May 18, 2023
This wonderful sourdough recipe is from acclaimed Cornish chef James Strawbridge’s new book Salt and the Art of Seasoning. Wholemeal flour is a great addition to any sourdough loaf. You won’t get the same large holes and oven spring as a white loaf, but the flavour and nutrition are much improved. |
James introduces the recipe and his mother:
"I love baking at home but there’s nothing more comforting than bread baked by your mum – so I’ve asked my mum, Brigit Strawbridge Howard, to share her sourdough recipe here in her own words….
"There are as many different recipes and instructions on how to make a sourdough loaf as there are varieties of flours you can use in it, but once you get the hang of the basic principles, you can play with the ingredients and timings and make the recipe your own. I always use a rye starter, for instance, but other starters would doubtless work just as well. I also make a point of using the most wholesome ingredients I can find, preferring non-chlorinated water, organic flours made from ancient grains such as spelt, and Himalayan salt flakes, but these are not prerequisites, just preferences.
"I ran out of salt, once. As I had already weighed out the other ingredients, I carried on, thinking it would be fine without. Big mistake! Without the salt to slow it down, the yeast ran wild overnight and when I came down in the morning, the dough had spilled over the edges of the bowl and begun to spread across the table. It was almost impossible to work with and I ended up with another ‘pancake’. Worst still, the pancake tasted like cardboard. Anyway, the recipe and method below is the one that always works best for me. I hope it works for you, too. And thank you, James, for including it in your book.”
Makes 1 loaf / serves 4
IngredientsFor activating the starter
For the sourdough loaf
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MethodStage 1 - in advance of baking day
Stage 2 - mixing the dough
Stage 3 - baking day
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This recipe and abstract is an extract from James Strawbridge’s new book Salt and the Art of Seasoning (Chelsea Green Publishing, May 2023) and is reprinted with the kind permission from the publisher.
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