Open Crumb Sourdough Focacia

Ingredients

320g distilled water

100g active sourdough starter

400g bread flour

15g olive oil

8g salt

Directions

• 
  add starter to water and mix well
• add in bread flour and olive oil followed by salt
• once everything is well mixed, transfer to a well oiled container, cover and rest for 30min
• wet hand and do stretch and fold... cover the dough and rest for another 30min
• do a second stretch and fold.... cover and rest for 2-3 hours
• coil fold and leave the dough in the fridge for 14-16 hours
• lightly dust work surface
• shape like sourdough and place in baking pan
• let it rest for 3hrs
• 
  in another bowl... mix 15g of olive oil and 15g water (salamoia)
• prepare desired toppings
• pour the mixture of oil+water over the dough
• with wet fingers, make classic holes
• press and insert toppings into holes as deep as possible as it might pop back up
• topped a sprinkle of sea salt and olive oil
• bake at 230°C for 25min till golden brown

Foodnote: Recipe from here. Decided that it is time to move from sourdough bread to focaccia hehe. I still have jalapeno and cheddar cheese so decided to use these. Also added sunflower seeds for colour and crunch. Turns out soft and nice for a first home attempt. Next time will make it flatter on a tray. Good recipe and very yummeh... I ate it with nasi lemak sambal Happy Family brand bought from Sheng Siong. Very nice and so spicy!!

Sourdough Breads + Healthy Seeds

Wholemeal Sourdough Bread with Pumpkin Seeds + Flaxseeds + Multi-grains toppings

• Tanoshi Premium Japanese bread flour
• 35g pumpkin seeds + 35g flaxseeds
• mix wholegrains for topping (wet the shaped dough and rub grains over it before transferring to banetton... and CF in fridge)
• 74% hydration (224g instead of 210g water for each bread)
• 3hr bulk fermentation

Foodnote: Attempt to make a healthier wholemeal sourdough bread with seeds. I have pumpkin and flax seeds. Not sure how it will turn out but it rise well and check out the oven spring. Will definitely be baking this again soon!

Made this again on 28 Jan 2023. This time it is the following...

• Tanoshi Japanese bread flour
• 10g flaxseed + 30g sunflower seed + 30g pumpkin seed
• 74% hydration (225g water)

Foodnote: Made this again because I love it although it tasted like delicious cardboard lol. Really love it because it have all healthy seeds. I reduced the flaxseed and added sunflower seeds.

Sourdough Breads

1. Cheese + Jalapeno
2. Cranberries + Mixed Citrus Peel + Almonds

• Murasaki Botan Japanese unbleached flour
• 74% hydration (224g instead of 210g water for each bread)
• 3hr bulk fermentation

Foodnote: Very nice, soft and good crumbs. Dough is easy to handle and feels good. First time trying cheese + jalapeno and it turns out nice. Smells like pizza but bread is flatter perhaps due to the inclusions. As usual, dry inclusions turns out very well. Happy with both breads.

Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

300g bread flour

100g active sourdough starter

6g salt

250g pumpkin puree

50g pumpkin seeds

Directions

• in a bowl, mix flour with salt
• add starter and pumpkin puree and stir well
• transfer to mixer and using dough hook, mix for 10min
• transfer back to bowl and rest for 30min
• do first coil fold and rest for 30min
• add pumpkin seeds 1/4 at a time while doing coil fold and rest another 30min
• do 3rd coil fold and rest till dough double in size
• transfer into floured surface and shape
• put into proofing basket, cover with plastic
• leave in chiller for 8 up to 48hrs till ready to bake
• pre-heat oven and dutch oven to 230C
• transfer to silicon mat, score and transfer to dutch oven
• insert ice into flap of dutch oven
• bake for 30mins covered
• remove lid and bake at 200C for another 15min

Foodnote: I have pumpkin seeds and been wanting to try and make pumpkin sourdough bread. Found this simple recipe from here. Weather is good and sunny... have bought pumpkin from the supermarket to make into puree. Starter is still active so it became another bread day. However, I only managed to get 230g of puree so I added 20g water. Turns out good. 

The smell of baking bread is marvellous as always and love that it is a bit rounded and not flat. There is not much oven spring but I am good with it.

