I think one of my favorite sandwiches during summertime is tuna salad on marble rye bread. And since the weather down here is starting to warm up, I decided to post my recipe and show you how I make my sourdough marble rye bread!
What is marble bread?
No, it’s not rock-hard bread, don’t worry! If you’re not familiar with marble bread, it’s basically a two (or more colors) bread that is shaped in a way that when you cut through it you can see a pattern. In this case, that pattern is a swirl with two colors, but other times the pattern is more abstract.
Best sourdough marble rye bread recipe
Okay, okay, maybe this is a bit of an overstatement, but I’m very happy with this recipe! I have tested different rye:wheat flour ratios and I think I have found a balance between both that gives you a great dough consistency and a loaf that is not dense at all while enjoying a nice rye flavor. You will make the best sourdough marble rye bread sandwich!
Of course, you can play around with these ratios. However, know that rye gluten behaves a tad differently and you might end up with a sticker dough. That’s not a problem, because this bread is baked in a tin, but when it comes to the marble part, you could end up with a wonky pattern.
I have tried to make this loaf a bit more accessible for those who can’t find some ingredients. Firstly, because there’s no need to spend money on a type of flour you’ll barely use. Secondly, many of you might still have difficulty finding certain ingredients. So, don’t worry, you don’t need pumpernickel flour. However, feel free to substitute the rye flour in the dark dough for pumpernickel if you prefer.
Ingredients for this sourdough marble rye bread
For this recipe, I used this dark cocoa powder to color the dark dough because that’s what I usually buy. Feel free to use whichever cocoa powder you have access to (preferably unsweetened). Some people even use instant coffee, but in my opinion, I think cocoa powder does a better job than coffee bringing all the aromas and flavor together.
As far as the starter goes, I don’t have a rye sourdough starter. I used my white one for this dough and it worked great. If you have a rye starter, feel free to use it. Although, you can also build a levain with the flour mix. The most important thing is that the starter is active and by the time of use it has reached its peak of activity. You have all the information about it here.
I also used this whole rye flour and just sieved out large bran bits. I love this brand and I also LOVE the packaging. It has a velcro-style sealing that really seals the bag! Much more convenient than the zip-style kind of seal!
Pro tips about the ingredients
If you use white rye, you will probably need less water. You can add maybe 80% of the water in the recipe and add more if necessary. The dough is a bit sticky but not messy sticky. I like whole rye flour because it adds another layer of flavor to the loaf and a bit of extra complexity that goes great with the caraway seeds.
When I buy spices I tend to buy in bulk because little containers annoy me. I always have large glass containers (pickle jars!) that I keep precisely to use with my spices. If you’re like me, then these seeds might be the ones for you! It’s a whole pound, but trust me when I tell you that you’ll be making this sourdough marble rye bread often!!
Can I use all-purpose flour?
Absolutely! But since it has less protein content, you will need less water, so measure the water in the recipe, and then add it little by little until you think it’s enough. You might need as little as 70% of the water in this recipe.
Bulk fermentation
I did my bulk fermentation overnight because my house was a bit chilly (69F/20C), it took about 8-9 hours before I shaped the loaf. If your home is warmer, maybe it’s better to start in the morning and keep an eye on the dough. I also tried a higher temperature (75F/24C) in one of the tests and the dough was ready in 4-6h.
How to shape your sourdough marble rye bread
At this point, both doughs should have finished the bulk fermentation. Carefully degas them, shape them into a ball and let them rest for 10 or 15 minutes covered.
The shaping consists of two layers of dough, the thinner you make these layers, the thinner will be the swirl inside, and vice versa. I like to have a layer of about half an inch/1 centimeter thickness. This way the swirl is nice and visible, the layers don’t tear during baking and you end up with a beautiful marble rye bread!
I roll my loaf in a way that the light dough is outside, that way I can judge by the color of it, how the bread is doing, and if it’s ready or not. Depending on the flour you use etc, your dough might be on the stiff or sticky side, don’t worry, I got you!
How to shape stiffer dough
If your dough is a bit stiff, it will be easier for you to use a rolling pin. Dust your counter lightly with some flour and flatten the light dough a little. Then with a rolling pin shape the dough into a rectangle of about 9×17 in/22x40cm and set aside. The shorter side will be about the length of your baking pan. once the light dough has the desired shape, do the same with the dark one.
Brush the light dough with a little bit of water, just enough to make the surface sticky. Place the dark dough on top and try to align them very well. Ideally, the sizes should be very similar. Then starting from the short side, roll the dough into a log. Pinch the edges and seal the seam, and place it into your baking pan.
How to shape stickier dough
If your dough is too sticky, instead of dusting the counter with flour, use oil to avoid it from sticking and making a mess. And do the same with your hands. Then carefully, flatten the dough, and with your hands keep pressing and spreading the dough into a 9x17in/22x40cm rectangle. Lift the dough often (careful not to stretch it too much) to make sure it’s still not sticking. Start with the light dough and finish with the dark one, to avoid dark bits of dough sticking to the light one.
Once you have both rectangles, place the dark on top of the light one and press them together. Starting from the short side roll the dough into a log, pinch the edges and seal the seam, and place it into your baking pan
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Proofing and baking your sourdough marble rye
It’s important you let the dough rise, at least, until the highest part (usually the middle) reaches the edges of your baking pan; preferably, until it’s half-inch/once centimeter above the edge of the pan. I also don’t like to bake pan loaves with steam; so, to get good oven spring, you need to start with a loaf that’s already tall, or the crust will form fast and prevent the loaf from rising more, or tearing the dough and end up with a not sandwich-friendly shape.
Bake the loaf in an oven preheated at 350F/175C until it’s golden brown. You can also stick a meat thermometer into the loaf and once it reads 204F/96C your sourdough marble rye bread is ready! Try to reach the center, because it’s the part that takes longer to cook. This is the thermometer I use for pretty much everything. It’s really fast and can hold the highest or lowest temperature. It even has a light!
For a shiny crust, you can brush the loaf with milk or egg wash before it goes into the oven!
How long does this sourdough marble rye bread keep?
Assuming that you don’t eat it in one day, you can keep the loaf in a ziplock bag or airtight container at room temperature for up to 4-5 days (depends on the temperature of your kitchen). You can keep it in the fridge for up to a week, but I’d recommend you toast it first. Usually, the texture of bread that’s been kept at old temperatures is not the best.
Let me know if you make this fantastic sourdough marble rye bread and your favorite sandwiches to make with it! If you do, use #allyoukneadisbread on Instagram, I’d love to see what you bake and what you experiment with!
You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Happy Baking!
This post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you – that allows me to keep running this blog.
Sourdough Marble Rye Bread
Delicious and aromatic sourdough marble rye bread, perfect for sandwiches and toasts!
Ingredients
Light Dough
- 85 g rye flour
- 165 g bread flour
- 55 g mature sourdough starter
- 130 g water
- 5 g salt
- 15 g butter
- 10 g honey
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
Dark Dough
- 85 g rye flour
- 165 g bread flour
- 55 g mature sourdough starter
- 130 g water
- 5 g salt
- 15 g butter softened
- 10 g molasses
- ½ tsp cocoa powder (use dark cocoa powder for a darker color)
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
Instructions
Light Dough
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Dissolve the sourdough starter in the water to break it down a little
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Add all the other ingredients except the butter and mix them until you can't see dry flour particles. Cover and let it rest while you mix the dark dough
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After a few minutes of rest start kneading the dough with your hands and incorporate the butter. Continue kneading until the dough is not sticky and is smooth
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Lightly oil a container, place the dough inside, and let it ferment until is about twice the size (8-9h at 69F/20C or about 4-6h in a warm place, don't exceed 79F/26C) *See notes
Dark dough
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Dissolve the cocoa powder in 50g of water until you don't have lumps
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Dissolve the sourdough starter in the remaining 80g of water
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Add the cocoa mixture and the rest of the ingredients, except for butter, to the dissolve sourdough. Mix the ingredients until you don't see dry flour particles. Cover and let it rest while you knead the light dough
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Once the light dough is done and fermenting, start kneading the dark dough with your hands and incorporate the butter. Continue kneading until the dough is not sticky and is smooth
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Once ready, lightly oil a container and place the dark dough inside to ferment (8-9h at 69F/20C or about 4-6h in a warmer place, don't exceed 79F/26C) *See notes
Shaping & Proofing
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Once both doughs are ready, lightly flour your counter, and with a rolling pin roll both doughs separately to 1/2 in thick and as wide as your baking pan is. The thicker you roll the dough the thicker will be the spiral pattern inside, feel free to change the thickness to your taste.
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Try to roll both doughs into a rectangle of similar size (Mine was about 9×17 in/22×40 cm). Once ready with a fork prick both doughs to make sure there aren't large air bubbles trapped between the layers later on.
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Lightly brush the light dough with water (you can also use a spray bottle) and place the dark dough on top. You don't need too much water, just enough for both doughs to join together.
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Carefully press both doughs with your hands to make sure there's contact everywhere and starting with the shorter side roll the dough into a log and pinch the edges together
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Place the dough into a lightly oiled baking pan and cover it with plastic wrap, or a shower cap
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Let the loaf ferment until the center is about the height of the pan or even a little bit more. The dough should feel puffy but still have good structure. My loaf at 73F took about 4h to rise **See notes
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About 20 minutes before the dough is ready preheat the oven to 350F
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When the dough is ready brush it with milk or egg wash (whichever you prefer) and bake for 35-45 minutes (until inside temperature reads at least 204F/96C)
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Once the bread is ready take it out of the oven and let it cool down for 10 minutes before you take it out of the pan to finish cooling on a rack
Recipe Notes
* If your kitchen is cold and you need to leave the dough fermenting for a longer time, it’s better to do so during the bulk fermentation. I don’t recommend doing a cold-proof after the loave is shaped, it might not rise enough and end up under proofed. Also, do not use too warm temperature, as it could weaken the gluten network.
**It’s important you use a proper baking pan, otherwise, if it’s too wide, by the time the dough reaches that height it’ll be over-proofed.
How to make sourdough Roscón de Reyes – Traditional Spanish Bread
Happy and healthy New Year! I want to start 2021 with one of my favorite Spanish types of bread: The Roscón de Reyes. It’s a brioche-style, citrusy, sweet bread that’s usually consumed on January 6th; the Epiphany day, and the official last day of Christmas in Spain (and many other countries).
January 6th is known as “Día de Reyes”, the Three Kings day; it refers to the 3 Wise Men who visited Jesus when he was born, bringing gold, incense, and myrrh as gifts.
What is the tradition during Día de Reyes?
When the Christmas season starts, kids in Spain write a letter to Their Majesties the Three Wise Men. In their letters, they ask for the presents they’d like to receive.
Now… If they behaved well during the year, they will get the gifts on their list. But if they didn’t… They’ll receive a bag of coal!! And depending on how mischievous they were, the bag might have candy coal or real coal!
On January 5th almost every town has a parade with the Reyes Magos and their pages. During the parade, the kids get to see the Reyes Magos and collect lots of candy the pages throw away. There’s music, laughter, and a final speech from Their Majesties encouraging the kids to go to bed early, so they can sneak into their homes and leave the gifts.
Then, that night, Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar, (Those are the names of the 3 wise men) or “Los Reyes Magos” as we call them in Spanish (The literal translation from Spanish is “the Magic Kings”), will go home from to home, riding their camels and leaving gifts for the family.
In our tradition, instead of using stockings, we leave shoes in the living room or close to the tree. One shoe per person. And you best believe that my sister and I always chose very carefully which shoes we were leaving!
