Lazy but NEVER Fails Loaf Bread Sourdough

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I am an avid bread baker.  I have been making bread since I was 12.  I swear that AP used to be stronger than it is today.  Nowadays you have to have Vital Wheat Gluten handy.  They used to sell Cake Flour, AP and Whole Wheat and that was it.  Then in the mid to late 80s they have Bread Machine Flour.  In any case, I only buy Cake Flour as needed from the bulk store and I keep, AP, mainly for Crepes and Pancakes, Whole Wheat and VWG in stock always.  I occasionally buy Rye and Chickpea Flour too.

Home Sourdough Starter

I have had my current Whole Wheat Starter for about 10 years.  I had an older one that died because I did not feed it often enough.  I do not bake daily.  I bake about 2x a week.  So I have a few tricks I have used to keep it thriving and tasty.  I will not go into how I started it here.  I would recommend you look up Alton Brown's post or video.  BUT! I insist you use a scale.  It makes life so much easier especially to avoid levelling flour in a measuring spoon. 

1. I keep it in the refrigerator.  All the professional bakers may exhale and chillax.  It keeps it slow and less likely to over ferment or die.  By over ferment, I mean you get alot of alcohol smelling darker liquid on top, affectionately called 'hooch'.  Do not get it twisted.  Do not drink!!  When I do have that.  I measure it out with a spoon and pour it down the drain and replace with water so I can better approximate the hydration level.
2. When I am away longer, I may put it in the freezer.  You will not kill it.  If you have ever read the novel the Martian, you will remember, it only takes one little bug to survive and your colony will return.  I would put it out on the counter and feed it when you take it out of hibernation.
3. I change my 100% hydration, meaning 50% Water and 50% flour to slightly more flour if I may skip because then feeding is slowed down.  I may do 40/60.
4. As a last alternative, scoop out and toss 100 g of starter and feed it if you are really worried.  

Now, by lazy NEVER fails, I mean, when I do not want to over think it like when I make pumpernickel, then I make this.  Why is it lazy? because the measurements are unforgettable and you can start in the morning during breakfast and bake after dinner and let cool until bedtime. Tada ready for the next morning!  How? I do use a tiny bit of commercial yeast.  When I do no yeast, all starter bread overnight, I find the next morning takes too long to warm up after the overnight bulk ferment.  So the timing just does not always work for real life with jobs and kids.  I may do it on weekends or on days off.  Otherwise, our 'daily' sandwich or toast bread is this.  

I typically bake in my Emile Henry Loaf Pan without the cover.  It makes a longer loaf that lasts a few more days.  My husband tends to cut pieces like 3/4" thick.  I will actually do this same recipe in a standard loaf pan too if I know that we will not be eating as much bread that week because regardless, my husband will go through it because he is a sandwich junkie.  I may let the final rise in the standard loaf pan slightly shorter like 30 minutes.  Once you read, the recipe, you will see why I call it the Lazy Never Fails.

From this basic recipe you can do a number of variations.

1. Replace 100 g or more of the Whole Wheat Flour with Rye Flour

    a. Add 1T of Caraway Seeds or Dried Onion Flakes

2. Replace 50 g of the Flour with Instant Oatmeal

3. Replace 50 g of the Flour with Chickpea Flour for more protein

4. Add 2T of Cinnamon and 1/2 c Raisins 10 minutes from the end of the kneading

5. Replace the Whole Wheat Flour with AP if your kids prefer

Lazy Daily Sourdough Loaf Bread

LAZY BUT NEVER FAILS DAILY SOURDOUGH LOAF BREAD

215g Sourdough Starter

215g Warm Water

1T Honey, Agave Syrup, Maple Syrup or Sugar (15-20g)

1/8t or pinch of ground Ginger or ground Cumin, it stimulates the starter

1/4t Instant Yeast

1/4c Vital Wheat Gluten (35g)

350g Whole Wheat Flour (give or take 25 g, try starting with 300 and add 1T at a time, depending on how humid your area is)

