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Making my master recipe in a mixer..

🌟 This loaf was made using my master recipe with the first mixes done in my KitchenAid mixer. The details below explain how I made it for anyone that would like to, or needs to, use a mixer when making my recipes.

🌟 Sourdough can be made in many ways, I love to make mine by hand, but sometimes using a mixer is useful when I have lots of doughs to make, or I want to give my arms a break; as always, there’s no mess, no faff, no unnecessary steps with my process. Just simple straightforward steps.

🌟 You can use any size of KitchenAid mixer, I used my tilt head one to make this loaf, using the dough hook and the stainless steel mixing bowl that comes with the mixer, and baking in my usual enamel roaster.

This is what I do:

🌟 I use my standard master recipe: 50g starter, 350g water, 500g flour, salt
🌟 I mix the ingredients in the standard stainless steel bowl with the dough hook on setting 1 for 4-5 mins.
🌟 I take the dough hook out and place it in a covered bowl in between uses so that the dough doesn’t dry on it.
🌟 I then cover the bowl and let it sit on the counter for 1.5-2 hours, I then mix it again using the same dough hook on setting 1 for 3-4 mins. I cover the bowl again and let it sit.
🌟 After an hour I perform a set of pulls and folds on the dough with the dough still in the mixer bowl. I cover the bowl again and let it sit.
🌟 Before going to bed I do another set of pulls and folds then cover the bowl again and leave it to prove overnight.
🌟 In the morning, with the dough still in the mixer bowl, I pull the dough into a tight ball and place it into my usual banneton. Covered it and put it into the fridge.
🌟 After a few hours, I turn the dough out into my usual enamel roaster pan, scored, put the lid on and bake at 220C/450F fan/convection for 55 mins from a cold start, with the lid on the whole time.
🌟 And the lovely loaf above and below is the outcome.

The proved dough in the morning
The dough turned out from the banneton
Scored
Baked

I made this loaf using my KA with the standard size 4.3l bowl. I also have a larger sized machine with a 4.8l bowl which is perfect for making 2 doughs at once and still all staying in the bowl the whole time, the double batch fits in it perfectly for mixing and proving. Or you can use whatever mixer you have.

My mixers

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TOP TIP: soak your mixer bowl and dough hook in cold water to soak off any dough, not hot water, it will cook the dough onto the bowl.
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AND I used my brand new Foodbod Sourdough lame to score it 🌟

How I line my Pullman pans for making sandwich loaves..

I use pullman pans a lot in my recipe and when I first got my pullman loaf pans/tins I didn’t need to line them, but as time has gone on and the coating has started to come away, I find it best to line my pans and the video below shows how I do it.

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I use good quality parchment paper, the paper is already 30 cm wide, which is perfect for folding all the way over the top of the pan, and I cut it to 40 cm long, this makes it a perfect size for doing this. When you finish baking and you remove your loaf from the pan, if you then carefully remove the paper from the loaf you can use it many more times so this does not have to be a one off.

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To make this loaf I used my standard sandwich life process. For this loaf, I did not use the lid, for many of my other loafs, I do, please refer to my books for more details and recipes. This page will tell you all about my books and how they differ: https://foodbodsourdough.com/which-book/

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You can find this exact size of Pullman pan that I use in the US from https://shanassourdough.myshopify.com which works for all of my recipes in my new book, or find it online in other countries.

The size is 21.5×12.5×11.5cm (8.5x5x4.5”).

CHEESE!!!

CHEESE!!!!!! Lots and lots of glorious CHEESE!!! That perfect partner for our sourdough!

If you love cheese you’ll love the latest episode of my podcast out today! I’m talking to the very brilliant Roger Longman from White Lake Cheese and learning all about his story, how they make their award winning cheese, walking and talking through each step of the process, meeting his wonderful goats, and of course, trying lots of amazingly fabulous cheese!!!

I hope you like it!

Listen on:

Apple : Spotify : Podbean : Amazon : Google

Find out more and see the recipes featured across the series on The Foodbod Pod website and watch on YouTube.

Visit White Lake Cheese for more!

It’s often about the dough, not the lame…

A question that I am often asked is: where can I get a better lame, mine doesn’t seem to work that well?

And as much as I have a very beautiful new branded lame I might very happily wish to sell you, usually the issue isn’t actually the lame, it’s the dough.

