Super Sour Saturdays

So it's been quite a while since I last posted anything..infact I do believe it may have been about a year since I even touched this thing - not good.
Well, what on earth have I been doing all this time eh? Well, 2 rather important baking developments have emerged during this time..Sourdough Bread and Macarons. Yup, myself and my lovely fella decided to take on two of the biggest challenges ever..and you know what, we SCORED :D
So first up, the sourdough - something we have Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall to thank for! After getting his newest book - "Everyday", and following the associated TV program, feeling inspired and totally fed up of the plastic, mass manufactured, flavourless excuses for bread, we decided to make every effort to never have to buy any of these "loaves" again.
Sourdough looked like the perfect, self-sustaining recipe, and my, did it take some looking after! The thing about sourdough bread is that you don't use any yeast, the bread rises from the natural yeasts to be found in the flour and the air around it. As such, all one needs to begin is some good strong white flour and water, and just 5 mins once a week (once you've got it really going after a week or so of feeding everyday), and you are ready to rock.

So now you have your starter which you can use to make as many loaves as you want! The basic recipe we use to make our mega loaf you see above is:

250g sourdough starter
500g flour (we like a mix of 100g Rye, 400g strong white)
350g tepid water
1 Tbsp oil (we use rapeseed or olive)
Tsp salt (use sea salt please!)

Method

1. Add your flours to the starter, followed by the water and oil
2. Mix thoroughly and leave for 30 mins at room temperature
3. Add the salt & knead, knead, knead! You may find that the dough is super sticky, so just keep gradually adding flour if it feel too moist. Try to keep the dough as wet as possible though because this will make a better loaf once cooked. When it feels nice & springy you're ready to let it rest.
4. Put the dough in a bowl that's been lined with a clean tea towel & very well floured. Very loosely cover & put in a warm place for about 3-4 hours until well risen
5. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C, and put a shallow baking tin at the bottom of the oven ready to slosh in some water. Plop the dough onto a baking sheet and slash the top in a cross with a very sharp knife. Tip a glass of water into the hot baking tin that's in the oven then pop your loaf in & bake for about 40 mins or until well browned and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

There ya go! Now I won't lie to you - this did take a bit of practice to get it just right, but every imperfect loaf was perfectly edible. It just requires a bit of patience & time but the result is sooo much better than the ready sliced variety!