SPIDER WEB SOURDOUGH LOAF

Posted in Breads by sallybr

And three small changes in my overall sourdough approach… I will save those for the comments, check it out in case you are interested. But first things first, the method to make a scary good sourdough bread in the comfort of your kitchen…

SPIDER WEB SOURDOUGH LOAF
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

410g bread flour
275g water
8g salt
75g starter (I used stiff, at about 75% hydration)

Mix all ingredients in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead gently for about 4 minutes (first or second speed maximum).

Transfer dough to a lightly oil bowl and do a bulk fermentation with 4 folds made 45 minutes apart. Before you start the fermentation , remove a very small amount of dough to a small glass container (like those that hold spices), and mark where the level of the dough is with a permanent marker. Keep that at room temperature to monitor fermentation.

After the last folding cycle, keep an eye on the fermentation using the small vial. Ideally you want to let the dough ferment until it is double in size. Depending on the day, temperature of your kitchen, it might take 8 hours or more. Be patient, it will pay off.

Once bulk fermentation is over, shape the dough and place in a floured banetton. Place in the fridge overnight.

Next day, freeze the dough for 30 minutes in the banetton, to make it easier to score later. Invert the dough on the paper liner, place in the loaf pan. Add cocoa powder on the surface and score the pattern of a spider web.

Place small cubes of ice on the four corners of the pan, sliding the ice cubes between the metal pan and the paper liner. Place an inverted pan on top to act as a lid, and bake at 450F for 30 minutes. Remove the top pan, and allow the bread to bake further for another 15 minutes or so.

If when you remove the bread from the pan the bottom seems a little soggy, place it back in the oven over a rack and bake for 5 minutes outside of the pan.

Let it cool completely before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Pan liners available here

Loaf pans similar to these ones. I have a set of four, could not find the exact match. But they are 9 x 5 (inches).

Comments: I’ve been playing quite a bit with my default recipe for sourdough and the main change is that I now prefer to use a stiff sourdough starter to make my dough (sourdough starter from my fridge + 80g flour + 60g water, for a 75% hydration level). I like the way it handles, I like that it stays at maximal height for longer time than the 100% hydration version. In some bakes I have reduced the hydration to 60% – in this case the starter almost behaves like a dough that you can knead to mix – but after talking with my friend Philip, who recently also got into stiff starters, I settled for 75%. The good news is that I don’t need to adjust anything in the recipe, I can use my formula with the exact same amount of stiff versus loose starter. The difference in the amount of total flour is negligible and does not affect the outcome.

My second change is following the fermentation
with a small amount of dough removed once I mix it.

It turns out that I never bothered doing that, and yes, my bread was usually pretty good, no problems, but I had some inconsistencies from loaf to loaf that were hard to explain. It turns out that I always left the dough for 5.5 hours in bulk fermentation and after monitoring my dough with this method, I realize that in most cases I was cutting it a bit short. What I love about this simple detail is that I now wait until it doubles or almost doubles, shape the dough and retard in the fridge. It is really fun to see how it is quite sluggish in the first few hours and then in the last 90 minutes or so it gets going at a faster pace. No need to buy special gadgets that monitor the fermentation under controlled temperature. A simple little glass vial is all you need…

And finally, the third change is that I now freeze the dough for 30 minutes before inverting it out of the banetton and doing the scoring. Especially when doing more intricate designs, freezing the surface helps a lot. If you are just slashing the dough with two crossed lines, no need to freeze, but anything that requires a bit of more time you will notice a huge improvement.

And let the countdown to Halloween begin!

ONE YEAR AGO: Halloween Almond Cookies

TWO YEARS AGO: Miso-Honey Chicken Thighs

THREE YEARS AGO: Raw Zucchini and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Yogurt

FOUR YEARS AGO: Black Tahini Shortbread Cookies

FIVE YEARS AGO: A Fruitful Trio (of Macarons)

SIX YEARS AGO: Halloween Entremet Cake

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Pork with Prunes, Olives and Capers

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Kansas Corn Chowder

NINE YEARS AGO: Impossibly Cute Bacon and Egg Cups

TEN YEARS AGO: Pulling Under Pressure

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Cooking Sous-vide: Two takes on Chicken Thighs

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Miso Soup: A Japanese Classic

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: On my desk

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: A must-make veggie puree

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Vegetarian Lasagna

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Brazilian Pão de Queijo

7Oct2025

BRAIDED SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

First things first, credit goes to Sophia, an amazing sourdough baker I found by accident looking at pictures on Instagram. If you like to gild the lily as far as baking bread is concerned, definitely look at her page on IG (click here). She is also super helpful and I am grateful for the feedback she gave me when I had some issues trying to reproduce her masterpieces. Without further ado, my first braided sourdough inspired by one of her many creations.