It was a rushing day. While cooling the bread, I went out for walk. A friend message me that she have extra ticket for Perfect Timing by Dr Omar Suleiman. So I decided to bless half of the bread for her. Reached home late so I only managed to taste the bread the next day. Lightly toast it on my non stick pan and slather it with my favorite Lurpak butter.

Ok... it is so delicious oh my. Definitely will make this again 😘👌!

Summary of Sourdough Bread: Step by Step

Directions 

Day 1: Sourdough Starter 

• (eg. require 140g starter. Always make a bit extra)
• half feeding in morning (eg. 20S+20W+20BF) 
• final half feeding in evening (eg. 50W+50BF) 
• (to accelerate process, put in oven with lights on)
• feeding of active starter ratio 1S:2W:2BF

Day 2: Prepare Dough 

• measure and mix all dry ingredients in a bowl eg. all flour, salt and diastatic malt (optional)
• add distilled water and starter and mix to shaggy dough 
• rest for 1 hr
• 3x stretch & fold every 30min (add additions at 2nd fold)
• check gluten development (window pane) if still not ready, do coil fold
• proof till size increase by 25% (total 3-8hrs or 12-24hrs if using unfed starter) 
• transfer on working surface (divide if required) and gently round with scraper making a tight loaf
• rest 20min
• meanwhile lightly flour banetton with rice flour 
• gently shape a tight dough and transfer to banetton
• cover with plastic and leave in fridge to cold retard for 8hr up to 48hr 

Day 3: Bake 

• pre-heat oven 240C no fan together with dutch oven for minimum for 45min to 1hr 
• transfer dough into freezer for 30min to firm up and help with scoring
• transfer dough to parchment or silicon paper 
• rub surface of dough with rice flour
• score deep enough for oven spring
• transfer into hot dutch oven and spray with water... quickly cover the dutch oven
• bake for 20min covered and lower oven to 230C and bake uncovered for another 15-20min till desired color 
• *Internal temperature for cooked sourdough bread should be 96-98°C
• cool on rack for > 1hr before slicing 

Optimal Sourdough Starter Preparation

Ratio 1:5:5

• divide required amount of starter by 2 eg. for 300g, use 150g BF: 150g W
• take 10% of 300g... so we need 30g starter
• use all sourdough starter once fully active or peaked

7min tips to get an Ear

• before baking, score bread as usual
• after 7min of baking, take out the bread and do a second score near the small "ear"
• continue baking
• ie. for a controlled scoring, score deeper at specific parts of bread after 5min of baking

Tips for better oven spring

• pre-heat dutch oven for 1hr
• immediately after putting in dutch oven+dough into the oven, turn off the oven for 20min
• turn on the oven 240C and continue baking for 20min or so and bake with open dutch oven till desired color

Click here for my go to regular recipe.

Foodnote: Usually I use prima unbleached bread flour. The above bread is baked with bob's mill unbleached bread flour. 

Chocolate Cherries Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

350g bread flour 

40g cocoa powder

320g water

80g active starter 

8g salt

5g diastatic malt

Inclusions:

leftover cherries

semi-sweet chocolate chips

Foodnote: Recipe here. So I bought Cacao Barry cocoa powder to try due to the good reviews. It really smells amazing. Found this simple recipe however could be due to my technique, the bread ends up flat. Is it due to the inclusions? Will keep trying and learning.

Taste wise... it is ok with strong cocoa taste. Nice to bite into the cherries though. It taste awesome with cream cheese. Hhmmm will try chocolate cheddar sourdough bread.

Sourdough Bread with Great Oven Spring

Ingredients and directions same as here

Only difference is baking directions

• pre-heat dutch oven to 230°C for 30min or more
• transfer dough with parchment paper into pre-heated dutch oven and spray with water and quickly put the lid on
• transfer the dutch oven in the pre-heated oven and turn off the oven... yes turn it off!
• leave the dutch oven in the heated oven for 20min
• after 20min, remove the dutch oven cover, admire the oven spring and turn on the heat to 230°C with fan
• bake for 15-20min till desired color
• cool for few hours before serving

Foodnote: Wanted to bake a plain sourdough bread to eat with rendang or SCS butterscotch butter with butterscotch spreadable. Saw this tip online and I just have to try it because I love to see the oven spring. It didn't disappoint and it really gives a very impressive oven spring. I will probably be doing this from now on :) Always good to learn new things to improve my bakes.

