Artisan in the following refers to tips gleaned from the Pialligo Estate Academy Sourdough bread making course. Sadly this Pialligo Estate no longer exists.

Feed the Sourdough Starter

The starter can be left in the fridge between feeding for ???. Some sites say to feed it once per week. The ratios for feeding vary:

Variant	starter	water	flour	Storage and Use Notes
Feasting at Home	125g	100g	100g
Barbara	200g	100g	100g	As this starter has a higher proportion of water to flour than a standard dough, it is a bit easier to mix and manage. When using it either add more flour to the dough - 1/4 the weight of the starter being used, OR reduce the water being added to the dough by 1/6 the weight of the starter being used.
Artisan	100g	100g	150g
Judy	150g	60g	90g	Divide the fed starter between two 375ml straight sided jars. 150g of the fed starter goes into the fridge to be your next "mother", and the remainder (usually about 140g) is to make your loaf with. If you aren't ready to make bread within 12 hours, store both in the fridge. You need 125g minimum for a loaf made with 500g flour. It is OK to use more starter in the loaf rather than just discarding it.

The flour can be a 50:50 mix of white and wholemeal, or contain a portion of rye etc.

I find it easiest to mix the water into the starter, then mix in the flour. Store in the refridgerator until it is required.

Before the starter can be fed again, or be used to make bread, it needs to have increased with bubbles to about twice the volume, then when it is "hungry" it will become more watery and start to collapse. The starters with more flour than water tend not to collpase so much as form a bit of a crust on top.

The time it takes for the starter to mature ready for use or feeding depends on the temperature of storage. At 20 degrees Celsius a freshly fed starter takes 8 to 9 hours to be ready for use.

Mix the Dough

Ingredient	Feasting at Home	Artisan	Judy
Bread flour	520g	500g	490g 12% protein flour plus 10g gluten flour
Salt	12g	10g	9g
Water	385g	325g	320g
Starter	90g	125g	140g
Honey	-	5g	5g

Method, Feasting at Home:

Weigh out the flour in a large bowl, mix in the salt, and any spices or seeds to be added.
Mix the starter and water in a small bowl, then pour it into the flour.
Mix to incorporate all the flour, using a fork or a wooden spoon, to a thick, shaggy, heavy, sticky dough.
Cover with a damp towel, and let rest for 15 minutes.
With one wet hand, stretch and fold the dough from outside to the centre, a quarter turn of the bowl between each stretch and fold.
Do this for about a minute until the dough gets firm and resists. This is developing the Gluten.
Cover, rest for 15 minutes, then repeat the stretch and folds with a quarter turn in between each.
Optional: repeat the rest 15 minutes and stretch and fold a couple more times if it is desired to build the gluten.

Method, Artisan:

Mix all ingredients for 2 minutes by hand or using a dough hook in a mixer on medium.
Cover with a damp towel and leave for 10 minutes.
Knead for 5 minutes by hand or in mixer with a hook.
Place in an oiled container, seal and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Take out and fold bread.

Proof the Dough

The dough can be covered and placed in the fridge to slow it down if it is very warm weather, or if you won't be ready to bake it in the time it will take to prove.

Feasting at Home	Artisan
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and leave at 20 degrees room temp for 8 to 12 hours.	Over the next 3 hours, give the dough a minumum of 6 folds. Divide the dough as desired, and shape into balls. Place into bowls lined with clean flour dusted cloth. (Damp the cloth first, then dust on the flour.) Leave dough to prove 5 to 6 hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

The dough should expand to something approaching double in size, with a slight springy dome at the top.

A floured finger poked into the dough should indent it easily, and the dough should spring back to its original shape. If it feels firm or very hard to indent, let it rise longer. Over-proofed dough will be loose, runny, or indents too easily or doesn't spring back. Bake it anyway!

Ready the Dough, pre-Heat the Oven

Feasting at Home	Artisan
Pre Heat the Oven to 260 degrees C for up to an hour, with the Dutch oven placed inside. If you don't have a dutch oven, try a pizza stone with a suitable large saucepan upturned on top as the lid, or currently I am using a very heavy based stainless steel roasting pan.	Preheat oven to 240C for 30 minutes. Place an empty pan at the bottom of the oven.
While the oven is preheating: Line a high sided bowl with Baking Paper to house the dough after this final stretch and shape step. With wet hands, loosen the dough from the sides of the proofing bowl. Grasp the dough across the diameter of the bowl, and lift it, stretching straight up in the air - about 50 cm. Place it back down, gently folding it on top of itself. Quarter turn the bowl, wait 30 to 60 seconds, wet hands, stretch high, fold it over itself back into the bowl. Optional: wait 15 minutes and repeat one more time. Final lift and stretch take it to the parchment lined bowl to lower back down, folding over itself as before. Sprinkle top and sides with seeds and flour. Place uncovered in the refrigerator for one hour (or for up to 3 hours) to firm up. Score the loaf with a sharp knife or razor blade just before baking

When I am using a shallow rectangular roasting pan as my dutch oven, I tend to make an oblong loaf. To shape it it goes into a rectangular basket lined with a fitted calico liner, dusted with rice flour. I invert that onto parchment paper and support that on a flat biscuit tray. The calico liner peels off the top of the loaf very nicely except if the loaf is over proofed, too moist, and the rice flour usage has been inadequate. I can slide the loaf on its parchment paper into the hot roasting pan.

When I am using a large and relatively deep pot as the dutch oven, it needs to be a round cob loaf which has to be lowered into the hot pot via the oversize parchment it is on.

Bake the Bread

When it is baked, the bread should be deeply golden and have an internal temperature of 95 to 97 Celsius.

Feasting at Home	Artisan
Score the dough in the bowl, using a very sharp knife (try scissors dipped in cold water), 2.5 cm deep, at a 45 degree angle. Transfer the dough to the hot Dutch Oven, using the baking paper to carry and put it in. Quickly place the lid on, and put the Dutch Oven into the centre of the 260C Oven.	Carefully turn each dough onto baking tray lined with baking paper, score the top of each loaf. Place in the oven on the middle shelf. At the same time put 6 ice cubes in the pan at the bottom of the oven to create steam.
260 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes with the Dutch oven lid on. 240 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes with the lid off. It should be deeply golden and have an internal temperature of 95 to 97 Celsius.	240 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes without opening the oven door. After 15 minutes, open the oven door to release the steam and check the bread. Shut the door and continue baking for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool down

It will be at least an hour before the bread is ready to be sliced for eating. If you don't wait - it will be unbaked dough!