Jack's Sourdough

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'Bake with Jack' is one of my favourite YouTube channels. Jack Sturgess, Channel 4's Sunday Brunch Bread Expert, is a professional chef, who has turned his talents to breadmaking, education and demonstration.  

I love his simple no-nonsense approach and the fact that he demystifies the whole process of breadmaking. After all, we've been baking bread for 10,000 years. We must have got something right! 

This recipe is based on Jack's all-in-one sourdough recipe. He incorporates a slightly different approach at times, but for good reason and, if anything, he makes life a little less complicated. I've kept closely to the original recipe, just added a few of my own notes here and there. 

True, this recipe and sourdough baking, as a whole, takes time, but I've broken this recipe down into timed sections - you may need to alter the starting time to suit yourself.....but try and maintain the same intervals between actions.

I would strongly suggest you arm yourself with:

a) a water sprayer that 'mists' rather than 'squirts'

b) a bench scraper

c) a couple of wicker bannetons. I'm using oval bannetons for this, but you could just as easily use round bannetons...or one of each. 

OK. A word first about quantities. 

This recipe calls for 450 gms of strong white bread flour. It's easily adapted to a double bake - simply double EVERY ingredient. Then, divide the dough at pre-shape stage. Sourdough freezes very well indeed, so you can make sure you use all the heat of the oven by baking a larger batch of bread. 

INGREDIENTS

The Starter

100 gms of active starter. Re-energise your starter the night before. The starter should be made with equal quantities of water and flour. I suggest you use wholemeal rye flour (starters love rye flour) and filtered or basic bottled still water. Using chilled water will mean that the starter will slowly feed and grow while you sleep and be ready for you by morning. You should look for your starter having doubled in quantity overnight. Increased quantity means you have produced sufficient gas and the starter has 'grown' ready for baking. 

The Loaf

100 gms of sourdough starter (see above)

450 gms of strong white bread flour

8 gms salt

310 gms of water at room temperature. 

A note about hydration. 

The total volume of flour = 450 gms + 50 gms (from the starter) = 500 gms

The total volume of water = 310 gms + 50 gms (from the starter) = 360 gms

360 gms as a % of 500 = 72% hydration. We're into Artisan sourdough territory. This is likely to be a loose mix, which is why it is proofed in the fridge overnight. (see later) 

METHOD

Remember,  the times are only here by way of suggestion. You can organise the process to suit your own commitments. 

DAY ONE

Refresh your starter in the evening

DAY TWO

10 a.m. Mix and Autolyse

Add 100 gms of your active starter to a large mixing bowl. 

Add the flour, salt and water and mix thoroughly for about a minute with a dough scraper.

Leave to rest for 30 minutes

10.30 a.m.  First fold

Spray your work bench, scraper, hands and the top of the dough with water

Ease the dough out of the bowl onto the work bench so it lands upside down

Gently stretch out the dough lengthways and then at the 12 o'clock position, fold the dough back towards you to the 6 o'clock position and press down. 

Rotate the dough slightly and repeat. 

Repeat the process for 12 turns and folds. Work around the dough until you have a ball. 

Turn the dough over, smooth side up and return to the bowl. 

Spray the top lightly, cover with a clean cloth and leave to rest at as near to 21⁰C as you can achieve.

You are leaving your dough like this for TWO hours. 

Clean your work bench and dry. 

12.30 p.m.  Second Fold

Your dough should be starting to rise. 

Spray your work bench, scraper, hands and the top of the dough with water

Gently ease the dough out of the bowl onto the work bench so it lands upside down

Gently stretch out the dough lengthways and then at the 12 o'clock position, fold the dough back towards you to the 6 o'clock position and press down. 

Rotate the dough slightly and repeat. 

Repeat the process for 6 turns and folds. Work around the dough until you have a ball. 

Turn the dough over, smooth side up and return to the bowl. 

Spray the top lightly, cover with a clean cloth and leave to rest at as near to 21⁰C as you can achieve.

You are leaving your dough like this for TWO hours. 

Clean your work bench and dry

2.30 p.m. Third Fold

The dough should be now showing signs of it rising.

Spray your work bench, scraper, hands and the top of the dough with water

Gently ease the dough out of the bowl onto the work bench so it lands upside down

Gently stretch out the dough lengthways and then at the 12 o'clock position, fold the dough back towards you to the 6 o'clock position and press down. 

Rotate the dough slightly and repeat. 

Repeat the process for 6 turns and folds. Work around the dough until you have a ball. 

Turn the dough over, smooth side up and return to the bowl. 

Spray the top lightly, cover with a clean cloth and leave to rest at as near to 21⁰C as you can achieve.

You are leaving your dough like this for ONE hour.

Clean your work bench and dry

3.30 p.m. Pre-shape

Lightly dust your work bench with white flour

Tip the dough out upside down and shape into a ball using the same stretch and fold technique. Be careful not to lose the air within the dough. You might want to scoop a little flour under the ball to help it shape. 

Keep encouraging the dough into becoming a ball, cupping the edges so to form a nice, tight ball and to build up tension on the surface of the dough. 

Turn the ball the right way up. Add a little flour underneath and flour the top. 

Cover with a clean cloth and leave for ONE hour. 

4.00 p.m Final shape

Lightly dust the work bench with flour

Slide your dough scraper underneath the ball and gently flip it over so the floured, smooth side is on the bottom. Let it relax into a circle.

As gently as possible, stretch out the left hand side and fold over the dough at an angle. 

Repeat with the right hand side. You should have a capital 'A' shape (wider at the bottom, narrower at the top)

Fold over the top edge, press down gently and then keep rolling to form a swiss roll shape. 

Pinch the seam to stop it sticking. 

Liberally dust the dough and your banneton with a coarse flour - wholemeal, spelt or rye or, better still, rice flour. 

Place the dough into the banneton basket, seam side up. Dust with flour

Place it on the top shelf of the fridge, uncovered, and leave it there until the next day. 

DAY THREE

8.00 a.m. Baking

Remove your dough from the fridge and leave it an hour to come to room temperature. 

Preheat your oven to 230⁰C.

Place a baking stone on a middle shelf. 

Turn the dough out onto a floured baker's peel or baking tray lined with parchment paper. 

Dust off the excess flour

Slash the loaf, just off centre, the full length of the loaf, including the ends. Use a sharp razor blade or knife. 

Mist the loaf with water

Slide the loaf into the oven. If you want to add extra steam, add hot water to a tray at the bottom of the oven. 

Bake for 15 minutes and then turn down the oven to 190⁰C and continue to bake for 20 -25 minutes. 

Cool on a wire rack. 

An hour later

Happy baking......thanks, Jack!