5 FROM 2 VOTES

Artisan Village Bread

Rustic sourdough village bread with a crunchy crust and delicious flavour and texture.

SERVINGS PREP TIME COOK TIME PROOFING TIME TOTAL TIME

5 People
1 hr 45 mins 16 hrs 17 hrs 45 mins

Equipment Ingredients

 Stand Mixer  7 ½ Cups Village or Artisian Flour

 Proofing Basket  2 ½ Cups Warm Water

 Kitchen Towel  1 ⅓ tbsp Salt

 Lame Bread Slashing Tool  ½ Cup Sourdough Starter

Instructions

1 Autolyse is a biological process that breaks starches into sucrose. This will make
your dough more malleable and will give you a better rise and texture. The process is
simple, combine the water with the dough and mix until its smooth and even. Cover
with a kitchen towel and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. You will notice a more
elastic texture once completed.

2 Now it's time to add the sourdough starter. Read our Sourdough Starter Guide to
ensure you have an adequate amount of starter left to continue the growth and
feeding process. Add your Sourdough starter to the autolysed flour and water
mixture. Using the dough hook of your stand mixer, set to a low speed and let it
knead until it is well combined. At this stage the dough might seem too runny, this
will tighten up when we add the salt. Add your salt and knead for another 5-10
minutes until smooth and well combined.
Slap,Fold and Shaping

1 Now that all the ingredients have been combined and the autolyse is complete, we
need to prepare the dough for the kneading and folding process. This process is
called slapping and lasts for 3 to six minutes. Pick the dough up with both hands and
slap it against the kitchen counter. Pull it lengthwise and roll it back together. Then
pick it up and slap it against the counter again. Repeat this process for 4-5 slap and
stretches. Don't hold back you need to use strength otherwise it will take you longer
to finish this step. You will know the dough is ready when its nice and smooth and
not as tacky as it was when you started.

2 Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Find a nice and warm spot
and let it rest for 30 minutes. Avoid heat above 70C or 140F as this will kill your
sourdough starter. Also avoid direct sunlight shining on your dough.

3 Now that the dough is well rested and has recovered from the slapping process it is
time to fold it for the first time. Place your dough on your working surface. To avoid it
sticking you can use a few drops of olive oil on the surface and on your hands. <br/>
Pull the dough out in to a rectangle about 40 x 30 cm or 15 x 11 cm. Fold both sides
to the center along the long side. Then roll it up. Handle the dough gently from here
on. Place it back in to the oiled bowl and cover for another 30 minutes.

4 Repeat the folding process and let the dough rest for another 30 minutes.

5 Repeat the fold again, only this time we let the dough rest for 1 1/2 hours instead of
30 minutes.

6 At this stage you should already see a significant amount of rise in your dough. Very
lightly flour your working surface. Place the dough on the floured working surface
and fold it from the sides on to the top in to itself. This will smoothen out the
underside of the dough. Place it on an area that doesn't have a lot of flour.

Using both hands, lightly pull the dough to your direction. This will create surface
tension. Turn the dough by a quarter and repeat four times. Line your proofing basket
with a clean kitchen towel, dust with flour and place your dough in to the proofing
basket. At this stage you have two option.
Option One - Proof and Bake

1 Rest the dough in a warm place for 2 - 3 hours.

2 Preheat your oven at 240C or 465F. The best way to bake this type of bread is in a
ceramic or pyrex covered casserole dish. This keeps all the liquid trapped and gives
you a crunchy crust. If you don't have a dish that fits your loaf, don't worry. You can
still bake it in your oven but you will need some steam to keep the bread moist. You
can achieve this in a few ways, you can get a small oven safe dish and fill it with
water. Then place it in the bottom of your oven to create a constant flow of steam.
You can also add a few ice cubes. I like to use a plant spray bottle filled with water
and spray a good amount of mist in to the oven before i add the dough.

Option Two - Overnight Fridge Rest

1 Instead of proofing your dough at room temperature, you can proof it in the fridge in a
slower process. This takes between 15 and 20 hours although we found that 16 is
Ideal. The benefit of fridge proofing is that you have more control over when you can
bake the bread. Don't let your bread proof more than 24 hrs. There is no benefit in an
extended time and it might diminish the flavour of the bread and dry it out.

2 The Baking process is the same as in option one.

Calories: 705kcal
Course: Bread Cuisine: European

Keyword: bread, rustic, sourdough

Nutrition

Calories: 705kcal | Carbohydrates: 148g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium:
1870mg | Potassium: 201mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 9mg
Artisan Village Bread https://myurbantreats.com/bread/traditional-sourdough-village-bread/ August 20, 2020