Sourdough Bread with Inclusions

Adapted from here.

Ingredients best for 1 loaf

70g active starter

210g water

315g bread flour

7g salt

4g diastatic malt

Dry Inclusions: +/- 1 cup depends on ingredients and how much you want

For sourdough starter: I add 50% water + 50% bread flour to any amount of starter (1 tsp up to same amount of water/flour. Leftover scraping also can use) and leave it for at least 4hrs or overnight. Can use unfed starter but have to leave mixture up to 24 hours and then shape. Sometimes to speed up fermentation, place newly fed starter in oven and place a bowl of hot water beside it to create warm environment.

Directions

• in a bowl, mix starter with water
• add in bread flour, salt, malt and mix till even (to add dry inclusions eg. seeds, nuts, dried fruits at this stage)
• cover bowl and leave for 1hr 
• first fold and fold 2x after 30min (to add fresh inclusions eg. blueberries together with 1st fold)
• check for window pane... if not fold again 1-2x
• cover bowl again and let it proof till double in size (~ total 8 hours from mixing... up to 24hrs if starter have not been fed and not active)
• shape and place in banetton that have been lightly dusted with rice flour
• let rest for 30min and keep in fridge till ready to bake (~8hrs or within 3 days)
• bake with top bottom heat and fan at 230°C in pre-heated dutch oven for 20min covered
• open cover of dutch oven, and bake for another 10-15min depending on desired crust coloration
• let cool for few hours before cutting

Foodnote: Find that this works best so far for sourdough with dry inclusions so. This time I bake 1 loaf with Origins california treat that have almonds, black raisins, cashew nuts, cranberries, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. I chopped the whole almonds and cashew nuts to make it smaller. The other loaf is with mixed citrus peels that I bought from Phoon Huat. Turns out well and inclusions are evenly distributed. 

Going to try the following flavours sourdough next:

- pumpkin cinnamon

- apple cinnamon

- orange or purple sweet potato

- fresh blueberries + lemon zest

- cheese + cranberry

- walnut + cranberry

- and many more woohoo

So excited to bake more sourdough to share with friends and families. 

Katzoomi Bread (Sourdough Shokupan)

Ingredients

Sweet Starter

40g active starter

40g water

40g bread flour

20g sugar

Preferment

100g starter

40g water

100g bread flour

Main Dough

120g bread flour

20g sugar

5g salt

25g water

20g whipping cream

all of the sweet starter

all of the preferment

20g unsalted butter

Directions

• prepare the sweet starter in a container: mix starter with water and add flour with sugar
• prepare the preferment: mix starter with water and add bread flour
• leave both at room temperature for 2.5hr and keep the preferment in the fridge
• let the sweet start peak for about another 2hr
• add all ingredients in a mixer except for butter
• using a dough hook, mix everything for about 10-15min
• add in the butter and mix till windowpane stage
• divide dough into 2, round and rest for 20min
• shape the dough: roll it long and roll it
• put dough into greased loaf tin and let it proof to 50% (2hrs or more)
• apply egg wash (1 egg + 1 tsp milk)
• bake at 180°C for 35-40min (might want to cover it with foil if the top get too dark)

Foodnote: Saw this loaf of bread and just have to make it since it is using sourdough starter instead of yeast. Love it but it does takes a long time to prepare BUT in terms of taste... ooh la la... really super delicious. I only ate it the next day. After slicing, it was lightly toasted and spread with butter. The texture is so soft with crispy crust and the taste oh so divine. I have to stop myself from eating the whole loaf hehe.

Will definitely make this again but for quick fix yummy loaf will be using the killer toast recipe. The smell of fresh baking bread permeating the house... simply awesome!

