I give you my top knot loaf. With this loaf you will be handling the dough in a way and at a point that may feel a bit scary, but go with it, it’s great fun, and worth being brave…you’ll find step by step photos in the recipe…
PS you can use any grains, there’s full details on how to cook them in my first book, or, if you can’t find any grains, you can use seeds. I have been asked if you could use oats, but if you use oats they will soak up water and change the consistency of the dough.
A tasty flatbread, with a perfect mix of soft pillowy holey parts and equally lovely crunchy edges, ideal for eating on its own, teamed with cheese, or dips, antipasti, soup, chili, or anything it can be dunked in!
I hope you like it!
By the way, the fougasse freezes and defrosts perfectly…allow it to fully cool then wrap it to freeze it. To defrost, place it, uncovered, on a rack to defrost for 2-3 hours then serve. For best results heat it briefly in the oven to crisp up the edges again.
If you like bread, and you like cheese, you’ll love this! Add in a bit of chilli heat, to a level of your choice, and you’ve got this loaf of joy!
In this recipe, the dough is laminated, and spread with small chunks of cheese, rolled up into a fat sausage to prove again, before baking. The cheese creates pockets of melted brilliance inside the loaf…I challenge you to eat only one slice!
This loaf was created as an oval, but will also work as a round loaf or in a large loaf tin.
Download your copy of the recipe here, print it out and keep it to go with your book:
What makes a gummy loaf? I get asked this a lot so I thought I’d share some answers and possibilities here…there can be a few reasons:
🌟 Slicing into a loaf before it’s cooled enough will give you a lovely warm slice of fresh bread, but it won’t be at its best, it will end up gummy from the steam; I leave my loaves for hours and hours before slicing into them. That way they’re light and dry and the texture I want them to be. If you can’t wait, go for it, but just do keep this in mind.
🌟 Over proving can produce a moist crumb, if your loaf is wide and flat and pale on the outside with small holes and a slightly damp interior, it may well be over.
🌟 Under baking can produce a gummy interior. Try baking for longer.
🌟 Is your pan big enough for your loaf? If the pan is too small and your loaf doesn’t have the space it needs to grow as it bakes it will hinder the bake and prevent it from being fully baked inside.
🌟 Too much water can also produce a damp loaf. Try less water with your flour.
🌟 Uneven heat in your oven can be the culprit – if you loaf is nicely golden on the outside but gummy or moist in the inside, it’s baking too quickly on the outside. Trying reducing the temperature you’re baking at and bake for a bit longer. Experiment until you find the sweet spot, and take notes along the way.
🌟 Consider if you’ve added any inclusions? Have they added liquid to the dough you didn’t account for?
🌟 If you live somewhere humid and you’ve baked your lovely loaf and left it out for several hours to cool, the humidity can soften the crust and damped the loaf, try to catch it whilst it’s still crisp on the outside and store it in something that will repel moisture.
🌟 A gummy loaf could be as a result of one, or more, of these. As always, the best way to find your solution is to go through an elimination process and change one thing at a time and make notes, always make notes.
If all else fails, make toast. Dry your slices of bread out in the toaster and enjoy 🤩
I hope this helps!
For more tips and help check out my FAQ page and my Tips Index.
This was written by one of my bakers, Karen Gardiner, about my new book, Easy Everyday Sourdough Bread Baking..
“⭐️⭐️⭐️ SHOULD YOU BUY THIS? ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️ DO YOU REALLY NEED TO IF YOU HAVE THE OTHER TWO? ⭐️
💖 MY THOUGHTS 💖
Notwithstanding that Elaine’s new book contains the same no nonsense easy to follow sourdough process that you find in the other two books, this one is absolutely jam packed with a plethora of fantastic recipes you will NOT find in the other two, as well as ways to bake your beautiful sourdough that you may not have ever considered.
Elaine shows how you can use baking vessels that everyday kitchens already contain, especially if you are not new to baking. The sandwich loaf section is outstanding with a wide variety of recipes including Pullman tin and traditional loaf tins. But no less impressive is the cake tin section.
The variety of recipes is incredible. Unlike many traditional how to/recipe books where you may flick through and only find one or two you’d happily try, the previous two books were quite the reverse of the norm!! I have found that there aren’t any recipes I wouldn’t try in the other books, and, WOW, this book is no exception. In fact, I would go so far as to say it exceeds them. 👏👏👏👏 The selection of sweeter doughs alone is to die for.
