Autolyse - Premixing The Dough
Weigh out your sourdough starter and 350g water into a large ceramic or glass bowl.
Remember to only use 350g for the first part, you can add more after autolyse has finished if the dough is too dry.
Mix the water and starter together briefly. Then add your flour and salt and mix whole lot together to form a shaggy dough.
I find a dough scraper the easiest way to mix it as you can keep the sides of bowl clean.
The dough will be fairly shaggy and only just brought together (see photo). You might wonder how this will turn into bread, but just wait, time is your friend and the dough will change in around an hour.
Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 30 minutes (up to one hour is ok).
This process is called the "autolyse" and allows your flour to soak in all the water and become hydrated. You can see how the dough has changed in this photo.
High Elevation Tip - Increase the Hydration if Necessary
Check the feel of your dough. If the flour was absorbed all the water and is still dry, add half the extra water and see how it feels. You can add up to 50g extra water if necessary.
Forming Up The Dough
After the dough has been through autolyse you need to bring it together into a ball. Work your way around the bowl, grabbing the dough from the outside, stretching it up and over itself, into the centre, until a smooth ball is formed. You shouldn't need more than about 20-25 stretches to form the ball.
See Also15 High Altitude Holiday Cookie RecipesBest Orange Scones Recipe (Panera Bread)high altitude bread recipeHigh Altitude Blueberry Muffin RecipeYou'll notice that the dough is fully hydrated after soaking all the water up. It will be fairly sticky but as you bring it into a ball, it will become smoother and shinier.
Once the dough has formed into a smooth ball, pop the cling film back on and let it rest for 30 minutes.
It's really important to keep the dough covered at high altitude to ensure that you don't lose any moisture.
Stretch & Fold - Strengthening Gluten
Over the next few hours you need to create some structure for your dough by "stretching and folding".
Aim to do around 6 sets of stretches and folds.
For each set, stretch the dough up and over itself 4 times. Leave around 15 minutes in between each set. Again you do not have to be exact with time, but you need to do at least 6 sets over 2 hours.
Bulk Ferment
Once you've finished your stretch and folds, place the cling film back over your dough and let it rest and ferment (a plastic cover is a better option for this stage).
Remember that you need to watch the bulk ferment carefully at high altitude as it will happen faster. You're looking for the dough to double, but this will happen faster than you think.
Shaping The Dough
Once your dough has finished it's first ferment, it's time to shape it into either a boule or a batard.
It's better if you don't use any flour for shaping as this will dry the dough out - and you want to avoid this at high altitudes.
Use a silicone dough scraper to gently ease the dough out of the bowl. You want it to land upside down on your counter so that the smooth top of the dough is on the countertop and the sticky underside is facing up. This will make it easier to shape.
You want to pull the edges of the dough into the centre and then flip it over so that the sticky side is now underneath. Using the stickiness, gently pull the dough into a tight ball.
You will need a banneton to put your dough into. If you do not have a banneton, then a bowl or basket lined with a floured tea towel is perfectly fine. Make sure your bowl isn't too big though, you want your dough to retain some shape.
Whatever you're using needs to be liberally floured with your rice flour. If you're using a banneton - liberally sprinkle it with rice flour. If you're using a cloth or tea towel, rub the flour into it to ensure it becomes non stick.
Placing Into A Banneton
Once the dough is shaped into a tight ball, place it into your banneton smooth side down, so your seam is on the top - this way the top of your dough will get the pretty lines from the banneton.
If you're using a cloth or tea towel in a bowl it's ok to put your dough with the smooth side up. Just make sure the dough is tight.
Make sure you place a plastic cover over the banneton to stop the dough from forming a dry skin.
Cold Ferment
Now the dough is in its "shaping container" cover it loosely with a plastic bag and place into the fridge.
Try to leave it in the fridge for a minimum 5 hours up to a maximum of around 12 hours. A shorter cold ferment is better in higher altitudes as it has less chance of over proofing.
Preparing To Bake
Once you're ready to bake your sourdough, you'll need to preheat your oven to 260C/500F.
Place your Dutch Oven into the oven when you turn it on so it gets hot. Try to preheat for around 1 hour to ensure your oven is super hot - but you know your oven so just adjust this time if you need to.
Leave your dough in the fridge until the very last minute - placing a cold dough into a hot oven will give you a great "spring".
This oven temperature is higher than I would normally bake sourdough - it has been adjusted for higher altitudes.
Bake Time!
Now it's time to bake!
When your oven is at temperature, take your sourdough out of the fridge. Gently place it onto a piece of baking paper.
Make sure that you make the baking paper big enough to use the edges as a handle to lower to dough into your Dutch Oven.
Gently score your bread with a lame, clean razor blade or knife. At minimum a large cross is sufficient, but you can get as artistic as you like. Try to score it fairly deep to ensure the dough opens up.
Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven. Place the sourdough into the pot using the baking paper as a handle. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven.
If you want to you can spritz your dough with extra water before you put the lid on.
