Further information

Baking bread

Here is a bread recipe which has proved successfull over many years of trial and error. 

The following ingredients roughly yield a 1kg loaf at 87% hydration.

• High hydration for crupet-style chewy bread

• Autolyse the flour and water first, without yeast

• Small proportion of sourdough starter

• Baking stone or dutch oven

• 430g Strong White Flour (recommendation: strong white bread flour from Shipton Mill)

• 50g Rye Flour (can be substituted with 50g of Strong White Flour) 

• 40g Sourdough Starter* at 100% hydration

• 10g Salt

• 415g Water (can vary between 380-430g, giving 80-90% hydration depending on flour)

*Starter can be kept in the fridge with just a scraping (10g, say) left in the jar. When feeding, use 1 part Rye Flour, 3 parts Strong White Flour and 4 parts Water. To generate from scratch, keep in a warm place and mixed half flour with half water then as a dollop of live yoghourt. Add more flour and water in equal proportion daily. Throw away any excess. Continue until the mixture starts aggressively bubbling.

10pm (before bed): Autolyse

• Remove starter from fridge, top up with 20g Rye/White Flour mixture & 20g Water

• Gently mix 430+50g flour + 415g water into a loose, shaggy mess in a mixing bowl

7am (waking up): Combine ingredients

• Add 10g salt and 40g starter to flour/water mixture

• Mix in the bowl using the ’stretch and fold’ method: with a plastic bread scraper, pull up the edge of the dough high and fold it over, repeating on each corner of the dough

7-8.20am (at 20min intervals): Stretch and fold

• Keep stretching and folding to promote elasticity of the dough

8.30am - risen (4/5 hours): Bulk rise

• Leave dough to double in size, being careful not to over rise

• You can continue some stretching and folding during this time

• Alternative: if you have to go to work now, put the covered dough in the fridge and carry out the bulk rise when you get home

When risen: First shape

• Flour surface and scrape dough out of the bowl

• With floured hands, pull up the corners of the dough for another stretch and fold

• Turn dough over and, using the dough scraper, twist dough and pull toward you, creating surface tension on the skin of the dough (there are many good YouTube videos on dough shaping)

• Leave to stand for half an hour

30mins later: Final shape

• Prepare a banneton with a liner by heavily flouring

• Stretch and fold the dough again

• Turn over and use the scraper to twist and pull the dough to develop surface tension

• Top-down, turn dough into banneton

Retard dough

• Put into fridge for 1hr or more

Heat oven and wake up dough

• Take dough out the fridge

• Put baking stone in the oven and preheat for 30mins

Score and bake

• Turn out dough onto baking stone

• Score bread with your favourite patten

• Add steam to over (ice cubes/spray)

• Bake for 10mins before letting steam out and turning bread

• Bake for a further 15 mins, more or less , reducing temperature by 30 degrees and checking and turning

• Cool on rack for 1/2 hours

• Midnight sourdough feast

Exe Walkers

Exe Walkers is a friendly walking group that hikes every month in the local countryside. Open to all university staff, their family and friends: newcomers welcome. There's usually a pub. If you would like to join the mailing list please write to: 'exe dot walkers at gmail dot com'

Photos

Haytor Rock

The Quantock Hills

Hound Tor

Back to top