Tartine Bread
by
Doug O'Leary
Winters in Wisconsin slow most of us down, at least a little bit. One task I took on this winter was to create my own sourdough starter, create a leaven, and bake a tasty loaf of homemade bread.
Making Tartine bread is a lengthy process, but it seems I never do anything quick or easy. The bread is made with only flour, water, and salt. The yeast comes from your hands and the air. When mixed, they all become what’s called the starter.
The starter is then fed daily by keeping one-third of the current starter and tossing out the rest. Then you add more flour and water. That is mixed into a nice batter by hand until no dry flour is left. The batter rises shortly after feeding, and then settles down, which tells me it’s working. Once it is working consistently, and the smell of the starter has a nice aroma, I am ready to create a leaven.
Leaven produces gas or bubbles in the dough, which makes it lighter and airier. It also causes the dough to rise and soften. I make it the day before, since the bulk fermentation takes a long time. To slow the fermentation, I just put it in the fridge until morning.
The next morning, I bake my bread. After a short while, the house smells like fresh bread. Once the crust is just the way I like it, dark and crispy, I pull it out of the oven and cool it on a rack. Butter is spread on a fresh slice, and my hunger disappears. It reminds me of when my grandmother baked fresh bread when I was a kid. I couldn’t wait to eat it. I am completely satisfied with this wonderful thing I created. Homemade sourdough bread.
I used Chad Robertson’s recipe from his book Tartine Bread (2010).