Are you like me and trying to figure out the steps for making bread??? I started to go through the journey and the minute someone goes... “do you have a starter, how much are you feeding, raising , resting..?!?!?” I start getting intimidated by the process and just want to pull out the bread machine my friend gave to me!
But the art of making artisan bread is a beautiful thing, and not that difficult once you understand the steps — And there is no way to compare the flavor!!
I was thinking who do I know that can help me and you!? I didn’t have to go too far because one of my dear friends owns Easy Tiger — A bakery and beer garden in town that makes my favorite bread!!! So I reached out to them and started talking to their professional Head Doughpuncher!! Yep… if you don’t know what that means, David has been making bread for over 30 years and specializes on the art of making all kinds of bread! Yes it is an Art!
And, we just got lucky because David has agreed to teach me and you together at the same time, live on my Instagram!!! We will be doing most of the steps together, and you can ask questions instead of being left alone to figure it out. And at the end of it, you will have a beautiful loaf of sourdough bread and the priceless knowledge to go on your journey making bread on your own!!!
Let’s do this! It will be fun!!
— Camila
We will go live on @camilamcconaughey Instagram on:
This is what you’re going to need:
3 ¾ cups (480 g.) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
1 ¾ teaspoons (10 g.) kosher salt
½ cup (150 g.) Easy Tiger Sourdough Starter (*If using traditional yeast, see below)
1 ½ (350ml) cups warm water that is 90-100ºF
Measuring Cups
Large Bowl (x2)
Medium Bowl
Parchment Paper
Dutch Oven (or other heavy-bottomed pot) *See examples below
*If you do not have sourdough starter, you will use ¼ teaspoon instant yeast or a ½ teaspoon active dry yeast instead. Use water that is 90-100ºF and whisk the yeast into the 1 ½ cups of warm water before adding to the flour.
If you don’t have a starter and want to get one, Easy Tiger is offering a kit below that is available for shipping or if you are in Austin they deliver or do curbside.
Easy Tiger will be donating one loaf of bread to the Austin community for every purchase. Please note Women of Today is NOT making any money out of this! This is only a matter of teaming up to help and learning together, as we do!!
***If you are buying the Easy Tiger Sourdough Starter, please read the instructions that comes with and do the step called “FEED STARTER” on THURSDAY!***
Sourdough Starter — Click here to purchase
Price: $15
2-Day Shipping: $13.95 (If ordered by Tuesday)
Overnight Shipping: $19.95
Bake at Home Set — Click here to purchase
Price: $40.00
Includes Sourdough Starter ($15.00 item on their website)
5 lb bag of Artisan flour
Tote Bag
Access to their Facebook Group
Loaf of bread
Price: $40.00
2-Day Shipping: $19.99 (If ordered by Tuesday)
Overnight Shipping: $24.95
HERE IS OUR INSTAGRAM LIVE SCHEDULE + HOW YOU CAN FOLLOW ALONG:
Friday, May 8th
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM Window (NOT LIVE, participants need to do this part on your own)
You will need to prepare their starter through the “Bulk Feed” stage. Follow the directions below.
Note:
*The longer the starter rests, the more sour the dough will be. **If you’re using regular yeast, you do not need to do this step.
This needs to be done 3-8 hours before you mix all the ingredients together. (The longer the starter rests, the more sour the dough will be, follow the directions on the starter mix)
Make sure to work through the sourdough starter instructions through the ‘Bulk Feed’ stage. After this step, your starter is ready to be used in this recipe.
Friday, May 8th
8:00 PM CST – Friday night mixing party (LIVE)
Combine the starter and the balance of ingredients (let rest 1 hour)
Saturday, May 9th
9:30 AM CST (LIVE)
Folding + Shaping Class
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No Knead Sourdough Bread
Here is the recipe we will be following. Remember, we will be walking you through this live on Instagram!
New to bread baking? This recipe is designed for the beginner baker, requiring only a few ingredients and basic kitchen equipment. This recipe was adapted from Jim Lahey’s ‘No Knead Bread’ recipe and revised from Food52’s sourdough adaptation.
