Bolted All Purpose Flour Sourdough Bread Recipes

Steps:

• For the levain: Combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, water and starter in a medium bowl and mix to combine. Cover and let sit at room temperature until bubbly and increased in volume by about 20 percent, about 8 hours.
• For the dough: Add the all-purpose flour, water and whole-wheat flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Weigh out 7 ounces of the levain (about 1 cup) and add to the mixer (discard any remaining levain). Mix on low until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Add the salt to the dough and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes; the dough should feel a bit sticky and wet but look smooth and very stretchy. Scrape the dough into a plastic or glass container about twice its size. Cover and let sit at room temperature until puffed, about 45 minutes.
• Put the dough on a floured work surface, flatten it gently, then fold in thirds like a business letter. Transfer it back to the container. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.
• Repeat the folding process one more time, transfer back to the container, cover and let sit at room temperature for another 45 minutes. After the third 45-minute rest, the dough should feel soft and pillowy; when pressed with a finger, it should leave an indentation that begins to spring back.
• Gently scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide in half using a bench scraper. Shape each piece loosely into a round by gently tucking the edges under. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
• Drape 2 kitchen towels into 2 medium (8-inch) bowls and dust very generously with flour. Dust the top of the dough rounds very lightly with flour and flip over using a bench scraper. Flatten one piece of dough into a circle, then fold the left and right sides of the dough over the center. Keeping tension in the dough, begin folding down from the top edge in 3 segments, sealing the bottom edge with the last fold. Loosely cup the dough and, using your hands and the tension between the board and the dough, pull the bread very slowly towards yourself while creating a taut ball. Gently flip the dough ball over and into one of the prepared bowls. Cover loosely with another kitchen towel. Repeat the process with the second piece of dough. Place both in a warm place to rise until about 1 1/2 times their size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• About 20 minutes before baking, position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven, put a 4-quart Dutch oven and lid on the rack and preheat to 500 degrees F. When preheated, carefully transfer the hot Dutch oven to a heatsafe surface with oven mitts (leave the lid in the oven). Flip one round of dough over into the Dutch oven. Using a sharp knife, scissors or bread lame, score the top of the bread in a cross or desired pattern. Return to the oven, immediately cover with the lid and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 425 degrees F, uncover and bake until dark brown, about 10 minutes more. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack to cool completely. Return the empty Dutch oven to the oven, raise the temperature to 500 degrees F and let heat for 10 minutes before repeating the baking process with the second dough round.

Steps:

• Combine all the ingredients in a medium size bowl and mix until well incorporated.
• Cover the bowl or straight-walled bucket and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes. Then do four rounds of gluten development with half-hour rests in between.
• Let the dough continue to rise until it is 50-75% larger than its original size. Depending on the room temperature and your starter strength, the dough may need a total of about 4-8 hours for this bulk fermentation.
• My dough fermented three hours in my kitchen at ~75F, followed by 12 hours outside on a cool night in the low 60s and high 50s.
• Scrape your dough out onto a floured countertop and shape it into a boule, batard, or oblong loaf, depending on your proofing basket and baking vessel shape. I skipped the pre-shape and bench rest to avoid de-gassing the dough.
• Transfer the dough to a well-floured proofing basket and cover it.
• Let the dough proof about 20 minutes at room temperature (longer in a cold kitchen) and then refrigerate it for 6-12 hours. Or do the entire final proof at room temperature for 1-2 hours depending on your kitchen temperature. In either scenario, let the dough expand a bit and get puffy.
• Preheat your oven and baking vessel for 30 minutes at 500°F.
• Flip your dough out of the proofing basket onto parchment paper and score it.
• Transfer the dough to your baking vessel, cover, and bake for:
• 20 minutes at 500F with the lid on
• 20 minutes at 450F with the lid off
• When the bread is done, the internal temperature should be over 205°F and the bread should sound hollow when you knock on the bottom of the loaf with your fist.
• Let the bread cool at least 2 hours before slicing.

Steps:

• Mix the flour and 1 1/2 cups of the water in a large bowl until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl with a lid or plate and let stand until the flour absorbs the water, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Add the sourdough starter, salt and remaining 3 tablespoons water to the dough. Squeeze and twist with your hands until a sticky dough forms (it will be soupy at first, but continue mixing). Knead the dough in the bowl by scooping under the dough, stretching it up and twisting it while you rotate the bowl a quarter turn; slap down the dough and repeat. Continue kneading until the dough smooths out and pulls away from the bowl, 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and cover with a lid. Let rest in a warm place, 30 minutes.
• Uncover the dough. Gently reach under the dough with a wet hand, stretch it up as far as it will go without tearing, then fold the dough over itself. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat three times; this is a set of turns. Do another set of turns, then re-cover the bowl and return to a warm place to rest, 30 minutes.
• Do two sets of turns every 30 minutes until the dough has increased in size by one-third and has large bubbles in spots, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 more hours, covering the bowl after each time. After the last set of turns, cover the bowl and let the dough rest another 30 minutes.
• Turn out the dough onto a generously floured work surface. Slide a bench scraper or large spatula underneath and fold the dough in half. Cup floured hands around the dough and gently roll it in a circular motion into a taut ball. Let rest, uncovered, 20 minutes (the dough will flatten a little).
• Line a medium bowl with a clean lint-free towel and dust generously with flour. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour, then slide a bench scraper or large spatula underneath and flip it over. Working gently to not deflate the dough, pull each of the four "sides" of the dough up and into the center, folding the last side to cover the whole top of the dough. Roll the dough over so the seams are on the bottom. Slide a bench scraper or large spatula underneath and gently invert the dough into the towel-lined bowl with the seam up. Cover loosely with the overhanging towel. Let rest in the refrigerator, at least 8 hours and up to 18 hours.
• About 30 minutes before baking, place a 10- to 11-inch Dutch oven with a lid in the middle of the oven and place a baking stone or large cast-iron skillet on the bottom rack to absorb the heat; preheat to 450˚ F. Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and uncover. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, uncover and lay a large round of parchment on top. Invert the dough onto the parchment. Carefully lower the dough (on the parchment) into the hot Dutch oven. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, make a few 1/4- to 1/2-inch-deep cuts in the top so that the dough can expand.
• Transfer the pot to the oven; cover with the lid. Bake until the bread has risen and the crust is pale, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until the crust is browned and crisp and a thermometer inserted into the center registers 210˚ F, 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pot, then transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 2 hours.

Steps:

• Starter/Levain (8-12 hours before you plan to mix the dough)
• Mix and then briefly knead the ingredients for the sweet stiff starter. Place the starter ball in a container with space for tripling and cover.
• Dough Mixing
• Combine all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low-med speed for about 10 minutes using a dough hook. Scrape down the sides of the bowl periodically and check on the dough texture after about 5 minutes. The dough should be a little sticky, but shouldn't come apart on your fingertips. Add more flour in small increments (2 Tbsp/17 grams) to get to a lightly sticky feel.
• If you want to hand mix the dough, start by using a bowl and spatula, and then move to slapping and folding the dough on a clean work surface. This slapping and folding video shows the progress of a similar sticky dough.
• Bulk Fermentation
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled/buttered container and cover it. After about 30 minutes, give the dough a quick stretch and fold to confirm the gluten is developing nicely and the hydration is manageable.
• Let the dough rise for at least 4 hours in a warm place, low 80s if possible. You might place the dough in your oven with the light on, use a Raisenne hot pad, or a proofing box. The dough should have expanded by between 75% and 100% before you move onto the next step (see photos in the gallery below).
• Dividing and Shaping
• Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a floured work surface.
• Roll the dough into a tube and divide it into 16 pieces (about 70-80 grams each).
• Form the dough pieces into balls and place them on a heavily floured baking sheet with about 2 inches between each ball.
• Final Proof
• Cover the baking sheet and let the donuts rise 2-4 hours, until doubled (see photo gallery below). My tray of dough was in a cooler environment for this second rise, and the final proof took 3 hours.
• Frying
• In a cold 4-6 quart Dutch oven or heavy deep saucepan, add oil until its about 2 inches deep.
• Heat the oil, checking the temperature frequently. You may want to lower the heat on your stove when the oil reaches 350°F because the temperature of the oil may continue to rise too quickly if you don't.
• Begin frying the donuts when the oil reaches 355°F and if the oil climbs over 370°F, pause and let the oil cool down.
• If your oil temp is below the suggested range, the donuts will not form a skin and will absorb oil. And if your oil temp is above the suggested range, the donuts will burn on the outside while the inside remains uncooked.
• Using a metal spatula or dough scraper, transfer 3-4 dough balls, one at a time, from the baking sheet into the hot oil.
• Fry the donuts for 2-3 minutes per side, flipping with tongs or a slotted spoon. Use the tip of your thermometer to pop any air bubbles that form on the donut surface.
• When both sides of the donuts are golden in color, use a slotted spoon to remove the donuts from the oil and drain off the excess oil, then place them on paper towels.
• Topping, Filling and Storing
• As soon as the donuts are cool enough to handle, roll them in granulated sugar.
• If you're going to fill the donuts, let them cool completely beforehand. You can then make a cuts in the sides of the donuts with a knife or chopstick, and fill the holes via a pastry bag with a cream piping tip, or you can cut the donuts completely in half on the horizontal and spread filling throughout the center of the donuts, for more of a sandwich style donut.
• Store the donuts covered at room temperature for several days.
• For freezing info, see the blog post above.