As to whether you should buy this one is, obviously, a decision only you can make. But… if you want to try such deliciousnesses as the ‘holiday chocolate enriched Bundt tin loaf’, ‘raspberry, chocolate and honeycomb snug swirls’, ‘same day cheese and ketchup babka’ or ‘satay swirled black sesame seed loaf’, then this book is a must!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
To sum up, this is a fab sourdough book designed for everyday people, with everyday kitchens and utensils. It contains amazing easy-to-follow delicious recipes.
I am very excited to share a recipe from my upcoming new book with you! These stuffed pizza rolls are perfect for a family get together, pretty much for any meal, for a pack up, a picnic, a party, a snack, breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, and really any event. They also freeze and defrost perfectly, and are fun to make yourself or with kids or as a shared baking project. There’s minimal shaping, the muffin tin does it all for you, just roll them up, chop them up, stuff them into the muffin pan wells and bake!
I hope you will give them a go, give them your own twist, and that you love them…
‘These pizza rolls are made using one of my favorite processes—stretching out my dough after the main overnight proof, covering it with my favorite ingredients, rolling it up, chopping it up and baking the pieces into filled rolls. In this recipe, I have updated my process and use a standard muffin tray to bake the rolls in. This works perfectly to provide a uniform size but also helps to shape the rolls. It means that even if the dough gets messy or hard to handle, you can stuff it into the muffin spaces and it will still bake up beautifully to even sized muffin shaped rolls.”
🌟🌟 watch the video of my recent international bakealong and you can see me making these rolls in my kitchen 🌟🌟 click here to watch.
Equipment: Have a 12-hole muffin tray ready, preferably nonstick. If your muffin tin is not nonstick, lightly spray or grease inside the wells with a neutral or flavorless oil or butter.
Makes 12 roll ups
Ingredients:
Dough
50 g (1⁄4 cup) active starter
325 g (11⁄3 cups) water
500 g (4 cups) strong white bread flour
7 g (1 tsp) salt, or to taste
Filling
150 g (3/4 cup) pizza sauce
200 g (2 cups) grated cheese (I use hard “pizza mozzarella” that I can grate. You can also use a mix of mozzarella and Monterey Jack)
Additional pizza toppings of your choice (for example, thinly cut mushrooms or sliced meats such as pepperoni or chorizo [avoid anything too thick or chunky])
Method:
Step 1: In the early evening, in a large mixing bowl, roughly mix together all the ingredients, except the pizza sauce, cheese and any other filling ingredients, leaving the dough shaggy. Cover the bowl with a clean shower cap or your choice of cover and leave it on the counter for 2 hours.
Step 2: After the 2 hours, perform the first set of pulls and folds on the dough; it will be sticky at this point, but stretchy. Cover the bowl and leave it on the counter.
Step 3: Once the dough has rested for at least an hour, complete two more sets of pulls and folds on the dough throughout the evening, covering the bowl after each set. The dough will be nicely stretchy and will easily come together into a firm ball each time. Complete the final set before going to bed.
Step 4: Leave the covered bowl on the counter overnight, typically 8 to 10 hours, at 64 to 68°F (18 to 20°C).
Step 5: The next morning, place the dough, untouched but still covered, in the fridge for at least an hour, until you are ready to use it; this could be for lunch, dinner or a meal the next day. The dough will firm up, making it easier to work with later.
Step 6: When you are ready to bake, decide whether you would like to bake in a preheated oven or from a cold start. If preheating, set the oven to 400°F (200°C) convection or 425°F (220°C) conventional.
Take your bowl of dough from the fridge. Sprinkle flour over your kitchen counter. Using a bowl scraper or your hands, gently ease the bubbly risen dough from the bowl onto the counter. Use your fingertips to start stretching and pushing out the dough, until it becomes a rectangle that measures 18 x 12 inches (45 x 30 cm) with an even thickness all over. The dough will want to pull back as you stretch it; continue to pull it gently, careful not to make holes in the dough. If the dough starts to tear or seems very hard to stretch, let it rest on the counter for 5 to 10 minutes allowing the gluten in the dough to relax and try again.
Spread the pizza sauce evenly all over the stretched dough and sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top, right up to the edges. If you are adding extra fillings, place them over the sauce and cheese. Roll up the dough from one of the longer edges toward the other to make an even, tight roll of dough. Using a dough knife or sharp knife, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces, approximately 11⁄2 inches (4 cm) wide. Place them, cut side down, in the muffin pan hollows. If the rolled up portions of filled dough start to fall apart, or you struggle with the dough holding together, push them into the pan hollows however they come. Do not worry about perfect shaping; the muffin pan will create the roll shapes for you as they bake.
