Something so simple- just flour and water can make this amazing bread. With a little bit of practice, over time you will be able to make really great rolls or bread with this recipe. This is the most simplistic version of bread dough. Without using dried yeast we have made our own with a starter. Not quite a sourdough starter yet but a very young starter which will make the bread very soft and will not have a sour dough taste to it. Over time your starter will become more flavorful and you can keep it indefinitely. Some people have had their starter for years and have actually passed it along within the family.
Making bread is an art form and takes practice and learning. A good loaf of bread doesn’t just happen right away. There are several resources if you are a food geek like me that can teach you so much about bread making. The Bread Bakers Guild has everything you need to know as well as some amazing chefs such as Nancy Silverton who has years of expertise in bread making as does La Brea bakery and are a few I enjoy learning from.
Bread from starter
8 small rolls/ 1 medium loaf
Approximately 6 hours
Ingredients
3/4 cup starter (see recipe below)
3-4 1/2 cups all purpose flour or bread flour
1 – 1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup wheat flour or wheat germ (optional)
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil for coating the bowl.
Instructions
Place 3 cups of the flour, the wheat flour and salt in a large bowl.
Add the starter and half of the water. Stirring well with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Continue to work the dough adding more flour and water as needed to form a smooth ball.
Dust a board or counter with flour. Turn the dough onto the counter and begin to knead the dough adding extra flour if it becomes too sticky.
Continue to knead folding one end of the dough towards the center then turning the dough 1/4 turn and then turn the dough again continue this motion until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky but holds it shape knead for about 5 min.
Place the smooth side of the dough face down into the bowl swirling it to coat then turn it over smooth side up.
Cover with Saran Wrap in a warm spot for 3-4 hours until the dough has risen double in size.
Shaping the dough:
This is a smooth soft dough so it bakes up more like a Ciabatta. You can shape it into rolls or one loaf.
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper if you have corn meal dust the pan with a light sprinkling.
For one loaf, remove the dough from the proofing bowl onto a floured surface. Begin to form the dough into a long oval shape using the side edge of your hand like a karate chop on the counter turning the dough to create a tighter ball of the dough.
Place on the sheet pan and cover with a flour dusted dish towel.
Let rise for a half hour.
Preheat the oven to 450*
Bake:
Uncover the towel from the dough and place the bread into the oven. After 10 min add a handful of ice cubes to the bottom of the oven by throwing them into the oven. They will create steam which will help form a crust on the bread. Continue to bake for ten minutes then add more ice.
Reduce the heat after a half hour to 400* and continue to bake for another 20 min. until the bread has a deep dark crust.
Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
This is a versatile dough and can be used for rolls or a longer thinner loaf or any other shape. You can add herbs; oregano, rosemary, garlic or poppy or sesame seeds to change up the dough. Feel free to double the recipe for more bread. The more mature the starter, the better the structure of the bread. The extra soft dough makes for a very low rising bread so keep that in mind as you are baking. Also, if you have dry yeast at home, add 2 teaspoons of the yeast to the water when making your dough. This will give your bread more structure until your starter gets stronger, then you won’t need dry yeast.
kneading the dough
Starter
1 cup
Ingredients
1/4 cup Water
1/4 cup Flour
Instructions
In a 10 or 16 oz ball jar add the Water and Flour together.
Stir well, cover it and let it sit for 24 hours.
Add another 1/4 cup Water and 1/4 cup Flour to the jar, stir well, cover and let sit for 48 hours.
The starter will get very bubbly and airy.
You are ready to make bread.
Starter on the third day will look like this
Notes
For the bread recipe above we have added 3/4 cup of the starter to the recipe which leaves you 1/4 cup of starter left. To keep it growing and to be able to make more bread in a few days, add another 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of flour to the jar and repeat the feeding schedule for your starter. This way you will always have fresh yeast to make bread.
If you would rather not feed it, you can store it in the refrigerator up to a week. When you are ready to start feedings again, give yourself 3 days to activate your starter again with regular feedings. Ultimately, every time you use your starter, you will have a 1/4 cup leftover.
If you want to make more bread or double your recipe, increase your feeding to 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour to get a larger amount for your doubled recipe. You can feed your starter for up to 4 days to ferment or it can ferment indefinitely. It just gets better overtime and a more sourdough flavor comes through.