Were you even in quarantine if you didn’t bake sourdough bread? The same goes for banana bread, but that’s another post for another day.

I took a first try at making sourdough bread and decided to split the dough in half and make two smaller loaves, one olive and one plain, instead of one large loaf. Whatever approach you choose to take, you can follow the recipe below, and feel free to omit the olives, or get creative with other yummy add-ins (craisins, nuts, etc.).

Tip: Plan ahead! Sourdough requires a “starter” and, depending on which one you choose, can take between 24 hours and 5 days to create and feed. Also, the dough itself needs between 4-12 hours to rise (overnight is best).

RECIPE

Antonina Agrusa | 04/27/2020

prep time: 1 day (starter) + 2.5 hours (dough)

cook time: 35 mins

Servings: 16

Ingredients:

1 cup quick sourdough starter (I made this one from Kent Rollins)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour (can add 1/4-1/2 cups if too sticky)

4 tsp salt dissolved in 2oz warm water

3/4 cup luke warm water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tablespoon sugar

2 cups of olives for one large loaf(mixed, green, kalamata - your choice!)

Instructions:

Day 1 - Begin by making your starter two days before you want to bake your bread if you are using a 24-hour quick starter, or 5-6 days in advance for a five-day starter.

Day 2 - Once the 24-hour starter is ready, in a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix together the starter, flours, salt, water, olive oil and sugar. (You can also knead by hand.)

Once the mixture looks and feels smooth and isn't too sticky to handle, fold in the olives. (The olives have a natural oil to them so you may need to add a little flour to keep a workable dough.)

Once that's all mixed well, or if you aren't adding olives, place the dough on a floured surface and knead by hand for about 20 seconds.

Fold the dough - for this technique, grab one corner of the dough, pull it an inch or so and fold it across to its opposite corner. Do that in all 4 directions (from right to left, left to right, top to bottom, bottom to top).

Turn the dough over so the folds are on the counter and the top looks smooth and round. Cover the dough with a cloth and repeat the four folds every 30 minutes for 2 hours (a total of four times).

Prepare a bread proofing bowl, or if you dont have one, a floured ceramic bowl, and place the dough smooth side down into the bowl.

Cover with a cloth and let the dough rise for at least 3 hours, or preferably, overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 500 and place a cast iron pan in the oven for 30 minutes.

While the oven and pan are heating up, score the dough. You can simply cut an 'x' into the top, or get creative with different bread scoring techniques and designs.

Once the oven is ready, reduce the heat to 450 and bake for about 35 minutes, or until it's a nice, dark golden brown. Serve warm or room temperature. It's also delicious toasted!