Of course, as hosts, we need to leave some treats for our royal guests and their camels! In my family, we always left 3 glasses with sherry wine and a tray with turrón and polvorones (traditional Spanish Christmas treats). Then, we’d leave a big bucket with water and some carrots on the balcony for the camels.
The next morning we’d wake up early because… who can sleep when you know who’s visiting in the wee hours!?, and run to check our shoes and all the presents underneath.
The tradition behind the Roscón de Reyes
On January 6th it’s tradition to have one last feast with your family, as it is the last official day of the holidays. A big lunch to say goodbye to Christmas and a good Roscón as dessert.
Typically, people buy the Roscón de Reyes, and it comes with 3 things: a fava bean and a figurine hidden in the bread, and a golden paper crown. Let me explain…
I’m sure different places will have different customs, but where I grew up this is how we did it:
The person that gets the hidden fava bean will pay for next year’s Roscón, and the person who gets the figurine will be crowned king or queen of the table with the paper crown.
There are different types of Roscón, you can buy it plain, or with fillings (whipped cream or pastry cream being the most popular). My family used to buy the whipped cream one, but a homemade Roscón… I believe fillings just distract you from the fantastic flavors that this bread packs!
What are the ingredients of a rosca de reyes?
The flour
The flour I use for this Roscón is brioche flour with 14% of protein. If you live in the US this is the flour I use and I like the results. It absorbs fats and liquids very well and the dough is very elastic.
If you have flour with less protein content, you will need less liquid in your recipe. The texture of the dough should be soft but not super slack. It’s not quite as slack as brioche dough but not as stiff as my sourdough challah dough.
As a rule of thumb for me, for every 1% less protein in my flour, I decrease liquid and butter by 10% (less protein, less liquid, and fats). Then I adapt as needed.
The milk and other dairy-free options
The source of moisture in this recipe is milk. I like to scald it before I add it to the dough. It helps temper the other ingredients if they are cold when I prepare the dough (add it warm, not hot). It also makes developing the gluten a bit easier; some proteins are denatured and possible interactions with the gluten proteins are also reduced.
You don’t have to scald the milk, but if you do, measure more than what the recipe calls for because some moisture will evaporate.
You can use soy milk or other vegetable beverage, but I’d go for liquids with a viscosity similar to whole milk, not something watery as rice milk. I wouldn’t use oat milk, oat beta-glucan can affect the dough and be a tremendous impediment when building the gluten.
The sourdough
If you’re making the sourdough version, you might want to prepare a levain with the brioche flour if that’s not the flour you typically feed your starter (just take a portion of your starter and prepare a new one using the flour you will use for this bread). This will help the growth and adaptation period of the microorganisms once you make the dough. If you want to know more about sourdough science check this post!
The aromatics
Although flour is important for obvious reasons, the key ingredients in a good Roscón de Reyes are the aromatics. The key aromatics are orange zest, lemon zest, and orange blossom water (This is the one I use and I love it!). The smell doesn’t disappear after baking, it’s awesome).
The aroma must be balanced between citrusy flavors and sweet flavors. Make sure your orange blossom water is not expired or the dough won’t keep the aroma at all.
You can also add some dark rum or Cointreau for an extra kick and if you candy your own orange, the syrup is an excellent aromatic too! (and if it has some pulp even better!). If you use any booze, don’t use more than 1-1.5 tbsp. Alcohol can affect the texture of the bread and if using sourdough, it can affect the growth of the microorganisms.
Vanilla extract is optional, I decided to leave it out because I think the orange blossom water and orange syrup are enough. I love orange blossom and I don’t think it needs to be mixed with anything else.
How to make Roscón de Reyes
The pictures on this post are of a sourdough Roscón but I have also included a yeasted version. I explain the differences between both methods in the following paragraphs.
Sourdough Roscón de Reyes
Since I’m using brioche flour, the day before I started the dough I prepared the levain using my regular sourdough starter, water, and the brioche flour. I needed 135g so I calculated the quantities to end up with about 150g, just in case I lost something on the walls of the container etc.
With winter temperature in my kitchen being around 20C/68F, I can feed my starter 1:2:2, and the growth cycle is about 18-20h. So, I prepared the levain in the evening before going to bed. The levain was ready early next evening. You know your starter better, you can decide which feeding schedule suits you better.
When my starter was ready I prepared the dough and it fermented overnight. The next morning I divided the dough into 2 equal pieces, shaped it, and let it proof for about 3h-4h (at 68F/20C)
I prepared the levain in a way that I could leave the dough fermenting overnight. That way it could proof during the morning and we had a fresh Roscón de Reyes for dessert.
Yeasted Roscón de Reyes
For the yeast version, you need to adapt the recipe. First, you need to avoid the starter and then update the flour and milk quantities.
Since I use a 100% hydration starter, half of the weight is water, and half of the weight is flour. This recipe calls for 135g of starter, which means 67.5g are water, and 67.5 flour.
To update the recipe you just need to add 67.5g of flour to the total flour and 67.5g of milk or water to the total milk.
How to twitch the recipe to use yeast
How much yeast should I use? That’s a question that I get asked pretty often. I would recommend no more than 1% of the weight of the flour, which is about 6 g for the full recipe. You can even use less yeast, it’ll just take a bit longer to ferment.
You can always add more yeast but to the detriment of the flavor and dough structure. The faster the bread ferments, the faster it’ll dry out once baked, and the easier it’ll be for the dough to over ferment, loose structure, and end up with a dense pancake.
A way to improve the flavor profile of a yeasted bread is to slow down the fermentation. You can do that by reducing the amount of yeast, or by adding a cold bulk step (or both if the yeast amount is low but not too low).
A good schedule for a yeasted Roscón is to start in the afternoon. Let it ferment until it almost doubles in size, then put it in the fridge overnight. The next morning take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for about 1h, or to a dough consistency that’s comfortable to work with. Then proceed as with the sourdough version. Keep in mind that it will prove faster, and instead of 3-4 h, it might take 1-2 (depending on the internal temperature).
How to shape your Roscón de Reyes
Some people shape it in an oval, some people make a circle with individual bun-like portions… But if you want to shape it like a big donut (either circular or oval shape), you need to shape the dough into a ball. Add a bit of tension to the surface. Then let the dough rest for about 15 minutes (covered) on an oiled surface to avoid it from sticking.
Oil your hands and with your index finger make a hole in the center and move it around to enlarge the hole enough so you can lift the dough and with your other index finger you roll the dough around making the hole larger and larger.
You basically move the dough aroung and gravity does the stretching!
Be careful, don’t push the dough. If it’s not stretching anymore, put it back on the counter, cover it, and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to allow the gluten to relax. Then continue with the same circular motions until you have a hole of at least 15cm/6in.
It might look like the hole is too large, but as the dough proofs and then bakes it’ll puff up and the hole will decrease in size. Once you’re happy put the Roscón on parchment paper and arrange it well because you won’t be able to re-shape it later on. Put it on the tray you’ll use to bake, cover it with film and let it proof!
How to decorate your Roscón de reyes
Although the options here are endless, traditionally, the ingredients you’ll always find in a Roscón are: Candied pumpkin, candied orange, candied cherries, pearled or aromatic sugar, sliced almonds, or other nuts.
Candied pumpkin is typically dyed with red and green colors. I made my own candied butternut squash because I didn’t find the white pumpkin I wanted, so I left the orange color as it was. I also made my own candied orange slices. Since everything was a bit too orange, I bought green candied cherries to give it that je ne sais quoi.
When it comes to Roscón de Reyes, I prefer aromatic sugar rather than pearled sugar, for that, I mixed ¼ cup of white sugar with 1 tsp of orange blossom water and mixed well. The sugar should feel like moist sand but it shouldn’t dissolve. Once it’s well mixed you just sprinkle it on top of the Roscón.
How to bake a Roscón de reyes
Preheat the oven to 350F. As the oven preheats brush your Roscón with either egg wash or with the leftover whites. Brush it twice so it’ll get that nice brown color, and start decorating it. If your candied fruits are too dry consider soaking them in boiling water for a couple of minutes.
Start decorating it with the candied fruits, then the nuts (if using), and top it with the sugar.
Bake it for about 30-40 minutes; this really depends on your oven, mine is acting crazy these days so in your oven it might be ready earlier.
If you think it’s getting dark too fast you can cover it with a piece of foil with a hole inside. You can also measure the internal temperature. If it reads 94C/201F then it’s ready!
Once your Roscón is ready take it out of the oven and let it cool down to room temperature.
Your Roscón de Reyes will be best the day is baked but if you keep it in an airtight container or bag, it can stay fresh for about a week (the sourdough version) or a couple of days if you made it with yeast.
Regardless of what you use, SD or yeast, knead the dough very well. The better the dough, the more moisture it can retain, and the longer it’ll take to dry out. However, this is particularly important if you use commercial yeast since yeasted bread tends to dry out quicker.
How to add the filling
If you want to add a filling, you need to cut the Roscón crosswise making two layers. Basically, you’re making a sweet sandwich! Make sure the Roscón has completely cooled down to room temperature. You can even put it in the fridge for 15 mins or so before you slice it. This way you’ll get a clean cut and the fillings won’t melt.
The fillings should be thick enough to sustain the weight of the top layer without leaking everywhere.
Let me know if you make the Roscón de Reyes or any other recipe! If you do, use #allyoukneadisbread on Instagram, I’d love to see what you bake and what you experiment with!
You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
Feliz Día de Reyes!
This post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you – that allows me to keep running this blog.
Spanish Roscón de Reyes
Roscón de Reyes is a brioche-style, citrusy, sweet bread that’s usually consumed on January 6th, the day known as “Día de Reyes”
Ingredients
- 600 g brioche flour (add up to 50 g more if necessary)
- 200 g milk see notes *
- 135 g mature sourdough starter/levain
- 135 g caster sugar
- 135 g softened butter see notes for dairy free options *
- 3 M eggs
- 2 M yolks
- 12 g salt
- 2.5 tbsp orange blossom water
- zest of 1 orange
- zest of one lemon
- assorted candied fruits
- 4 tbsp sliced almonds
- 50 g aromatic sugar or pearled sugar see notes*
Instructions
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In the bowl of your stand mixer combine the milk, eggs, yolk, sourdough starter, and the aromatics and mix thoroughly. If you scald the milk wait for it to cool down to at least 36C/97F
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Add the flour and the salt and mix until you don't see dry flour particles. Cover the bowl and let it rest 20-30 minutes
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Knead the dough at low speed (speed 2 in a KitchenAid stand mixer) until it has a nice consistency and starts getting elastic
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Incorporate the butter and knead until you develop the gluten completely (windowpane test). If necessary, allow the dough rest a couple of times for a few minutes.
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Once the dough is ready transfer into a lightly oiled container and let it ferment overnight (about 10-12h at 68F). It should double or almost double in volume and you should see fermentation bubbles on the bottom of the container.
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Divide the dough into two equal pieces for two medium roscones or 3 equal pieces for 3 small ones.
