Homecoming and an Enriched Sourdough Loaf

Phew! What a year it has been!

Around this time last year both Jini and I were feeling restless in our lives; we were doing work we loved, had great friends and a lovely supportive family and yet there was something about our headspce that was almost too comfortable. We spoke often about the incredible learning curve that comes from finding yourself in a challenging situation and how we craved that. We wanted to shake things up, get outside our comfort zones and experience something we never had before, so almost at the same time, we set out to either side of the world to find inspiration; a challenge, a new way of looking at life! Despite the fact that we were seeking similar things, we could not have chosen more different paths to get there.

I had been accepted into university in the UK for a Masters in Development Studies. After more than 10 years of working full time, I decided I needed to step back from taking action everyday to analyse the bigger picture. How did what I was doing align with best practice around the world? What could I learn from professionals in the sector who were coping with similar challenges as me. I went back to college, full time, more than 13 years after I had last been a student. And the last 10 months have been intense, enriching, exhausting and incredibly stimulating. It has made me think seriously about how I really want to contribute and I dont have any answers yet, but I am now far more open in terms of the choices I make.

Jini on the other hand, decided she wants to go learn how to surf in Byron Bay, Australia.  The idea appealed to her as it was so removed from her current reality that it would be like living someone else's life for a few months. Having always lived in a landlocked city, and remembering herself as a fat kid and who never played any sport, living on the beach and learning to surf felt like taking on the impossible. Getting up on that surfboard and attempting to conquer the waves was every bit as challenging and invigorating as she could have dreamed off. From there she went to Bali and then to Cambodia on a journey with 15 fellow artists which she believes changed her outlook on life. Now from being the stress ball, worrying about all the unanswered questions, she has become, still a stressball, but one that enjoys looking for answers. She has tuned in to her inner voice as well as the silences.

And once we were both back in the same city, it was only a matter of time before we were back to cooking, baking and dreaming up all kinds of amazing food projects for us to take on. While we are working on two amazing projects we are extremely excited about, we wanted to finish one that we had started and had to abandon halfway because life had other plans.

So here we are now, having revived our starters from their deathbeds and bringing them back to rising and falling predictably, we were ready to make more sourdough. This is a loaf I really love, has beautiful complex flavours from the addition of eggs, oil and honey, a gorgeous sheen on the crust and tighter, softer crumb. Also, the shaped, proved bread is such a taut ball of dough that you can score designs on it to your heart's content and as the bread bakes, its beauty is elevated manifold.

This recipe is another gem that I acquired from Sujit Sumitran, yields perfect results everytime.

What you need:

• 1 egg + enough water to make 125 gms of liquid
• Flour blend ( we use a combination of all purpose and whole wheat in various proportions) 225 gms
• Levain (fresh and vigorous starter) 50 gms @ 100% hydration (equal proportions of flour and water)
• 12 gms of oil (we have used coconut and olive oil and love both)
• 7 gms of honey
• 5 gms of salt

How we stir:

• Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and knead well till a window pane appears. This essentially means that when you pinch off a piece of the dough and stretch it between your fingers, you are able to do this till a "window" appears in the dough that light passes through before the dough tears. If you are kneading by hand this takes about seven to ten minutes.
• Once the dough has come to the desired consistency, let it rest undisturbed at room temperature to rise for about 3 hours.
• Pre shape: Using a flour dusted silicon spatula, gently nudge the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly flour your fingers and stretch the dough (pulling outwards from under the dough) so that it’s flattened on the work surface. Stretch and fold and shape into a ball. Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cover with a kitchen napkin.
• Shape: Dust a kitchen napkin generously with flour. Transfer the napkin carefully onto your proofing basket / banneton. Use a dough scraper and push under the dough at a 45 degree angle till the dough turns into a tight ball.
• Proof: Transfer dough seam-side up on the proofing basket, cover with a plastic bag  and transfer into the fridge. We have left this in the fridge for various periods between 3 hours and overnight for 8 hours and they all turn out well. If you like your bread more sour, then proof longer.
• Bake: Pre-heat oven to 250C with a Dutch Oven  in it for 40 minutes. Transfer the dough carefully into the DO, seam side down, score on top and bake for 20 minutes with the lid on. Take the bread out of the DO, drop the temperature to 225°C and bake for another 20-25 minutes till the loaf is beautifully browned. When this is done, transfer to a cooling rack and it rest for at least a couple of hours before slicing.