Rosemary Sourdough Bread
A whole wheat and bread flour sourdough boule made with fresh rosemary and raw honey. Cold retarded 18- 72 hours for deep flavor, baked in a Dutch oven for a crackly crust and chewy crumb.
Ingredients
- 340 g water warm
- 275 g bread flour
- 225 g whole wheat flour
- 100 g sourdough starter active
- 40 g raw honey
- 14 g fine sea salt
- ½ tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped
Instructions
Autolyse:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 340g warm water with 275g bread flour and 225g whole wheat flour and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Knead the dough with your hands until all the dry bits are incorporated.
- Cover the bowl and set aside to autolyse for 30 - 60 minutes.
add sourdough starter:
- Uncover the bowl and spread the dough in the bowl, I just poke it flat with my fingers, and spread 100g sourdough starter, 40g honey, 1/2 tablespoons chopped rosemary, and 14g fine sea salt across the surface of the dough.
- Using damp hands, grab the dough and gently pull it until the flap is long enough to fold over itself, then fold the flap, rotate the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat 4 times to fold in the starter. This is considered one set of stretch and folds. Don't panic if the dough feels a bit wet or gooey, it will come together during the later stretch and folds.
- Recover and set aside for 1 hour.
stretch and fold:
- Uncover and perform a set of stretch and folds. Recover and set aside for 1 hour before performing another set of stretch and folds before recovering. If the dough is not coming together after the second set of stretch and folds, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it with a little bit of flour till it comes together before covering and resting for 1 hour.
- Repeat once more, for a total of 3 sets of stretch and folds. Then cover, and set aside for 2 hours to finish the bulk ferment.
shape:
- Uncover the dough and transfer to a work surface or countertop. Gently press and spread the dough into a large rectangle.
- Fold up the bottom third of the dough as though you were folding a letter, and then fold the top down.
- Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll up into a large log. Cover with a kitchen or tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.
- After the rest, flip the dough over, gently press the dough flat then roll it again. Pinch the ends if you're making a batard or tuck them in if your making a boule.
- Dust the dough with rice flour then tuck seam side up into a banneton.
prove + cold retard:
- Prove the rosemary sourdough loaf in the banneton for 2 hours before covering and placing in fridge to cold retard for up to 3 days. If you want to bake it right after proving, you're welcome to, but the flavor is better after resting in the fridge.
bake:
- Place your dutch oven, cloche, or desired baking dish in the oven and preheat to 450f.
- Once the oven is preheated, invert the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Use a lame, sharp knife, or clean razor blade to score the dough, I usually like to make one deep curved slash, but you can get as fancy as you like!
- Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven, and using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the sourdough loaf from the counter into the dutch oven.
- Bake the dough at 450f covered for 30 minutes and uncovered at 450f for 10-15 minutes, or until the loaf is cooked through and the crust is nicely browned. You can test the doneness of the loaf with an instant-read thermometer. Bread is cooked once it reaches 205 - 210 degrees Fahrenheit internal temperature.
cool:
- Remove baked bread from the dutch oven and transfer it to a wire mesh cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. I like to leave it for at least 2 hours before slicing, as slicing too soon can affect the crumb and texture of your loaf.
Notes
Expert Tips
- I developed this recipe to have a subtle rosemary flavor, I find it to be more versatile that way. If you’re looking to have more rosemary punch, double the amount of chopped rosemary to 1 tablespoon.
- This recipe has a high proportion of whole grain flour, so we’ll be using a little bit of baking magic called autolyse. This easy process helps to improve the texture of the baked bread and improve gluten structure in the dough.
- I recommend using bread flour in conjunction with whole wheat in this recipe because whole wheat has the tendency to result in dense baked goods while bread flour, with its high protein content, provides a lot of structure. In a pinch, you could sub all of the whole wheat with bread flour.
- Use this recipe as a base! Feel free to add other flavors. I think that smoked garlic, smoked onions, fermented garlic, sun dried tomatoes, or even dehydrated cherry tomatoes would be amazing paired with rosemary this recipe!
- If after the second stretch and fold the dough is looking a little ragged, don’t fret, that can happen when adding honey after autolyse. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead it with a little bit of flour till it comes together then continue along with the recipe.
