Sourdough Mini Loaf- Recipe - Crafty Gemini (2024)
When it comes to bread-baking, nothing compares to a freshly-baked, crusty sourdough mini loaf. Sourdough breads are incredibly simple to make with the help of just a few key ingredients. Let’s get started and discuss the basics of making a sourdough mini loaf that will become a favorite in your home.
1. This recipe is perfect for experimenting with new flours on a smaller scale.
A sourdough mini loaf is the perfect recipe for experimenting with new flours. If you’re like me and like to play around with fresh milled flour blends then I think you’ll love this recipe. You can tweak your flour amounts without using a large amount of flour each time you bake an “experimental” loaf. This recipe is designed to create a small-scale loaf, which is ideal for not just testing out different flours but also flavor add-ins and other ingredients to help spice up your bread loaves. With this sourdough mini loaf recipe, you can play around with with different flour ratios until you find your perfect combo. I think you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
2. This recipe is easy to prepare and needs minimal ingredients.
This sourdough mini loaf recipe is easy to prepare and requires minimal ingredients, making it an ideal option for those of us with busy lifestyles. The simple combo of ingredients creates a flavorful and fluffy loaf that the whole family will enjoy. If you live alone or just need bread for a few people at dinner time this is just the recipe for you! I’ll give you the basics and you can take it from there. Tip: I keep a sourdough journal and whenever an idea pops in my head I jot it down. For example, I want to try rosemary and dried fruit loaf soon. I think that will be delicious and different!
I do suggest you get a kitchen scale if you don’t already have one. It is important to weigh out your bread baking ingredients by weight as listed in the recipe below.
3. Sourdough mini loaves are perfect for gift giving or to enjoy with family and friends.
Sourdough mini loaves are the perfect addition to any mealtime gathering. These cute little mini loaves are made with simple, natural ingredients, and that unmistakable tangy flavor that cannot be matched. If you need the perfect gift for friends/family, or want to add a special touch to a dinner party, make this mini loaf. It’s sure to be a hit!
Are you ready to start baking sourdough bread with a recipe that makes the process quicker and is easier on the wallet? If so, this sourdough mini loaf recipe is an easy and delicious place to start.
Sourdough Mini Loaf Recipe
Ingredients:
50g of active bubbly sourdough starter
6g salt
200g water (non-chlorinated)
275g of flour*
*Flour– This is where I like to experiment and make my own blends. The mini loaf pictured on this page was made with a flour blend that totaled the 275g listed in the recipe but I used 250g of 00 Pizza flour and 25g of fresh milled hard white wheat flour. Keep in mind that the more fresh milled flour you include the denser the bread will be.
Yields: This recipe yields a sourdough mini loaf of bread that weighs just under one pound or about ~450g. Serves 1-2 people.
Steps:
In a large bowl mix starter, water and salt and whisk together then stir in flour(s) until everything is combined. Cover and let sit 15 mins.
Start folding the dough from the outer edges into the center pulling up as you go. Do this 6-7 times working your way around the dough. Cover and set aside for 30 mins.
Repeat the folds again and cover and set aside. You can repeat this process every 30 mins over 3-4 hours if you’d like. I’ve had great results doing only two series of folds, too.
Take dough out of bowl and loosely shape it into a ball. Place it into abanneton bread basketor a bowl with a tea towel in it. Cover and let it bulk ferment overnight in the fridge or at room temperature. This will depend on the weather and ambient room temp. At 70ºF or lower I leave mine on the kitchen counter. If it is warmer than that I would put it in the fridge. I like to leave it for about 12 hours at this step.
Next morning turn out the dough and shape it again by tucking under the dough several times. Return the dough to a well floured bowl orbanneton basket.
Preheat your oven with the dutch oven inside to 450º F (230º C) for 30-45 mins.
