VALENTINE’S SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

You can use any recipe you are fond of, the scoring is not intricate so you can even increase a bit the hydration level if you prefer. You will need parchment paper cut with a heart shape (save the heart and the outside area), and a stencil with little hearts. I used Red Yeast Powder to add color, but air-brushing would also work. I love how the little white heart popped into the design, totally by accident! Serendipity at work…

VALENTINE’S SOURDOUGH
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

450g bread flour
50g whole wheat flour
75g sourdough starter (stiff or 100% hydration)
10g salt
360g water
Thai rice flour (or tapioca flour)
Red Yeast Powder for color (I used this one)

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.

Once bulk fermentation is over, shape the dough as a round ball. 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 a paper liner, add the heart shape in the center, and flour the region around it (I used Thai rice flour). Lift the heart shape, place the larger parchment as a mask to cover the rest of the dough. Add your stencil, making sure it is tight on the surface. Rub Red Yeast powder over the design, lift the stencil carefully. Score the perimeter of the heart and the outer area of the dough, and place in a Dutch oven.

Close the pan and bake at 450F for 7 minutes. Remove the lid, go back and re-inforce the cut around the heart, although this step is optional. Close the pan and bake for 30 minutes, open and allow the bread to brown for a further 15 minutes.

Cool completely over a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was a lot of fun to make, although I could have done a better job keeping the stencil tighter to the surface for a sharper edge around the little hearts. Here is the full process…

First, get the parchment paper cut and the stencil ready.

Now start by placing the heart on the top of the loaf, fresh from its little rest in the freezer… Rub flour all around.

Lift the stencil, revealing the heart underneath with no white flour on it…

Place the parchment paper as a mask hiding the areas outside the heart, the stencil on top of it…

Rub the red powder over the design…

Gently lift the stencil, score the dough and you are ready to bake!

I close this post with a baking memory from 2023 (click here for full details)

ONE YEAR AGO: Yogurt and Pistachio Sourdough

TWO YEARS AGO: Chinese-Style Orange Chicken goes Light

THREE YEARS AGO: Roasted Cauliflower with Chickpeas and Quinoa

FOUR YEARS AGO: A Savory Phyllo Pie

FIVE YEARS AGO: Nut-Free Lady Grey Macarons

SIX YEARS AGO: Mini-Heart Cakes for your Valentine

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Blue Moon Milk

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Slow-Cooked Chicken Meatballs

NINE YEARS AGO: Zesty Flourless Chocolate Cake

TEN YEARS AGO: Maple Pumpkin Pecan Snacking Cake

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Sweet Fifteen!

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Sesame and Flaxseed Sourdough

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Green Beans with Miso and Almonds

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Saturday Morning Scones

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: White Bread

26Nov2025

BAKING WITH THE HEART

Posted in Breads, Cookies by sallybr

This is the time to focus on everything we are grateful for.
Cook with love, bake with love. Share. Repeat.

DRAGON FLOWER SOURDOUGH LOVE
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

STENCIL from Sourdough Fever, available HERE

480g bread flour
20g spelt flour
16g dragon flower powder
10g salt
350g water
75g sourdough starter (70-100% hydration)

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, the Dragon flower powder 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. Get a small piece of dough and place in a little glass container to follow fermentation (optional, but highly recommended). Transfer the dough 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 until doubled in size, following the progress in the small amount of dough removed.

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: This is actually my second loaf with the Dragon flower powder, the first one was beautifully pink inside, but this turned out marbled and light. Cannot quite figure it out, it was the same exact formula and method. Oh, well. Still absolutely delicious, no change in flavor, maybe the crumb has slightly more moisture, the bread is a bit more tender than a sourdough without the powder.
.

Moving on, I share a series of cookies that center on a message of love….

Royal icing lavender base; details in piping consistency white. Fondant rose detail.

Scalloped edge heart cookie. Iced in two tones of Dusty Rose. Details in piping consistency gray.

Dusty Rose for the base icing. Details in dark Dusty Rose, piping consistency, same for bead border.

Inspired by a little reel I saw on Facebook. Shape cut by hand. Iced in two stages, wet on wet details, and piping consistency dark Dusty Rose. Fondant for the detail at the bottom.

Two-toned heart. Once again using Dusty Rose as the main color. Details piped in white. White pearls for bling.

Stencil + Air-brushing over cookies iced with pure white.

For a different take, a little pastel green. Details in piping consistency white.

I hope you enjoyed this little round-up of love in baking format. And don’t forget, always follow your heart!

ONE YEAR AGO: Fall-Inspired Vanilla Cupcakes

TWO YEARS AGO: Bake it Better with a Friend

THREE YEARS AGO: Bison a la Mode de Bourgogne

FOUR YEARS AGO: Masala Mashed Potatoes

FIVE YEARS AGO: Lessons from Tanya: Sugar Cookie Silhouettes

SIX YEARS AGO: Cherry-Chipotle Chicken Thighs

SEVEN YEARS AGO: White Chocolate Mini-Mousse with Sugared Cranberries

EIGHT YEARS AGO: You Say Ebelskiver, I say Falafel

NINE YEARS AGO: Happy Thanksgiving!

TEN YEARS AGO: Two Takes on Raspberries

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Spice Cake with Blackberry Puree & The Global Pastry Review

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Own Your Kitchen with Cappuccino Panna Cotta

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Chicken Parmigiana, the Thriller

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Wild Mushroom Risotto

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Tartine Bread: Basic Country Loaf

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Pugliese Bread

9Oct2023

POLKA DOT LOVE SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Once again I played with wafer paper to decorate sourdough bread, but this time I coupled it with a few strings to generate a cute shape, often used to turn the bread into pumpkin shape, but I opted for a more romantic outcome… Nothing personal against pumpkins, I do love them and honored them in the past (click here).

Start by cutting wafer paper in small heart shapes…. You will need three, and three long strings that you should rub very lightly with oil to facilitate removing later.

Place the strings equally spaced over the proofed dough, flip the dough over parchment paper, and tie the strings on the top, trying to hit the center as closely as possible. Gently insert the paper, coat the surface with flour and score the bread in any design you like. I used the Sonic blade and small scissors, as I often do.

Bake as you normally do, I keep the lid for 30 minutes and remove it for a final 15 minutes, all at 450F. Remove the strings, and allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.

You can use different patterns for the small hearts, or cut plain wafer paper and paint it yourself.

It is really amazing how well the colors in the wafer paper stay pretty much unchanged with baking, much better than air-brushed or gel colors. I hope you give this technique a try and have as much fun with it as I am having…

ONE YEAR AGO: Plum Sorbet

TWO YEARS AGO: Grilled Chicken with Sesame Roasted Carrots

THREE YEARS AGO: Let’s Get Spooky!

FOUR YEARS AGO: Miso and Sesame Roast Chicken with Revelation Quinoa

FIVE YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple Times Four

SIX YEARS AGO: Parsnip, Coconut and Lemongrass Soup

SEVEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2016

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Paleo Moussaka

NINE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2014

TEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2013

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Bourbon and Molasses Glazed Pork Tenderloin

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Crimson and Cream Turkey Chili