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Shape each piece into a ball and let it rest 10 minutes
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With an oiled finger poke a hole in the middle of one of the pieces of dough and slowly open the hole until you can grab the dough and swirl it around with your hands to open the hole of at least 15cm/6in and get the same thickness all around (check the article for a full explanation)
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Place the roscones on parchment paper and on the tray you'll use for baking. Cover them with plastic wrap and let them proof for 3-4h or until they have grown and the dough feels puffy
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Preheat your oven to 350F/175C and while it's preheating brush the dough twice with egg wash or with the egg whites leftovers and decorate it with candied fruit, nuts, and sugar (check the text for a full explanation on the order of the toppings)
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Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the roscones have a slight dark golden brown and the internal temperature reads 94C/200F
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Let cool down to room temperature before slicing (check the article if you want to fill the roscón, check the article to know how)
Recipe Notes
* Scalding the milk is optional, on the post I explain why I do it
* For dairy-free options you can substitute the milk with soy milk and use vegan butter instead of butter.
* To make the aromatic sugar mix 1 tsp of orange blossom with 1/4 cup (50g) of sugar and mix until it has a moist sand consistency
Easy brie and olive sourdough rolls
Hello friends! Today I bring my new favorite recipe: brie and olive sourdough rolls! Brie cheese and black olives balance each other perfectly and combine great with the aromas of sourdough. These rolls are pillowy and delicate and can keep fresh for several days.
Brie, olives, and buckwheat flour
Let’s talk a little about brie. It is a French soft cheese made of cow milk. It has a considerable amount of fat, so it melts easily while the rolls are baking and helps soften the structure of the bread. As a result, these brie and olive sourdough rolls turn out unbelievably fluffy and full of flavor.
I like black olives because they’re not as tangy as green or kalamata, and I think the flavor goes great with cheese in general, but brie in particular; however, you can experiment with other types of olives and try other types of cheese if you don’t like or don’t have access to brie. Cheese with at least 25% fat content will work better because the key of these rolls is in the fat melting.
The trick is using a strong enough flour that will hold the dough and all fillings and slightly weaken the gluten with flour that doesn’t have gluten. In this case, I used King Arthur AP flour (it is strong for an all-purpose flour, it has 11.7% of protein), and buckwheat flour. This combination not only gets the gluten where I want it to be, but it also enhances the flavor of the bread so it doesn’t get lost in the cheese and olive aromas. I used this buckwheat flour but I have also tried this one and I liked the results as well.
If you don’t have buckwheat, you can use other flours that have less or none gluten (whole wheat, teff…). Just keep in mind that you might need to change the amount of water on the recipe and the result could be a bit different.
About the dough
This dough isn’t very hydrated, so when it comes to incorporate the olives and the brie you will need to let it rest and stretch it little by little. Make sure you pierce large air pockets that you might catch while stretching the dough. These sourdough rolls shouldn’t have a dramatic open crumb, you should aim for smaller air pockets and pillowy structure.
How to incorporate the brie and olives
An easy way to add the brie and olives is to stretch the dough, add the chunks of cheese and olives and then fold the dough and shape it into a ball. However, when we fold the dough we also trap a lot of air that will affect the structure of our crumb, and thus, the dough doesn’t feel like it has naturally incorporated the fillings. It’d feel like it has layers and the chunks of cheese or olives will come out of the dough easily.
To avoid this you just need to 1) Pierce large air pockets, 2) Knead the dough a little after adding the chunks and let it rest for 10-20 minutes, and 3) Knead again for a couple of minutes. Doing this will help you distribute the filling better and have an elastic dough.
This kneading is not meant to strengthen the gluten, but to help incorporate the ingredients. The gluten should be well developed before we add the fillings.
The fermentation
Sourdough always takes more time to ferment, but if you live in a pretty warm and humid place, pay attention to the dough. Let it ferment until you start seeing signs of fermentation (small bubbles in the bottom, feels puffy, has grown a little…), but don’t wait until it doubles or the gluten can be compromised and you’ll end up with a super sticky dough and flat rolls.
Once it’s clear that there’s activity, deflate the dough a little and put it in the fridge. It can stay there overnight.
Since you’re not going to proof the dough in a banneton, you can keep the dough in the fridge before shaping. Then, once shaped, you won’t need too much time before the rolls go into the oven!
Get your sourdough starter ready
Sourdough can be a bit tricky, but it all boils down to science! If you want to know more about the science of your sourdough starter, check this post where I explain all the phases your starter goes through and how you can apply that knowledge into your baking.
Knowing the science of your starter will help you adapt your baking schedule depending on the weather conditions. This summer is especially challenging here in North Carolina, but understanding the bacterial behavior helped a lot!
Final proof
The final proof is easy and somewhat fast. Take the dough out of the fridge, divide it into 8 equal pieces and shape them into small dough balls.
Let them proof in the tray you’ll use to bake them while you preheat the oven at 400F. No more than 1h should be fine if your starter is healthy and strong.
Before putting them int he oven score the surface of the rolls and off they go! In 20 minutes approx (depends on your oven), you’ll have these delicious brie and olive sourdough rolls!
How to create steam in the oven
Steam is very important when you bake bread, specially rustic style. When I bake loaves, I use my dutch oven and it usually is enough to allow the bread to open up. In this case, I use an old baking tray that I keep in the oven as it preheats, and when I load the rolls I add 1 cup of boiling water into that tray and immediately close the oven door.
Don’t open the door for the first 10 minutes of baking, some of the steam inevitably will scape but it’s better to minimize it.
Guaranteed deliciousness!
Since these sourdough rolls turn out so soft and airy you can use them to make sandwiches, sliders… And worry not! Because they won’t fall apart or crumble when you’re trying to take a bite or spreading butter on it😊
The rolls last fresh several days, but you can put them in a ziplock bag and freeze them once they’ve cooled down. You can keep them frozen for a few weeks.
If you decide to freeze de rolls, take them out of the freezer and let them chill for an hour or so, then bake them at 300F until they’re nice and hot inside. However, if you only need one or two rolls, why would turn the oven on? What I like to do in this case is slice the rolls before freezing them and when I want to make a sandwich, I just pop them in the toaster! It’s faster and your power bill will thank you 😉
Let me know if you make these rolls or any other recipe! I love to see what you bake and what you experiment with. You can use #allyoukneadisbread on Instagram.
You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
Other sourdough recipes
If you’re looking for some sourdough inspiration check these other recipes:
Tomato and rosemary sourdough bread
Gorgonzola and apple sourdough bread (video included!)
Sourdough donuts with rose cream filling
Sourdough chocolate banana bread
Happy baking!
This post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you – that allows me to keep running this blog.
Easy brie and olive sourdough rolls
Fantastic sourdough rolls with a twist. Your new favorite!
Ingredients
- 385 g strong all purpose flour (11.7% protein)
- 65 g buckwheat flour (or similar)
- 70 g active sourdough starter
- 7 g salt
- 80 g black olives (sliced)
- 100 g brie cheese (with or without the rind and cut into 0.5 in/ 1 cm pieces)
- 270 g water (room temperature)
Instructions
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Dissolve the starter in the water and add the flours and salt. Let it rest, covered, 20 minutes
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Add the salt and start kneading. Knead until the dough feels elastic, it's smooth and doesn't stick to your fingers. If you need to let it rest a few minutes, do so.
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After kneading, and once the dough is well developed, let it rest 30-60 minutes in a lightly oiled bowl
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Oil you rcounter lightly, just enough so the dough doesn't stick and carefully try to stretch the dough on the counter into a 18×18 in / 45×45 cm square. It doesn't have to be exact.
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Distribute the olives and cheese evenly and carefully fold the dough and shape it into a ball. Pierce large air pockets that might've been trapped during the process. Let the dough rest 20 minutes.
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Knead the dough a little to make sure the filling is well distributed and has been incorporated into the dough (so they won't come out). If you find it easier do some stretch and folds do so. Just make sure the add-ons don't come out easily.
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Let the dough ferment until it feels puffy, it has grown a little and you see obvious signs of fermentation. Mine, at 74F took about 4 hours. Then carefully deflate the dough and plut it in the fridge over night.
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The next morning turn the oven on at 400F with an empty pan in the bottom rack. If you have a pizza stone, place it in the middle rack and preheat the oven for 30-60 minutes (depends on your oven, if you have a stone etc.)
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While the oven preheats, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape them into balls. You can do a pre-shape and final shape, but since they're not going to proof for long, you might not need to preshape them.
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Place the rolls in the baking tray and once the oven is hot score them with a blade or sharp knife and put the baking tray in the middle rack (or on top of the hot stone if you have one). Add 1 cup of boiling water to the empty tray in the bottom rack and close the oven door immediately.
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Bake the rolls with steam, for at least 10 minutes and another 10 minutes without steam or a few more minutes if they're not golden brown yet.
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Let the rolls cool down for at least 30 minutes to allow the crumb to set, and dig in!
Tomato and rosemary sourdough bread
One of the most typical summer lazy dinners I used to grow with was “Pa amb tomàquet” (or commonly referred to as “pan tumaca”). It translates to “bread and tomato”. It is basically a toast with rubbed tomato and olive oil, I wanted to introduce my husband to this dish and that’s when I had an idea… What if… What if I add the tomato to the dough? And what if I add some other herbs? So I did… And that’s how this tomato and rosemary sourdough bread was born!
The result was amazing! This tomato and rosemary sourdough bread was so flavorful! The ingredients balanced each other perfectly and the loaf turned out super soft. The crumb was very soft and delicate.
Since the hydration is not too high, the dough is lovely to work with. If you’re feeling adventurous, it can be a great bread to practice your scoring!
Here’s the video of how I scored this loaf:
I used my wiremonkey bread lame that you can purchase here.
I love this lame, it’s ergonomic, efficient, easy to work with and allows you a range of movement that you don’t have with other lames. And best of all? It’s a family business that throughout the pandemic has been helping bakers in need. Not to mention that Tyler is also environmentally conscious and doesn’t use plastic on his lames.
If you’re into bread art or are looking for a nice bread lame, consider buying a wiremonkey ufo lame. They’re simply amazing!
The ingredients
For this recipe, I used Roma tomatoes because they are less watery, so if you’re using other types of tomatoes, I’d suggest you either reduce the amount of water on the recipe or drain the tomatoes a little.
I decided to make a paste first with all the ingredients so I blended the tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and rosemary leaves together. But if you prefer, you can leave the leaves out and add them whole.
Tomatoes and health
Did you know tomatoes are rich in lycopene? A red carotenoid that it’s known for its anti-cancer properties and powerful antioxidants. Tomatoes are also rich in potassium and magnesium. In other words, tomatoes rock!
Not only they’re healthy, but some studies have found that adding tomatoes to bread increased dough elasticity. That, along with the olive oil makes the dough LOVELY to work with, and it’s one of the reasons the crumb is so nice and velvety. Ahh Science! 🙂
How to make this tomato and rosemary sourdough bread
If you follow me on Instagram you might know by now that I’m leaning towards kneading my loaves rather than doing just stretch and folds. I don’t laminate my dough unless I’m going to add things to it (olives, nuts, cheese…). I don’t do long autolysis either, especially during summer because the higher temperatures really have an impact on dough strength.
What I do is mixing all the ingredients, I give them a 20-60 minutes rest (it depends on how busy I am or what I’m doing at the moment) and then I knead using the slap and fold method. I knead the dough for a few minutes and then let it rest for a little while. Resting periods are very important as you allow the gluten strands to realign and the dough gets stronger; you can read more about it here.
Kneading is just a way to 1) strengthen the gluten and 2) incorporate air in the dough. So, you can use whatever method you’re comfortable with. Manually or using a stand mixer, as long as you develop the gluten well.
Bulk fermentation
Once you’re sure the gluten is well developed, you can add a coil fold if you want. Then let the dough ferment for a few hours. The temperature in my kitchen ranges from 74-77F these days, so usually I don’t leave any dough out for longer than 6h (start to shaping). That’s why I also prefer kneading vs. not kneading. It allows me to develop the gluten faster and have a nice bulk fermentation in just a few hours.
