Sourdough - meet Bernard

Good evening, folks.  Tonight, I would like to introduce you to Bernard.

Bernard is my sourdough culture.  He's about 2 weeks old now, and has just produced his first loaf.  Well done, Bernard!

Bernard started life as an empty kilner jar, into which I threw 75g of wholemeal bread flour and 75g of warm water.  I gave him a good mix with a fork to get the lumps out, and then left him in the cupboard next to the boiler (where it's slightly warmer than the rest of the kitchen).

He lived in the cupboard for 5 days, and each day I fed him with another 75g each of flour and warm water.

After 5 days, he was starting to bubble away nicely and he was moved to the fridge.  He now lives in there permanently, and only comes out on baking days.  Some would say he's a bit of a recluse, but I think it's just his way.  He gets fed once a week, or if sooner, when I use him to bake (see below).

Because sourdough bread needs a total of around 12-16 hours to prove (3-4 initially, then 8-12), it needs to be planned well.  I mixed and kneaded my dough in the evening, so first thing in the morning I fetched Bernard out of the fridge, gave him a 75g/75g feed, and left him out in the kitchen all day to wake up.

In the evening, I made my dough following the recipe below (a Baker Brothers one):

- 460g strong white bread flour

- 300g sourdough

- 10g salt (I used a half tablespoon)

- 230ml warm water

Throw everything together, mix, and knead for 15 minutes.  This makes a VERY wet dough (the kind that you mash around the worktop rather than pick up and knead), but persist with it and it will come together into a ball as you work it.  "The wetter the better", apparently.  Depending on how wet your culture is, you might need slightly more or less water than the recipe says.

Shove the kneaded dough back in the bowl, cover (I use a shower cap), and leave to rise for 3-4 hours.  Now you need to feed your culture with another 75g flour/75g water, and he can go back in the fridge until you need him again.

After the dough has risen, knock it back, shape into a loaf (using the method described in the white bread recipe here), and place seam-up in a very well floured proving basket*. Proving the dough will take 8-12 hours - I left mine overnight.  Make sure it's covered.

*I don't have a proving basket yet.  I used a loaf tin this time, but I wouldn't recommend it.  It was too high-sided, and it was an absolute nightmare turning the loaf out onto the baking stone.  I've just ordered one of these!

When it comes to baking, preheat the oven (and either a baking stone or a baking tray) to 230 degrees.  When you're ready to bake, turn the loaf out onto your baking stone/tray, and bake for half an hour (or until it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom).  Throwing a cup of water in with the loaf when you put it in will create steam to give the loaf a decent crust, but remember to open the oven door after 10 minutes to let the remaining steam out.

And this is what Bernard's first loaf looks like.  I'm very proud of him (and myself), and I love the taste of the sourdough.  I've never tried it before, so it's completely new to me!

So in summary, to look after your very own Bernard:

• Give him 75g of wholemeal bread flour and 75g of warm water each time you feed him.
• If he lives in the fridge, feed him once a week. If he lives in the open air, feed him once a day.
• If you're planning to bake in an evening, fetch him out of the fridge in the morning, feed him, and leave him out of the fridge all day to wake up.
• Once you've made your dough, feed him again before putting him back in the fridge.  The "before baking" and "after baking" feeds together replace the 300g of culture that you take out when you bake, keeping him nice and healthy.
• Don't worry if the loaves are a bit pathetic and tasteless to start with.  Apparently it takes a minimum of about a month for a culture to mature and develop properly.
• Before you start your culture, weigh your jar and write the weight on it!  This means you'll be able to easily weigh your sourdough out when you're baking.

Hopefully Bernard will raise many many more loaves in his time on this Earth.

Happy baking!

Bob x