Canner Street Bread (One-Bowl Sourdough)
During a sabbatical
in 2012 I was without my regular baking equipment, and had to cut a few corners to continue sourdough baking in a simply-equipped apartment (whose address is honoured in this recipe).
While serious bakers - down to and including me - will want to measure ingredients by weight, this wasn't an option during that time. I also had - you guessed it - one bowl for mixing and proof - both an initial proof for the dough and then, lined with a dishcloth/teatowel, as a proving basket for the loaf.
There were compensations. I discovered a very good rye flour that I have stuck with since for starting and maintaining my rye sours (Bob's Red Mill), as well as King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour that I liked a lot.
This recipe assumes you have a good rye starter - you can find out how to start and use it here.
Ingredients
1/2 cup rye starter
4 1/3 cups flour (half whole wheat, half bread flour)
2 1/3 cups of water
salt
Method
Stage/Day 1
Place starter in a large bowl. Add 1 cup of flour and 1/3 cup of water, stir to combine. The result will be a very loose dough, or if you like a stiff batter.
Leave until it has grown perhaps 100%, or at least until very bubbly. This might only be a couple of hours but overnight is more likely (allow 6 hours, say). You now have a production leaven.
Stage/Day 2
Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the leaven and stir to disperse. Add remaining 3 1/3 cups of flour (I use 50/50 King Arthur bread flour and "White Whole Wheat"), a good pinch of salt, and mix to combine. Add more of the water if needed to obtain a relatively wet dough. Leave an hour before moving on (if you can).
Stretch and fold the dough after an hour, and then twice more over the next 2-3 hours. Each time, the dough will rise and soften; folding will increase elasticity and de-gas the dough. Use wet hands, rather than flour, to deal with the stickiness (it is meant to be a sticky dough, with high hydration).
For final proof, work the dough with smaller stretches from around the edge, towards the centre of the bowl, to increase elasticity of the bottom (that will become the top surface of the loaf). Dip dough in flour to cover, lie the same way upon a well floured cloth in the cleaned bowl or a lined basket (or simply place in an lightly oiled baking tin, if preferred, but with the eventual top upwards of course). If proving in bowl or basket, wait until dough has risen 30-50% again.
Meanwhile pre-heat oven to very hot, with a pizza/baking stone if you have used a bowl or basket, in which case then tip the bowl/basket over gently so the dough arrives on the stone with the stretched lower surface uppermost. Slash if desired, at an oblique angle (not vertical, closer to horizontal). If using a tin, slash top carefully before placing in the oven. Bake for 10 mins at 500F/250C or so, then lower heat to 450F/220C for another 30 mins.
While serious bakers - down to and including me - will want to measure ingredients by weight, this wasn't an option during that time. I also had - you guessed it - one bowl for mixing and proof - both an initial proof for the dough and then, lined with a dishcloth/teatowel, as a proving basket for the loaf.
There were compensations. I discovered a very good rye flour that I have stuck with since for starting and maintaining my rye sours (Bob's Red Mill), as well as King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour that I liked a lot.
This recipe assumes you have a good rye starter - you can find out how to start and use it here.
Ingredients
1/2 cup rye starter
4 1/3 cups flour (half whole wheat, half bread flour)
2 1/3 cups of water
salt
Method
Stage/Day 1
Place starter in a large bowl. Add 1 cup of flour and 1/3 cup of water, stir to combine. The result will be a very loose dough, or if you like a stiff batter.
Leave until it has grown perhaps 100%, or at least until very bubbly. This might only be a couple of hours but overnight is more likely (allow 6 hours, say). You now have a production leaven.
Stage/Day 2
Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the leaven and stir to disperse. Add remaining 3 1/3 cups of flour (I use 50/50 King Arthur bread flour and "White Whole Wheat"), a good pinch of salt, and mix to combine. Add more of the water if needed to obtain a relatively wet dough. Leave an hour before moving on (if you can).
Stretch and fold the dough after an hour, and then twice more over the next 2-3 hours. Each time, the dough will rise and soften; folding will increase elasticity and de-gas the dough. Use wet hands, rather than flour, to deal with the stickiness (it is meant to be a sticky dough, with high hydration).
For final proof, work the dough with smaller stretches from around the edge, towards the centre of the bowl, to increase elasticity of the bottom (that will become the top surface of the loaf). Dip dough in flour to cover, lie the same way upon a well floured cloth in the cleaned bowl or a lined basket (or simply place in an lightly oiled baking tin, if preferred, but with the eventual top upwards of course). If proving in bowl or basket, wait until dough has risen 30-50% again.
Meanwhile pre-heat oven to very hot, with a pizza/baking stone if you have used a bowl or basket, in which case then tip the bowl/basket over gently so the dough arrives on the stone with the stretched lower surface uppermost. Slash if desired, at an oblique angle (not vertical, closer to horizontal). If using a tin, slash top carefully before placing in the oven. Bake for 10 mins at 500F/250C or so, then lower heat to 450F/220C for another 30 mins.
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