Remove dutch oven from the hot oven and place dough with parchment paper inside. Optional: Spritz the top of the loaf with some water (6-8 sprays). Place the lid back on and bake with the lid on for 30 mins. After 30 mins, remove the lid and bake for another 10 mins with the lid off. The bread is ready when it is golden brown and the internal temperature registers about 210°F (98°C).
Let the bread cool completely before cutting otherwise it can affect the texture of the inside. If your dough is gummy you know you didn’t wait long enough to cut it!
Keeping the lid on for the first part of baking allows steam to expand between the gluten fibers to rise the bread and create a fluffy loaf. Step 4: Remove the lid and bake for an additional 12-14 minutes or until the crust is crispy and golden brown. Once you take the lid off, the bread likely won't rise anymore.
As with any sourdough recipe, before you start baking bread, you want to make sure that your sourdough starter is as strong as possible. My basic sourdough recipe uses just 50g of starter for 500g of flour (so just 10% of starter).
Overproofed bread dough is dough that's had too much fermentation activity. This could be dough left to ferment for too long or dough that's fermented at too warm of a temperature for too long. Lack of oven spring. An (interior) crumb with lots of little holes but not dense spots.
Heat and moisture within the bread need to dissipate slowly allowing the bread to gradually get to room temperature, so leave to cool for at least 1 hour, preferably longer. Cutting too soon can mean the heat dissipates too quickly causing the crumb to become sticky and gummy.
Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.
Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.
With each sourdough starter feeding, you'll be discarding some to avoid it from becoming overly acidic. Most will compost or trash this discard, but you can save it and use it in other recipes!
If you have too much starter compared to the additional flour and water you're adding, your hungry starter consumes all the nutrients and then it's not as bubbly.
Fed sourdough starter refers to a starter that has been fed flour and water (preferably by weight). You should feed the starter equal or greater than its weight after discarding a portion. You should wait at least 2-4 hours or until the starter is at its peak before you use it in your baking.
If you don't want to put the dough in the fridge for a cold ferment, you can leave it to proof on the counter for a little while. You do need to be careful not to let it over ferment. Ideally, you want the temperature to be on the cooler side (no more than 21C / 69.8F). Let the dough relax into the banneton.
Proofing can be done at room temperature - however you need to be very careful that this proofing is short so you don't let the dough over proof. More often than not, sourdough is cold proofed. That is, it is placed in the banneton in the refrigerator to rest prior to baking.
Gently press your finger into the dough on the top. If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed. If it springs back very slowly, it's properly proofed and ready to bake. Finally, if it never springs back, the dough is overproofed.
This is because the sourdough starter contains lactic acid bacteria, which makes the dough acidic and thus acts as a natural preservative against molding. As a result, sourdough bread should last for four to five days at room temperature before starting to stale.
It can be tempting to just cut right into your loaf to take that first bite. The key here, though, is a lot of patience. Ideally, sourdough bread should be cooled to room temperature before you cut into it. This can take a few hours, and even up to overnight.
Most likely when this happens, it's not you - it's your starter. If your loaf is dense, has uneven holes and a gummy texture, most likely there wasn't enough active wild yeast in your starter to make the bread develop and rise during baking. This can be the case even if your starter seems really happy and bubbly.
If you're looking for faster results when making your sourdough starter, there are a few things you can do. First, use warm water and increase the water-to-flour ratio slightly. This will help the yeast to activate quicker and aid in rising more quickly.
Butter contains fats that retain gases during baking, ensuring the dough rises properly in the oven and softening the crust. If you forget to brush the dough before you bake, you can still apply it as soon as you take it out. The butter will minimize the amount of crisping a loaf will do as it cools.
Baking soda or bicarbonate of soda can be used in sourdough bread to create a less sour loaf. Added after bulk fermentation, but before shaping, it can help to create a lighter, more fluffy loaf of sourdough.
Introduction: My name is Clemencia Bogisich Ret, I am a super, outstanding, graceful, friendly, vast, comfortable, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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