Instructions: French Sourdough Starter (Chef or Levain)

Makes about 2 c or enough for 2 loaves)

2 c unbleached white flour
1 c water

Days 1-4 : Stir together 1/2 c flour and 1/4 c water in a medium bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or knead gently until the mixture is uniform; cover with plastic wrap. Leave overnight at room temperature ( See Note ). Every day for the next 3 days add 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup water to the mixture and stir or knead until smooth. Cover with plastic. It will expand slightly and begin to take on an acidic aroma after the second day. On day 5 you are ready to bake bread (if you start early in the day).

1 c French Sourdough Starter
2 c room temperature water
About 4-5 c unbleached white flour
or use 1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat flour 2 t salt

Whisk together starter and the water in a large bowl until starter is thoroughly dissolved. Combine 3 1/2 c flour and the salt in a medium bowl. Using a wooden spoon, gradually fold the flour mixture into the sourdough mixture. Flour the work surface and scrape out the dough. Using a pastry scraper to help fold the dough knead for 10-15 minutes adding more flour as needed. Shape into a ball. Rinse, dry and oil your bowl. Place dough in it and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let rise in warm spot for 2 hours. It will rise slightly. Form into a tight, round loaf on a lightly floured surface.

Oil a 2 qt bowl and dust with cornmeal. Dust the top of the loaf with flour and place rounded side down in the bowl; cover and let rise in a warm place for 8-12 hrs (See Note) or until nearly doubled in bulk. About 30 minutes prior to baking, preheat oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle. Gently turn out the dough onto an unoiled baking sheet . Slash across the top with a razor blade or sharp knife. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes spraying a couple of times with water during the first 10 minutes of baking, until loaf is brown and responds to tapping with a hollow sound. Remove from oven and cool on a rack,.

Note: The warmer your room temperature is, the sourer your loaf will be. I have had differences in flavor depending on whether I baked this loaf in the summer or winter. If your starter becomes quite sour (acidic), expect the second rise time to be longer. I usually count on 10-14 hours for my dough to double. I usually time it so this is an overnight period and I bake the bread on the morning day 6. Also expect the bread to deflate a bit upon removal from the bowl and slashing. It will bake up into a flattened, not-your-prettiest loaf, but man, oh, man...what flavor! Its the only reason to baby this thing over 5 days. I recommend that the adventurous out there try this recipe. The process alone will teach you much about artisan/rustic bread making.

NOTES : I agree with Jessica that Great Breads by Martha Rose Shulman is a great book. I did not want to get into the "what is the best bread book" debate, because I have probably about 40 books on bread and like my children I hate to play "favorites" ;-) I find, however, that I have turned back to this book many times over the years, because it is well written and the recipes do work. I especially like the No Yeast Sourdough Country Bread. Although it requires a 5 day starter, it requires very little work and produces one of the sourest and crunchy loaves Ive ever eaten. Since it is not fair to mention a recipe and then not share it, I will. However, I do hate typing so here is an abreviated version with my apologies to Ms Shulman (the original contains directions for making in a mixer and replenishing the starter as well).

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