Dates and Almond Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

260g distilled water

90g active sourdough starter

390g bread flour

5g diastatic malt

9g sea salt

1 cup chopped dates

1 cup chopped almonds

Directions

• in a large bowl add starter to water and mix well
• add in the bread flour, malt and salt mix well till well combined
• let it rest for 1hr
• transfer to lightly floured surface and round the dough then rest for another hour
• stretch the dough out as big as possible and sprinkle the dates and almonds
• round it up again and let rest for about 4-5hours till dough is double in size
• shape the dough and transfer to a banetton that have been dusted generously with rice flour
• let it rest for 1hr and then keep in the fridge for 2hours or more
• bake as usual in dutch oven (250°C covered for 20min and another 20min uncovered)

Foodnote: Ever since I learnt the simpler way to make sourdough bread and while my starter is getting very active, I decided to make something I've always wanted to try out.

Dates + Almonds = Super Yummy Sourdough bread!!

I think the malt helps makes the crumb softer and less chewy. This is really so delicious I will definitely make this again. Furthermore, it doesn't take long and minus the folding2 process. So happy that I decided to experiment with this yeay!! The bread also yield quite a big loaf... I'll be eating this for the next few days hehe.


Update 7 Oct 2022, Friday:

I really like to have sourdough with fruits and nuts so I made it again... this time with cranberry and almonds. I think I still love the dates and almonds combo. I split the dough into 2. One big one small. I have guests coming so baking it for them and thinking I will keep the small piece for myself. But when I see the guests enjoying the bread, I tapao it for them. I can always make this again :)

Simply the Easiest Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

140g sourdough starter

420g filtered water (or 434g for 72% hydration)

630g bread flour (or 80% 504g bread flour + 20% 126g whole meal wheat flour)

14g sea salt

5g diastatic malt

140g inclusions if required

Directions

• 
  in a large bowl, stir water and starter till evenly mixed
• add flour and salt and knead until all dry flour is gone
• round the dough as much as possible, cover the bowl and let it rest for 1hr
• fold NSEW 3x every 30min
• cover again and let it rise till double in size 
• (newly fed starter can double in size within 5 hours. Unfed starter may take up to 24hours or longer to double in size)
• transfer on floured surface and shape into loaf (I split the dough into 2 loaves) and place into banetton baskets
• proof for 1-2 hour, cover in plastic and let it cold retard in the fridge overnight (min 12hrs and up to 3 days)
• next day when ready to bake, pre-heat the oven with dutch oven to 230°C at the 2nd lowest rack
• once oven is ready, transfer dough onto a parchment paper and score
• carefully transfer parchment paper and dough into dutch oven, spray water over the dough and bake for 20min covered and 15-20 min uncovered with oven fan
• cool before slicing (I leave it for few hours to totally cool down)
• best to eat freshly baked but to store, just keep in container or bread bag at room temperature for up to 5 days (don't think it will last that long though hehe)
• do not keep in fridge but can store in freezer

Foodnote: Now testing this easiest sourdough bread from here. It just makes so much sense. I didn't really follow the steps to a "T" and adjust the schedule accordingly. I am already using a fairly active starter so the mixture was left to proof till dough double in size. I am supposed to use 21g sea salt but it looks too much so I reduced it to 16-18g. The dough proof very well in 2hrs and after shaping and leaving it for 1hr, I left it in the fridge for another 2hr or so because I want to bake it slightly later. I also spritz the dough before baking to create more steam.

I am so impressed with the outcome. Check out how beautiful the bread look with the oven spring. The taste is excellent and the crumbs just perfect. I can't stop eating with a spread of butter. Being used to soft bread growing up, I grew to like the texture and flavour of sourdough more and more each day. Love this recipe and will definitely make this regularly. Thank you Ben Starr!

Update on 22 Oct 2022: I added 5g of diastatic mall to the dough and practice my scoring. I updated the recipe with steps that I think help with the oven spring and crumbs looks much better. I am very happy with it. Again... I split the dough into 2 portion so I can bake it in my dutch oven. Love and this is going to be my goto sourdough recipe 💖.

Update on 28 Oct 2022: I used this recipe but this time halved the portion (because it is for my own consumption) and included balance "origins california treats + extra cranberries". Again the recipe did not disappoint and it turns out really well. Look at that beautiful bread. Ooowwhh... I want to eat sourdough bread everyday!! 😭

Half Ingredients using bread formulas (right side of this blog)

70g active starter

210g water (or 217g for 72% hydration)

315g bread flour (or 252g bread flour + 63g whole wheat grain flour)

7g sea salt

4g diastatic malt

Origins Health Food California Treat Fruits & Nuts mix

dried cranberries

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.

