Is it possible to circumvent the slow feeding cycle of a sourdough starter? This recipe method attempts a possibility by substituting some of the water in the dough with plain yogurt to give it a sour taste. Don't know if it'll actually work. So far, the dough hasn't risen nor doubled in bulk in the usual amount of time allotted to the first rise.
To make a true sourdough bread with a sourdough starter today, I could either buy a premade starter or make one from scratch several days in advance. While milled, unbleached flour is still inexpensive (< $5 for 10#), it seems like a waste to toss half the starter after the first day. Each time the starter is fed, half is thrown out. I suppose you could also just start other starters and that would require more math and patience than I have time for this particular experiment.
I am baking this using a Dutch oven pot in an oven. This baking method seems to work well with getting a moist inside with a hard, crispy crust (without having to spray the bread with water during is baking cycle). The ingredient ratio comes from a few sources. This is my third attempt at a Dutch oven-baked bread; the first two simply did not taste salty enough. I have added a sprinkling of additional kosher salt to the part of the recipe where you roll the dough in flour before baking. In the previous loaf of rosemary bread, I couldn't taste the rosemary, so this one has a full 1/4 cup of fresh whole and chopped rosemary.
Ingredients
1 tbsp active dry yeast + 1/2 c warm water
2-4 c all-purpose unbleached flour, separated
1 tbsp vital wheat gluten flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1 tbsp raw honey
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 c fresh rosemary leaves, mostly whole and partially chopped
2 c plain whole milk yogurt
Directions
1. Prep the yeast. Add yeast to 1/2 c warm water (110 degrees F) and let bloom for 10 minutes before adding to the flour.
2. Prep the dough. Combine 2 c flour, salt, honey, and yeast-water in a bowl and mix until well combined. Knead using a stand mixer for 8-10 minutes, or by hand, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic; incorporate up to two more cups of flour so that the dough is less runny.
3. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Turn the dough once so that all the sides of the dough become oiled. Cover with a plate or plastic wrap. Let rise for 1.5-2 hours, until doubled in bulk.
4. Sprinkle some flour and some kosher salt onto a large plate. Empty the dough out onto the plate and gently roll around until the dough is lightly covered with flour.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Let Dutch oven pot warm up as the oven heat up.
5. Remove pot from oven and place dough inside. Using a sharp knife or edge of a spatula, make decorative marks across the dough. Replace lid on Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes covered. Then remove lid and bake for an additional 12 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack before slicing.
