SOFT LOAF WITH SOURDOUGH
Loaves are a type of soft bread that resemble their French cousins, the baguettes, but they are not: to the touch, they are softer, especially the very thin crust.
In contrast, in BAGUETTES the crust is thicker; indeed during the last 5 minutes, the oven door is left partially open to let out the steam and dry the crust better, which is not done for loaves.
Here on my blog, I’ve already included the recipe for soft bread loaves with brewer’s yeast, although truth be told, the consistency is even softer than the ones I’m proposing here, because I included milk in the dough, which is not included here, making it suitable for those who for health reasons cannot use it.
Remember, as always, to add the already refreshed yeast, at its double 🙂
Want to make sourdough at home? Here’s how to do it —-> HOMEMADE SOURDOUGH
I use liquid yeast, for the conversion to solid simply add 35 g more flour to the total.
EMIMETTOAIFORNELLI recommends:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Day
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All Seasons
Ingredients
- 2.8 oz liquid sourdough (already refreshed)
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tbsps olive oil
- 1 1/8 cups water
- 1 tsp salt
Tools
For the best result of this recipe, I recommend these tools (ADV)
- Hand Whisks
- Mold for baguette
- Pastry Board in steel
- Bowl
Steps
I always remind you to refresh the yeast with a 1:1:1 ratio and with electric whisks the yeast will gain more strength.
“SPECIAL: Guide to the best immersion blenders and hand blenders“
Want to make sourdough at home? Here’s how to do it —> HOMEMADE SOURDOUGH
Note: I’ve written the recipe with 60% hydration on the total flour to allow you to handle the dough better, although I always close between 68 and 70%
Moreover, for this recipe, you don’t need a stand mixer; we can do everything in the bowl by making support folds directly in the bowl.
In a bowl, pour the yeast and water, let dissolve gently with the help of a whisk until completely liquid.
“Not sure which stand mixer to choose? here you can find a useful guide—>
Then add the flour and oil in several additions, mixing gradually.
The dough will be a bit sticky and not very uniform, don’t worry, the yeast will do its magic 😉
Let rest for half an hour and then add the salt.
Make a couple of folds in the bowl, letting rest 30 minutes between each fold.
If you don’t know what folds are, click on my Instagram in the highlighted stories section I have uploaded many videos—> INSTAGRAM
Once finished making the folds, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, take it out and let it acclimate for a couple of hours.
Deflate and divide the dough into three or four (depending on how big you want them)
Form a rectangle by slightly flattening the dough with your hands, then take the dough from the long side and roll it slowly, forming the classic loaf shape.
Let rest on the rack for about two hours.
If you don’t have a rack, just take a cloth and sprinkle a little semolina on top, lifting the fold to separate one loaf from the other, as our grandmothers used to do.
After the time has passed, turn on the oven to 392 degrees Fahrenheit (200 Celsius), place a small pot with water inside to create steam. and when it reaches temperature, bake.
The first 20 minutes with steam, the remaining 15 lower to 356 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius) and remove the pot to finish baking without humidity.
Once cooked, I let them rest for the first 15 minutes wrapped in a cloth, which makes the crust super soft.
If you like it a bit crunchier, do this: leave the door slightly open for the last 5 minutes.
The SOFT LOAF WITH SOURDOUGH is ready when it has cooled thoroughly.
I recommend serving it with plenty of mortadella 😉
Storage
Properly sealed in a bread box, it stays soft for a long time.
If you like, once they have cooled well, you can freeze them without any issues.