For this version, I used my default formula for sourdough, but increased the total flour to 700g, so that I separated it in 400g (main bread), and 300g (for four strands with 75g each). Looking back, I did not need so much dough for the braid, but I was worried and did not want to take risks. Do your math, scale any recipe you are fond of and go from there.

I always allow my bulk fermentation to go for about 5 hours at room temperature and then shape and retard in the fridge overnight. So that’s what I did: fermented the whole 700g at room temperature, divided into two portions, shaped one as a boule and kept the 300g in another container, waiting to be twisted next morning, still cold from the fridge.

Each twist will have two strands, one covered in black sesame seeds, one left plain. I could have done a better job with the amount of seeds to be more homogeneous over the dough, but it is hard to get it all right on the first time… It is also important to twist both ropes to the same extent, in my case one had more twists than the other.

Of course, you can do a real braid with three strands, and I intend to go for it in the near future. No matter the little boo-boos, I love the way this bread turned out.

The crumb will be a little tighter than normal, because the rope will prevent full expansion, but that is not a serious problem…

Make sure to visit Sophia’s page, and be ready to get seriously inspired!

ONE YEAR AGO: German Chocolate Macarons

TWO YEARS AGO: Dressing up the Oreo Cookie

THREE YEARS AGO: OMG Roasted Sweet Potatoes

FOUR YEARS AGO: Air-Fried Eggplant Raita

FIVE YEARS AGO: Turkey-Pumpkin Roulade with Cider Sauce

SIX YEARS AGO: Strawberry-Vanilla Mini-Cakes

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Bourbon-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Pea Pesto

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Chocolate Chip Cookies from Naturally Sweet

NINE YEARS AGO: Little Bites of Paradise

TEN YEARS AGO: Maple-Glazed Pumpkin Bread

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2014

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Grilled Steelhead Trout

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Brown Butter Tomato Salad

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Spelt and Cornmeal Rolls

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Roasted Potato and Olive Focaccia

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire

16Sep2025

CROISSANT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I first saw this cool recipe over at Karen’s Kitchen Stories, and I knew I had to bake a loaf for us. After making it I’ve noticed that many bloggers and bakers are talking about it, so apparently it is one of those baking adventures that went viral. I hate the term “viral” but will reluctantly put it to use. It conveys the right picture, I guess. Without further ado, my take on this tasty bread.

For the recipe, visit Karen’s blog with a click here.

It is a straightforward sourdough formula, the trick is to incorporate frozen grated butter in the second half of the bulk fermentation. The dough is rich, and the addition of so much fat slows down the fermentation a bit, so it won’t rise during fermentation as much as a ‘normal’ sourdough will.

This is the dough all soft and bubbly before you add the butter….

The frozen butter is added (in two steps), and the dough folded over to enclose it….

After shaping and retarding it in the fridge overnight, you are ready to slash and bake…

The bread smells amazing as it bakes and the addition of butter somehow made it develop a very nice golden crust…

It has wonderful taste and texture, and it is not “greasy” at all. Toasts beautifully also… I don’t normally make stuff for us that has a lot of butter, so this was a special indulgence. If you like to bake sourdough bread, definitely consider this recipe for a change.

A huge thank you to Karen for the inspiration!

ONE YEAR AGO: Gochujang Grilled Chicken Thighs

TWO YEARS AGO: Feta Eggs with Zucchini

THREE YEARS AGO: Poilane-Style Bread, a simplified version

FOUR YEAR AGO: Broccoli Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Tahini Dressing

FIVE YEARS AGO: Turkey-Spinach Meatballs with Cardamon-Tomato Sauce

SIX YEARS AGO: British Baps, a Technical Challenge

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Japanese-Style Cupcakes with Cherry Blossom Icing

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Quick Weeknight Soups

NINE YEARS AGO: Sourdough Loaf with Cranberries and Walnuts

TEN YEARS AGO: Sichuan Pork Stir-Fry in Garlic Sauce

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Our Green Trip to Colorado

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Ditalini Pasta Salad

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Celebrate Wednesday with a Thai Seafood Curry

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Post-workout Breakfast

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Semolina Barbecue Buns

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Lavash Crackers

3Sep2025

SOURDOUGH STENCIL FUN

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I got a new gadget, in fact a set of four cute gadgets to help decorate sourdough bread. It comes from Sourdough Fever, and you can get your own set here. Three different sets with four stencils included. I must say the set with heart shaped pattern ones is calling my name, and I might get it at some point. Before Valentine’s Day says hello.

SMALL BOULE SOURDOUGH BREAD
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

240g water
70g starter at 100% hydration
7g salt
270g white bread flour
80g whole wheat flour

Make the levain mixture about 6 hours before you plan to mix the dough. It should be very bubbly and active.

