Bread Making Timetable

As my young sourdough starter matures (2 months old), I find it improves the flavour and structure of the bread I made. As I practice and get familiar with the routine of bread making, I find myself more at ease working with the dough rather than fussing over it.

As you can see, I do not own a baker's lame (yet) and am using pen knife blade to score my bread

Below is my typical bread making timetable, which takes slightly over 24 hours before the first fragrant loaf emerge from my oven.

This is my baking timetable for two 450g white country boules.

Day 1

Time: 9.30am

Ingredients

50g mature sourdough starter

50g organic bread flour

50g filtered water, room temperature

• Mix the ingredients into a clean glass container, cover it and leave at room temperature (30 - 32 degrees C) for 6 - 8 hours or until double in volume.

Day 1 (8 hours later):

Time: 5.30pm

White Country Boules (60.8% hydration)

Ingredients

281g filtered water
100g sourdough starter (measured from what was developed from 9.30am)

450g organic bread flour

50g organic whole wheat flour

• In a large mixing bowl, mix the sourdough starter with 281g of filtered water.
• Add in flours and stir until it forms a shaggy mass. The mixture need not be uniformly mixed. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.

Day 1

Time: 6.00pm

Ingredients

23g filtered water

11g fine sea salt

• Sprinkle salt and mix in the remaining water. Mix till a uniform dough is formed by hand or by mixer (10 minutes).

Day 1

Time: 6.30pm (first fold of the dough)

• After a uniform dough is formed, stretch the dough by folding on itself. Grab the dough at 12 o'clock position, pull it upwards and fold it over itself at the 6 o'clock position. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and fold in the same manner, repeating the folds for a total of 4 times. Cover the bowl again and let the dough rest for 30 minutes

Day 1

Time: 7.00pm (second fold of the dough)

Time: 7.30pm (third fold of the dough)

Time: 8.00pm (fourth fold of the dough) 

Time: 8.30pm (dividing the dough) 

• Divide the dough equally into 2 halves and cover it with a cloth and let rest for 20 minutes.

Day 1

Time: 8.50pm (forming the dough)

50g of rice flour

• Take one dough and gently pull it into a rectangular shape. Fold the bottom half a little over the center of the rectangle. Grab the right side of the folded side and stretch it a little and fold it onto the center of the folded side. Repeat for the left side of the dough. Pull the top right and left and corner of the top end of the dough and stretch it a little and fold towards the center of the dough. Stretch the center top side of the dough and fold it to seal in the dough. 
• Using a tying shoe lace method, pull with your thumb and index fingers from the top end of the dough pieces of the dough and crisscross them toward the center of the dough and working your way down to the bottom of the dough. Lastly, roll the dough like a Swiss roll onto itself and pinch the seam close and roll it onto itself on the tabletop to tighten the surface of the dough. (you can search for YouTube videos on 'How to form a sourdough boules') Place the dough into a cloth lined and heavily floured (rice flour), round vessel, cover (using cling wrap or new shower cap) and let it proof at room temperature for 1 hour.(as shown in the picture below)
• Repeat the same steps for the second dough.

 

Day 1

Time: 10.00pm

• Place the covered containers into the fridge to bulk ferment overnight. 

The sun sets and rises again...

Day 2 (7 1/2 hours later):

Time: 5.30am

• Take the dough out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 4 1/2 hours.

Day 2

Time: 9.00am

• Preheat oven to 270 degrees C (518 F) for 1 hour, with an oven pizza stone and an enamel pot in it.

Day 2

Time: 10.00am

• Prep the first loaf by turning the dough onto a pizza peel or a tart base lined with a piece of parchment paper. Score the top of the loaf with your desired design with a baker's lame or a sharp knife but I used the blade of a pen knife.
• A light spray of water on the surface of the dough before transferring it onto the pizza stone and cover the dough with the enamel pot turned over to act like a cover. Bake covered for 20 minutes.

Still need some practice to make curvy score line

Day 2

Time: 10.20am

• Turn the heat of the oven to 220 degrees C (425F). Remove the enamel pot and bake the loaf for another 10 - 15 minutes or till golden brown.

 Day 2

Time: 10.35am

• Take the baked loaf out of the oven and place on cooling rack.
• Turn the heat of the oven up to 270 degrees C and return the enamel pot into the oven to preheat for 20 minutes.  

Day 2

Time 10.55am 

• Prep the second loaf (like what we did at 10.00 am) and place it into the oven and cover it with the pot.

Day 2

Time: 11.20am

• Remove the enamel pot, turn down oven temperature to 220 degrees C (425F) and continue to bake the loaf for 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Day 2

Time 11.35am

• Remove loaf into cooling rack and you have completed your bake.

Boule No. 1

 

Boule No. 2

Now, you can enjoy healthful, freshly baked sourdough bread that will stay fresh for 1 week without refrigeration.  

Or you can freeze them once they have completely cooled in a Ziploc bag. Leave the loaf out, in the Ziploc bag, overnight on the counter to enjoy it the next day. 

Hope this baking timetable will encourage you to give sourdough bread making a try. It is so satisfying to see a piece of bread dough after baking in a hot oven emerges as a fragrant, delicious and healthful loaf of bread.



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