking Sense
Savory Seeded Focaccia from Palatable Pastime
Seeded Ficelle Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Siddu from The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen
Six-Seed Soda Bread from Food Lust People Love
Sugarless Multiseed Rye Bread from CookwithRenu
Tangzhong Method French Loaf With Seeds from Sneha’s Recipes
Vegan Seeded Challah Bread from Cook’s Hideout

#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.