Ingredients

To make a pound-and-a-half loaf of sourdough bread:

• 100 gm leaven, made from:
  • 1 heaping Tbsp starter
  • 25 gm unbleached white bread flour
  • 25 gm whole-wheat flour
  • 50 gm 80° F water
• Flours:
  • 380 gm unbleached white bread flour
  • 20 gm gluten flour
  • 100 gm whole-wheat flour
  • 25 gm corn meal (I buy bulk popcorn and grind it very fine with an electric flour mill.)

  The mix of flours can be varied, maintaining a total of 500 gm of wheat flour that includes no more than 20 gm of gluten flour. I use twice the “standard” amount of whole-wheat flour. The PDF recipe contains a table for varying the proportion of whole-wheat (WW) flour.

• Main water:
  • 330 gm 80° F water

  This amount of water is 67% hydration. That is, the weight of water (330 gm) is 67% of the weight of wheat flours (500 gm). The PDF recipe lists the amount of water for different percentages of hydration.

  In different climates, a different percentage hydration may be necessary.

  The hydration also depends on the particular flours in the dough. With King Arthur unbleached white bread flour, I am successful with 67% hydration. With Bob’s Red Mill or Gold Medal flour, I need to decrease the hydration by different amounts. Whenever I have changed the flour I use, I’ve had to experiment with the hydration, generally finding the right balance of flour and water after two or three loaves.

• 10 gm salt
• Extra water to add with salt:
  • About 1 Tbsp 80° F water (Go easy on extra water when adding salt.)

  1 Tbsp water is approximately 14 gm.

• About 2 Tbsp white flour for dusting cookie sheet and cloths that will contact the dough ball