I used to remember waking up in my parents’ house to the smell of warm bread in the oven. Yes, sourdough. I love it.  Because it is about the happy vibes in my mother’s kitchen.

But asking my mum for any recipe is a nightmare, because she cooks by feel rather than precise measurements – haha, pot calling the kettle black, I do the same too!  So I told my friend I wanted to bake a simple sourdough and she laughed at me.

“You?” she said. “You need patience!”

Anyway, where I live at the moment, it costs a whopping £6 for a loaf. So I decided to make my own.  OK, what’s beautiful about sourdough is that it does not use dried yeast but airborne microbes to ferment the flour, so you get this lovely, lively starter to bake your bread with. I have lots of happy bugs in the house. It is such a happy house. So why not?  I decided to add apples for that lovely background taste to my sourdough (note: use organic apples!)

TO MAKE THE STARTER:

  1. Chop up one apple and mix with 50g rye flour and 50ml cold water.
  2. Mix well and store in a clean jar, covered on top with a clean towel.

FEEDING THE STARTER (5 days)

  1. Everyday, add 1tbsp flour and 1 tbsp water. Mix well.
  2. Cover mixture in jar as per day 1.
  3. On Day 5, it must smell bubbly and doughy.  If it smells alien, junk the whole mixture!

STAGE 1: STIFF STARTER

  1. Add 50% of your starter (about 45g) to 85g of strong bread flour (up to you whether you throw away the other 50% or bake 2 loaves) and 45ml of cold water. Mix well.
  2. Store for 8-12 hours.

STAGE 2: THE KNEADING

  1. Put 145g of the starter above in 400mls of tepid water.  Mix the starter into a colloidal form in the water.
  2. Add 400g of strong bread flour, 50g of rye flour and 50g of wholemeal flour into the colloid and knead well. Knead for about 10 minutes and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
  3. Then add 12g of sea salt and knead again, thoroughly mixing in the salt.
  4. Put the dough in an oiled mixing bowl and leave to rest for 1 hour.
  5. After 1 hour, knead it for a few minutes.
  6. Repeat for 4 kneads and rest periods.
  7. Then line a colander with a clean towel. Put the dough in it and cover with the other half of the towel.
  8. Place in the dough in the fridge overnight.

STAGE 3: BAKING IT

  1. Turn oven up to 250deg (max!)
  2. Warm up a cast-iron casserole dish in the oven for 10 minutes.
  3. Put the dough in there. Dust with semolina, and make two slashes with a knife.
  4. Bake for 35 minutes with lid shut.
  5. Remove lid and bake for another 25 minutes or until browned.

Cool, and leave for a few hours before slicing….though it tastes absolutely delicious when warm!!!!!

Note: I had a fun time with baking this.  The whole family got involved with the multiple kneading stages, we sat around and enjoyed it with an Irish friend (with a glass of wine), gave half a loaf to another, and here’s my daughter’s faux pas which is part of our crazy happy household:

 

PS: The loaf was not perfect and the edges fell apart when I sliced it. But hey, they made a yummy simple aperitif !

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Related post: Handmade bread – tips from the pro