Ever since I started baking sourdough bread, I knew that San Francisco sourdough would be my favorite recipe, especially after reading the glowing reviews Dsnyder and Codruta (codrudepaine) have given it. Having tried it a few times now, I reckon it's presentable enough for the tough judges on the Internet, so there goes my first post on TFL. :)
Everyone who has tried it loves this bread. The complexity of the flavours is just amazing, especially given that it's basically just a white loaf: the crust is nutty, whilst the crumb tastes sourly sweet. It's definitely an all around favorite.
The crust starts cracking as the loaf leaves the oven and it's a delight to just sit there and listen to it. That's if you can resist the urge to eat it, of course.
Getting down to business, I used Dsnyder's recipe to start off with and then adjusted it just a bit by replacing some of the flour with spelt:
Stiff levain | Bakers' % | Wt (g) for 1 kg |
Bread flour | 95 | 78 |
Medium rye flour | 5 | 4 |
Water | 50 | 41 |
Stiff starter | 80 | 66 |
Total | 230 | 189 |
1. The starter is dissolved into the water and then the flours are added and mixed thoroughly. I used my hands to make sure all the flour is incorporated properly.
2. Leave to rest for 12 hours.
Final dough | Bakers' % | Wt (g) for 1 kg |
Strong white wheat flour | 80 | 370 |
Spelt Flour | 20 | 93 |
Water | 73 | 337 |
Salt | 2.4 | 11 |
Stiff levain | 41 | 189 |
Total | 216.4 | 953 |
3. Mix the flours with the water and leave to autolyse for 30 minutes. Add in the stiff levain and salt and mix thoroughly until all the flour is incorporated and the gluten is moderately developed (window pane test).
4. Bulk fermentation: 2:30 hrs (my kitchen was quite hot) with SF after each 45 minutes
5. Pre-shape the loaves and leave to rest for 15 minutes
6. Shape them and place them in well floyred bannetons and keep them refrigerated for 10-12 hours
7. Remove from fridge and bake at 240 C for 40 minutes (15 minutes with steam, last 25 dry)
8. Open the oven door and leave the loaves to rest in the cooling oven for 5 minutes more
9. Remove the loaves from oven and adore them. :)
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Welcome! What a beauty. Could I feature this on the homepage for a bit?
Thank you, Floyd. I'd be honored.
Nice work. The crumb is beautiful. Very high % levain.
Thank you, Filomatic. Appreciate it. :)
The most useful way to look at the amount of levain in a formula is as the percentage of the total flour that is pre-fermented. this formula has 20% pre-fermented flour, which is pretty customary.
Flour in 189 g of 66% hydration levain is about 113g of flour plus 463g of flour added to make final dough for total flour 576g. 113/576 = .2 (with rounding).
David
I need to remember this. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for that explanation. So then, at that (66%) hydration rate in levain, the 20% rate of prefermentation flour gives a levain to final flour ratio (189/463) of 40%.
I was under the impression levains should be in 20-25% range, but now that I dig into it I’m seeing 38-40% cited. Ok. Good to know for scaling recipes and estimating sizes of loaves. Thanks.
Love the spelt in the dough too so this one is a bit different than most SFSD breads. Has to taste as good as it looks. Well done!
Welcome and happy baking
What is "SFSD"
San Francisco Sourdough
Paul
But What is a San Francisco Sourdough? This looks more like a Tartine Sourdough (which of course is IN San Francisco?)
as opposed to the original San Francisco sourdough made by Boudin, which is a bit different.
San Francisco sourdough is very much in the eye of the beholder. There are passionate believers that (fill in the blank) Bakery made the definitive, quintessential SFSB. Other equally passionate believers swear that, no, (other fill in the blank) Bakery made the Holy Grail of SFSB. Still others hold that nobody makes SFSB today like it used to be made.
Take your pick.
For more in-depth reading, use the Search tool at the upper right-hand corner of the page. You'll have lots to read and you may or may not come away with a clearer picture.
Paul
Nice photos, nice baking. marybeth
Thank you all for the warm welcome. And happy baking!
Great looking loaf! Perfect crust and crumb. Well done.
It looks delicious. I'm so glad you and your family enjoy it.
David
Thank you, David. Yes, we all do enjoy it. :)
Hi
This looks lovely
Can I just ask , what hydration do you always keep starter at ? And do you not let the dough rest to room temp before putting in the oven ? Thanks very much
Thank you. I keep my starter at 100% hydration. For this bread though, I form a stiff starter by feeding it once at 65-68% hydration prior to using it. There is no rest time at RT prior to it going into the oven - it just works better with my schedule that way. Happy baking!
What is RT"
What is SF after 45 minutes?
Stretch and fold.
I just wanted to thank you for sharing your recipe. I baked your formula today and it worked wonderfully.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWcGVPYATTO/?taken-by=feedbillie
So happy it worked for you. The loaf looks amazing, well done. Enjoy.
Valentina
You said your kitchen was hot. Do you know the actual temperature? Was your water at the same temp? My kitchen is hot during the summer as well (80-86F), and lately I've begun using cooled water to get the right dough temp.
Hi,
I would say about 80 F. I use cool water right from the tap and don't heat it in the summer to get the dough to a right temperature.
valentina
What is "RT"
Sorry, I abbreviate too much. :)
Valentina
I would have guessed "room temperature".
Paul
It's been a while since my original comment. You are correct, that is room temp. :)
Valentina
Hi Valentina,
Proud to see Bucharest on the first page! I'm from Timisoara :)
It looks fantastic, well done!!
Andreea
Hi Andreea,
Happy to see I am not the only Romanian around. :)
Thank you.
V.
I used your recipe and it turned out nice. I added sunflower seed and poppy seed on top. sunflower seeds tend to burn, so I will avoid them next time.
What is “stiff starter”? My starter (never used...can’t wait to try my first loaf with a goal of making San Francisco some time after I do some learning) is 100% hydration.