THE BEST Sourdough Sandwich Loaf Bread

#bootsandbountyhomestead #sourdough #sourdoughsandwichbread
Etsy Store: Einkorn and Plain Sourdough Starter https://bootsandbounty.etsy.com

INGREDIENTS
FULL BATCH (MAKES 2 LOAVES)
650 g water at 90-95 F (32-35 C)
300 g mature sourdough starter
1000 g bread flour or unbleached all purpose flour
50 g oil
40 g sugar or honey
20 g salt

In a large mixing bowl, measure out your warm water. Add your starter and mix. Then add flour, oil, sugar or honey, and salt on top. Thoroughly mix the dough until all of the ingredients are very well incorporated and there are no dry patches of flour, about 2-3 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, towel, or a shower cap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2 . Over the next 2 hours perform 4 rounds of stretch and folds about every 30 minutes. The timing between the rounds does
not need to be exact. Drizzle a tiny bit of oil over the dough after the last stretch and fold and cover it with plastic wrap or a shower cap to prevent it from drying out.
3 If you would like to bake your bread the same day, you can skip this
step. However, if you would like, you can refrigerate your dough at this point to increase flavor, sourness, and provide some flexibility with baking time. To do this, place your dough in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to 4 days.
4 Bulk Ferment: If you did not refrigerate your dough, let it continue sitting at room temperature after your last round of stretch and folds for about 3 hours. If you did refrigerate your dough, bring it out of the fridge and let it sit out for about 5-6 hours to finish bulking.
5 Shaping: Oil your 8.5 x 4.5" (22 x 11 cm) loaf pans. Turn your dough out onto your very lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough in half if you made a full batch. Shape the dough into a tight sandwich loaf. Be cautious about not using too much flour as this makes it difficult to build tension and to get the dough to stick to itself. Transfer the dough to the loaf pan, seam side down. Gently press down on the dough to ensure it is evenly filling the pan and that no air pockets are trapped inside the dough.
6 Proof: Cover the pans with plastic wrap or a shower cap and let proof until the dough begins to crown the pan and is full of air. This should take around 2 1/2 hours at a room temperature of about 72 F (22 C). Your timing will be quicker if your room is warmer, or longer if your room is
cooler. You can also perform the dent test to see how far along your dough is with proofing. Take a well floured finger and gently press down into your dough about 1/2" down. If the dough immediately fills back in, then it needs a bit more time. If the dent very slowly fills back in, then
you are well proofed. If the dough feels like it might collapse or does collapse, you have gone too far and your dough is over proofed. You can still bake it, but it will be very dense.
7 Prepare Oven: About 30 minutes before baking, prepare your oven. Place an oven rack in the center position and another in the bottom of the oven. On the bottom rack, place a roasting pan or other metal pan (not glass or ceramic) in the oven and fill it with about 2 cups (480 ml) of water. Set a baking stone on the middle rack. If you do not have a baking stone, you can use 2 sheet pans stacked and turned upside down. Preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Preheating with the water already in the oven will make your oven moist and steamy when your bread goes in and will help with a good oven spring.
8 Transfer the loaves onto the preheated baking stone or sheet pans and bake for 15 minutes with the pan of water in the oven. After 15 minutes, very carefully remove the pan of water from the oven.
Continue baking for 15-20 more minutes until the loaves are golden grown and sound hollow when thumped.
9 Transfer the baked loaves into a cooling rack and gently tip out of the pans. Allow to cool completely about 1-2 hours before slicing.

NOTES
Example Timelines
Same Day Bake (afternoon bake)
11 pm (night before bake): Feed Starter
9:00 am (day of bake): Mix Dough
9:30-11:00 am: Stretch and Folds
2:00 pm: Shape Dough
4:30 pm: Bake

Same Day Bake (night bake)
8:00 am: Feed Starter
2:00 pm: Mix Dough
2:30-4:00 pm: Stretch and Folds
7:00 pm: Shape Dough
9:30 pm: Bake

Schedule for Refrigerating Dough
8:00 am Feed Starter
5:30 pm: Mix Dough
6:00-7:30 pm: Stretch and Folds (optional)
7:30 pm: Into the Refrigerator
9:00 (day of bake): Take out of Fridge
2:30 pm: Shape
5:00 pm: Bake

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