I don’t wait until the dough doubles in size, I tend to cut the bulk fermentation short. With summer temperature and humidity under fermenting the dough a little helps maintain the gluten structure strong throughout the entire process.
The length of the bulk fermentation depends on how much starter you used, the temperature of your kitchen, the condition of your starter etc. If you want to know more about sourdough growth and sourdough starters click here. You can learn the science of sourdough and how that applies to your sourdough bread.
If you’re a bit new to sourdough and are not sure about what to do, you can check other things to make sure the fermentation is going well. For example, after a few hours of bulk fermenting: does the dough feel puffier? Can you see small bubbles forming in the bottom? Did the dough grow a little or can you even see some larger air pockets on the surface? Does it smell just like flour or can you identify some slightly alcoholic/vinegary smell (similar to the smell of your starter)?
Shaping and cold proofing
Alright, so once you consider that the bulk fermentation is done, you just need to shape the bread and put it in a banneton (proofing basket). If you don’t have one, you can use a bowl and a cotton cloth.
I shaped this loaf into a bule, but you can use whichever shaping method you’re comfortable with. Be gentle, don’t push to much or you could tear the outer layer and the loaf will lose structure. If that happens, you might end up with a pancake after baking!
I have this round banneton, and I really like it. 9 in is enough for a medium-size loaf. I also have this oval banneton, I am very happy with both of them.
The overnight cold-proof was a total of 12h. A cold-proof is not mandatory, but it does come handy when it’s time to score the loaf. Colder loaves are firmer, and the blades cut through the dough much better.
Baking
Ideally, the first 15-20 minutes of baking should be with steam. In a house oven, keeping the steam inside is almost impossible, so I prefer to use a dutch oven that I preheat along with the oven at 450F.
I actually have a double dutch oven, I find that it’s much easier to load the dough without burning yourself if you can set the dutch oven upside down 😉
When I put the loaf in the dutch oven I also add the rosemary stalks. I’m telling you… the stalks end up roasted but the loaf is baked in those aromas and the crust ends up with a nice rosemary kick!.
After baking, try to wait for the bread to cool down to room temperature. It helps to set the crumb and all the aromas. Thanks to the tomato and the oil, the bread will be very soft, and it’ll keep fresh at least a couple of days.
Let me know if you make this loaf! I love to see what you bake and what you experiment with. You can use #allyoukneadisbread on Instagram.
You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
Happy baking!!
This post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you – that allows me to keep running this blog.
Tomato and rosemary sourdough bread
An amazing bread, full of flavor and ideal for summer dinners!
Ingredients
- 300 g bread flour
- 150 g water
- 45 g sourdough starter at its peak of activity
- 75 g roma tomatoes
- 20 g extra virgin olive oil
- 6 g salt
- 2 stalks rosemary
Instructions
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Blend the tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and the rosemary leaves together until you have a paste (you don't have to blend the rosemary leaves, you can add them whole or chopped to the dough)
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In a bowl add the flour, make a well in the middle and add the water, the starter, and the tomato paste and combine until there aren't dry flour particles. Let the dough rest 20 minutes (covered)
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Knead the dough until it's elastic and smooth. You can do it manually or with a stand mixer. I'd recommend you let the dough rest 10-20 mins every 5-10 minutes of kneading
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When the dough feels smooth and elastic, lightly oil a bowl and place the dough inside to ferment. You can add a coil fold after 30-45mins if you want. At 74-77F (23-25C), my dough was ready after 5h.
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Turn the dough onto a floured surface and carefully bring the edges toward the center to shape the dough into a ball, flip it upside down cleaning the flour underneath and with your hands, bring the dough ball toward you to create some tension on the outer layer
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Flour a cotton cloth, place it in a proofing basket and put the dough inside. Cover it with the cloth and put the basket in the fridge overnight.
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The next day, preheat your oven at 450F (230C) with a pizza stone or a dutch oven if you have , for at least 30-40 minutes
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When the oven is ready, take your dough out of the fridge, flip it onto a parchment paper, put it in the dutch oven or the pizza stone and score the loaf (make some cuts on the surface). *SEE NOTES
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Put the loaf in the oven and turn the temperature down to 425F / 220 C. Bake the loaf with a lid on (if you're using a dutch oven) or with steam (if you're using a pizza stone or just a baking tray) for 15-20 minutes. Remove the lid and bake the loaf for another 20-30 minutes or until it's golden brown
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Take the dough out of the oven and let it cool down in a rack for at least 1h
Recipe Notes
* I like to put the dough on a thin metallic tray lined with parchment paper and then just slip it into the lid of my double dutch oven.
Sourdough Magdalenas
Hello friends! Today I bring one of my mom’s very best recipes: Magdalenas! But I adapted it to sourdough, it’s a great way to use your discards, #zerowaste people! These sourdough magdalenas are super simple to make. And if you have kids around it’s a great activity to do with them. Especially now, that we need to stay indoors as much as possible.
How do I know this? Because magdalenas are the highlight of my childhood! They’re the thing my mom would bake every time we had a potluck at school, or when we were fuzzy at home because we were bored. My sister and I loved filling the cups and licking the spatula at the end. I have great memories of being in the kitchen making magdalenas!
Magdalenas are the Spanish version of a muffin, but airier. They’re very soft and spongy and not too sweet. My mom never used vanilla extract or anything else to enhance the flavor, and I don’t either. I like to taste the olive oil and the eggs. At most, I add orange zest, but I usually keep it simple.
Magdalenas, the perfect snack
In Spain we eat 5 times a day, aside from breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we also cherish our snacks. So much, that they are considered a meal and even have their own name! One is the “almuerzo” which is the morning snack. And the other (my favorite!) is the “merienda“, which is the afternoon snack. Considering we have pretty late dinners (9-10 pm) a good afternoon or early evening snack sounds like a great idea!
About these sourdough magdalenas
Something that it’s characteristic of magdalenas is their shape. When they grow tall we say they have “copete” and for many people, this is something difficult to achieve. However, I’ve learned that the secret is in letting the batter rest in the fridge before baking. Since the batter is cold, the raising agents (now fully active) can act for a bit longer before the crumb is set, thus giving the madgalenas that final rise.
Letting the batter rest also allows the sourdough ferment. Even though it won’t make the magdalenas sour, some fermentation will increase their nutritional profile and make them easier to digest (The wonders of sourdough, guys!). However, if you don’t have the time, you can bake them right away, the texture won’t change much, you’ll still get delicious magdalenas!
If you’re going to let the dough rest more than 6h, add a little bit more sugar since part of it will be used to neutralize the acids from the sourdough fermentation and won’t contribute to the sweetness of your magdalenas.
The last touch
To get the traditional look of a magdalena, you just need to sprinkle some sugar on top right before baking. It’ll develop a little crust while baking and it’s also a way to decorate the magdalenas.
After baking, let them cool down a little. It’ll help to set the aromas and the structure. And after they cool down you can keep them in an airtight container for a few days.
I did some experiments at home and I tested how the sourdough helped the magdalenas to keep fresh longer. So, I left some outside on the counter overnight (with and without sourdough). The ones with sourdough barely dried out, and overall, they lasted fresh longer than the regular ones.
If you want to know more, check this post where I talk a little about the science behind why sourdough helps in keeping baked goods fresh for longer periods of time.
This recipe yields 18-22 magdalenas (depending on your liners and how much you fill them), but if you want to double or triple it, do so. The recipe is very easy to scale up!
If you don’t have a muffin pan don’t let that stop you! My friends in Bella Cupcake Couture got you covered! Check the post to learn how to bake muffins without a pan or liners!
Let me know if you make these sourdough magdalenas, I’d love to see your creations! You can tag me on instagram or use the hashtag #allyoukneadisbread.
You can find me on Instagram or Facebook and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
Happy baking!
This post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you – that allows me to keep running this blog.
Sourdough Spanish magdalenas
The sourdough version of one of the most typical Spanish muffins
Ingredients
- 300 g cake flour or weak all purpose flour
- 200 g sugar plus more to sprinkle (see notes*)
- 100 g heavy whipping cream
- 100 g olive oil
- 4 eggs see notes**
- 200 g sourdough discards 100% hydration collected throughout a week
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp orange zest optional
Instructions
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Whisk the eggs and sugar until fluffy and light in color.
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Add the starter and break down the blob a little (do it manually if you use your stand mixer, or the starter will curl up the whist attachment)
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Add the heavy cream and the oil and whisk everything until it's combined.
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Sift the flour and the baking powder and add the mixture to the wet ingredients in 2 or 3 times to avoid flour flying everywhere.
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Mix the flour just to incorporate it. If you want to let the batter rest, now it's the time. Cover it with film and keep it in the fridge up to 12h. If you don't want to wait, preheat your oven at 350F.
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When the oven is ready, line a cupcake pan and fill the cups about 3/4 of the way full, sprinkle with sugar in the center (about 1/2 tsp or so).
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Bake the magdalenas until they're golden brown and let them rest in the pan for a few minutes.
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Transfer the magdalenas to a cooling rack and let them cool down to room temperature.
Recipe Notes
* Use a weak all-purpose flour, if it has a high protein content mix it 50/50 with cake flour or your magdalenas will turn out a bit dry.
** You can use eggs straight from the fridge, especially if you are going to let the batter rest for a while in the fridge.
The science of your sourdough starter
Welcome to a new section of my blog: Bread Science Fridays! In this section I will be indulging on my nerd side and talk about the science of many things behind your beautiful bakes. This week’s post is dedicated to our beloved sourdough starters and the science behind them!
Ever since the pandemic started, more and more people jumped into sourdough. So, I thought it could be fun to explain scientifically what happens when you feed your starter (or build your levain).
A sourdough starter it’s just a culture of microorganisms that are alive and perform their own biological activity. These cultures are composed, mostly, by different strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), saccharomyces yeasts, and some candida yeasts among others.
In this post, you will learn the phases your starter goes through during a feeding cycle, why using your starter at its peak of activity is important, and the science behind it!
A couple of things about biology
In microbiology, a strain of a certain type of microorganism is like a subtype of named microorganism. For example, the lactic acid bacteria type would be the lactobacillus but there are many subtypes (Strains). Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Sanfranciscensis, Lactobacillus Reuteri… They’re all LAB but with some differences (from shape to optimum living conditions).
Each strain has its specific optimum living conditions. That is the optimum temperature, water activity, pH… that will make the fermentation rate the fastest. The fact that a microorganism is “happy” at 28C, for example, doesn’t mean that it cannot perform its biological activities at 29C or at 20C. It means that the performance will not be the best. As you know, it slows down at cold temperatures. However, it’s higher temperature that pose a threat to the microorganisms. Too high temperatures will inhibit and eventually kill the bacteria.
The bacterial growth curve
Bacteria, as living organisms, grow, multiply, and die. The reason our sourdough starter is resilient is not because the bacteria are indestructible, its’ because there are millions of them and not all of them are the same age. They are in different growth phases. While maybe most of the bacteria are dying, some might have just been born.
Bacteria and yeast multiply by dividing themselves into two. 1 becomes 2, 2 become 4, 4 become 16, etc. This mechanism is called binary fission. Therefore, their growth is exponential. In microbiology, this growth is depicted using growth curves.