Step 7: If you preheated the oven, bake the rolls uncovered for 25 minutes. If you are using a cold start, place the filled muffin pan in the cold oven, set the temperature as above and set a timer for 30 minutes.
Step 8: Once they are baked, remove the pan from the oven, carefully remove the rolls and let them sit briefly on a rack before serving. They are best eaten freshly baked, but my testers also informed me that they were still great eaten a few days later and reheated in a microwave for 30 seconds.
Top Tip: If you would prefer to bake them later, follow step 6 to fill, roll and cut the dough up into pieces, and then place the rolls into the muffin tin. Cover the tin with a large plastic bag or damp tea towel and place it into the fridge. When you are ready to bake, you can bake them directly from the fridge, following the directions above.
Happy baking! Happy making, rolling, cutting, baking, and EATING! If you choose to order it, I truly hope you like my new book xx
I’m happy to share another great recipe from Shana, this one used my enriched recipe as it’s inspiration..if you try it, let me know!
Are you looking for a soft and tasty sandwich loaf that’s perfect for any meal? Look no further than this oatmeal buttermilk sandwich loaf recipe! By simply adding eggs, milk, and butter or oil, this bread is sure to be softer than your traditional sourdough loaf.
Ingredients
2 eggs
250g buttermilk
80g starter
500g flour
50g old fashioned oats
10g salt
40g sugar
60g room temperature butter
Instructions
On a scale, place your bowl and add two eggs. Slowly add in buttermilk until it reaches 350g. Mix together and leave out until room temperature (or you can slightly warm the buttermilk in the microwave).
Add 80g starter, 500g flour, 50g old fashioned oats, 10g salt, and 40g sugar to the mixture and mix. If the dough seems too dry, add 10g water.
Wait 1 hour, do 25 stretch and pulls
Wait 30 minutes, do 6-10 stretch and pulls.
Wait 30 minutes, do 6-10 stretch and pulls. Cover and wait till your dough has doubled. Keep dough covered between all the steps.
When it has doubled (about 8 hours) put it out on a lightly floured surface and make into a rectangle. You can use a rolling pin or just your hands.
Roll the dough up, folding in the sides if it’s getting longer than your loaf pan.
Butter or line your loaf pan
Pinch the seam and have a plate of oats ready. Dampen the top side with water and roll in the oats till covered. Place seam down in the loaf pan. Wait 2-3 hours for the dough to recover from shaping, until it fills out the pan.
Bake at 375 on the middle rack for 30 minutes. Then tent with foil for 20 more minutes to stop the top from burning.
Please ask questions, I am new to writing recipes and I am sure I have left out details. Enjoy!! Please tag me if you try this recipe🥰❤️
‘Thanks for trying out this recipe from Shana’s Sourdough! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we do. If you’re looking for more delicious sourdough recipes or any other things sourdough, be sure to visit our site. We’ve got a wide variety of recipes and sourdough equipment to choose from, so you’re sure to find something you love. Thanks for visiting, and we hope to see you back soon!”
Welcome to Shana’s whole wheat heart loaf, a loaf Shana made for Valentines Day but would be lovely any time of the year.
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and what better way to show your loved ones how much you care than by baking them a homemade heart-shaped sourdough loaf? This recipe uses a whole wheat starter and a combination of whole wheat and white flour, making it a healthier alternative to traditional white bread. Not only is it delicious, using the heart shaped banneton adds the perfect touch for a special occasion.
Ingredients
350g water
100g whole wheat starter
200g whole wheat flour
300g white bread flour
10g salt
60g room temperature butter
Instructions
Mix water and starter in a bowl
Add in the flours, salt and butter
Mix and cover, and let rest for 1 hour
Do 25 -30 stretch and folds
Cover and rest 30 minutes
6-8 stretch and folds
Cover and rest 30 minutes
6-8 stretch and folds
Cover and let prove till the dough has doubled in size (8-10 hours)
Perform the in bowl shaping and place the dough in a rice floured banneton
Cover and put in the fridge 6-10 hours
Turn dough out onto parchment paper, score and put in a roaster.
Cover and bake at 450 for 55 minutes.
Bake with lid off 3 minutes at the end for extra color.
‘Thanks for trying out this recipe from Shana’s Sourdough! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we do. If you’re looking for more delicious sourdough recipes or any other things sourdough, be sure to visit our site. We’ve got a wide variety of recipes and sourdough equipment to choose from, so you’re sure to find something you love. Thanks for visiting, and we hope to see you back soon!”