No Knead Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Large Bowl (x2)
- Medium Bowl
- Parchment Paper
- Dutch Oven (or other heavy-bottomed pot) *See examples and alternatives below
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups (480 g.) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1 ¾ tsp (10 g.) kosher salt
- 1/2 cup (150 g.) Easy Tiger Sourdough Starter (*If using traditional yeast, see below)
- 1 ½ cups warm water that is90-100ºF
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk flour and salt.
- Add water to a medium bowl. Break starter into pieces and drop into water, ‘swishing’ the starter around in the water with your hands until it is mostly dissolved and a few bits remain.
- Add water mixture to the flour, squeezing with your hands (or stirring with a spoon) until the mixture just comes together. You don’t want spots of flour but don’t worry about creating a smooth, cohesive dough. A rough, shaggy ball is totally fine at this step.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, uncover the bowl and fold the dough over onto itself a few times. The best way to do this is to grab the dough with your hand, starting at the top of the bowl furthest from you, and pull it over onto itself towards the bottom of the bowl closest to you. Turn the bowl 90°F and repeat, making 4 folds in total.
- Cover the bowl again and let it rest at room temperature overnight (aim for 10 to 12 hours).
- After this rise, scoop the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using your hand or a dough scraper, repeat the four-time folding motion, shaping the dough into a ball as you go, leaving it seam-side down- careful not to add too much flour at this step. Transfer to a sheet of parchment paper and lift into a medium bowl. Dust dough lightly with flour and cover with a tea towel.
- Allow to sit for 1 ½ hours, or until puffy and almost doubled in size.
- At least 30 minutes before the end ofthe rising time, arrange oven racks to the lowest and middle position. Place the Dutch oven on the middle rack and preheat your oven to 450°F. If you do not have a Dutch Oven and are going to use a non-covered baking vessel (options below) then you will need to use a pan of hot water, the pan with the hot water will go on the bottom rack and your non-covered baking vessel will sit on the rack above the baking pan with hot water. The hot water will help to emit steam into the oven.
- Remove pot from the oven and carefully transfer dough into the pot using the parchment paper to lift the loaf. Be sure not to leave the oven door open.
- Using a very sharp knife, slash the top of the loaf, making a ½” cut down the center. This mark allows the bread to expand in the oven.
- Cover the pot and bake for 20 minutes.
- Working quickly, remove the lid and set aside. Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until the crust is a deep golden brown all over.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool completely before slicing, about 1-2 hours.
Breaking the Bread Code: Equipment
In your home oven, you are trying to recreate two parts of a bread oven – heat retention and moisture for the beginning of the bake. Both help the bread to expand fully in the beginning of the bake and to create a nice crust.
An easy way to do both is to use a Dutch oven. Preheat in the oven so that it stores up heat to transfer to the bread. The cover captures the moisture of the loaf itself in the beginning of the bake. It should be removed after about 20 minutes.
Another excellent option is a cast iron Combo Cooker if you have one. You can put it in upside down so the skillet is the bottom and the deeper pot becomes the cover. It is easier to score the loaf in the shallow skillet and the crust will bake even better.
A covered casserole dish will also work.
A pizza stone is another great way to capture a lot of heat. It mimics the stone floor of a commercial bread oven.
A cast iron skillet retains a lot of heat and helps hold the round shape of the loaf.
A pie plate or a bread pan will also work.
If you are using a pizza stone or pan without a cover, you will need something to help create steam for moisture in the beginning of the bake. A cast-iron skillet (fill it with lava rocks from the gas grill or nuts and bolts to create even more hot surface area) or a metal cake pan, heated on the shelf below your baking surface, will allow you to pour in some water and create steam. Just be careful and get the oven door shut quickly behind the rising steam.
One other note of caution if you use a glass dish, be careful where you place it coming out of the oven and avoid getting water splashed on it until it is cooled. It can break otherwise.