When you are ready to make the final dough, place the water in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer and dissolve the starter in it, mixing with a spatula briefly, then add the two types of flour, and the salt. Turn the mixer on with the hook attachment and knead the dough for 4 minutes at low-speed all the time. If the dough is too sticky, add a maximum of 1/4 cup flour, you want the dough to start clearing the sides of the bowl, but still be sticky at the bottom.

Remove from the machine, and transfer to a container lightly coated with oil, cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment for 2 hours, folding every 30 minutes or so. After the fourth folding cycle, let the dough sit at room temperature for another 2 hours. Shape the dough as a ball, and place, seam side up, in a lightly floured banetton. Place in the fridge overnight, from 8 to 12 hours or even longer, if you prefer.

Next morning, heat the oven to 450F. Invert the dough over parchment paper, carefully place the stencil on top, and dust with flour. Make sure to rub the flour well into the design, a small brush is helpful. Lift the stencil and place the dough in a Dutch oven.

Bake at 450F for 45 minutes, preferably covered for the first 30 minutes to retain steam. Cool completely over a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I love the way these stencils work. They lay nicely on the surface of the bread, but do not stick too badly, so you can easily lift it and preserve a nice image. In the set I got, you can have the four styles shown below.

For my second loaf, I used the same recipe, but sprinkled regular white flour instead of tapioca on the surface. The contrast is a little less dramatic, but still visible.

If you like to decorate your sourdough loaves, consider these plastic stencils as a nice option. The company is locate in the UK. I bought them long before the tariffs were in place, so I am not sure how things are working at the present time.

ONE YEAR AGO: Il Pane de Vincenza

TWO YEARS AGO: Gruyere Cheese Biscuits

THREE YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple Korean Chicken Thighs

FOUR YEARS AGO: Zucchini with Quick-Pickled Vegetables and Peanut Sauce

FIVE YEARS AGO: Nha Benta (Brazilian candy)

SIX YEARS AGO: The Best, The Very Best Hummus

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Chicken Katsu

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Whole-Lemon Marinade: Long Overdue

NINE YEARS AGO: Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Almond Vinaigrette

TEN YEARS AGO: Eggplant Tomato Stacks

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: The Couscous that Wasn’t

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Apple-Cinnamon Bread

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Blueberry Galette

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, August 2011

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Journey to a New Home

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Friday Night Dinner

13Jul2025

MEXICAN CONCHAS

Posted in Breads by sallybr

This recipe has been waiting for a long time in that list of “To Make Soon”. Better late than never, I actually made it twice, because I wasn’t totally happy with my first attempt. This is a classic Mexican sweet bread, with a colorful coating that is sweet and addictive…

for the concha press I used, click here

MEXICAN CONCHAS
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

makes 8 large conchas

4 cups (550g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp instant yeast
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp (85g) butter at room temperature
3 eggs at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm milk

Topping
1 1/2 cups (185g) all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup (180g) powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coco powder
1 tsp freeze dried strawberries, ground
Food coloring (optional)

In the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer, add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, yeast, and butter cut into pieces. Using the hook, mix for a few minutes until the butter is fully incorporated. Add one egg at a time, mixing for a minute after addition. Slowly add the milk, and once the mixture is smooth, knead it for a full 15 minutes, until the dough is super smooth and elastic.

Transfer to a buttered bowl, and let it rise until doubled. About 2 hours.

Make the topping by kneading (by hand is fine) flour, powdered sugar and butter until a dough is formed. Divide it in four pieces, add cocoa powder to one of them fourths, strawberry powder to the second half, vanilla to the remaining pieces. Add food color of your choice, if so desired. You can leave one of the vanilla pieces plain. Place in the fridge to set while the dough rises.

Punch the risen dough down, divide in 8 pieces and form little balls. Place them over parchment paper, four per baking sheet. Divide the colored dough into two, so you have a total of 8 pieces, 2 of each color. Use a tortilla press to roll them out, placing parchment paper squares on top and bottom to make it easy to move the dough around. Place the dough over the little rolls, and cut around to make it neat. Use the concha press to make the design on top. Cover, let them rise for 30 minutes and bake at 350F for about 25 minutes. Add a baking sheet with ice at the bottom of the oven to generate steam. You can also spray some water lightly over the dough after 2 minutes during baking.

Cool on a rack before eating.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Talk about a fun baking project, this is definitely it! When I made it the first time, I did not cover the breads fully with the colored dough, and later learned that the traditional way covers them fully. They get a more polished look that way. Below you see my first attempt, I used a heavier hand with the colors also…

When I make them again, I will either make half the recipe and form 6 little breads, or make the full recipe and shape 12 because I think these turned out slightly too big. Also, I think it would be fun to gather the different colors of topping and knead them slightly together to make a fun marbled topping. I just love the look of the bread as it goes through the final proofing.

I donated the whole batch, but of course had to ‘test taste” one. Love the cinnamon flavor, the bread is soft, tender, moist. And the topping, yes, addictive!