How to nail homemade sourdough: The secrets to baking a golden, crusty loaf at home

Sourdough is having a major moment, and you don’t need to be a professional baker to make your own at home.

The Morning Show is going back to basics with Juliana Stojanovska, also known as the ‘Balkan Style Sourdough Lady’, who is sharing her secrets to a golden, crusty loaf with a perfectly chewy centre.

Part 1: Classic Plain Sourdough

Ingredients

• 100g sourdough starter
• 350g water
• 500g flour
• 15g salt

Method

1. Add the 100g sourdough starter, 350g water and 15g salt to a large bowl.
2. Mix until the starter and salt are well incorporated into the water.
3. Add 500g flour and mix until all of the flour has been incorporated and there are no dry patches.
4. Knead the dough until it comes together and becomes smooth.
5. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rest for one hour.
6. After the first hour, begin your stretch-and-folds. Stretch and fold the dough every 30 minutes, for a further three to four rounds.
7. After the final stretch-and-fold, leave the dough covered on the bench to continue fermenting until it has approximately doubled in size.

Shaping & Cold Fermentation

1. Once the dough has doubled in size, gently shape it into a loaf.
2. Place the shaped dough into a loaf pan and cover it with a shower cap or suitable cover.
3. Place the loaf into the refrigerator and leave it to cold ferment for 8–9 hours, or overnight.

Baking the Sourdough

1. Preheat the oven to 250C fan-forced for approximately one hour before baking. This allows the oven to become thoroughly hot.
2. Dust some flour and then score down along the length of the sourdough. This allows the steam to escape during baking and gives the loaf room to expand.
3. Place the cold loaf into the oven.
4. Cover the loaf pan with another loaf pan placed over the top. This helps trap the steam, creating a better crust and helping the loaf rise.
5. Bake at 250C for 30 minutes with the cover on.
6. Remove the bread from the loaf pan.
7. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C.
8. Return the loaf to the oven and bake for a further 25 minutes.
9. Remove the bread from the oven and place it on a cooling rack.
10. Allow the sourdough to cool for at least one hour before slicing. This is important because cutting into the bread too early can result in a gummy texture.

Slice, serve and enjoy!

Adding Inclusions

Inclusions

• Fresh spinach
• Feta cheese

When to Add the Inclusions

The spinach and feta are added during the third-last stretch-and-fold.

This allows the inclusions to become incorporated into the dough without being worked through the dough.

Method

1. Prepare your plain sourdough dough following the same method above.
2. Complete your initial stretch-and-folds as usual.
3. During the third-last stretch-and-fold, gently stretch the dough out.
4. Add the spinach and crumbled feta over the surface of the dough.
5. Fold the dough over itself, gently incorporating the fillings.
6. Continue with the remaining stretch-and-folds, allowing the spinach and feta to become evenly distributed throughout the dough.
7. Once fermentation is complete and the dough has doubled in size, shape the loaf.
8. Place it into the loaf pan, cover and refrigerate for 8–9 hours or overnight.
9. Bake using the same method as the classic sourdough.
10. Cool on a rack for one hour before slicing.

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