Cheat's Sourdough

One of my goals is to learn how to make sourdough bread and so far I have failed miserably at getting a starter to work.  I've tried on 3 occasions and have not got it to what I think is a bubbly starter.  I usually decide in January to do this and it's quite hot in Queensland however it still feels intimidating to me.

About 6 months ago I started following "Sophia's Kitchen" and she uses her Thermomix for all her recipes.  I saw a recipe called "Thermomix Cheat's Sourdough" so I thought I would give this one a go.  You could make this recipe using your Mixmaster/Kitchenaid or even by hand if you don't have a Thermomix.  Here is the Thermomix recipe that I followed.

SOPHIA'S KITCHEN - THERMOMIX CHEAT'S SOURDOUGH

INGREDIENTS
30gms Rye Flour
500gms Strong White Bread Flour
1 Teaspoon Dry Active Yeast
375gms Water
10gms Sea Salt Flakes
3-4 ice cubes

METHOD

STEP 1 - 24 HOURS
Place the rye flour, 180gms strong white flour, yeast and 220gms water in the Thermomix mixing bowl.
Combine 30 seconds on Speed 4.
Pour into a large bowl and cover with cling film.
Leave to rise at room temperature for 24 hours.
The "sourdough starter" will develop and grow a lot. Keep an eye on it, if you feel that the bowl is not going to be big enough or if it is a particularly warm day, change the bowl or place it in the fridge.

STEP 2 - 2-3 HOURS
The next day, uncover the bowl and tip the mixture into the Thermomix mixing bowl.
It should look very bubbly.
Add the remaining 155gms water, 320gms strong white flour and sea salt flakes and knead for 2 minutes using the kneading function.
Transfer to large bowl and leave the dough to rise for another 2-3 hours until doubled in size.

STEP 3 - 45 MINUTES
Tip the dough onto a floured surface and fold into a round shape.
Do this by gradually folding in one edge at a time towards the centre of the dough.
Then turn it upside down and form it into a ball using your hands in a circular movement.
Set the dough into a bread proofing basket with the seam side down and dust with more flour.
Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 45 minutes.

STEP 4 - 5 MINUTES
Preheat the oven to 200c fan forced [220 not fan forced].
Put an empty tray in the oven to heat up.

STEP 5 - 15 MINUTES
Once preheated, remove the tray from the oven and line with greaseproof paper.
Careful as the tray will be very hot!
Tip the bread upside down onto the tray and score with a sharp knife a couple of times.
Place in the oven on the middle shelf.
Add 3-4 ice cubes to the bottom of the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

STEP 6 - 30 MINUTES
Turn the oven down to 180 fan forced [200 not fan forced]
Bake for a further 30 minutes until golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped.

STEP 7
Remove from oven and leave to cool on a wire cooling rack.

NOTES
I've added in the times for this bread so it helped with the the prep process.  Like all bread, the hands on time is minimal and there is a lot of resting/proving time.

I was very happy with the starter as it was bubbly and all looked good.

I ended up cooking my bread about 30 minutes longer than it suggested as it didn't sound hollow on the bottom.

The crust looked amazing, the shape of the bread was great.  I didn't get many holes in the bread so it was more dense that I was expecting although not unpleasant.

My understanding of placing the ice cubes in a tray at the bottom of the oven is it creates steam and helps to get the crust nice and crunchy [don't quote me on this one though].

For a first go I felt it was okay and the recipe whilst looks complicated, was very easy to follow.

You could make this using your Kitchenaid or Mixmaster and could hand knead the bread.

Sourdough starter after 24 hours.

Into the Banneton for proving.

Reading to rise.

After the rise.

Ready for the oven.

Finished bread.

Straight from the oven ready to cool.