Easy Olive Sourdough Bread

• annokset: 1 serving
• aktiivinen aika: 5 minutes
• kokonaisaika: 55 minutes

Ainekset

50 g (1/4 cup) bubbly, active sourdough starter

360 g (1 1/2 cups) water

470 g (about 4 cups) bread flour

30 g (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour*

9 g (1 1/2 tsp) fine sea salt

120 g (1 heaped cup) pitted mixed olives*, roughly chopped

2 g (1 tbsp) picked thyme leaves

Zest of 1 lemon

80 g (1/2 cup) ground Parmesan cheese, optional

Ohjeet

Make the Dough:

In a large bowl, whisk the starter and water together with a fork. Add the flours and salt. Combine to form a stiff dough*, then finish mixing by hand to fully incorporate the flour. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

Add the Fillings:*

After the dough has rested, add the olives, thyme, lemon zest and parmesan cheese (if using) to the bowl. Gently knead the fillings into the dough, using the stretch and fold technique, To do this: stretch the dough upward and fold it over toward the center of the bowl. Give the dough a turn and repeat (stretching, folding and turning) until the fillings are tucked into the dough.

Bulk Rise:*

Cover the bowl with lightly coated plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until double in size. This will take about 8 to 10 hours at 70 F (21 C). Note: if making the dough in the summer, the rise time will be considerably less; bulk rise during the day and chill the whole bowl overnight when almost double in size. Optional Step: If you’d like, for added structure, do 1-2 sets of stretch and folds during the bulk rise, spaced 30 minutes apart.

Shape:*

Remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape it into a round or oval and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, line a proofing basket with a towel and dust with flour. With floured hands, gently cup the dough and pull it toward you to tighten its shape. Then place the dough into your basket, seam side up.

Second Rise:*

Cover the dough and let rest until noticeably puffy but not fully risen, about 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on temperature. Alternatively, chill the dough overnight, up to 8 hours. Let rest at room temperature while the oven heats up before baking. Preheat your oven to 450 F (230 C). Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit the size of your baking pot.

Score:

Place the parchment over the dough and invert the basket to release. Sprinkle the dough very lightly with flour and rub the surface to coat. Make one long, off-center cut down the length of the loaf using a small knife or razor blade. Use the parchment to transfer the dough into the baking pot.

Bake the dough on the center rack for 20 minutes, covered. Remove the lid, and continue to bake for 30 minutes. Lift the loaf out of the pot and finish baking directly on the oven rack for the last 10 minutes. Cool for 1 hour before cutting into slices.

Muistiinpanot

*I used whole wheat instead of Ap flour.

*Olives: the night before I mixed up an equivalent of a heaping cup of mixed pitted Kalamata (not drained) & Castelvetrano olives (roughly chopped), 1 clove garlic thinly sliced, a few roasted red peppers (rough chop), tablespoon or so of red wine vinegar and tsp of Italian seasoning. Let it marinate. Drain before adding into your dough.

*I did not find the dough stiff at this point. More on the sticky side. But even if stiff the oil from the olives helps.

*Add fillings: I mixed together the cheese, thyme and lemon zest. I surmised it would give found a better distribution. Also I added 1/2 the olive mix and cheese mix in between the stretch/folds as it was overwhelming all at once.

* Bulk rise: (trying to do this in one day) because I had the oven on for another loaf of bread this rise took a couple of hours to double so make sure the dough is in a warm place. I did do two extra rounds of the stretch/folds as it to ensure a good mix of the fillings.

Shape: (since I was using a loaf pan) Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan (with olive oil or butter) .

Turn dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface.

Use your hands to gently deflate the dough and pat it into a rectangular shape. Lift the right side of the dough and fold it into the center (almost as if you were closing a book). Then, lift the left side of the dough and fold it over the first fold (use a bench scraper if the dough is sticking to your counter).

Starting with a skinny end, tightly roll the dough, as if you were rolling up a cinnamon roll. Tuck the ends under and carefully transfer to prepared bread pan. Don’t worry if the bread doesn’t fill the pan right now.

Second rise: follow as written

Bake:

Once oven has preheated, uncover bread, make a clean slice (about ¼” deep) down the center with a sharp knife or bread lame (to score it) then cover with another 9x5 pan (if you don’t have a second pan, you may instead make a makeshift oven using aluminum foil; tent it as high as the bread pan is deep).

Transfer to center rack of preheated oven. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375 and bake another 15 minutes. Then remove the lid and continue to bake another 17-20 minutes/until golden brown and the center of bread reaches 206-208F (97C).

Let cool on rack for 10 minutes then remove loaf from pan to cool on rack for another hour or completely cooled.