We had a pretty quiet weekend. Ok I say we but I really mean I. Will spent much of the weekend tending to our garden that now could almost win an award for its perfect hedges. Who knew my man was such a pro? I did intend to do a little DIY myself having finally tracked down the spray paint I wanted to attack the kitchen cupboard handles with.
Unfortunately, someone else got to them first and even though I'd called up before hand, someone snavelled a few cans so I had to order them in. It worked out ok though because the stupid cold that had been threatening me all week hit full force Saturday arvo and knocked me out. I was feeling a bit better yesterday and while Will gardened again I had a great time sitting on our front stairs watching the cars.
Now this may sound odd but allow me to explain. This week is the Council large item collection week for my area which means that everyone can put out all their junk. It seems that is like Christmas to some people who scour the neighbourhood, trailers in tow, picking up anything they think might be of value. We live in a dead end so there's not a lot of traffic but in the 20 minutes I was sitting there at least 5 cars, packed to the brink slowly drove past.
Someone even picked up our old window bars. No idea what they'll be doing with them! Anyway back to the task at hand - telling you about the lightest, fluffiest sandwich loaf I've ever made. Having made quite a few free-form sourdough loaves I thought I'd try my hand at a multigrain sourdough loaf in the tin so I could slice it up for regular-sized toast.
To me it didn't start off all that well when at 4pm, 7 hours after I mixed up the dough, it had hardly risen. I knew the starter was ripe enough so it must have just been the weather. I went to bed a few hours later, the dough having risen only the tiniest bit. The next morning it looked like it should have looked about 10 hours before but never mind, it got there.
I carefully transferred it into the tin, covered it and hoped for the best. It took another 6 hours to rise again but it got there and I think that maybe the slow rise had something to do with the light and fluffiness of the finished loaf (Celia?).
The next morning I sliced it up (side note... this is the first time I've ever sliced a loaf reasonably neatly, again down to the softness!) and bagged it ready for the freezer. The multigrain mix I used was an organic mix that I bought but if you want to be really good you could just add the grains (you need to soak them first though) but my way is the lazy way and to me, bread making should be as easy as possible, otherwise it's too tempting to buy it. I'd love to hear what yours turns out like if you make it. Enjoy!
ps. If you need visuals on some of the kneading etc, Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial has a great tutorial.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 150 g 5.3oz bouncy, ripe sourdough starter
- 250 g 8.82oz water
- 25 g 0.88oz olive oil
- 150 g 5.3oz multigrain flour
- 350 g 12.35oz bakers flour
- 10 g 0.35oz fine sea salt
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and using your hands squelch them together until there are no more dry bits.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside.
- minutes later, knead the dough in the bowl for one minute. I grab the top, pull it up and fold it over the bowl then spin the bowl 90 degrees and repeat until the minute is up.
- Cover the bowl and set aside to double in size. This can take anywhere from 3-12 hours depending on the weather.
- Grease a loaf tin well with olive oil and grease the bench.
- Carefully turn the dough out onto the bench.
- Grab the top (12 o'clock) part of the dough, stretch it then tuck it under and repeat on the other 3 'sides' of the dough.
- Carefully lift the dough and stretch it out to the length of the tin then place it in.
- Cover with oiled plastic wrap and leave to double in size again.
- When the dough is nearly risen, pre-heat the oven to 250C (530F) fan-forced.
- Slash the top of the dough with a sharp knife then pop it in the oven and turn the temperature down to 220C (470F) for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, turn the temperature down to 175C (280F) and bake for a further 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Leave the loaf to sit in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Teresa Lumbreras says
Hi Claire,
Please let me taste your sourdough bread. Do you have a ready made bread package that I can just put in the brad maker? Let me know.
God bless,
Teresa
Teresa Lumbreras says
I have a bread maker. I want to know if it is possible to order from you the bread package that has nuts, seeds and grains. I do not want wheat bread, I want multigrain sourdough bread.
God bless,
Teresa
Claire says
Hi Teresa. Sorry I don't sell anything. You should be able to find a multigrain mix at the supermarket, or search for grain mix online and order it. Sorry I can't help. Happy break making!
Claire says
Sorry Teresa I don't sell anything. Claire
The Life of Clare says
Claire, that loaf looks absolutely mouth watering! I just showed J who thought we must give it a go immediately, although there's 3 loaves currently in the oven and we're out of bakers flour...
Claire says
Haha we're about to run out too. I really must start buying it in bulk.
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Gorgeous loaf, I love the addition of multigrain flour! I'd have trouble using this for sandwiches because I'd probably eat it all first ;).
Claire says
Haha I do have to restrain myself!
Barbara @ Barbara Bakes says
Wow it's a gorgeous loaf. Worth the wait.
Claire says
Definitely Barbara!
The Café Sucre Farine says
I so want a sandwich for lunch with this fabulous looking bread Claire. I'll take turkey, Havarti and avocado with basil aioli please :) YUM!!
Oh, and I caught your cold, I was down all weekend too :)
Claire says
Ok you may have to wait a little for my basil seedlings to grow but then no problem! Oh dear stupid colds.
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
Look at that fantastic crumb and holes! There's always a heap of rubbish out the back of our apartment and it always looks pretty useless. I can never tell if people actually take it or if the garbage collectors do!
Claire says
People probably take it! Mum always puts stuff she wants to get rid of out on the street and it is always gone within 24 hours!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I will make sourdough bread this year. I will make sourdough bread this year. I will make sourdough bread this year.
I have no idea how many times I have to type that in order to make it happen. :)
Claire says
You will make sourdough you will make sourdough you will make sourdough!
corrie says
I have always wanted to do my own sourdough but we are often away and I would not like to think that I had killed the starter before I even start!! :-)
Claire says
Mine is surprisingly resilient Corrie. It survived for 3 weeks when we went to NYC!
Hotly Spiced says
What great looking bread and it's so perfectly sliced. I love Council clean-ups. There's nothing more satisfying than getting rid of your junk and watching it become someone else's treasure. Our clean-up is in two weeks and I'm counting the days until I can off-load all our rubbish xx
Claire says
Thanks Charlie. I was a little proud of my slicing. It's amazing what some people throw out. I must admit, I saw a few good things on my walk this morning!
celia says
Claire, thank you for all the kind linkys, and what a FABULOUS slow-rise loaf - two day prove! It looks like a very soft crumb - what was the flavour like? Was it more sour than usual? Something really is strange with the weather when it takes a sourdough loaf two days to rise in Brisbane! :D
Claire says
Thank you for the original inspiration Celia! It was a little more sour actually. Very strange weather!