Bacterial growth curves are specific for each strain of bacteria in a specific set of conditions (Changing the temperature will change the curve). In these curves we can see the 4 phases bacteria undergo from the moment they’re born to the moment they die. A generic bacterial growth curve would look similar to this one:
Our starter will follow this growth cycle too. Understanding what happens in each phase will help us understand our starter and when we should use it for baking to prevent a excess of sourness
The phases explained
Phase 1: Lag phase. This is the very beginning of the curve. At this stage, the microorganisms have enough nutrients and are active but they’re still not multiplying. What they’re doing is synthesizing proteins and getting things ready to start the division. It’s also an adaptation period to the culture conditions.
Phase 2: Exponential phase. Once things are ready, the bacteria start multiplying (by binary fission). The metabolic activity on this stage is high and increases as the number of bacteria increases (optimal growth). Some bacteria might die too, but overall, there are more bacteria multiplying than dying.
Phase 3: Stationary phase. This phase is a plateau the bacteria reach because of the depletion of nutrients or accumulation of waste (the acids they produce can inhibit their own activity). Less food means less activity and therefore fewer bacteria dividing. At this point, the growth and death rates are equal, and the overall number of microorganisms remains constant.
Phase 4: Death phase. At this point, nutrients are decreasing and bacteria continue to produce waste from their biological activities (bacterial poop if you may 😉 ). The environment becomes harsh and bacteria start dying (some also go dormant). In this phase, the death rate is faster than the growth rate, so the overall number of microorganisms decreases.
Theoretical growth: it portrays how the curve would continue growing if the bacteria had an endless supply of nutrients.
When you add sourdough starter to your dough, the exponential phase will be much longer because the bacteria:nutrients ratio is much larger. The curve would, to certain extent, follow the theoretical growth because there are lots of nutrients!
How does this apply to your sourdough starter?
Knowing in which phase your starter is, will be very helpful for your baking. The fermentative power of your sourdough will depend on the phase of the cycle it is on, and it is different in each phase.
Although the by-products of the fermentation are essentially the same in each phase, the aromas developed in the bread will be substantially different because every time we take some starter and mix it with flour and water, we’re resetting the growth curve. It starts again in the lag phase.
And depending on the length of the lag phase, more/fewer aromas will build up in the dough. Ideally, we should use the starter at its peak of activity. Which means the lag phase will be shorter.
But, what exactly is the peak of activity and what’s the best way to know it? Let’s dive deeper into this!
The peak of activity and what it means
When it comes to sourdough it’s common to talk about the “peak of activity”; we understand that it represents the optimum conditions of the starter and it will work faster if it’s at the peak.
Based on the growth curve I showed you before, it’s easier to see that the peak of activity happens at the end of the exponential phase and throughout the stationary phase. During that time the sourdough starter is very active because 1) the number of alive bacteria is high because they still have lots of nutrients and 2) they’re all used to the environmental conditions, well past the lag phase where they’d be creating “waste” but not multiplying and growing.
Obviously, we are not going to do a bunch of experiments to determine when we should bake. However, once we’re familiar with our starters, we know when they reach the peak of activity (more on this later). We can, then, differentiate 3 stages in our starter:
1.- Before the peak of activity
2.- At the peak of activity
3.- Past the peak of activity
The dough fermentation will definitely be affected by the stage of the starter. Let’s analyze it a bit more how that translates into flavor and aromas of our bread and how it’s related to the growth curve.
The starter has not doubled yet after the last feeding
When we refresh our starter (or when we’re building the levain) what we’re doing is resetting the bacterial growth curve. The microorganisms need to adapt to the new conditions first (lag phase) and then eat and multiply (exponential phase).
If your starter has not even doubled since the last feeding, the microorganisms didn’t have enough time to reproduce; they are at the very beginning of the exponential phase and there is still a low number of them.
Basically, you’d be adding just flour and water with a low number of bacteria.
At this point, the fermentative power of the starter is not high enough because there aren’t enough bacteria to perform the job; which means your dough will need a longer time to ferment. This can be detrimental to your dough because longer fermentation times might lead to a more acidic dough.
Not only that, but you could also risk destroying the gluten network. If the fermentation is much longer than it should, your flour might not be able to resist and the gluten strands will start to deteriorate.
Maybe, flavor-wise, the bread turns out as tangy as you like it, but the structure could be compromised.
The starter has reached or almost reached the peak
People recommend using the starter at its peak of activity, but what many don’t know it’s why exactly this is the best condition for sourdough baking. Spoiler alert: It has nothing to do with your culture being hungry.
At least, not in the literal sense of the word, because the microorganisms eat when they have food, and when they don’t, they just change their metabolism pathway and go into “survival mode” (they become dormant). That’s why they can survive in the fridge for months without being fed, or they can be frozen or dried.
Every time we change the environment of the microorganisms, they need to adapt to the new conditions; so, they have to go through the lag phase again. If the starter has passed the peak or if it’s too early in the feeding cycle, this adaptation period is going to be longer. Either because the microorganisms need to get ready to increase the colony, or because they went into survival mode.
The idea of using the starter at the peak of activity is to reduce the lag phase as much as possible. Because longer lag phases can bring undesired aromas or weaken the gluten network.
The reason the bacteria are very active at this point is that they don’t have to use energy to get ready to multiply, and they’re not getting dormant or dying at a higher rate because there’s still plenty of nutrients.
A change of environment can be anything that makes the new conditions different from the culture. For example, adding salt to your dough, adding more/less water, adding more/less wholemeal flour, adding sugar, adding fats etc.
The starter passed the peak and it’s collapsing
If your starter has reached the peak and has started to collapse, it means that it’s either at the end of the stationary phase or at the beginning of the death phase already, and it already has accumulated a significant amount of fermentation by-products.
Among these by-products, there are several organic acids responsible for the acidity of the sourdough (lactic acid and acetic acid are the most common). If you used this starter, the fermentation would be slower at the beginning because:
1.- There are less alive bacteria, since many might have died already
2.- The acidification of the starter can inhibit the growth of the bacteria, so the fermentative power will be weaker. The extent of this inhibition depends on how acidic the starter became. That’s why when we try to revive a forgotten starter, it might take a couple of feedings until we see some activity.
3.- The bacteria that are still alive need a longer lag phase before they start growing again. During this lag phase they will get ready for the new environmental conditions (your dough) and will fix the pH of the dough that turned too acidic. And remember, during this phase, bacteria keep producing acids but they’re not reproducing.
Basically, if you don’t control de fermentation, your bread can be very sour. Once again, remember that longer fermentation times not only affect flavor, but also the structure.
Contrary to what many people think, though, you can still use a starter that has passed its peak of activity (by just a few hours) and still obtain a bread that has not soured too much, as long as you control the fermentation.
But.. What if I like my bread very tangy?
The sourness of sourdough bread comes from accumulated organic acids in the dough. So, in order to get the tangy flavor, we need to ensure that the dough has accumulated enough of these compounds.
We can do that by using slightly warmer temperatures during the bulk fermentation. Doing this, the bacteria will be closer to their optimum living conditions, and they will perform a faster fermentation. We could push the bulk a little to get that extra sourness.
How do I know my starter is ready to bake?
There are different ways to check when your starter is ready, and the more familiar you are with it, the easier it’ll be. I’m going to tell you my favorite way to check the peak of activity at home: The height test
I don’t know if this is how people know it, but it’s how I call it. The height test is, in my opinion, the most reliable way for the home baker to check their starter.
If you always feed your starter the same ratios of flour and water, or you build your levain in the same way, this test is great for comparisons; it will be very easy for you to know if it’s ready by just looking at how much it grew. It also prevents the “human factor” more than other tests and reduces the chances of making a mistake.
How to perform the maximum height test
As the name indicates, this test is to see how high the starter can grow (this applies to 100% or less hydration, more liquid starters can’t grow too much, for obvious reasons). The peak of activity coincides with the maximum height.
After reaching the maximum height, the starter will remain at that height for a few hours (stationary phase) before it starts collapsing (beginning of the death phase)
Let’s say you feed your starter with a 1:1:1 starter:water:flour ratio. Then you let it ferment and record the height (taking pictures might be even better!) after it reaches the maximum height you need to pay attention to how long it stays at that height and when it starts collapsing.
Imagine that right after feeding, your starter takes 5 hours to reach the highest height, and then it stays 2 more hours at that height. Those last 2h will be the best period to use your starter.
By doing this simple test, you will see how much your starter grows (double, triple, quadruple?). It’s important to know the temperature when you do this little experiment because in warmer days, your starter will grow faster. However, since you know more or less the highest height it will reach, you just need to keep an eye on it!
Always remember that the time your starter takes to grow will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. Warmer temperatures will make the starter more active because they’re close to their optimum growing temperature. Colder temperatures will make the starter grow slower, because these are far from the optimum conditions.
Let’s wrap this up
I’d like to finish my first Bread Science Fridays by highlighting a few concepts:
1.- Bacterial growth has four phases that can be applied to our sourdough starters. Knowing what happens in each phase will help us understand our starter.
2.- The starter works best when it’s used at its peak of activity because we’re reducing the lag phase and bacteria can use the energy more efficiently.
3.- The maximum height test is an easy experiment to know when a starter reached the peak of activity. It’ll help you understand at which phase your starter is and when it’s best to use.
I hope with today’s post you can understand better your starter and have a better idea of the science behind it! Isn’t the world of sourdough so amazing???
As always, if you ever have any doubts or would like me to talk about the science of something, let me know and I’ll try my best to answer your questions!
You can find me on Instagram or Facebook and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
Happy Bread Science Friday!
Maria
Troubleshooting my lievito madre
The time has come! After several tests and experiments, I can 100% confirm that my lievito madre (or pasta madre, or LM or PM, you’ll see both in this post) is healthy and ready for the “grandi lievitati”!
This is a long post, so buckle up! Get some water, a couple of snacks, and let’s get to it!
In this post, you will find all the problems that I encountered with my pasta madre and how I fixed them one by one. You will also learn how certain factors affect the pasta madre and why from a scientific point of view.
After four months of insanity over the wellness of my lievito madre I have finally brought it back to full strength. It’s been a long journey full of troubleshooting and note-taking. I can now conclude that it wasn’t a single problem that was causing the LM to be weak, but several that I had to fix one by one.
A few pointers and clarifications
I started the LM with fermented apple water and from there I built a liquid starter (100% hydration). Then I converted it into a 35% hydration starter. You can check this post to see how I did it.
I’d like to remark that Pasta Madre is not just a stiff starter, it’s a low hydration stiff starter with very particular maintenance conditions and a very specific way to prepare it for baking. This method promotes very specific strains of bacteria and yeasts in a very specific ratio to keep a very specific pH.
Pasta Madre has an incredibly strong fermentative power that’s able to ferment dough with an incredibly high amount of sugar, butter, and egg yolk (substances that can inhibit the growth of bacteria and yeast and hinder gluten development)
Panettone, Pandoro, and Colomba di Pasquale are the holy trinity of pasta madre baking. They undergo long fermentations that due to the specific methods designed for pasta madre, the dough does not develop any acidity.
Pasta madre vs stiff starter
For example: If you’re reading this, I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with “the lievito madre must triple in 3-4h at 28C three consecutive times before it’s ready to make panettone”
If your lievito madre can do that, then it’s mature and ready to prepare the primo impasto (the first dough). However, let’s say that you prepare a stiff starter at 60% hydration. If you compare this stiff starter with pasta madre, you put both in a chamber at 28C and let them ferment, I assure you the fermentation speed will be COMPLETELY different.
