A Good Loaf of Bread

Now, there are many kinds and ways bread is made on the Farm—some sweet, but mostly not. We save that for all the toppings we slather on in the way of Jams and Jellies, Butters and Creams of the Whipped Varieties—more on that next week. But for now, no loaf is made or enjoyed more often than this simple sourdough.

But, to make it yourself, you’ll need some Starter. On the Farm, they have their jar in the fridge. Once a week, some of that Starter is taken out to make a Good Loaf of Bread, and some fresh water and flour is added in its place as a way of a thank-you and a keep-up-the-good-work.

If you don’t have Starter, then Sourdough will be rather difficult to make, so let’s begin there.

Day 1-2: To begin, set out a small, clean glass bowl. Add to it a quarter cup warm (just slightly warmer than room temperature. Think baby-bottle warm.) spring water (not tap). Add to that a half cup whole wheat flour. Cover your beginning in plastic wrap and set aside for forty-eight hours.

Day 3: Add a half cup all-purpose unbleached flour and another quarter cup warm water. Stir and re-cover. Set aside for another twenty-four hours. It should be bubbling right about now. You may need to place in a larger bowl. I use a quart sized mason jar.

Day 4, 5, 6: Repeat Day 3.

Day 7: Your Starter should be good to go—all bubbly and smelly. You’re ready to make a Good Loaf of Bread all your own.

At this point, your Starter can be moved to the fridge, still covered in plastic wrap. It will need to be fed once a week (think day 3), but now, you’ll need to take a bit out, too, otherwise you’ll have starter coming out your ears. Which means feeding day’s a great day to make that bread.

And this is how it’s done:

Step one: Take a half-cup starter and set in a bowl, letting it get to room temperature. Once it is, add a cup of warm spring water and two and a half cups unbleached all-purpose flour. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and stick in your stove with the light on for two hours.

Step two: Add a cup of warm spring water to the dough, along with three quarters cup of unbleached all-purpose flour. Re-cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place overnight, or at least eight hours.

Step three: Now it’s ready. Well, kind of. At least now it starts to look and feel like regular bread-making. Take your dough and scrape it into your mixing bowl. Add one and a half cup warm spring water, a tablespoon non-iodized salt, and enough unbleached all-purpose flour to make a soft dough. Think pizza dough. I’m sorry I can’t give you exact measurements here, but there isn’t any. It’s different each time. You’ll know you have enough when you turn on your mixer (fitted with the dough hook) and it comes together in a ball, without sticking to the sides. When it makes the slapping sound all well-behaving breads make. When it gets there, let it knead for about five minutes, then finish on your counter, but make sure it’s floured well. This stuff likes to stick, and when it does, it isn’t coming off. Once you’re done kneading, let the dough rest for thirty minutes, loosely covered with a floured towel.

Step four: Cut your bread into however many loaves you’re making. I went with one big loaf today, but that can be cumbersome. Form the dough into the shape you’re after and set back on the counter (still with lots of flour) and cover with a floured towel. Let rise for four hours—unless you’re making it in a Dutch oven. If so, set your dough in there now, but make sure you coat it well with flour.

Step five: About an hour before you’re going to bake, set a pizza stone in the oven and set the temperature as hot as it will go. Now, another way you can do it, is to set your dough directly in a Dutch oven and place in a cold, lid on. This will make the crispiest crust around, but it’s only if you’re making a single loaf. Or build a pizza oven. I’m still waiting on the Farmer to build mine. Hopefully later this year, he says.

Step six: Carefully slide the dough onto a floured pizza peel and set on the heated stone. And close the door. If you’re going with the Dutch oven, place that in the oven and turn the heat up to four-fifty. Thirty minutes in, remove the lid, and give it another fifteen to thirty minutes to brown/crisp. For the pizza stone method, bake until bronzed and it sounds hollow when tapped. The time for that depends on the size and shape of your loaves, so keep an eye out.

Step seven: Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing, as tempting as it may be. You worked hard for all those bubbles, no sense in letting them collapse on you now. Enjoy.