Sourdough Starter / Levain

Ingredients

Prima plain flour (unbleached)

Perrier sparkling water

Equipment

glass or plastic container (do not use metal)

weighing scale

spatula for mixing

Day 1

25g flour + 25g water

- mix into a paste in the container

Day 2

no feeding

- bubbly and pasty smell

Day 3

add 25g flour + 25g water

- total 100g

- bubbly and thick consistency

- strong unpleasant smell

Day 4

add 100g flour + 100g water

- total 300g

- small bubble on surface

- strong unpleasant smell

Day 5

no feeding just stir

- no activity and thin consistency

- still strong unpleasant smell

Day 6

(discard 200g) + 100g flour + 100g water

- total 300g

- no activity and very thin consistency

- smell not as strong but still unpleasant

Day 7

(discard 200g) + 100g flour + 100g water

- total 300g

- some bubbles on surface

- less strong smell

Day 8

no feeding just stir

- still little bubbles

- smell like flour

Day 9

transfer to another clean container

100g sourdough (discard the rest) + 100g flour + 100g water

- same smell as Day 8 and a little bubbly

Day 10

no feeding

- little bubble and faint smell

Day 11

no feeding (forgot hehe)

Day 12

100g sourdough (discard the rest) + 100g flour + 100g water

- thin consistency and little bubble on the surface

- flour smell

Day 13

100g sourdough (keep the rest in a container in the fridge) + 100g flour + 100g water

- thick and a bit bubbly

- a little sourish smell

Day 14

100g sourdough (keep the rest in a container in the fridge) + 100g flour + 100g water

- thick and more bubbles

- nice sweet smell woohoo

Day 15

no feeding

- very bubbly (small bubbles)

- start to rise

- very sweet smell

Day 16

100g sourdough (keep the rest in a container in the fridge) + 100g flour + 100g water

- very bubbly and thick consistency

- nice sweet fermented smell (like tapai)

- double in size and very active

- success woohoo

Day 17

can make bread already yeay!!

Foodnote: Tried to make this 2x but unsuccessful. Finally so happy to see the sourdough very active. It bubble up very fast with feeding.

White Bread with Cheese Topping

Ingredients

400g levain (can replace with Poolish)

800g bread flour

20g salt

10g yeast

550g water

10g soya flour

Directions

• add all ingredients in a mixing bowl with paddle attachment
• whisk under low speed for 2min and medium speed for 3-4min till clean up stage
• add some oil and mix again under low speed just so that the dough don't stick to the bowl
• cover the mixing bowl with clingwrap and leave for 1-2 hour till dough double in size
• place dough on workspace and fold the dough - NSEW
• intermediate proof the dough for 10-15min
• divide the dough into 3 parts, round it and place in a baking tray (no oil)
• final proof for another 40min
• sprinkle shredded cheese, icing sugar and pipe mayonnaise on the bread
• bake at 220°C for 30mins (no fan) - 10min into baking, open the door of oven to release steam and reduce temperature to 200°C... after another 10min reduce the temprature to 180°C
• do note that during baking, the bread with rise but it will fall again once out of the oven because of released air... but the bread will still be soft

Foodnote: Very nice bread with the cheese, though will also be nice on it's own. I cooked chicken curry and it is really yummy. The top is a bit sweet and crispy. Very happy to learn to make this bread.

Pizza Using Poolish/Levain

Poolish Stage ingredients 

200g bread flour

200g water

1g yeast (18hrs fermentation) 

or 10g yeast (4hrs fermentation)

Ingredients 

400g levain or poolish starter

800g bread flour

20-22g salt

5g yeast

600g water

mixed herbs (optional but we put 5g)

Directions

• 
  place all ingredients in the mixing bowl with paddle attachment
• mix 1min on low and 4min on medium speed till clean up stage (the dough should be elastic and shiny)
• pour some oil into the mixing bowl and mix on low just till the dough does not stick to the bowl
• remove the dough from the mixing bowl and rest for 15min
• divide to 50g each or preferred size 
• place on oiled tray, cover with clingwrap and leave to proof for 1hr
• after an hour, place the tray into chiller until ready to bake (this is because dough will be soft and sticky)
• flour the work area and take each dough, flour the surface and flatten it by hand to round shape
• transfer to baking tray and add toppings of your choice (sauce + cheese + toppings)
• bake for about 12-15mins at 180°C (can also bake half-cook and freeze)