Therefore, the “triple in three hours” rule for the pasta madre cannot apply to this 60% hydration stiff starter. And the triple in 12h rule for the primo impasto will not apply either because a 60% stiff starter does NOT behave the same as Pasta Madre. Keep in mind that artisan recipes and methods to make Panettone the Italian way are designed to be used with Pasta Madre.
Let’s start from the beginning
When I first started my LM I was using W380-400 Manitoba flour from Molino Caputo, but I ran out if it and I had to buy more. The new flour I received was W400 Manitoba flour from Molino Grassi.
When I changed the flour, the first thing I noticed was that the new flour needed more than 35% of water. It was impossible to incorporate all the flour. So, I started to add a little more water. Until I was using 40% of water. That extra 5% messed the whole bacteria/yeast ratio. Why? Let’s talk about “water activity”.
Water activity and what it means in food
In Food Science, water activity is a very important concept. The FDA defines water activity as “the ratio between the vapor pressure of the food itself, when in a completely undisturbed balance with the surrounding air media, and the vapor pressure of distilled water under identical conditions”.
The water activity of pure water is 1 and it’s the maximum possible value in a 0-1 range.
In essence, water activity is a way to quantify how much water there is in a particular sample, and based on that number we know which microorganisms could grow in that sample. This is particularly important for all fermentation operations, shelf-life studies, etc.
Water activity in my lievito madre
Back to my pasta madre; now you understand why that extra 5% of water I was adding created an unbalance between the Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) and the yeasts in the culture. The water activity changed and it either promoted other strains of bacteria to grow or a faster proliferation among yeast strains. Or maybe even both things happened.
What was clear was that the higher water activity wasn’t promoting the best environment for the microorganisms that should be in lievito madre. In a healthier LM this wouldn’t have been such a problem, but there were other factors affecting it.
Problem #1: Alterations in the water activity of the lievito madre
Cause of the problem: impatience while incorporating flour
Solution: patience! I started to let the PM rest for a few minutes after I managed to incorporate the flour. Like a little autolyse. I went from needing 40% of water and struggle to a 35% and no problems.
Effect of flour in my lievito madre
As I mentioned, I had to change the flour I was using because the website I was buying from changed the supplier. The new flour was SO STRONG! Strong flour must be the best for panettone, right? WRONG.
Manitoba flour comes from a type of hard wheat with higher protein content. However, in order to have that high protein content, the flour has to be very refined and stripped off as much bran as possible. But this process also takes some of the nutrients of the flour away. Nutrients that the bacteria need to be able to perform their biological activities… See where I’m going?
It seemed as if my LM wasn’t getting enough nutrients every time I refreshed it, which caused a progressive loss of fermentative power. I was, unknowingly, starving my LM to the point of almost zero strength.
The smell told me there was some fermentation going on, probably from the yeasts, but it barely grew, it didn’t have the crumb-like inner structure, and it didn’t even float in the bath after 24h.
Problem #2: starvation of my LM
Cause of the problem: lack of nutrients in the flour.
Solution: A mix of flours with a less refined flour that would provide more nutrients.
Lack of nutrients in the flour
Talking to my friend Kel (@wonky.loaf.of.sourdough), she pointed out that maybe the flour was, indeed, too refined. And she was right! That night, when I was about to throw away the LM and start from scratch, I decided to do one last experiment. I refreshed the LM and put it in the fridge, and with the discards, I created a sibling, which I fed 80% of Manitoba flour and 20% of King Arthur bread flour.
In about 12h it was floating and showing signs of life. 12h is a long time, but previously, my LM wouldn’t float after 24h. So, this was clearly the 1st win!
Since that moment I always feed my LM a mixture of flours. I tried 15% of bread flour but it showed lower activity, and I tried also 25% of bread flour but after a feeding cycle I lost a lot of LM, it disintegrated very fast. Once I ran out of bread flour, I started to use King Arthur High Protein flour or King Arthur AP flour, whichever I had at the moment.
The second feeding went even better, in 3-4h it was floating and happy. It smelled so well, it was spongy, it was getting healthier! Or so I thought… It was better, but not 100% there. While this was definitely the major problem, there were still lots of things I wasn’t doing right.
Small changes made all the difference
I used the LM to bake a few loaves and it worked well. I tried to make sandwich bread and the dough rose well too. But when I used it to make brioche it was extremely difficult to incorporate all the butter. This is usually a sign that something is not right.
I also noticed that the loaves I made with LM had large lumps that didn’t disappear after baking. The dough wasn’t absorbing the LM and it wasn’t fermenting, because the lumps didn’t puff up while baking.
At this point I was using the 80-20 mix of flours, 35-37% of water and I was rolling the dough with my pasta maker. The temperature of the house was around 66-69F. The temperature was adequate, the flour was adequate, the hydration was adequate…
Again, Kel to the rescue! She suggested that maybe I was rolling the dough too thin and I was working the gluten too much.
The reason I was rolling the dough with the pasta roller was plain laziness! At this point I had been refreshing the PM once a day for several weeks, it became a tedious task. The pasta maker made the process much faster, but I was compromising the gluten.
Effect of gluten in my lievito madre
The temperature, flour mix, and hydration were good, and in the conditions necessary to promote proper fermentation. However, the dough structure also plays a role.
When I started to roll the dough with the pasta maker, I developed to gluten too much. To the point were 1) the dough was too thin and extremely elastic, making it easier to roll it very tight before putting it in the water bath, and 2) the gluten was so developed that after a feeding cycle, the part touching the water was degrading much faster.
I believe that by working the dough with the pasta maker and rolling it too tight, the oxygen availability in the core of the LM was low, which probably led to a proliferation of yeast and a change in the metabolic pathway of the microorganisms; which led to the development of a different aroma profile and higher production of acetic acid. It was making the dough sourer than it should.
Gluten structure vs development of aromas
A tight LM also meant that all the volatile components released during the fermentation didn’t have a place to go, the dough was so tight that they couldn’t move much and they probably were kept in the core of the LM instead of flowing into the water bath. This too increased the acidity of the pasta madre.
The part that was touching the water, disintegrated much faster. The layers were so thin that after a few hours in the water they dissolved. So, the center part was too dry and the outer part too wet.
I learned that rolling the dough too thin and too tight is detrimental to the dough in the long run. At the beginning you might not feel the difference and the smell changes so very slightly that you don’t even realize it’s becoming sourer.
Once I started to roll the dough by hand, the smell started to change, and it got much better in just 2 feeding cycles. The looser structure helped the LM develop a much better crumb-like core.
Problem #3: The dough was still showing signs of weakness and the smell wasn’t great yet
Cause of the problem: machine rolling affected the fermentation by affecting the gluten structure.
Solution: go back to hand rolling
Effect of maintenance temperature
I had spent 4 months like a doctor trying to figure out the disease of the patient. I didn’t know what was happening, so I started to rule things out. At this point I was pretty confident the LM was healthy, and the best way to test how the LM is doing is by trying to make panettone.
Everything was looking right, the hydration, the flour, the rolling method… the house temperature was a bit higher but it shouldn’t be a problem, should it? WRONG but I didn’t know it yet…
One day I woke up early, I had done the bagnetto the night before, and I started to do the 3 refreshments to prepare the LM for panettone. So that day I prepared the primo impasto and let it ferment for 12h at 28C.
At most, the primo impasto should take 14h to triple. But mine barely doubled in 15h
Obviously, my lievito madre was not ready yet. I should have known, as 4h after the last refreshment it wasn’t even floating, it hadn’t tripled in size either, but I was so eager to try to make panettone that I ignored the signs. I didn’t proceed with the secondo impasto, there was no point (I made waffles with the dough, there’s no dough that a waffle maker can’t fix!)
Effect of pH on my lievito madre
After the panettone fail, I decided to taste the LM on each refreshment (I should’ve done it earlier and more often), it was the only thing I hadn’t test yet, the flavor. And OMG! The dough did smell acidic but nothing too weird. But the taste? It was spicy, vinegary… it was super sour!
As it appears, those warmer days, once again, disrupted the equilibrium between bacteria and yeast during the maintenance refreshments. And I believe the warmer temperatures helped in the proliferation of yeasts that led to a drastic increase in the production of acetic acid and a pH unbalance.
pH is one of the factors that affect the survival conditions of the microorganisms. If the pH changes, so will the strains of microorganisms that can grow in that environment.
In need of a deep cleanse
The LM needed to be purified. I decided to do a bagnetto and then I proceeded to do the refreshment as usual. But this time I added 4% of egg yolk to buffer the acidity and help reestablish the microorganism colony. It worked wonders! (This is a technique suggested by Italian Maestros)
I only used egg once, the following days I only use flour and water and I made sure the water bath was at 4C so with the warmer temperature in my house I could keep the LM temperature at bay. The acidic taste got milder and milder until one day I tasted the LM and it was just PERFECT. It had a hint of acid, and a hint of sweetness.
The smell was HEAVENLY. It smelled alcoholic, but with a little bit of acetic acid, and something sweet. Overall it was a very very very pleasant smell. The kind of smell that you just know is right.
Problem #4: a drastic pH change
Cause of the problem: higher temperature during maintenance feeding cycles disrupted the yeast:bacteria ratio again.
Solution: purification step with egg yolk in one refreshment and cold water for the bath to compensate for the warmer temperatures.
Finally: the panettone test
I tried to make panettone again, this time pretty confident because the smell was SO GOOD that I just knew that was how it was supposed to smell (and taste!)
It was just amazing how much better the LM grew during the 3 preparatory refreshments. Even more so when I made the primo impasto. It barely had any lumps of LM in the dough, and the ones it had were very small. The dough absorbed the butter and egg yolk beautifully! (if the pH is not where it has to be, it’s difficult to for the dough to absorb fats). Even the gluten was formed differently. I could tell the pH of the LM was exactly where it had to be.
I finished the primo impasto at 9:30 pm and left it at 28C overnight. Next morning, just 11h later, it had already tripled.
I cannot express the happiness I felt when I saw it. Every time I try to make panettone, the night of the primo impasto I can’t sleep. I’m nervous it won’t rise. But that night I slept well, because I knew the LM was healthy.
It worked! Panettone on the way!
So that day I proceeded with the secondo impasto and made the panettone. And I cannot tell you how amazing the secondo impasto was. The dough was super silky. I can tell it had been my very best gluten development so far. The windowpane test was just incredible (You can see it on my highlights on my Instagram).
After 4 months of frustration, experimentation, speculation, and research. I can finally say that I brought my LM back to its healthiest life. Actually, not back, because it has never been this healthy before.
If anything, working with my pasta madre has been a humbling lesson and a reminder that this is science. Once I started to work with my pasta madre as I would with a project in the lab, things started to change, I started to see the problems and mistakes I was making. And I’ve learned so much!
Acknowledgements
If you’ve made it this far, I’d like to thank you for reading all this. And if you’re struggling with your pasta madre, I hope my experience can help you in your journey.
Also, I’d like to say thank you so much to all of you who followed this journey and gave me ideas or simply asked about my LM. Brainstorming with others is always better! And thank you to my friend Kel. Without her nerdy mind, I probably wouldn’t be here today, with a healthy pasta madre!
#missionpanettone is now stronger than ever!!!
Happy baking!!
Maria
This post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you – that allows me to keep running this blog.
Easy and Delicious Sourdough Challah
Something good about this quarantine? It gave me the time I needed to create more recipes and do experiments with all my starters. I’ve had sourdough challah in my “to-bake” list for the longest time. And I finally have a recipe I’m 100% satisfied with.