Today I proudly give you my sourdough hot cross buns! I am so happy with these, all of my taste testers have given them a thumbs up, and now I happily share them with you in celebration of the upcoming release of my new book and in readiness for Easter..
For the rolls, I used my lighter enriched sourdough recipe from my book The Sourdough Whisperer as my base, and I made 2 versions: one all white flour, and one wholegrain version. For the loaf, I made a dough with oat milk and maple syrup that could also be used for rolls.
Sourdough hot cross buns are never going to be as light and fluffy as shop bought yeasted hot cross buns, these have more texture and depth to them, as you’d expect from a sourdough version, plus I did pack in a lot of dried fruit and peel! But, I am very happy to say that each of people that taste tested them (and there was quite a few) gave them a big thumbs up!
Dough notes: please keep in mind that these doughs are slow to fully prove, even without the additions, enriched and milk based doughs are slow growers; add in the dried fruit and peel, and they’re even heavier; add in the spices and especially the cinnamon, and it slows them down even more. So don’t worry if they haven’t fully proved in the morning, just leave them and give them a few more hours to do their thing.
My hot cross buns
Makes 12 rolls
Dough Ingredients
White flour version:
50 g active starter
330 g reduced-fat or 2% milk or plant-based milk
1 large egg yolk (reserve egg white for brushing)
50 g butter (I use slightly salted butter), at room temperature
Note: I used a mix of dried fruit and mixed dried peel, mine included sultanas, raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricots, orange peel and lemon peel.
For the crosses, for use just before baking only
100 g plain/all purpose flour
100 g water
For the glaze, for use after baking only
100 ml water
100 ml honey
Optional
Try adding 1 tbsp orange essence, and/or 75g chocolate chips, to the dough, or anything else you fancy!
Equipment
A medium baking tray lined with parchment paper
Icing bag with smallest nozzle, or sandwich bag with tiny hole cut in one corner
Method
Step 1: In the early evening, in a large mixing bowl, roughly mix together all of the dough ingredients, except the reserved egg white. It will be a very sticky dough, even sticker if you are using the wholegrain spelt flour, and it may be easier to use a bowl scraper or spatula to mix it at this stage. Leave it roughly mixed, cover the bowl with a clean shower cap or your choice of cover and leave the bowl on the counter.
Step 2: After 2 hours, perform the first set of pulls and folds on the dough. Lift and pull the dough across the bowl as far as you can, turn the bowl slightly and repeat, round and round the bowl, until the dough come into a soft studded ball, then stop; it will be a sticky dough, but will eventually easily come into the soft ball. You may find that you have to fold the dough over onto itself rather than pull it and stretch it at this point. Cover the bowl again and leave it to sit on the counter.
Step 3: Over the next few hours, perform three more sets of pulls and folds on the dough, covering the bowl after each set. The dough will remain sticky but will become stretchier, and should come together into a nice soft ball each time. Do the final set before going to bed.
Step 4: Leave the covered bowl on the counter overnight, typically 10 to 12 hours, at 18 to 20°C/64 to 68°F.
Step 5: In the morning, hopefully the dough will have grown to double in size, with a smooth surface. If the dough has not doubled yet, allow it a few more hours to continue to prove. This is a very slow and heavy dough, even heavier than usual with all the added dried fruits, and it may take longer to fully prove.
Once ready to shape, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Have your lined pan ready. Cut the dough into 12 equal weight pieces. Shape each portion into a smooth ball, and place the dough balls onto the paper lined pan, spaced evenly, with 1-2 cm gaps between them. Cover the pan with a large plastic bag or damp tea towel, and leave it on the counter.
Allow the balls of dough to prove again, letting them grow to double the size. This may take 2 to 6 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Step 6: Mix the plain/all purpose flour with the water and stir it until it make a smooth paste. Spoon it into your piping bag. Use a small nozzle or cut a 2mm hole in your piping bag and test piping the paste on your counter, ensure that it holds its line when you pipe some out.
Note: testing the paste before piping it onto the prepared rolls is a tip that I was given from the brilliant Cherie Denham (read more about her at the end of the post). She also said that if you do test the paste on your counter and it’s too sloppy to hold itself, add more flour to the mix to thicken it up, and then test it again. If it’s holds a nice smooth line, go for it..
Mix the egg white with a tablespoon (15 ml) of water and brush the top of the balls of dough gently with it.
Pipe lines of flour paste across all of the buns to form the crosses.
My first ever piped crosses!
Step 7: When you are ready to bake, decide whether you would like to bake in a preheated oven or from a cold start. If preheating, set the oven to 200°C (400°F ) convection or 220°C (450°F) conventional.
