Directions
How to Bake your
Artisanal Shhh-Our-Dough Country Loaf
Your Shhh-Our-Dough bread can be baked from frozen as it's sold at the market, thawed if you've purchased it online, or pulling it from the refrigerator thawed
as we recommend.
If kept frozen from purchase, Shhh-Our-Dough will last months and will be waiting for you for when you're ready to indulge in this Artisanal Organic Sourdough.
Our Recommendation for best results is allow your Shhh-Our-Dough loaf to thaw out either in the refrigerator overnight or leaving it out at room temperature for
2-3 hrs. before baking.
Conventional Oven
FROM THAWED
Pre-heat oven to bake at 450°.
Place bread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and place on a rack on the lower 3rd of your oven.
Bake for 20 min. Let rest for 15 min. before cutting.
*If it is frozen, bake for 30 min. and allow to rest for 15 min. before cutting
TROUBLESHOOTING Electric Oven w/ Exposed Heating Coils
Place an oven rack lined with a sheet of aluminum foil all the way on the bottom most level just above the heating coils as well as on top if applicable to prevent burning from the bottom and top while baking.
How to Activate your Shhh-Our-Dough
Mother Starter
Directions for Activating
Step 1. Empty packet into a small bowl and add 20g (4 tsp) of water. Cover with plastic wrap & let sit at room temperature for 48 hrs.
Step 2. After 48 hrs., in a separate bowl, combine 120g All-Purpose Flour (1 cup), 30g Whole Wheat Flour (1/4 cup), 110g of water (1/2 cup), and 30g of the starter mix from Step 1. After 12 hrs., the mother should have doubled in size and should be filled with gas bubbles and ready to be used.
How to Maintain your
Shhh-Our-Dough Mother Starter
Maintaining your sourdough mother is a daily process that requires feeding if you plan on making bread frequently. If not, your starter can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a month and be simply re-fed when ready to be used. Below are the steps for both forms of care.
Daily Maintenance & When to Use for Making Bread:
Your Mother Starter has roughly a 24 hr window in which it goes from being fed, to being fully mature and needing to be fed again. To feed your starter, it's best to find a consistent time of the day for you to do so, as this will become routine.
Feeding & Maintaining
Step 1: In a small sized bowl, combine 55g Bread Flour (1/2 cup), 15g Whole Wheat Flour (2 tbs), 55g Water (1/4 cup), & 15g of mature starter (starter that has been fed 24hrs prior). Mix together well, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow to sit at room temperature.
Step 2: After 24 hrs, you will need to feed again. Follow the same steps above and discard any mature starter that isn't used. Repeat step 2 daily as long as the starter is kept out at room temperature.
When Making Bread:
When making bread, you want to use your starter after it has been fed 12 hrs prior. A fully mature starter (one that was fed 24 hrs. prior) is not ideal. So, when planning out your baking, be sure to feed your starter 12 hrs. prior to when you plan on making your dough.
Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
440g Bread Flour (3 2/3 cups)
12g Sea Salt
330g Water (1 1/3 cups)
115g Sourdough Mother (12hrs after being fed), aka Levain
Equipment
9" Round Proofing Basket
4.3 Qt Round Dutch Oven
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sea salt and water. Mix using a wooden spoon or spatula until fully incorporated. The end result should be a sticky ball of dough. Let thhis rest for 20 min.
- Add your Sourdough Mother to your dough mixture, and using a folding method (folding the dough by pulling dough from the outside perimeter to the center of the mass. Do this motion all the way around until you have fully incorporated the levain into the dough. This should take about 10-12 folds. Once folded, let rest for 30 min.
- After 30 min., fold the dough once again just as you did in step 2. Allow to rest for another 30min. Repeat this twice more. After the third, Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap, then drape a towel over it and allow for it to sit for 5-6 hrs, until the dough has doubled in size. (at a 70-75 degrees environment, the dough should double within the 5-6 hrs. If temps are cooler or warmer, it may rise sooner or later respectively).
- Lightly flour your shaping surface, and using a dough scraper or a spatula, turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Now it's time to shape the dough. (There are plenty of videos on YouTube to reference for this). My preference for shaping is the following; Gently spread your dough out into a relatively square shape, approx 10-12" on each side. Start with folding the bottom 2" towards the middle, so now you have a folded edge along the bottom of your square. Next, fold the left third of the of the dough onto itself, followed by the right side, overlapping it onto the left side you just folded over. Essentially a trifold. Now from the bottom, roll the dough upwards, roll the dough over onto itself all the way so that you now have a rolled shaped with the seam on the bottom. Using your fingers, pinch closed the sides of the roll you just made, and now you should have a relatively round shaped ball. Dust heavily with flour and gently smooth it out with your hand. Now transfer to your proofing basket (generously dust with flour) with the seam side up. Cover with a kitchen towel and place off to the side for 2.5 hrs.
- In the meantime, place your Dutch oven in the oven and then pre-heat your oven to 475 degrees. When your dough has proofed from 2.5 hrs in the basket, turn it out onto a piece of parchment paper. With a lame, cut a line down the middle from one side to the other (or any other design you're inspired to cut). Using the sides of the parchment paper, pick up the dough and place into the dutch oven and then bake with the lid on for 30 min. After 30 min. remove the lid and bake another 20 min. You now have your very own Sourdough bread!!!