I used all-purpose flour with a protein content of 11.7% for this delicious challah recipe. Don’t worry if you can’t find bread flour, I know it’s difficult to find these days.
UPDATE 10/18/2020: Based on the feedback I received, I decided to update this post to talk about the oil and how to easily incorporate it.
About the recipe
This dough is not on the sticky side, however, you need to make sure you develop the gluten very well. If you do so, you will have a delicate and cohesive sourdough challah that will stay fresh for several days. You can check this post for some guidance on how to knead enriched dough based on real bread science.
I can’t stress this enough: make sure you knead the dough well. Do it little by little. Allow the gluten enough rest if you think the dough is not really coming together after a while. If you’re using a stand mixer, the dough shouldn’t stick to the bottom. And if you’re using your hands, the dough shouldn’t stick to the heel of your hands or the counter.
Developing the gluten well takes a bit of time, but the reward will be amazing. You’ll end up with a dough that’s easier to handle (it won’t stick everywhere), a plump braid, and a bread that won’t dry out and harden right after it cools down.
The ingredients
Since this recipe doesn’t have a lot of moisture, I prefer to add all ingredients at once except the oil. I find it’s the best way to ensure salt and sugar dissolve well, and that all ingredients are properly distributed. You want to have a homogeneous dough.
Once you start kneading and the dough acquires certain consistency, add the oil and incorporate it well. This step might be easier to do by hand than with a stand mixer. You can add the oil little by little or all at once, whatever is more comfortable for you.
In the ingredient list, you’ll find a range in the amounts of oil and water. You can decide which type of dough you prefer. A slightly softer dough that leads to a slightly softer bread, or a slightly stiffer dough that’s easier to shape. The range is not large, but those extra 10 or 20g do make a difference, especially using AP flour.
My flour has 11.7% of protein, if yours has more/less, you will need to adjust the amount of water accordingly
What If I can’t eat eggs?
If you can’t eat eggs you can substitute them with pumpkin puree. It’ll give the dough an orangey color, but it’ll make the dough spongey too. Just be careful with the liquid because pumpkin puree does have some extra moisture.
How to incorporate the oil
If you have read some of my posts you know I’m very particular about developing the gluten network. Adding butter when the dough is half-developed is a bit of work but nothing impossible. However, adding oil can be a lot trickier. So here are my tips:
1) Add the oil little by little. If you add it all at once the outer layer of the dough will be covered in oil and won’t let it penetrate.
2) Squeeze the dough as you knead so you can break that outer layer and the oil can penetrate.
3) If you still have problems, cut the dough into smaller pieces to increase the surface area of dough that hasn’t been coated in oil yet (the inside part) and keep squeezing
4) If you work on your counter, squeeze the dough as if you were wringing out a cloth.
5) Be patient, it’ll take a few minutes but it’s not impossible!
The key to incorporate the oil is to make sure it can pass through that outer layer of dough that has been coated in oil and is slippery. You can cut the dough, squeeze it, wring it… Whatever works for you.
But.. Can I just add the oil with the rest of the wet ingredients?
Yes, you can AS LONG AS you make sure the gluten is developed correctly. The reason I encourage you to add it later is that we tend to stop working the dough absorbs the fats. And that leads to denser crumbs and lower quality bread.
But if you make sure you get that beautiful windowpane and a dough that is elastic and nice. Then yes, you can add the oil earlier in the process.
I’d still suggest you add it after mixing everything else, while you have that shaggy mess of dough at the beginning. The reason why is because the flour had at least some time to hydrate without oil getting in the middle. Moreover, the gluten network is still at a very early stage, so it’ll be easier to squeeze the dough and allow the oil to be absorbed.
How to ferment sourdough challah
I found that the temperature range in my house did not affect the fermentation too much. However, the amount of water did. Keep in mind that the temperature didn’t vary that much (68-74F) and wasn’t too warm.
Note: if your house is very warm, the temperature will affect the fermentation more than it affected me. Keep an eye on your dough during bulk fermentation.
While all sourdough challahs turned out great; I found that the recipe with a little more water fermented faster and the dough was a bit slacker; which made the braiding a bit more difficult as the ropes stretched very easily. The dough with slightly less water and oil ended up in very plump braids; (the very first photo), but the bread was slightly drier than I prefer.
I did all bulk fermentations overnight at room temperature (about 8h at 68-74F depending on the day). The recipe with more water over-proofed a little and developed a slightly sour taste (at both temperatures, even at 68F). However, you can fix this easily by reducing the bulk fermentation.
The recipe with less water didn’t get to rise that much but was still puffy and the taste was sweeter. After shaping, all loaves proofed for 3-4 h (until they were puffy, not until they doubled). The loaves with less water held the shape better.
You should take these experiments as a guide. But what you’re looking for is a puffy dough that still feels stiff (not sticky). If you press carefully, you should leave a mark that springs back slowly. You can adapt the fermentation to your own kitchen conditions.
What I’d suggest is to not rush the bulk fermentation. If your dough didn’t ferment enough, then it could tear open during baking.
Find the balance between temperature and fermentation
In any case, try not to over ferment the dough, or it might turn sour and slacker. It should feel puffy, it should smell like sourdough but not too acidic with slightly but pleasant acetic hints. Same for the final proof, let it get puffy but don’t wait until it doubles.
It’s very difficult to see when it doubles unless the dough is in a container. Waiting for it to double might end up in an over-fermented dough that will flatten during or after baking and won’t taste as nice.
How to braid this sourdough challah
Divide the dough into as many portions as you want strands in your braid. Let them rest 10 minutes before you make the ropes.
To make the ropes, flatten the dough balls into a 2 in/10 cm oval. Then starting on the long side roll the oval onto itself giving it some tension as you go. Once you shaped the log seal the seam.
Let the logs rest a few minutes; then starting from the middle towards the outside stretch the logs and make the ropes. If the ropes keep shrinking let them rest. The gluten it’s pulling and if you continue to stretch the dough you’ll end up breaking the gluten structure.
Braiding the challah a little loose will allow it to tighten as it proofs. It will puff up during baking and be very plump. If the braid is too tight from the beginning, it could tear during baking
After you brush your challah with the egg white, you can sprinkle some poppy or sesame seeds to decorate it!
Here you have a video for an 8 strand challah:
The good thing about challah dough is its versatility when it comes to shapes and braiding. If you’re looking for a beautiful shape but are a bit intimidated by braids, I’d suggest you try your hand at a round challah. It’s very easy to braid and you won’t get lost.
The baking
Since every oven is a bit different, bake your challah until it’s golden brown. If it gets too dark on top you can tent it with aluminum foil until it’s done inside. If you have trouble knowing if the bread is done, check the inside temperature. It should register at least 200F / 94C.
I have this thermometer and I’m very happy with it. It’s fast and accurate and it can hold the max/min temperature. What I like the most is that it has a magnet! So I can leave it stuck on the fridge while I’m baking for easy use.
After baking let the challah cool down for a while. It will help set the crumb and aromas!
I hope you enjoy this wonderful sourdough challah!
If you make this easy sourdough challah, let me know what you think and tag me on your creations! I love to see what you guys make!
You can find me on Instagram or Facebook and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
For suggestions or want me to adapt a yeast-based recipe into a sourdough one, etc. please contact me and I’ll try my best to respond and plan a recipe!
Happy baking!
This post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you – that allows me to keep running this blog.
Easy and Delicious Sourdough Challah
A delicious sourdough challah with a very fluffly crumb. Perfect to eat plain, to make toasts, or even french toasts.
Ingredients
- 345 g king arthur all purpose flour (11.7% protein content)
- 110 g sourdough starter at its peak of activity
- 70-80 g water room temperature
- 1 Large egg
- 1 Large yolk (save the white for final egg wash)
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 80-90 g vegetable oil
- 6 g salt
- 1 tsp poppy or sesame seeds optional
Instructions
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Add the water and the sourdough starter to a bowl and with a whisk bread down the starter
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Add the egg, the yolk, and the sugar and combine everything
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Sift the flour and salt together and add them to the dry ingredients
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Combine everything until you don't see dry flour particles and let it rest 30-60 mins
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Start kneading, if using a stand mixer you can use the paddle attachment
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When the dough starts developing the gluten add the oil and keep kneading until it's completely absorbed (see notes)
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Knead 4-5 minutes and let it rest another 5-7 minutes. Continue doing thes until it's ready (Let the dough rest as much as necessary).
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When the dough passes the windowpane test and it's smooth and elastic, put it in a lightly oiled container and let it ferment until it doubles or almost doubles and feels puffy (at 68-74F it takes tops 8h, typically overnight)
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Degas the dough and let it rest a few minutes. Then divide it in as many strands as you want for your braid, shape them into dough balls and let them rest (covered) for 10 minutes
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Take one piece of dough and with the heel of your hand flatten it. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 7 x 4 inches oval. Starting from the longe side roll the dough into itself and form a log. Pinch the seam closed and gently roll from the center outwards lengthening the log
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Repeat with all the dough pieces, if it's difficult to stretch the log, let it rest a few minutes
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Braid the challah and place it on a piece of parchemnt paper on the tray you'll use to bake it. Cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise until it feels puffy (at 68-74F it takes about 3-4h)
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Preheat the oven for 20 minutes at 350 F. When the challah is ready, brush it with the egg white and sprinkle poppy or sesame seeds. Bake it for 35-40 minutes or until it has a nice golden brown color
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Let the challah cool down to room temperature before slicing it
Recipe Notes
- If you’re kneading with a stand mixer you might find it easier to incorporate the oil by hand. Squeezing and twisting the dough will work faster.
- If you think the challah getting too dark but the inside is not done, tent it with a piece of aluminum foil.
- Kept it in a plastic bag or airtight container, it can last fresh and soft several days.
Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
Two words: blueberry muffins. It can’t get better than that. Nah, it can, with sourdough it can! Sourdough blueberry muffins, my friends!
I’m determined to use all my sourdough discards, it is painful to throw it away! So these days the new normal is something like this:
Feed starter – save discards – bake loaf -bake with the discards
The more I bake with sourdough discards, the more I get to test the effect on other food. So far, I can say that cakes and muffins made with sourdough last longer than those without. Nothing new really, sourdough bread also lasts fresh longer time
Isn’t it amazing? Although… after you make these muffins, I doubt you’ll need an extended shelf life, they’re INCREDIBLE!
Why do sourdough baked goods last longer?
Bread and other baked goods are usually discarded when they lose quality rather than when they get spoiled. Bread gets stale kind of quickly, cakes dry and get crumbly… Although there are many factors involved in why and how baked goods dry out, obviously, moisture content plays a key role.
When you mix your ingredients with water, the very first thing that happens is that those ingredients absorb the water. They start making hydrogen bonds and trapping the water within the matrix. Sugar and salt start dissolving, gluten proteins start hydrating, starch granules starch absorbing water and swelling (you see why autolysis helps to develop the gluten? Wink wink)… And all this takes a long time. Much more time than we think.
If we focus on the physical changes of food, rather than the biological changes of sourdough fermentation, we need to pay close attention to how the water is used in baked goods.
Moisture is key
There are two types of water in food: the bound water that’s forming some type of bond and the free water, that is simply stored within the food matrix.
After baking, the free water is going to be the first to go. It moves from the inside of the food (The crumb) towards the outside. Thus, why crust gets soggy over time, and then it finally evaporates and leaves the food.
