Following on the ‘Sourdough recipe’ post, here’s a quick outline for finishing the loaf.
Leave the kneaded dough to rise for around three or four hours. The timing isn’t critical, and will depend on your kitchen temperature, but the aim is to double the dough volume. I use the mixing bowl with cling film over, and it’s important to either cover the bowl or give the dough ball a light cover of oil to stop a crust forming.
Next comes the shaping. Remove the risen dough and give it a brief knead. You’re getting rid of bubbles, but the dough is now charged with CO2, so will continue to rise. When you have an even ball, flatten it out on the bench. Put down a sprinkle of flour to stop it sticking to the bench, but not too much, as it is a hindrance in the shaping. Your disc of dough should be about 30 cm diameter and will probably be slightly oblong. Shaping aims at putting tension in the dough by rolling it up, and in the process the loaf becomes longer. I fold the dough on itself three times, but another method is to flatten it out a little more and then roll it up, with tension. You should end up with an even cylinder, like a Swiss roll. Put this on a well-floured surface, I use a non-stick baking sheet, sprinkle with flour, cover, and leave to rise for another few hours until doubled in volume.
I bake on a tile I got from a hardware store. Hot stone gives the loaf a quick burst of heat that helps with the oven rising and gives a good bottom crust. To help the rest of the crust I use a steamy oven. There are a few ways to do this; you can spray the oven with water just before putting the bread in, but I put a broad cup of water in when I turn the oven on. Heat the oven up to 250C. A hot oven is important for the initial jump.
Shaped, risen loaf.
Next transfer the loaf to a slide. I use some weird cheeseboard thing, as bakers peels are expensive. Mine is wooden, with the grain top to bottom, a handle, and a wedge shape in section. Dust the slide/peel with semolina or polenta, then flip the loaf off its tray into your hand, and onto the slide. Now score the loaf. This helps the rise, and is a bit of an art. Under-risen loaves need deep scoring, while a over-risen loaf doesn’t need any. I score with a bread knife, a few confident quick strokes.
Scored and on the slide.
Finally slide the loaf onto the hot tile and bake for 5 min, then turn the heat down to 150C and bake for a further 40 min. Fish the loaf out with a slide and cool on a wire rack.
