Let’s prepare the loaf bread with sourdough starter. It’s ideal for being toasted in slices and eaten alone or with sweet or savory. A type of bread similar to sandwich bread, made with genuine ingredients and sourdough starter, truly bread to try.
I will soon also put the version with yeast. In the meantime, I wanted to try my perfect recipe to get a bread easy to work with, slow-rising, that stays soft for days if kept in well-sealed food bags. Surely I will not buy the commercial one anymore but will prepare it at home for delicious toast and snacks.
The dough is simple, you just need a bit of patience for the rise that, to adapt it to my day, happened in the refrigerator. By keeping it at room temperature, you will reduce the time.
You can then decide how to let it rise to fit your day. The important thing is a first rise beyond doubling, then we shape it and it must reach the edge of the mold before being baked.
For those who love preparing their own savory snacks at home, I also remind other recipes like
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 16 slices
- Cooking methods: Oven, Electric oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 168.91 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 28.37 (g) of which sugars 3.05 (g)
- Proteins 5.11 (g)
- Fat 4.45 (g) of which saturated 1.00 (g)of which unsaturated 3.26 (g)
- Fibers 0.82 (g)
- Sodium 189.88 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 54 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 egg
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg yolk (for brushing the surface)
Tools
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Loaf Pan
- 1 Rolling Pin
Preparation
Warm the milk in the microwave or on the stove. It should be just lukewarm, max 98°F. Break the sourdough starter into it, leave it to soak for a couple of minutes, then add the flour intended for the poolish.
Mix roughly with the help of a fork or a hand dough whisk. Try to make it homogeneous, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rise.
I let it rise at room temperature, possibly in the turned-off oven, so there are no temperature fluctuations. After about three hours, at a temperature of 71/73°F, you will find it nicely aerated as you see in the photo.
Now that the poolish is ready, put it in the stand mixer’s bowl, add the flour, sugar, egg, and start kneading at low speed with the dough hook. When the dough becomes compact, add the salt and lastly the vegetable oil in a stream. Let the dough hook and turn off the mixer.
Take the dough and place it on a work surface, like a wooden board, without needing to flour it. Roll out the dough with the help of the rolling pin into a rectangle a little less than 1/2 inch thick. Roll it tightly onto itself, as you see in the photo.
Oil the loaf pan and place your bread roll inside, making sure to position the open part at the bottom. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until it reaches the edge of the mold.
To reach the edge of the mold it will take at least 5 or 6 hours. To make the process easier, I put it in the refrigerator always covered with plastic wrap and baked it the next morning after about 10 hours. Bake in a preheated oven at 356°F for about 35/40 minutes. Check that the surface does not become too dark. If you want a shiny surface, brush the roll with beaten egg yolk before baking it.
NOTES
The loaf bread with sourdough starter, like the more commercial loaf bread, has various uses. Its neutral taste suits both sweet and savory fillings. We can eat it as we slice it or make it even more delicious by toasting it. Personally, I love using it as a base for other recipes, for making excellent oven-baked croutons or tasty canapés, and last but not least, for kneading flavorful and soft meatballs.
If you liked the recipe or have any questions, do not hesitate to comment here or on social media Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and X.