Bound water, however, it’s somewhat trapped. It can be part of the gluten network, of swollen starch granules, it can be trapped within the fat matrix etc. The amount of bound water (among other things, of course) is one of the things that determines how long the food stays fresh; because its’ much more difficult to separate from the other ingredients. So the loss of quality related to water is slowed down.
Since sourdough baking needs lots of time, the levain preparation, long fermentation times etc. allow all ingredients to keep absorbing water and binding it to other molecules. The flour had many hours to ensure al the particles are saturated with water (I’m assuming a 100% hydration starter here). These bonds survive throughout the whole process; after the food is baked and starts cooling down, the food holds onto these water bonds.
And that’s one of the reasons food made with sourdough lasts longer!
If you’re interested in other food science facts, feel free to send me an email or DM on social media and I’ll try my best to write a post about it!
Back to the muffins!
Alrighty! About these muffins… I made them small for two reasons: 1) because the number of muffins I eat doesn’t depend on the size, so I’d better eat smaller portions now that the gym is close 🙂 and 2) because I don’t have a large muffin tin and if I buy more kitchen stuff my husband is going to make me sleep in the kitchen.
So obviously, feel free to make larger muffins or smaller. Whatever you prefer!
I like to whip eggs and sugar very well, this helps with the airy structure of the muffin and I think the texture turns out super delicate!
Usually, when you make blueberry muffins, they collapse a little after they come out of the oven, it’s normal, that’s because the water inside of the fruits turns into steam while the muffins are baking, and they swell. Some blueberries might burst, and the others, when they cool down, they collapse because the steam condenses. They also wrinkle because the heat affects the structure of the skin.
I like to let the batter chill in the fridge for at least a couple of hours to allow the baking powder and baking soda hydrate well. Their leavening power is activated by acids and moisture. You can leave the batter in the fridge overnight and bake the muffins first thing in the morning!
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think and tag me on your creations! I love to see what you guys do!
You can also follow me on Instagram or Facebook and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
If you have any suggestions or would want me to make some recipes, adapt a yeast-based recipe into a sourdough one, etc, please contact me and I’ll try my best to respond and plan a recipe!
Happy baking!
Sourdough blueberry muffins
Use your sourdough discard to make these delicious muffins!
Ingredients
- 200 g all purpose flour
- 200 g sourdough discards (collected throughout a week)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 L eggs
- 180 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon extract (optional- to taste)
- 180 g heavy whipping cream
- 60 g olive oil (see notes)
- 1½ cups blueberries
Instructions
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Preheat your oven at 375 F
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Sift the flour into a large bowl. Take a tablespoon of that flour and reserve
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Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt to the flour and combine
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In the bowl of your stand mixer whip the eggs until they are fluffy and have a light yellow color
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Add the sugar to the eggs and combine
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Add the whipping cream, the oil, the sourdough starter, and the extracts and combine well. Use a spatula if you need to break down the sourdough blob
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Change from the wire whisk to the paddle attachment, add the flour in 3 batches and combine at medium-low speed
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In separate bowl toss the blueberries and the tbsp of flour you reserved and carefully stirr tso they blueberries get a nice coat of flour
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Add the blueberries to the batter and with a spatula stir until just combined (you can put now the batter in the fridge if you want)
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line a muffin tin with baking cups and fill them to about 3/4
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Add some blueberries on top as decoration
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Bake for about 30 minutes or until they have a nice golden color
Recipe Notes
I like to use olive oil because I think it gives muffins in general a really nice aroma. And it’s also how my mom taught me. But feel free to use melted butter or any other oil of your choice!
If you don’t have blueberries, you can make these muffins with any other fruit
Sourdough donuts with rose cream filling
March was the month for enriched dough for the sourdough monthly challenge I participate every month, and I decided to make sourdough donuts. I adapted the recipe I had for yeasted donuts and used this time to play around with flavors.
I wanted to try a different filling, so I made a rose cream using rose water and the result was AMAZING. Not just because rose water makes everything better, also because these donuts were super soft!
I’d love to tell you they keep fresh for several days, the truth is… they’re so good they didn’t make it that long! 😀
If you don’t have or don’t like rose water you can use any other flavoring. Vanilla, almond, lemon, orange blossom… you name it! (Just be careful with the quantities, some flavorings are stronger and you wouldn’t need that much).
And if you want to try rose water but are under quarantine, please please, please… Wait until the quarantine is lifted. As good as these donuts are, nothing is more important than your safety. Donuts can wait, your health is the priority.
About the recipe
This recipe is pretty straightforward. First, you need to mix all wet ingredients except the starter and butter. Add the sugar and dissolve it, and then add the starter and dissolve the blob a little. My starter was at its peak of activity (it had already tripled in size after feeding it).
Now combine flour and salt. I used bread flour but if for whatever reasons you just have all-purpose flour, you probably won’t need all the milk in the recipe. All-purpose flour absorbs less moisture than bread flour, so using all the milk will, most likely, result in a very slack and sticky dough. And this dough is already on the sticky side.
I used soy milk because that’s what I drink, obviously, you can use regular milk. Just make sure you boil it for a few minutes to break down some enzymes that otherwise could make gluten development difficult
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and combine just enough so you don’t see dry flour particles, cover and let it rest for 30-45 minutes. This autolysis will help the dough to start developing the gluten, hydrate flour particles, and make easier to incorporate the butter. This dough is a bit on the sticky side, so I find this step useful, although is not mandatory.
About the dough
After 30-45 minutes start kneading either by hand or using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer and add the softened butter.
Knead for a few minutes until the butter has been incorporated. If you’re using a stand mixer, you might need to stop several times to scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl or if it rolled up on the paddle attachment.
This dough is a bit sticky, so make sure you knead it well until it’s elastic and it passes the windowpane test. If you don’t see it’s getting more and more elastic stop kneading, cover it and let it rest 10 minutes. Then come back to it and start kneading again.
Sometimes the dough gets tired, the gluten strands start to tangle so much that it’s impossible to develop the gluten network. Letting the dough rest allows the gluten strands to realign and that’s when the magic happens, friends.
You might think your dough is not ready, however, after a few minutes of rest you’ll see how much better it looks and it feels! These rests are crucial when dealing with enriched dough and are also a way to prevent over kneading.
When the dough is ready it should feel very smooth, not too shiny and even dough it will be a bit sticky, it shouldn’t get stuck to your fingers.
Preparing the donuts
Once the dough is ready, let it proof until it doubles in size, but keep its temperature at a maximum of 23C/72F because if it gets too warm it will be very difficult to handle. Not to mention that the butter might melt and leach out of the dough. Patience is key! ( I left my dough fermenting overnight, about 9h, at around 19C/67F).
The next morning punch the dough, degas it well and place it in the fridge for a couple of hours. It’s a sticky dough, cooling it down a little will help you shape the donuts.
After the dough chilled for a while, flour your counter and roll it into a 1cm / 0.5in thickness. Use flour to dust the counter and the top of the dough so it doesn’t get stuck to the rolling pin.
To avoid the donuts from shrinking after cutting them, let the dough rest 15 minutes or so (covered). Then cut one, and if the dough doesn’t shrink you’re good to go, if it does, let it rest a bit longer.
With a round cookie cutter or a glass or whatever you have, cut the donuts. Knead and roll the dough scraps again (let it rest a little if you find it’s difficult to roll it), cut more donuts and continue collecting scraps until you don’t have more dough.
If you have parchment paper, cut small squares, put them on a tray and place the donuts on each square to proof. This will make your life easier when you have to fry them. You won’t have to deal with dough stuck on the tray!
Cover the donuts and let them proof for about 1h at 20/68F Don’t wait for them to double in size or when you fry them they’ll have huge holes inside. They should feel puffy. if your room temperature is higher, they might be ready a bit sooner.
In the meanwhile, you can prepare your filling, either the pastry cream or whatever you prefer. When it’s ready, remember to cover it with plastic wrap touching the surface of the cream so it doesn’t develop a skin.
The last step!
To fry the donuts you can use vegetable oil or other flavorless oil. Vegetable oil is a good choice because it has a higher smoke point. You don’t want your fire alarm to go off like crazy!
The ideal temperature for frying is 180-190C / 360-375F so I’d suggest you use a thermometer. I also used the last dough scraps to test the oil.
Fry the donuts just until they have a nice golden color, flipping them every few seconds. And transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels to absorbs the excess oil.
I transferred mine to the paper towel and quickly coated them with sugar. This is up to you, you can finish your donuts
Let the donuts cool down a little and with a piping bag fill them with the filling you prepare and enjoy!
This recipe yields 6-7 pretty large donuts or 10 regular/smaller donuts.
If you make this recipe, let me know what you think and tag me on your creations! I love to see what you guys do!
You can also follow me on Instagram or Facebook and you can also subscribe to my Youtube channel.
If you have any suggestions or would want me to make some recipes, adapt a yeast-based recipe into a sourdough one, etc, please contact me and I’ll try my best to respond and plan a recipe!
Happy baking!
Sourdough donuts with rose cream filling
These donuts are very soft and full of amazing flavors
Ingredients
Donut dough
- 260 g bread flour
- 110 g soy milk see notes
- 75 g white sourdough starter 100% hydration
- 40 g sugar
- 3 g salt
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 tbsp rose water
- 50 g softened butter
Rose cream filling
- 250 g soy milk
- 2 egg yolks
- 40 g sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp rose water (to taste)
- 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
- 3 drops red food coloring
Instructions
Donut dough
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In the bowl of your stand mixer add the milk and suggar anddissolve the sugar
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Add the egg yolks and rose water and combine well
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Add the starter and stir until you break down the blob
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On a different bowl mix the flour and salt
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Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and combine just until you don't see dry flour particles. Cover the bowl and let it rest 30-45 minutes
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After the rest start kneading the dough and when you see it starts getting elastic add the softened butter and knead until the dough passes the windowpane test. Make sure you let the dough rest every few minutes of kneading and before trying the windopane test
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Once the dough is ready, grease a container and put the dough inside. Let it ferment until it doubles in size. In my case it took about 9h at 19C/27F
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After the bulk fermentation, degas the dough well and let it chill for a couple of hours in the fridge
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Take the dough out of the fridge, dust your work surface and the dough and roll it into a 1cm/ 0.5in thickness
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Cut the donuts and roll the scraps as many times necessary until you don't have more dough left
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Place the donuts on small pieces of parchment paper, cover them and let them proof until they're puffy (about 1h)
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Fill a pot with vegetable oil and heat it to 180-190C / 360-375F
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When the donuts are ready and the oil is hot, fry the donuts until they have a nice golden brown color. Flip them in the oil several times so they have even color.
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Transfer the donuts to a paper towel to remove the excess of oil and quickly roll them in sugar so the sugar sticks to the donut
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Let the donuts cool down a few minutes and with a piping bag fill them with your favorite filling!
Rose cream
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Put the milk in a saucepan and bring to a low boil
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In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks, sift the starch, add the sugar, the coloring, and the rose water and whisk again
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Pour a little bit of milk on the bowl (about 1/3 or 1/4 of the milk) with the yolks mixture and quickly stir so you don't cook the eggs
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Pour the egg batter into the saucepan and whisk it all together until is homogeneous
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Heat the mixture at low heat and don't stop stirring. It will thicken
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Once the cream is thick enough transfer it to a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Make sure the wrat touches the cream so it won't develop a skin.
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Let the cream cool down to room temperature before filling the donuts
Recipe Notes
I use soy milk because that’s what I normally use. You can substitute it for regular milk but make sure you boil the milk a few minutes before using it in the dough. That way you will break down the enzymes that could hinder gluten development.