I have been making and selling small sourdough for a number of years, but have found myself needing to make family sized loaves over various lockdowns and school closures.
Sourdough's second rise is typically in a 'banetton', or proving basket, and gently turned out onto a hot baking tray before baking. I have makeshift baskets for my 400g loaves, but had nothing for my full size 900g loaves - until I watched a friend bake her's in a cake tin.
The same friend anxiously tipped her sourdough from a banetton into the cake tin, fearing it would deflate. So I simply decided to let my sourdough rise in the cake tin and then cook it in it, removing the risk of deflating.
My sourdough is still not as 'holey' as the beautifully photographed artisan loaves but it has risen, is tasty, easy, and cheaper.
Oh, and I knead mine on the dough cycle in a bread machine and leave it to rise for the first time in the bread machine pan, so it is a wonderfully hands off process.
Makes 1x 900g loaf
300g lively sourdough starter
500g white bread flour
250g water
10g salt
If you fridge your starter like me (as I only use it once or twice a week), take it out of the fridge 2 days before you intend to bake the loaf. I take mine out in the morning of Day 1.
On the evening of Day 1 I feed my starter to ensure I will have 300g of starter the following morning.
8-9am on Day 2 I weigh 300g of starter into the bread pan followed by all the other ingredients. Knead using the dough cycle and then leave in the pan in the bread machine for 12+ hours until just before you go to bed.
Bedtime Day 2 tip your dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Knead lightly and shape into a smooth ball. Place in a lined 20cm cake tin. Cover with a puffed up plastic bag to stop the dough from drying out, but allowing the dough to rise and not stick to the bag and leave on the side overnight. NB. I did experiment with leaving the dough in the fridge overnight but it did not rise enough. This recipe was developed during a cold spell, and our kitchen is around 16C overnight. I may have to revisit proving overnight somewhere cooler in the height of summer.
8-9am Day 3 preheat the oven to 230C. Dust with a little flour and slash the dough if you like. Boil the kettle and pour a mug of boiling water into a high sided baking tray at the bottom of the oven, after placing the sourdough in it's cake tin on a middle shelf.
Bake to 10 minutes at 230C, 10 minutes at 200C and, if the crust is golden brown, 20 minutes at 180C. I take the bread out of the tin for the last 10 minutes, just placing it on the oven shelf. When ready, the loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
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