Make Sourdough Boule Dough in a Bread Machine

I have decided to share my starter and love for sourdough for two reasons:

• Health Reasons:  minimal ingredient bread.  The less unnecessary ingredients we put in our body, the better off we all are.
• Economic Reasons:  very inexpensive to make during uncertain times.  I buy flour in bulk.  A 20-50# bag of KA white labeled for Gordon’s Food Service will equate to less than $1 per loaf of bread.

The problem with sourdough is that it is time consuming to prepare.  It is not difficult, it is just a lot of “hurry up and wait.”  It requires a “flow” and time management!  I do measure by weight but sourdough is “forgiving.”

The Sourdough Starter

Influencer bloggers and FB groups make it entirely more difficult than it has to be.  You can use whatever flour you would like.  You can use plain AP (all purpose,) bread flour and artisan flours like rye or wheat.  Scant amounts of rye and wheat flour blended with your bread flour will activate your starter very quick.

I personally make a blend of flours:  4 parts bread flour, 1 part rye and one part wheat.  It is master batched in it’s own container ready to feed the starter when necessary.

For the starter, I do what is called a “levain.”  I never “discard” my starter, it is stored in the fridge and used to build my “Levain” on the counter.  Discard is simply inactive starter. You will need to “feed” your refrigerator starter once a week.  No matter the size, I simply feed it 30g of my blended flour and 30g of water.

“Activate” Your Sourdough Starter & Make Levain:

The night before mixing your dough, I simply mix my levain, or “activate” my starter. The starter will stay on the counter, room temperature overnight.  I mix at a 1:2:2 ratio.  This means one part starter, 2 parts flour and 2 parts water.

The reason why weights and a kitchen scale is necessary is because starter, flour and water all have different weights. Again, starter is forgiving.  Some people prefer something called a “stiff starter” (more flour) some people prefer a “hydrated starter” (more water.)  Some people just “eyeball” their starter and add what they feel it needs!

I do a lot of  dough prepping for 3-4 days so my activated starter will stay on the counter that long, constantly rebuilding the levain.  When it is bubbly and risen, your starter is active.  When your starter falls and is flat, it needs to be fed.  Keep feeding it in the quart jar until it is about half to three quarters full (leave head space for the gasses!)  Once it is that full and you aren’t baking with it, refrigerate it.

I use a quart size jar and build my levain using 50g refrigerated starter (discard,) 100g flour and 100g water.  You need a lot of headspace in the jar when the starter activates.  It is also very important to point out that you should not tighten the lid, on the counter or refrigerator.  Gasses will build up and your glass jar will explode.

If your refrigerator discard gets low, simply continue building your counter levain until your jar is filled half way.

How to Activate My “Freebie” Sourdough Starter:

My freebie starter comes in two 25g plastic containers, frozen.  This equals 50g of sourdough starter.  I freeze it so it gives you a “minute” to figure things out before you activate it.  You can use just one container and give the other to a friend or use one container and keep a “backup” in your freezer.

Thaw your frozen starter for a half an hour and “pop” it out into a quart mason jar glass container to finish the thawing process.  Once it is fully thawed:  stir in 50g of flour and 50g of water. Twist on the lid half way, not tight.  Begin this process in the late afternoon and you will have a beautiful bubbly starter ready for baking in the morning!

The Dough:  Choose a Technique

For bread dough, there are so many techniques.  The “unloaf” method is an extremely easy and popular method that simplifies the process.  Here is the link for you to go down the reddit and Facebook group unloaf rabbit hole.

You can mix dough with your kitchen aid dough hook or by hand.  I encourage you to join those Facebook groups or Reddit subs to find out what technique is best for you.  Sourdough is forgiving and you can do it very inexpensive with your hands and a glass bowl to spending several hundreds of dollars on specialized dough mixing machines.

Fortunately, I have a bread machine that has an artisan dough setting, which mixes and ferments, in less than 3-4 hours.  I do watch progress and do find that I need to stop the cycle 1-2 hours short or I will end up with “over proofed” dough.  Experience will teach you when it is proofed to perfection.

Cold Proofing Your Sourdough Boule

You can do the “unloaf” method and skip this step.  We actually prefer this step.  Cold proofing your sourdough loaf breaks down the gluten structure and helps give sourdough its traditional sour taste.

It is also recommended to prep multiple loaves at once.  If you are going through all this time, energy and mess:  it only makes sense to make multiple loaves.  Another hint:  people love sourdough.  No one has ever refused our sourdough gift or sourdough at a dinner party. You may refrigerate your boule in the banneton up to 6-7 days.

We choose to use 8″ bannetons, which work perfect with our recipe and cast iron cloche, and we do cover with plastic wrap and date.  Some use shower caps as a reusable alternative.  The dollar store does carry plastic bowls that you could line with tea cloths as a more affordable alternative.

Make sure you flour your banneton linens or tea towels GENEROUSLY before cold proofing.

Scoring and Baking Your Sourdough Boule

I personally use a cast iron cloche which bakes a beautiful and perfect boule.  Alternatively, you could use anything with a tight lid that holds in steam: a roasting pan or Dutch oven.

Make sure you use parchment paper to line your pan and avoid a mess.  I use Costco brand parchment which is designed for high heat that a sourdough bake requires.  Also place a baking sheet in the lowest rack to avoid burning the bottom.

To score, I use a razor blade and make a simple “X” so it will puff up and release gasses during the cook.  You can make intrinsic designs and there are a ton of YouTube tutorials on the art of sourdough scoring or you can buy the book!

Cutting Your Sourdough Boule

We use a bow knife to cut our boule.  It is wicked sharp so be careful!  You can also get fancy with a sourdough slicer.

Sourdough Cleanup

It is very important NOT to put sourdough dough down the drain.  Sourdough dough will turn into concrete and clog your drains.

You may use cold water to soak your glass jars, stir to get sediment off bottom of the jar and throw outside.  Sourdough water does make great plant food for our geraniums that are overwintered in our basement.  Lavender does not like sourdough water (ask me how I know?!)

Allow sourdough to dry on stainless and silicone tools and peel off the dried sourdough and toss in trash.  It’s that easy!

Tools to Make the Sourdough Journey Easier:

Sourdough Can Be Inexpensive or Pricey, Simple or Difficult.

The sourdough process and technique is what you make of it.  Paul has a saying:  “Good, Fast or Cheap.  Pick Two.”  Sourdough is always good.  You can buy tools to make it fast or you can make it a manual process and keep it cheap.

Here is what I use:

Cuisinart Bread Maker

Wide Mouth Jars for Starter

Kitchen Scale

8″ Bannetons

Cloche Cast Iron Oven

Resources:

Sourdough for Beginners Facebook Group

Reddit Sourdough Sub

Sourdough Starters for Beginners Facebook Group