BAKE TIME:
30 Minutes with the lid on at 260C/500F plus
10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 240C/464F
Remember that longer baking times may be needed at higher altitude, so if your bread does not look or feel done, you can leave it in the oven for up to 15 minutes longer.
Finishing The Bake
When you remove your dough from the oven, carefully remove it from the dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.
FAQs
Does high altitude affect sourdough bread? ›
You might find that your sourdough starter has increased fermentation activity at high elevations, but I've not found this to be a huge issue. Your daily refreshment cycle for your starter should always be reactive, adjusting to how it's performing and adjusting your refresh times and ratios as necessary.
How to bake bread at high altitude? ›- Decrease yeast and use ice water with yeast to slow the reaction.
- Bake bread above a pan of boiling water to increase moisture, removing the water during the last 15 minutes of baking.
- Decrease proofing time; let loaf rise to 1.5 times its size rather than double.
At higher elevations, yeast can rise 25 to 50 percent faster, so reducing the amount of yeast and other leavening agents is key. Some bakers will also cool yeast by allowing it to rise in the refrigerator in a bread bowl first or punch it down twice to slow the expansion of gas in the dough.
Why won't my bread rise in high altitude? ›Liquids boil at lower temperatures, which causes moisture in baked goods to evaporate more quickly. Flours tend to be drier and absorb more liquid at higher altitudes. Baked items with leavening agents like baking powder, baking soda, and even whipped egg whites can rise quickly and collapse.
Why is my sourdough bread dense and not airy? ›One of the most common mistakes is having a dough temperature that's too low for the starter to feed on all the flour in the dough, resulting in a crumb that's dense, with fewer openings. "Starter is happiest and most active at around 75 degrees. If it's a lot colder, the process will be much slower.
What happens if you let sourdough bread rise too long? ›If you over-ferment the dough you run the risk of the gluten structure degrading and the loaf turning into a puddle of goo before your eyes, never to be retrieved and destined for the bin.
Do you need more or less flour for high altitude baking? ›At 3,500 feet, add 1 more tablespoon per recipe. For each additional 1,500 feet, add one more tablespoon. In some recipes, a flour with a higher protein content may yield better results. Additional flour helps to strengthen the structure of baked goods.
How to make sourdough bread fluffier? ›- Use a ripe sourdough starter. ...
- Knead the dough for the right amount of time. ...
- Proof the dough for the correct amount of time. ...
- Use the right type of flour. ...
- Add the right amount of water. ...
- Score the bread properly. ...
- Bake the bread at the correct temperature.
Depending on your oven, you will need to preheat for up to one hour to ensure the oven is at temperature and the Dutch Oven is searing hot. Sourdough bread should be cooked in a Dutch Oven for 45 minutes at 230C or 450F (with the lid off for the last 10 to 15 minutes).
Is Denver considered high altitude baking? ›But if you live in Denver, Calgary, Johannesburg, or a host of other high-altitude locales, you'll face fallen cakes and overflowing batters if you don't. As elevation rises, air pressure falls, which means that bakers living at 3,000 feet (1,000 meters) will see different results than lowland bakers.
What do you add to baking at high altitude? ›
Using the above suggested adjustments, when baking cake at high altitude, consider adding an extra egg to increase the liquid in your recipe, as well as decreasing the sugar to avoid a cake with a sunken center. You can also use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour and decrease the leavening and the fat.
How do you make bread airy and not dense? ›Add Sugar
Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.
Altitude does not have a profound affect on your sourdough starter. While there are many adjustments you'll need to make for a successful loaf of sourdough bread, your sourdough starter is more forgiving. If anything, you'll need to add slightly more water to compensate for the lower humidity levels and drier flour.
What temperature do you bake sourdough bread at? ›While the bread is proofing, preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C) with a lidded cast-iron pan inside. (Note: your bread will bake better if you have a baking stone on the oven rack below your bread. It will act as a buffer against the heating elements in the bottom of your oven.)
How do you make sourdough rise taller? ›Giving the dough a pre-shape and a final shape will build extra strength and structure into the dough, which will cause it to rise higher in the oven when it bakes, giving you better oven spring. It is possible to skip the pre-shape step and make good bread.
What causes sourdough bread not to rise? ›Most commonly, the issue here has to do with temperature (which is very important). If your sourdough starter is kept at a low temp, even 70°F (21°C), it will slow fermentation activity and appear to be sluggish, taking longer to rise and progress through the typical signs of fermentation. The solution: keep it warm.
What factors affect sourdough? ›- Flour. ...
- Time. ...
- Temperature. ...
- Moisture. ...
- Bacteria. ...
- Yeast. ...
- Unwanted Guests.
One way you can help your sourdough to rise more is by turning on the light in your oven. Preheat the oven just slightly, then turn off the heat and place the dough inside with the light on. The warmth generated by the light helps activate the yeast, which will cause it to rise faster.
What temperature is too high for sourdough? ›Yeast will die if exposed to temps of 60C or above (140F). It is very likely that your sourdough starter will actually die at temps lower than this. Anything above 120F (50C) would be considered too hot for a sourdough starter and will kill the wild yeast if exposed for long periods.