30g or 2T Butter or Oil

1/2 - 1t Salt

1. I start as I wake up at 7am.  I take the starter out and open the top.  Then make myself a cup of tea.
2. In my stand mixer, I add the Water, Starter, Sugar or Syrup, Ginger and Yeast and finish making my tea.
3. Add the Vital Wheat Gluten (VWG), 300g of the flour to start. I add the 350g because I know.  After a couple of times, you will know what your flour needs.  Add the rest of the ingredients with the flour.
• nb/ I pre measured my flour ages ago and despite what the King Arthur site says, my flour weights 35g per 1/4c and 9g per Tablespoon.
4. Using the dough hook, start on Stir or Low or you will get a face of flour.  Run on low for at least 5-10 minutes as you make your breakfast or kids lunch.
5. Check if the dough is pulling away from the sides.  If it is too sticky and clinging to the bottom of the bowl, add flour in 1T increments but at least a 1 or 2 minutes part.  It takes time to get incorporated.
6. If the dough looks too dry after 10 minutes of mixing, add water in 1t TEASPOON not tablespoon increments but again, waiting at least 2 minutes in between to see if it needs it.  
7. I like to mix it for at least 20 minutes.  The heat from the mixer warms up the starter slightly and as well, since I use WW flour, it helps with gluten development.
8. Take the bowl off the mixer and clean the dough off the hook.  I like to knead by hand either on the counter or in the air just like playing with clay to form a smooth ball.  
9. Holding the dough ball, I drop in 1 t of oil into the mixer bowl and rub the dough ball around to oil the ball and the dough ball.
10. Let rise for at least 6 hours.  This takes me to just after lunch, 1pm.  (This was my pandemic routine working from home.)
11. At around 1pm, I deflate and flatten out on a Silpat Baking Mat to avoid mess, or a floured surface. I try to flatten out to at least the length of my baking pan and a 6" wide.  Then I roll up and place in the dish.  I line my pan with parchment paper or sprinkle cornmeal.
12. Let rise for another 4 - 5 hours depending on how active your yeast or starter is.  You can over ferment and that will look like a deflated soufflé.  No going back on that tbh.  Just bake it.  I have pushed it out to 6 because I am running other errands or working.  If I know I cannot bake it until later, I will put the loaf pan in the refrigerator and bring it out 1 hour or so before baking.
13. Set a sturdy pan in the very bottom of the oven with an 1 cm of water.  if you use a flimsy pan, it may warp down at the bottom.  A roasting tray is best, not a cookie sheet.
14. I set the oven rack in the level just below middle.  
15. Preheat the oven to 400F.  I use 400F convect but actual 400F because some ovens will adjust that down to 375F automatically without telling you.  See my note below to see if your oven does that.
16. Place the loaf in the oven at full temp.  Try to offset the water tray and where you place the loaf.  Set your timer for 45 minutes.  (now I am cheap and I hate running an oven that long, so I am known to bake a potato at the same time)
17. When your timer reads 40(softer crust) or 35 (crustier) minutes, turn down the oven to 375F actual... see note below.  If you are confused just use regular bake setting but same temperatures.  The times will not change for me.  My husband has a thing against the convect setting because he thinks it's not as strong but I feel like it evens out the hotspots in the oven but I dont mind it speeds up baking.
18. Let cool on a cooling rack for at least 2 hours.  This takes me to just before bedtime :).  Place in a loaf container or bag.  I live for this container.  It is the length of my Emile Loaf baker.  I will admit when I use the standard loaf pan and the loaf is "taller", it sometimes can squish the loaf.

NOTE: convection bake.  I use convection bake setting on my oven all the time.  I completely disregard the guidance from the oven manual that says that you need to turn down the temp 25 degrees and cook 25% less time, unless you're cooking a turkey or roast for 4 hours, which as a vegetarian, I would never do.  When I say to bake at 400F convect, I actually want 400F.  My oven will actually set the temp to 375F after I push start and it will actually read 375F.  My oven at the cottage however, will read 400F and do the adjustment invisibly.  So annoying.  How did I know this? because I had a loaf come out underbaked.  So if you convect bake and you see your oven do the adjustment, then it is easy.  While the oven is still own, push Convect again and re-enter 400F.  It will now show 400F and heat to 400F.  I do this while in the preheat.

If you have the annoying ovens that make the temp adjustment invisible, you will have to set the convect bake to 425F for the first 5 minutes then turn down to 400F to get the temp you actually want.  How will you know?  Set the oven to convect bake to 400F.  Wait for it to come to temperature and when it beeps, CANCEL, then immediately choose "regular" BAKE for 400F.   It will show current actual temperature as it heats up to 400F.  Mine read 375F. So I set my oven to 427F Convect at the cottage.

If you do not care about hotspots then just use Bake.  I just found that with the longer baking tray that I would have to turn the loaf halfway through.