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It’s now been 2 months of “Stay at Home” from the coronavirus pandemic. I’ve been doing a lot of baking during these months and I’ve figured out some tricks to increase efficiency and variety with the least amount of effort.
For my family of 3 it’s sometimes hard to get through a full large loaf of sourdough within a couple of days. I was finding that I was making lots of dough and tossing lots of bread or trying to find creative ways of using it (french toast, bread pudding, croutons, etc). I also found that I could hold dough for about 3 days in the fridge before it started to degrade.
Lately, I’ve been making a big batch of a Basic All Purpose Sourdough and splitting it into 3 different products for 3 different days of baking. Here’s my process for splitting the dough and adding variety.
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Big Batch Basic Sourdough Recipe for 3 days of baking projects
- Prep Time: 4 fairly passive hours
- Cook Time: 3 hours split between 3 days
- Total Time: 80 hours
- Yield: 2 sourdough loaves and 3 pizzas 1x
- Category: bread
- Method: baking
Description
This recipe goes through the process of making a big batch of Sourdough and then splitting it up into 3 different products for 3 different days of baking projects. I’m using Poppyseed Sourdough Loaf, Honey and Seed Sourdough Loaf, and pizza/flatbread to illustrate this process but you can branch out and add any different garnishes you would like (dried fruit, chocolate chips, oatmeal, polenta, fresh herbs, roasted garlic). If you are using dried fruit or adding grains, soak them for 1 hour or so in hot water before adding to your dough, otherwise they will soak up the water from your dough and decrease your overall dough hydration.
I start my dough in the afternoon/evening for a next morning bake. During warm months or if your house is really warm, you could start your dough in the early morning and do your first bake that evening.
Ingredients
Basic Sourdough Base
700 g warm water
200 g active starter
800 g high protein bread flour
200 g whole wheat flour
20 g salt + 50 g water
Batch 1: Poppy Seed Sourdough
1/2 cup poppy seeds
Batch 2: Honey and Seed Sourdough
50 grams seeds (poppy, sesame, flax and/or hemp)
50 grams honey
Batch 3: Flatbread/Pizza Dough
Instructions
Make The Basic Sourdough Base
In a large mixing bowl, mix water and starter, add all the flour and shape into a rough ball. Let sit 20 minutes, then smoosh in the salt and water mix until evenly distributed.
After 20-30 minutes, “turn” the dough. Reach under the dough, pull up and release so the dough on the bottom is now on top. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Repeat 2 more times (four quarter turns all together). Set the timer for another 30 minutes or so.
Split the dough into your 3 batches
Split the dough into 3 portions to be divided between 3 mixing bowls / tuperwares ideally with covers (otherwise you can use plastic wrap). The containers should be able to hold 2 quarts each.
In Container 1 (Poppy Seed Sourdough): Give 3-5 more sets of turns, each set about 30 minutes apart. This will be a basic sourdough bread coated with poppy seeds just before baking.
Once all your turns have been completed and the bread has been in the bulk rise process for 4-6 hours, pour the dough out onto a floured surface and shape into a round. Gather your shaping bowl and shaping cloth.
With wet hands rub the dough all over with water. Pour the poppy seeds out onto the shaping cloth. Place dough seam side up on the cloth and roll the dough ball all around to thoroughly coat with poppy seeds. If poppy seeds seem sparse, add more to the cloth and keep rolling around. More is better, you can reuse seeds that don’t stick. Any bald patches of dough will stick to the cloth when you try to remove the dough just prior to baking.
Cover the dough and let sit at room temperature over night or for 6-10 hours.
In Container 2 (Honey and Seed Sourdough): Add the seeds and honey and smoosh in with your hands. Give 3-5 more sets of turns, each set about 30 minutes apart. Transfer to the fridge.
In Container 3 (Pizza/Flatbread): Oil the container. Kneed the dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Divide into 2-3 pieces and shape into a ball. Place balls in container. Coat top of dough with oil. Transfer to refrigerator for 1-3 days.
Day 1 of Baking (in this case Poppy Seed Sourdough)
Preheat your oven to 500 F with your cast iron dutch oven inside of it. Continue following from Step 7 in our How To Make Sourdough Recipe
Day 2 of Baking
Remove Container 2: Honey and Seed Sourdough from the fridge and let it warm up to room temperature for about an hour.
Shape, rise again for 1-2 hours, and bake. Follow from Step 5 in How To Make Sourdough Recipe.
Day 3 of Baking
Pull dough balls from fridge about 3 hours before baking.
Stretch or roll dough out into thin pieces. Preheat oven to 500 F with 2-3 baking sheets in them while it preheats.
Prep all your toppings for pizza/flatbread.
Remove 1 hot baking sheet at a time, sprinkle it all over with cornmeal or semolina. Place your dough on the sheet pan and working quickly add sauce (if using) and your toppings. Place in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes. Continue checking on it every 5 minutes after that.
Repeat with the other sheet pans.
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