Ingredients for tomato sauce

olive oil

chopped garlic + sliced shallots and onions

tomato paste

pineapple syrup water

sugar

salt

mixed herbs (wet it with water to diffuse the fragrant better. Not necessary if using fresh herbs)

Directions

• cook the chopped garlic, shallots and onions in olive oil till golden brown (8mins)
• add in the tomato paste and syrup from canned pineapple
• add sugar and salt to taste
• lastly add in mixed herbs

Foodnote: This pizza have really soft base and the sauce is so yummy though a bit tad sweet for me. Love this recipe and will be a go to recipe to make pizza.

Crusty Sourdough Bread (Italian Biga Method)

Ingredients 

(can split into 3 portions)

Group A

800g bread flour

10g yeast

400g water

300g levain

Group B

200g bread flour

22g salt

150g water

10g malt flour (dark malt or diastatic malt flour)

Directions

• 
  add all Group A ingredients in a mixing bowl and using a paddle attachment whisk until a firm dough is form (add levain first followed by dry ingredients and water last)
• transfer to working surface and knead the dough lightly till smooth
• transfer the dough into a large bowl and fill with water till dough is submerged
• covered with clingwrap and leave to proof for 1 1/2 hour... till dough is bubbly and double in size
• remove the bubbly mass into the mixing bowl and add ingredients from Group B
• beat on low speed for 2min and medium speed for 10min till dough reach window pane stage
• round and cover with clingwrap in an oiled bowl and let rest for 1 hour
• split the dough equally into 3 parts, round it and place on a baking tray
• proof for another 45min
• 
  using plain flour, powder the surface of the bread and use a sharp scoring knife or razor to score the surface to any pattern desired
• leave for another 15-20 minutes, spray the tray with water and bake at 220°C for 30mins (using lower tray) till desired bread color and percentage
• during baking, after 10min open the oven door to release steam and reduce temperature to 200°C... at 20min reduce the temperature to 180°C
  

Foodnote: Ok this is something really new and interesting to me. First time I see bread dough submerged in water and poof... it just gets bubbly and jiggy. The bread also turns out super soft and delicious. Yummy!!!

Note: Sponge Biga = 800g bread flour + 1g low sugar yast + 600g water (27°-30°C) mix and leave overnight 12hrs

Practice this on 16th July but instead of dark malt, I used diastatic malt. I practice shaping of sticky dough from youtube and am very satisfied with the end result. So happy...

Basic Sourdough Bread (French Method)

Ingredients

(can split to 3 portions)

400g levain (sourdough)

800g bread flour

22g salt

10g yeast

20g soya flour (optional)

600g water

Directions

• 
  weigh all the ingredients in a mixer bowl and add the water last (add levain first followed by dry ingredients and water last)
• using a pedal attachment, whisk under low speed for a while (prevent splashing) and increase speed to high till all ingredients together till dough comes together (lift from bottom of the bowl) around 3 mins  (clean up stage)
• add some oil and using low speed, whisk again just so that dough don't stick to bowl
• cover the mixing bowl with clingwrap for 1-2hrs or till dough double it's size (fermentation)
• place dough on workspace using a round scraper or spatula
• fold the dough - NSEW
• intermediate proof the dough for 10-15min (relax the dough)
• divide the dough equally into 3 parts, round it and place it on a baking tray (panning stage)
• final proof for another 40 min
• flour the surface of bread and use a sharp scissors to score the surface gently (deco, garnish & score)
• leave for another 20-30 min (max 70-80 min), spray the tray with water and bake at 220°C for 30mins (no fan) till desired bread color and percentage
• during baking, after 10min open the door to the oven to release steam and reduce temperature to 200°C... at 20min reduce the temperature to 180°C

Foodnote: This is the first class to make Artisan bread. It is so exciting and there are new things to learn. Quite exciting because I love making bread and I also love the process of learning. Our team made a mistake but the bread still turns out well. Of course can be better and I will try again once I make my own starter dough.