Summer Lodge's sourdough bread

At Summer Lodge, we freshly bake our bread and one of our favourite loaves to make is sourdough. This traditional recipe below can create two small or one large sourdough loaf.  

For our sourdough, we use a bread starter (a naturally occurring yeast) as a leavening agent, lending a distinct flavour and texture to the bread that cannot be replicated by commercially harvested yeast. We have been using our bread starter for four years; however, with our recipe can help you prepare it in five days.

If you enjoyed making this recipe, please share your photos with us on Instagram tagging @summer_lodge.

Starter ingredients:

• 100ml room temperature bottled water
• 50g strong white bread flour
• 50g rye flour
• 30g of small, thin strips of rhubarb (rhubarb is acidic which acts as a catalyst for fermentation)

Day 1

Mix all the ingredients together and then leave in a bowl for 24 hours, at room temperature.

Day 2

1. Add 50g water, 25g strong white bread flour, 25g rye flour to the starter.
2. Mix again and leave for 24 hours.
   
   

Day 3, 4 and 5

Repeat this process.

Day 6

It's time to begin making your sourdough loaf.

Ingredients:

• 220g starter
• 400g strong white bread flour
• 50g rye flour
• 50g wholemeal flour
• 350g room temperature bottled water

Method

1. Add the above to a bowl and mix with a dough hook, slowly for two minutes and then medium, for four minutes. 
2. Next, relax the dough for 20 minutes before adding 14g of fine sea salt and then mix on a medium speed for six minutes.
3. Once mixed, shape your dough and place it in a bowl with a floured cloth - leave overnight. 

If you would like to keep your starter, you can add 200g of water, 100g of strong white bread flour, and 100g of rye flour to the remaining amount, mix and repeat the process.

Day 7

1. Remove your dough from the fridge and allow it to reach room temperature.
2. Remove dough from the clothed bowl and move to a baking tray with semolina. 
3. Slash the top of your dough with a knife.
4. Bake your loaf at 220°C degrees for 30 minutes. 
5. In a heat-proof bowl or pan, add 100ml of water to the bottom of your oven. Close the door quickly after placing the water in - this creates a flash of steam which helps crisp the bread. Complete this at the start of the 30 minutes baking time.
6. After 30 minutes, remove your loaf from the baking tray to a wire rack.
7. Place the rack back in the oven and allow it to cook for a further 10 minutes - this allows the bottom to bake. 

Allow to cool and enjoy your freshly baked sourdough loaf of bread.