Makes: 3 or 4 baguettes, 1 boule, or 12 to 16 rolls
Time: At least 48 hours, largely unattended
It seems crazy to call a recipe that takes a few days “basic,” but don’t let the timing scare you off. This bread is no harder to make than any other, and most of the time is spent letting the starter ferment, which is how the bread gets its characteristic sourness. Unless someone lends you a starter, this bread will take longer to make the first time than it will going forward. For instructions on how to keep your starter alive and use it for subsequent loaves, see page 408. When it comes to shaping and baking, it’s just like Rustic French Bread.
1. At least 3 days before you plan to bake the bread (4 days is better, really, to give the starter ample time to work), mix together 1½ cups of the all-purpose or bread flour, ⅛ teaspoon of the yeast, and 1½ cups warm water. Stir with a wooden spoon, cover loosely, and put on top of your refrigerator or in some other out-of-the-way place. Stir every 8 to 12 hours; the mixture will become bubbly and eventually develop a slightly sour smell. If your kitchen is very warm, this may happen in 24 hours; usually it takes a few days (I typically let it go for 3). When it’s frothy and has nearly doubled in volume, you’ve made sourdough starter!
2. The night before you’re ready to bake, feed the starter by combining it with 2 cups all-purpose or bread flour and about 1½ cups water. You can do this in a food processor or a bowl; process or mix until smooth. Cover and let rest overnight; the mixture will bubble and foam a bit. (You can shorten this process to 6 hours or so if you like.)
3. Next, transfer 12 ounces of it (about 1½ heaping cups) to a covered container and put it in the fridge (see page 408 for instructions on maintaining the starter and using it to make subsequent loaves). What’s left (which should be about 22 ounces, or a little less than 3 cups) is the basis for your bread; put it in the food processor with the remaining ½ teaspoon yeast, the salt, the remaining 1¼ cups all-purpose or bread flour, and the rye flour. Turn the machine on and process until a wet, very sticky, slightly shaggy dough forms. Depending on how wet your starter was, you may need to add more flour (or water, although that’s less likely). Add one or the other, 1 tablespoon at a time, processing after each addition until the dough comes together.
4. From this point on, you’re making bread as you would normally: Dump the lump of dough into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise on the counter for 3 to 4 hours.
5. Lightly dust a counter or tabletop with flour. Shape the dough into baguettes, a boule, or rolls (see illustrations, pages 399–400), sprinkling with flour as necessary but keeping it to a minimum. Let the shaped dough rise for another hour.
6. While it rises, heat the oven to 465°F for baguettes or rolls or 450°F for a boule. Put an ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron) on the floor or lowest rack while the oven heats and position the rack on which you’ll cook the bread in the slot above it. If you’re using a baking stone, put it on the rack while the oven heats; if not, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
7. Once you’re ready to bake, slide or turn the dough onto a lightly floured peel or flexible cutting board with the seam side down or onto the prepared baking sheet. Rub each loaf with a little flour and slash the top with a sharp knife or razor blade (see page 402). If you’re using a baking stone, use the peel or cutting board to slide the loaves onto the stone; otherwise, slide the baking sheet into the oven. Partially pull out the rack with the heated skillet and very carefully pour 1 cup hot water into skillet (it will create a lot of steam). Slide the rack back in and immediately close the oven door.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes for baguettes and rolls or 45 to 50 minutes for a boule, turning the bread or the baking sheet halfway through, until the crust is beautifully browned, the internal temperature reaches 200°F on a quick-read thermometer, and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. If the bread is browning too quickly, lower the temperature to 425°F. Remove the loaves, spray with a bit of water if you would like a shinier crust, and cool on a rack. Baguettes and rolls should cool for a minimum of 20 minutes and boules for at least an hour.
All About Sponges and Starters
When you need yeast, your first thought is probably to go to the store. But there is wild yeast in the air anywhere you go, as well as in all flour, and you can cultivate it with a starter—a natural method that bakers used before yeast was commercialized in the 19th century, which gives loaves like Sourdough and Wild Yeast Peasant Bread their deep flavor. A similar technique is used to make a sponge, essentially a predough mixture that’s used for everything from Ciabatta to Brioche.
Starters
Also called levain (“leavener”) or mother dough, sourdough starter is made by mixing together flour and water (plus, if you like, a pinch of instant yeast, which helps it along) and letting it sit for several days; see the full process on page 407. The mixture catches airborne wild yeast and Lactobacillus bacteria, which slowly ferment to create a characteristic tang.
The day before you’re ready to bake, you feed the starter more flour and water, let it sit, and then use some as leavening in your bread dough. The rest you put aside for the next time and feed from time to time with more water and flour to keep it “alive.” Cared for in this way, a sourdough starter can last forever; I’ve worked with ones that are literally a century old. (In fact, the easiest way to make your own sourdough is to get some starter from a friend; everyone with sourdough is happy to share.) A good sourdough starter will keep for a couple weeks or longer in the fridge without being fed.
Maintaining Sourdough Starter
Having a good bread starter on hand is a wonderful gift—it allows you to make best-quality bread on a whim. Once you’ve spent the time making it, the last thing you want to do is let it die; luckily, it’s easier to keep alive than many plants.
The easiest way to maintain yours is in the fridge. Feed your starter once a week by combining ½ cup starter with 1 scant cup flour—the same kind(s) you used to make the starter—and ½ cup water. Discard the rest of the starter, give it away (it’s a fantastic gift for other bakers!), use it to make bread, or see 9 Other Uses for Sourdough Starter. Stir the new mixture together in a nonmetal container and put it back in the fridge for a week. You can keep this up forever.
If you neglect your starter for a few weeks, it’s not the end of the world. A strong-smelling liquid (fermented alcohol) will have pooled on the surface, and the starter beneath it won’t be quite so bubbly. As long as it hasn’t turned moldy or a red or pink in color, you can save it. Stir the liquid back into the mixture or pour it off, feed it (as described above) twice a day, and keep it at room temperature until it becomes bubbly again. Once it does, in two or three days, you can return it to the fridge and resume the weekly feedings.
Maintaining starter in the fridge keeps it alive, but when you’re ready to use it to bake another loaf, you’re going to have to ramp up its activity level: About 36 hours before you’re ready to bake, take the starter out of the fridge. Feed it as described here three times at roughly 12-hour intervals. After that, it should be bubbly and ready to go. If you’re making the Basic Sourdough, proceed with Step 2 at this point.
Much of this is art and about your schedule; you will develop your own way to maintain a starter, and you will figure out how to get it ready for the heavy lifting of making a bread dough. Trust me. It’ll take time but you’ll enjoy it.
Sponge
Sometimes called by its Italian or French name biga or poolish, sponge is made in a similar way but with a shorter timeline and less demanding method. You combine flour, water, and yeast and let it sit for just a few hours or overnight, then combine it with more flour and water when it’s time to make the dough; this technique improves a loaf’s flavor and texture enormously.