YOU CAN’T BAKE A LOAF of sourdough bread on a whim because of the time it takes to cultivate the wild yeast starter, but if you have a batch on hand already, this is a wonderful way to use it. The combination of millet flour and garbanzo bean flour enhances the natural tangy flavor that the bread gets from its fermented starter. There’s a tangy flavor to sourdough bread, and that seems to play off and amplify all the savory flavors of the foods with which it’s served.
MAKES 1 LOAF
2 tablespoons/30 g ground chia seeds
¼ cup/1.2 ml warm water
⅔ cup/80 g millet flour, plus more if needed
⅓ cup/40 g garbanzo bean flour
⅓ cup/43 g cornstarch
⅓ cup/57 potato starch
1 tablespoon/13 g granulated sugar
1¾ teaspoons/15.75 g xanthan gum
½ teaspoon/3 g fine salt
1 cup/237 ml Active Sourdough Starter (page 49)
1 large egg, at room temperature
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Combine the chia seeds and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix well. Set aside for about 10 minutes. Combine the ⅔ cup/80 g of millet flour and the garbanzo bean flour, cornstarch, potato starch, sugar, xanthan gum, and salt in a deep mixing bowl and whisk well.
Add the sourdough starter and egg to the mixer bowl and mix well. Add the dry ingredients and beat at medium speed until combined. Increase the speed to high and beat the dough for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the dough holds together and has the consistency of a drop biscuit dough. Add more millet flour by 1 tablespoon/10 g amounts if necessary.
Form the dough into a mound 3 inches/7.5 cm high on the prepared baking sheet. Cover the bread loosely with a sheet of oiled plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 4 to 6 hours in a warm spot, or until it has doubled in bulk.
Place the oven racks in the middle and lowest positions. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the lower rack and place a pizza stone on the upper rack. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C toward the end of the rising time, bring a kettle of water to a boil, and have a spray bottle of water handy.
Pour 1 cup/237 ml of boiling water into the heated sheet pan and slide the baking sheet on top of the heated pizza stone. Spray the walls of the oven with the spray bottle, close the oven door and wait 30 seconds, then spray the oven walls again.
Covering the loaf loosely with aluminum foil after 20 minutes, bake the bread for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown, sounds hollow and thumps when tapped on the bottom, and has reached an internal temperature of 200°F/93°C on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
NOTE:
The bread is best the day it is baked, but it can be stored refrigerated, tightly covered with plastic wrap, for up to 2 days.
When members of the Boudin family, who were master bakers in their native France, arrived in California during the gold rush, they found out that the sourdough culture there was very unique, and they became very famous for their bread with this special flavor. Miners flocked to their bakery every morning. The starter has been kept alive since 1849. They call it “mother dough” and always use the same recipe for the bread: flour, water, a pinch of salt, and some of the “mother dough.” In fact, a member of the family saved the “mother dough” during the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.