Blueberry Sourdough Recipe
Learn the best way to make fresh blueberry sourdough bread. Serve it warm or toasted with butter, or top it with your favorite strawberry jam. Preparation is easy and can be done with fresh or frozen blueberries. This recipe makes a medium sized loaf that's around 1000 grams in weight.
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Baking Pan
- Kitchen Scale
- Scoring Knife
Ingredients
- 600 grams flour recommended: 70% white (420g), 30% whole wheat (180g)
- 390 grams water (65% hydration)
- 150 grams blueberries fresh or frozen
- 60 grams sourdough starter bubbly and active
- 12 grams salt (2% of flour weight)
Instructions
- Mix 600g of dry flour with 150g of blueberries. Then add 390g of water, and gently form ball of dough.
- Autolyse dough for 10 minutes to an hour.
- Mix in 60g of active starter. Active means to use your starter after it has doubled (or more) since your last feeding.
- After waiting 15 minutes, mix in 12 grams of salt.
- Complete a series of stretch and folds. Space each set 20-30 minutes apart. Grab one edge, and shake or wiggle it upwards (stretching it), then fold it over and onto itself. You can do this in 3-4 spots. This is considered a set. Repeat for about 3-6 sets. You're done once the dough feels noticeably stronger and/or once you notice the dough starting to rise. Avoid tearing the dough during this process.
- Bulk ferment (AKA "bulk rise") your dough! Let dough rest while covered at room temperature. Generally this can take anywhere between 2 and 8 hours. This is finished once the dough has doubled in size and has a round or domed surface at the top. If you're using a clear container, you should see bubbles in the dough (similar to the bubbles you'd see in a starter). Square containers make tracking size much easier.
- Now it's time to shape your dough. Place you dough onto a working area that you have either sprinkled flour on or spread a little water on. Stretch the dough out, and then fold it back into itself. Then form a ball out of the dough. This is meant to build pressure in the dough. It's difficult to explain in writing ~ watching a YouTube tutorial on proper sourdough shaping technique is recommended.
- Optionally: place dough into a refrigerator (that's set below 4° C / 39.2 F) for a cold fermentation. At these temperatures the wild yeast will nearly become completely inactive, while other acids and gasses stay active. Cold ferments are excellent at further developing the flavor. If your fridge is cool enough, dough shouldn't be rising much if at all. You can do this anywhere from a few hours to 48 hours.
- Prepare dough for baking. You can let your dough come back to room temperature, or do while it's cold. Sometimes an additional shaping is necessary. Oil the surface of your dough, then lightly sprinkle flour over it. With a bread scoring knife, create at least one score just off center, or score in whichever pattern you like. Scoring helps to allow steam to exit your dough during the bake. If you don't have a proper scoring knife, other sharp knives will work too.
- Preheat oven to 475° Fahrenheit (246° C) and bake for 1 hour (time may vary depending on your setup). This is easiest when using a dutch oven. Make sure to line with an appropriate parchment paper and cover with lid. If opting to bake on a pan, you can either use steam injection if you have it, trays with an ice/water combination, or use tin foil.To use tin foil, place both underneath your pan (shiny side down) to prevent the bottom from burning, and atop the dough (shiny side outward) to prevent the top from burning. This is the best method for open bakes when you don't want to use steam.Remove lid or (top) foil 10-25 minutes before bake is done. Your bread should become a light or dark golden color. If you have a thermometer, you are aiming for an internal temperature of 94°-98° C (201°-208 F).
- Allow bread to cool on a baking rack for 1 hour. Obviously this is optional. If you skip this step, the dough will almost certainly be gummy on the inside. Some of the time, it's totally worth it! Enjoy!