If you preheated the oven, bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes. If using a cold start, place the uncov- ered pan of dough in the oven, set the temperature as directed and set a timer for 30-35 minutes and bake until the rolls are browned.
Heat the water and honey in a pan over a medium heat, let it simmer and thicken slightly.
Step 8: Remove the pan from the oven and allow the rolls to cool briefly. Brush with the warm honey water to make them shiny. Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool briefly before tucking in!
Note: you can also make a glaze using sugar and water, or there’s various other ways which you can find online.
Hot cross bun loaf
I made this dough and baked it as a loaf but it could also be used to make buns in the same way as the above process. I have used oat milk and maple syrup so this loaf is ideal as a vegan option, you could also use milk of your choice and honey if you’d prefer.
Note: you could also use either of the above doughs to make a loaf following the same process as below
Makes 1 loaf or 12 rolls
Ingredients for the dough
50 g active starter
375 g oat milk
500 g strong white bread flour
150 g mixed dried fruits and peels
50 g maple syrup
7 g salt, or to taste
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
Optional for the criss cross design
50 g plain/all purpose flour
50 g water
Equipment
A lined loaf tin, I used my Pullman tin, minus its cover, 21.5 x 12.5 x 11.5 cm (81⁄2 x 5 x 41⁄2 inches)
An icing bag with tiny nozzle or sandwich bag with tiny hole cut in one corner
Method
Step 1: In the early evening, in a large mixing bowl, roughly mix together all the dough ingredients until you have a shaggy, rough dough. Cover the bowl with a clean shower cap or your choice of cover and leave the bowl on the counter for 2 hours.
Step 2: After 2 hours, perform the first set of pulls and folds until the dough feels less sticky and comes together into a soft studded ball. This will be a heavy dough. Cover the bowl again and leave it on your counter.
Step 3: After another hour of rest, do one more set of pulls and folds on dough, covering the dough again afterward.
Step 4: Leave the covered bowl on the counter overnight, typically 8 to 10 hours, at 18 to 20°C/64 to 68°F.
Step 5: In the morning, hopefully the dough will have grown to double in size, with a smooth-ish dough surface around the dried fruits and peels. If the dough hasn’t grown sufficiently, give it more time, this is a heavy slow dough. Have your pan ready and place the paper liner on the counter. Gently lift and fold handfuls of dough from one side of the bowl into the middle in a line, using the same pulling and folding action as used previously. Turn the bowl 180 degrees and do the same on the other side so that you have a thick sausage of dough in the middle of the bowl.
With a wetted hand, place your whole hand over the dough, turn the bowl upside down and gently ease the dough from the bowl into your hand. Place the dough, seam side down, on the paper and slip your hand out from underneath the dough. Use the paper to lift the dough into the pan, cover it with the same shower cap and leave it on the counter. Allow the dough to proof again, letting it grow level with the edge of the pan until it is just peeking over the top. This may take 2 to 3 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. The surface will become smooth and the dough will spread to fill the pan.
This step can also be done in the fridge for a longer, slower second prove, up to 24 hours, and can be baked directly from the fridge.
Step 6: When you are ready to bake, decide whether you would like to bake in a preheated oven or from a cold start. If preheating, set the oven to 200°C (400°F ) convection or 220°C (450°F) conventional.
Option: to add the criss crosses, pipe a flour paste design across the top of the loaf before baking. Mix 50 g plain/all purpose flour with 50 g water until it makes a smooth paste, and use a piping bag to pipe lines across the top of the loaf.
A bit rough but it was my first ever attempt!
Step 7: If you preheated the oven, bake the loaf for 45 minutes. If you are using a cold start, place the pan of dough in the oven, set the temperature as above and set a timer for 50 minutes. If the surface of the loaf looks like it is going to bake darker than you would like, cover the top of the loaf with another pan or some foil.
Step 8: Remove the loaf from the oven and the pan, tap the base of the loaf and if it sounds hollow, the loaf is baked. If not, return it to the oven, out of the pan, directly onto the rack to bake it for a further 5 to 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool briefly on a wire rack before slicing.
To glaze, brush with warmed, melted apricot jam or golden syrup after baking and while still warm.
I must say a huge thank you to the very brilliant Cherie Denham for holding my hand through making these, Cherie is a brilliant baker and cook and helped me hugely! If you’d like hear us in conversation do check out my recent podcast episode – Cherie is wonderful and a true inspiration. Find us talking here:https://foodbodpod.podbean.com/e/the-foodbod-pod-episode-2/and subscribe to the channel so that you don’t miss future episodes.
