San Francisco Sourdough Bread
Mash the grapes thoroughly and place in a loosely-covered container. Allow to stand at room temperature for 48 hours. Strain off the fermented juice and discard the pulp. Add warm…
- Prep
- 46 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 48 min
- Total
- 2 hr 34 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Mash the grapes thoroughly and place in a loosely-covered container. Allow to stand at room temperature for 48 hours.
Procedure
Strain off the fermented juice and discard the pulp.
Procedure
Add warm water to the juice to make 1 pint (450 ml).
Procedure
Stir in the flour, and leave at room temperature overnight.
Procedure
Replenish with 1 pint of warm water and 2 cups of flour daily if the starter is kept at room temperature. If refrigerated, replenish twice a week.
Procedure
In a glass measuring cup, sprinkle the dry yeast onto the surface of 4 tablespoons of the warm water and allow to stand until it becomes foamy.
Procedure
In a bowl, combine the rest of the water with the sourdough starter.
Procedure
Add 1 cup of the flour. Stir until the dough starts to form and then add the yeast mixture. Mix for 5 minutes.
Procedure
Add the remaining flour and the salt. Knead the dough until it is soft and elastic, 10 minutes or more.
Procedure
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place (ca. 80°F/27°C to 90°F/32°C) until doubled.
Procedure
Punch down the dough and shape it into a round loaf. Place the loaf on a greased and cornmeal-dusted sheet pan.
Procedure
Let the loaf rise in a warm place, covered with a damp cloth, until it has doubled in size.
Procedure
Brush the loaf with beaten egg white and score the top of the loaf in a criss-cross pattern with a sharp knife.
Procedure
Bake at 450°F (230°C) with a pan of boiling water under the oven rack for 10 minutes.
Procedure
Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C), remove the water and continue baking until the bread is well browned (about 35–45 minutes).
Procedure
Cool on a rack.
Photo: Mike Hayes · Public domain · · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 16 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Nutrition information is not available for this recipe yet.
Reviews
No reviews yet. If you cook this, come back and tell everyone how it went.
