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I know what you’re thinking, why is it called “lazy” sourdough sandwich bread? Well simple, this bread uses sourdough discard, which is what you throw away (or in most sourdough bakers’ case *save*) when you feed your sourdough starter. I store mine in a mason jar in the fridge. It keeps for a month (ish) and I use it to make things like crackers, pancakes, muffins, pie crust, etc. If you’ve not been following me long, my oldest daughter is severely allergic to eggs in all forms and my husband is super sensitive to dairy so most of my baking is vegan. We do eat a lot of plant-based items simply because of the health benefits, but we are not completely vegan.
In the case of this “lazy” bread it’s called lazy because it uses sourdough discard for that lovely sourdough flavor, but it uses instant yeast to get the bread to rise. The removes the need for a bulk overnight rise and you have bread ready in just a few hours. I use this recipe mostly when I’m making bread for the girls. It’s softer and better for sandwiches than an artisan loaf. I prefer the taste of artisan loaves, after all, I love sourdough for that sour yummy taste and that crusty crust. However, the girls devour this bread. DEVOUR. Please see below, actual GIF of my daughter eating bread.
In a medium bowl, whisk the sourdough discard with water. Then add honey/maple, oil and instant yeast.
In a large bowl, add both types of flour and sea salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over top and start to mix everything together.
Once the bread dough starts to form, turn it out on a floured surface. Knead the dough for about 15 mins by hand until stretchy and elastic. If you have a stand mixer and dough hook you can try that for 5 mins instead.
Add the dough ball to an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled (about an hour). I use my oven (off) with the oven light on.
Line loaf pan with parchment paper.
After rising, turn the dough out on the counter. Flatten gently into a rectangle with your hands, then fold over 1/3 from the left, then 1/3 the right. Now roll the dough up tightly from the bottom to form a loaf shape. Tuck under the ends slightly and pinch the seams where you see them. Seams should be on the bottom and the top should have some tension but not ripping. Note: I am not amazing at loaf shaping and mine always turn out fine. Don't stress over this step.
Place the dough loaf in the pan. Cover the loaf lightly with a towel and let rise for 1 hour. Notes: Here is where I set the loaf on top of the stove while my oven preheats. They get a good second rise that way.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Make 3 diagonal cuts across the top about 1/2 inch deep with a sharp blade (I dip mine in cold water before cutting). Then place the loaf in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes until it looks golden brown and sounds hollow. You can check the internal temp with a thermometer too. I prefer this method. 180-200°F is done.
Remove from pan let cool completely before slicing.
If I am not going to need this loaf any time soon (within the next week), I will slice it completely and store it in the freezer in an airtight container. Toasting the frozen slices as needed is perfect and tastes great!
Keyword bread, sourdough, vegan
The kids know the bread is ready as soon as it’s out of the oven. It’s like a spidey-sense, I swear.
The magic that makes this sourdough so fluffy is a quick oven-rising process under very high heat. The key is to make sure the Dutch oven is fully preheated before baking the bread.
Butter contains fats that retain gases during baking, ensuring the dough rises properly in the oven and softening the crust. If you forget to brush the dough before you bake, you can still apply it as soon as you take it out. The butter will minimize the amount of crisping a loaf will do as it cools.
Sourdough discard is the unfed portion of your sourdough starter that you remove before you add fresh flour and water. Because of it's unfed state, it's not used to bake the delicious bread you know as sourdough, but more often than not, used in sourdough discard recipes.
If your bread is very compact and the crumb is super tight, it can mean that the hydration level was not enough for amount of flour used. Increasing the water content will help to alleviate this issue. If you're working with higher hydration dough, consider lamination for superior dough strength.
Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.
It must be kept alive and well with additional feedings (flour and water) to keep it bubbly and active. Remember, it's a living culture which must be cared for with intent. Otherwise, your bread won't rise. Think of it like a pet that needs to be fed daily, or a house plant that needs water and a sunny window.
Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.
It might be cold dough. One of the most common mistakes is having a dough temperature that's too low for the starter to feed on all the flour in the dough, resulting in a crumb that's dense, with fewer openings. "Starter is happiest and most active at around 75 degrees.
The key here, though, is a lot of patience. Ideally, sourdough bread should be cooled to room temperature before you cut into it. This can take a few hours, and even up to overnight.
Sourdough discard recipes not only reduce waste but also offer health benefits, making them a wonderful addition to a balanced diet. The fermentation process of the sourdough starter increases the availability of certain nutrients and can help improve digestion.
Is it healthy to eat sourdough everyday? You could eat sourdough every day, but it isn't necessarily healthy to do so. A healthy diet is characterized by balance and moderation. Whether or not it is healthy for you to consume sourdough every day depends on the rest of your diet.
Experts recommend feeding a starter twice daily. And at each feeding, you hold onto 1/2 cup of your original starter, discard the rest, and then add its same weight in water and flour.
Cover the loaf with a tinfoil tent (leave it a bit loose so that the bread can continue to rise.). Bake an additional 30-40 minutes, until the loaf is done. The internal temperature should be 190-200, and it should sound hollow when thumped.
The Rubaud method is a popular method of hand mixing the dough. The Rubaud method develops gluten strength up front in the process. In the Rubuaud method, you gently lift and pull the dough in a bowl, mimicking the motion of a diving-arm mixer (or perhaps the diving arm-mixer is mimicking the Rubaud method!)
Place your sourdough starter in a bowl or pot of warm water on the kitchen counter. This will keep it warm and allow more oxygen to circulate around it, which can help it rise more. You can cover the top of the bowl or pot with a damp tea towel to keep the moisture and warmth in.
Note: As loaves begin to overproof they lose their height and shape. The crumb becomes more dense.The holes become more ragged and irregular in shape.The crust begins to thin and separate from the crumb.
All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.
This involves gently stretching the dough to elongate the emerging air bubbles, then neatly folding the dough upon itself to keep the dough shape compact. Between stretches and folds you probably need to leave the dough a minimum of an hour, to allow time for the bubbles to grow bigger and new ones to emerge.
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Introduction: My name is Duncan Muller, I am a enchanting, good, gentle, modern, tasty, nice, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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