Note the 3:2:1 ratio – flour to water to starter.
A day or two before you want to bake, take the starter out of the fridge. Feed it with equal quantities of water and strong flour and stir thoroughly. Go for a stiff mix – like whipped cream – not single! Ideally repeat the next day – doubling the quantity. You will need 300g of starter for two loaves. Plus a little left over to return to the fridge. If you have too much, I have great recipes for crispbreads or pancakes. Thanks Fiona.
In a bowl sitting on top of your scales, weigh your flour, water and starter. Mix together thoroughly and leave to rest for 30 minutes. If using a Kenwood Chef, use the doughhook. This stage allows the flour to soak up the water. Don’t add salt until…
Add your salt and enough of the water that the dough is “as soft as a baby’s bottom”; you might not need the last 50ml. It should be as wet as possible but come away from the sides of the bowl. Use the Kenwood on a slow setting to knead your dough for 5-10 minutes, or until supple, stretchy and elastic. If it climbs onto the top of the dough hook, swear. Loudly.
Note that the objective is to have as wet and sticky dough as you can handle i.e. 2:1 flour/starter to water! You can break the rules by dusting with flour but keep this to a minimum.
This is a really good video, especially if you knead by hand, and gives a lot of clues.
Allow your dough to rest in a covered bowl in the fridge overnight (10-12 hours).
A lame
Next morning, take the dough out of the fridge. It should have domed close to the top of the Kenwood bowl. If not, leave it in a warm place for an hour or until it rises more.
Get the oven hot (Gas mark 6 or so). Put a roasting tin with water in the bottom of the oven to build up steam.
When the oven is ready, turn out the dough onto a worktop dusted with flour. Cut in half with a dough blade, and chafe – dust your hands and the dough blade with flour and chafe – turning in a circle until round. Shaping a loaf of bread - BBC Food Sorry; it’s him.
Your dough may seem stickier than this but persevere! Place on a baking sheet and slash with the sharpest, moistened knife you have or better still a lame. Some lames take a razor blade.
You can spray with a little water. Place immediately in the hot oven.
Repeat with the other half of the dough onto a second baking sheet… and straight into the oven.
At intervals, swap the two loaves around so they both have heat - and not too much. They should go golden brown but not toasted.
After 40 minutes or so, knock on the bottom of each loaf – it should sound hollow if it is done. If not, return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.
Place your loaf on cooling rack or wooden board. Allow to cool to just warm before slicing if you have the patience to wait. If you won't need both loaves in a day or two, freeze one loaf.
You can muck around with variations:
There are lots of sources on the internet. Some are quite complex with yoghurt, organic raisins, and others simple.
A large Kilner jar - without the rubber seal - is a good place to store the starter. It will keep at the bottom of the fridge for a month or so. If there is a blackish water (Devil's beer), pour that off before reviving the starter with equal quantities of flour and water.
If the starter develops a black or grey mould on the surface, scrape it away with a spoon and rescue a spoonful of clean starter. Transfer this to a second jar and feed it with equal quantities of water and strong flour. Discard the old starter and wash the jar thoroughly. If the mould is any other colour you will have to make new starter.