If you are having issues scoring your dough, it truly is unlikely to be an issue with the lame. Instead my questions to you would be:

Was your dough soft and sticky after the overnight proof?

When you turned your dough out from the banneton did it spread?

When you tried to score your dough did the lame just drag through it?

Did the dough collapse and not hold any shape?

But first and foremost, I would ask, how did your loaf bake?

The answer to all of the questions that I get posed about dough and loaves, is always, how did the loaf bake; because if your dough bakes to a wonderful loaf that you thoroughly enjoyed, then it doesn’t matter how the scoring went, or how your dough behaved.

However, if you feel you would like your loaf to be somewhat enhanced or different, then read on…

If you have a nice sharp lame, or a thin sharp blade that you use, and still it drags through your dough, your dough needs some input. If your dough is soft and sticky it either needs less water from the start, or it over proved, or just needs to be pulled tighter for the banneton.

And in which case, this post will help you.

If you’re happy with your dough but would like an cleaner surface to score, or more time to score pretty patterns, before baking, place your banneton full of dough into the freezer for 30 minutes, then turn it out, score and bake.

If you would like to purchase one of my lames, of course you’d be more than welcome and you can find them here. But to get the best out of using them, or whatever you’ve got, work on firming up your dough first. Then score slowly, be decisive, and score deeper than you probably think you need to. If I can help, get in touch.

Happy scoring!

Why hasn’t my dough grown?

There are certain rites of passage when it comes to making sourdough, we make our starters, there may be some bumps in the road, but in the end, we get there. Then we make our first doughs, again, lots of learning, and even when we think we’ve sussed it, suddenly something can throw us. This is why I constantly share whatever tips I can to try and anticipate your questions, so this is another one in case it’s useful:

What prevents dough from growing?

Peoples immediate response is to blame the starter, and it’s rarely actually the case. If your dough grows your starter works. If it’s slow, it could be for other reasons, or…

BUT if your starter has become thin for any reason, it is therefore weak and will struggle to lift itself, let alone a dough. So keep an eye in the consistency. If it has become thin as a result of heat, or weak flour, just spoon in some more flour and thicken it back up to give it some body and power. Let it respond before using.

A young starter is not by default a weak starter; I have used a 3 day old starter and it’s worked perfectly. Yes, they gain flavour and power with age and use, but a young starter is again, rarely the reason.

A big culprit is cold temperatures, they slow down the proving, so your dough hasn’t ‘not grown’ it just hasn’t finished growing. Give it more time. That’s all it needs.
If you want to put it in some warmth go for it, but don’t leave it for too long, and keep an eye on it.
(Don’t forget to look at the boost on page 61 of The Sourdough Whisperer if you’ve got it).

Another issue that people often overlook is a dry surface. If your dough has got a dry surface as a result of not being covered properly, only being covered with a dry tea towel, or you live in a dry place, the dough underneath cannot grow (this also works the same for a starter). Remove the dry surface and let the dough continue to prove and next time cover it with a shower cap or similar. It needs the moisture and protection.

Heavy doughs also struggle to grow. If your dough has a lot of add ins, it won’t grow as much as a dough without additions, and that’s fine. Let it get to double if you can.
A heavy wholegrain dough may take longer to grow, especially if you’re using home milled flours and haven’t allowed for it needing extra water.

These things are all fixable, as is everything with sourdough, hopefully they’re useful tips. If you’ve got your own to add, please feel free in the comments xx

Blueberry and goats cheese waffles…

How about a special breakfast, or just a great snack, or brunch, or lunch, or any meal really? I give you my blueberry and goats cheese waffles…

If you don’t like goats cheese, swap it for cream cheese or leave it out completely. If you don’t have a waffle maker, use the batter to make pancakes instead. If you prefer something sweeter, throw in some chocolate chips, the possibilities are endless…

sw_bbwaffles.pdfDownload

Have fun!

Fast sourdough flatbreads/naans…

How about some fast tasty sourdough flatbreads? These can be used as naan breads, wraps, manaeesh, and easy fast pizza bases. They are great eaten immediately, or can be reheated and refreshed perfectly in the toaster!

You can feed your starter for the job, or use discard if you’ve been making a new starter. The starter provides flavour and texture in these flatbreads rather than lift.

Find full details here…

sw_flatbread2.pdfDownload

Have fun! Let me know if you try them xx