I finally decided that I needed to take the plunge and make a loaf of sourdough with my new starter. I was a little anxious about it, but thanks to Emilie’s Sourdough Beginners Guide at the Clever Carrot I am feeling like I might be able to pull this off.
I tested my starter – it floated (a little?) and added some to the filtered water, olive oil and flour called for (see the site linked above for the recipe). I let that autolyse for 30 minutes and then added the salt (grey fleur de see). I’ve rigged up a little proofing area on the counter with a lamp and 60W bulb to see if I can warm things up a bit.
Every 30 minutes I pull the dough up and fold it over on itself. Pull and fold four times – with a ninety degree turn of the bowl each time then cover it back up and wait. The folding and turning happens during the first two hours, then it’s just a long? wait until the dough is about 150% of the original volume.
I left it overnight in the refrigerator to proof. It was puffy and lovely in the morning and I left it until about the afternoon to bake. I preheated the cloche to 450 degrees then side the dough in and popped on the cover. It baked for 20 minutes and then I lowered the temperature to 400 degrees for another 20 minutes. Lastly, I removed the top and cooked another 5 minutes.
