Sourdough Three Ways: Loaves, Focaccia and Fougasse
Introduction: Sourdough Three Ways: Loaves, Focaccia and Fougasse
I love sourdough, it is such a fun complex type of bread that is also extremely versatile. It can, however, be a little tedious learning different recipes for different types of bread. So I decided to make a simple guide to three sourdough breads that all use the same base dough recipe. All you have to do is learn one dough formula and then you can bake it differently to create different variations of sourdough. This recipe can be used to make rustic sourdough loaves, focaccia, or a lesser-known flatbread known as fougasse. This recipe yields two loaves so you can mix and match different recipes.
Supplies
Ingredients
* Bread Flour - I recommend King Arthur's Bread Flour
* Whole Wheat Flour - King Arthur's Whole Wheat
* Sourdough Starter
* Salt
* Water
Kitchen Supplies
* Kitchen Scale
* Mixing Bowls
* Bench Scraper
* Proofing Bowls (or a regular bowl with a towel)
* 9" cake pan or 8" square pan
* Sheet pan
Step 1: Schedule
Sourdough is a long process, but it is worth it! Because it takes a long time from start to bake, it is important to plan when you mix your levain and your dough so that the bread is ready to bake at the right time. All three of these recipes start the same, but they will not end at the same time, so it is important to plan when you want your bread and when you must start. Above is a general schedule for the process. In blue is the process for making the dough for all three recipes. Once you have completed the blue, you can decide to make any of the three options, because the recipe yields two loaves, you can also mix and match the recipes.
Step 2: Building a Levain
If you are unfamiliar with the term, building a levain is simply a method of feeding a sourdough starter. The only difference between building a levain and just feeding your starter is that the entirety of the levain will be used in the bread, meaning there will be none left to feed. 293
Since you will use all of the levain in the bread mix, you should never use all of your starter when building a levain, rather you should make sure you keep some in the fridge for later use.
There are two options for building a levain for this recipe, you can make one the morning you wish to make your dough or the night before. Either way, you will simply mix some of your mature start, water, and flour in a jar. Use a rubber band to mark where the starter is so you can tell when it has doubled and it is ready to use.
Morning Of: (3-4 hrs)
* 70g starter
* 70g water
* 70g bread flour
Night Before: (12 hrs)
* 30g starter
* 90g water
* 90g bread four
The only difference between the two is the ratio of starter to flour and water, which will affect how long it takes to mature.
Step 3: Mix the Dough
Once the levain is at least double in volume and bubbly on top, you can begin to mix the dough using the following measurements:
* 800g bread flour
* 100g whole wheat flour
* 600g water
* 180g levain
* 20g salt
To make the dough, first, measure out the required water in a large mixing bowl. Make sure the water is not hot nor cold, it should be about 75-80°F which sounds like it might feel warm but it will really just feels like room temperature. Add the 180g of levain to the water, it is a good sign if the levain floats on the water, that is how you know it is ready. Next, mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk them together. Now add the dry to the wet ingredients, and mix by hand until there are no more dry specks.
Step 4:
Once the dough is fully mixed, turn the dough out onto a clean surface. If you are newer to bread making, you may want to add a slight dusting of flour however you do not need to for this type of dough. Knead the dough by stretching the dough away from itself and then folding it back in. Continue this process until the dough gains some strength about 2-4 minutes. Then you can knead for a few more minutes by pushing your palm into the dough and then folding the dough on top of itself over and over again. 293