Basic No Knead Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

260g water

90g sourdough starter**

390g bread flour

9g sea salt

5g diastatic malt (optional)

Directions

• 
  in a large bowl add water and salt and stir using a spoon
• add in the sourdough starter and mix till all combined
• add in the flour (+ malt) and mix using a spoon and once it comes together use wet hands to mix
• cover bowl and leave for 10-15min
• transfer dough into workspace and turn it over and round it (it will still be sticky)
• leave for 5-6hrs fermentation
• after the bulk fermentation, transfer the dough onto the workspace dusting with just a little flour so it doesn't stick
• fold the dough gently to fit into the prepared banetton
• cover the banetton with plastic and leave it at the workspace for 45min
• keep the dough in the fridge for a total of 18hrs
• remove the dough from the fridge and pre-heat oven to 250°C
• baking with dutch oven: place dutch oven in oven while pre-heating. Transfer bread to parchment paper and score. Gently put bread with parchment paper into dutch oven and spray with water. Bake for 30min covered and bake again uncovered or another 15min with oven fan
• baking on tray (no dutch oven): transfer bread to baking tray with parchment paper and score. Spray bread and surrounding with water. Leave a stainless steel bowl with cold water at a side of the bread. Bake for 20min at 250°C. Remove the bowl of water and bake for another 20min with oven fan
• cool the bread on a rack before cutting and enjoy (just love mine with a spread of butter yummeh)

**Prepping and feeding my sourdough starter: My starter is kept in the fridge for months. I will let it out to room temperature for about 30min-1hr and then will take a scoop of what is available about 1 tsp and add equal amount of water (Perrier) and bread flour. Make sure that the total weight of starter will be more than needed. I will let it rest at the kitchen counter for 24hours and by then it will double up and ready to bake. Whatever balance starter, I will add and mix back with my precious starter to keep for next bake.

Foodnote: Been a while since I last bake sourdough bread. Saw the starter in the fridge. Since I am too lazy with many steps and process, now trying this recipe instead. Happy that my starter is still active. 

This inspired me to bake more sourdough bread again hehe. I don't have a dutch oven and don't intend to get one because it is very heavy. Hot+heavy... eerrr no thank you. I am using The Pioneer Woman dutch oven because it is very light and so pretty. I think my sourdough bread making skills have improved. Now my bread have nice ears and blisters on the skin which is very good. Hopefully next time I have better oven spring. Will practice again soon...

I usually enjoy eating sourdough bread with just butter but the next day since I have prawns and cheese, I just make a simple pizza bread in my air fryer. Yummy treat and not so sinful I think hehe.