Quick Artisan Style Multi Grain Sourdough Bread Recipe 395

Steps:

• To make the soaker: Put the multi grain cereal or oats in a heatproof bowl (I use mixing bowl for mixer), and pour the boiling water over them, stirring to combine ( depending on cereal or oats, water all soaked in and cereal is mushy adjust water accordingly). Let cool to lukewarm before using. To make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, or the bucket of a bread machine, combine the fed sourdough starter and 3/4 cup of the water, mixing until smooth. Add the remaining dough ingredients (combine all dry ingredients and mix before adding) plus the soaker, and mix and knead - by hand, mixer, or bread machine - until you've made a soft dough, adding additional water as needed (should be tacky and if using dough hook and pulling free from bowl). Cover the dough in the bowl, and let it rise until it's almost doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface and gently fold it over a few times to deflate it (push out in a rectangle and fold in 1/3s and then pull corners up to center make a ball pulling and pinching in center). Shape the dough into a large round. Grease a Dutch oven or baking crock, and place the dough into it (I put dough parchment in dutch oven). Cover the crock, and let the loaf rise until it's very puffy, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Just before baking, brush or spray the loaf with water, and sprinkle with seeds. Use a lame or a very sharp knife to make several slashes across the top of the loaf, in the shape of a pound sign or just have fun with your own design. Place the covered crock into a cold oven, set to 450°F, and turn on the oven. Bake the bread for 35 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the bread is deep golden brown, about 10 additional minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and turn it out of the crock onto a rack to cool.

Steps:

• Preparing Dough for Storage:.
• Warm the water slightly. It should feel just a little warmer than body temperature. Warm water will rise the dough to the right point for storage in about 2 hours. With cold water it will need 3-4 hours.
• Add the yeast to the water in a 5 quart bowl or, preferably, in a resealable, lidded (not airtight) plastic food container or food-grade bucket. Don't worry about getting it all to dissolve.
• Mix in the flour and salt - kneading is unnecessary. Add all of the flour at once, measuring it in with dry-ingredient measuring cups, by gently scooping up the flour, then sweeping the top level with a knife or spatula. Don't press down into the flour as you scoop or you'll throw off the measurement. Mix with a wooden spoon, a high-capacity food processor (14 cups or larger) fitted with the dough attachment, or a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with the dough hook until the mixture is uniform. If you're hand mixing and it becomes too difficult to incorporate all the flour with the spoon, you can reach into your mixing vessel with very wet hands and press the mixture together. Don't knead, it isn't necessary. You're finished when everything is uniformly moist, without dry patches. It takes a few minutes, and will yield a dough that is wet and loose enough to conform to the shape of its container.
• Allow to rise. Cover with lid (not airtight or it could explode the lid off). Allow the mixture to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flattens on the top), approx 2 hours, depending on room temperature, and initial water temperature Longer rising times, up to 5 hours, won't harm the result.
• You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period. Fully refrigerated dough is less sticky and easier to work with than dough at room temperature.
• On Baking Day:.
• prepare your loaf tin, tray, or whatever you're baking it in/on. Sprinkle the surface of your refrigerated dough with four. Pull up and cut of a grapefruit-size piece of dough (c 1 lb), using a serrated knife.
• Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won't stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all 4 sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Most of the dusting flour will fall off - that's fine, it isn't meant to be incorporated. The bottom of the loaf may appear to be a collection of bunched ends, but it will sort itself out during resting and baking.
• The correctly shaped final product will be smooth and cohesive. The entire process should take no more than 30 - 60 seconds.
• Rest the loaf and let it rise in the form, on the tray/pizza peel, for about 40 minutes Depending on the age of the dough, you may not see much rise during this period. That's fine, more rising will occur during baking.
• Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450°F Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.
• Dust and Slash. Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour, which will allow the slashing knife to pass without sticking. Slash a quarter inch deep cross, diagonal lines, or tic-tac-toe pattern on top using a serrated knife.
• After a 20 min preheat you're ready to bake, even though the oven thermometer won't be at full temperature yet. Put your loaf in the oven. Pour about 1 cup of hot water (from the tap) into the broiler tray and close the oven to trap the steam.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.
• Store the rest of the dough in the fridge in your lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next 14 days. The flavour and texture improves, becoming like sourdough. Even 24 hours of storage improves the flavour.
• This is the standard bread. There are loads of variations - both savory and sweet - in the book.