Wild Leek Sourdough Bread
If you follow along with me on instagram you’ll know that I have been really into the sourdough baking as of late. Bread, bagels, naan, brownies, cinnamon buns, crackers, hot cross buns, you name it, I’ve probably made a sourdough version of it.
I started sourdough baking last year when the pandemic began, since I suddenly was at home constantly and therefore could easily tend to my sourdough creations throughout the day (it’s no lie that they like a fair amount of love throughout the baking process). Since I got into this phase, my family has almost completely ceased to acquire bread from other sources (aka our local grocery store). I like to have designated bake days from time to time where I’ll make anywhere from 2 to 6 loaves of bread (and maybe some bagels too) so that we’re all stocked up. The bread freezes very nicely, so I usually leave one fresh loaf out and then slice and freeze the others to be pulled out when needed.
I’ve experimented with a variety of different sourdough flavours (rye, whole wheat, cinnamon raisin, feta and olive…) and was very excited for ramp season, also know as wild leeks, to begin so that I could try my hand at a wild leek sourdough loaf. One of my coworkers at the bakery used to make a wild leek sourdough bread in the spring and it was delightful, so here I am trying to mimic it. I spent my Saturday morning last weekend out in the woods at the back of our friends’ farm foraging ramps in the sunshine just for this recipe.
My base recipe is derived from Tartine Bakery’s Tartine Bread book. If you’re looking to get into sourdough baking, I would recommend these resources, they have been my constant guides while developing my sourdough skills:
Books:
- Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson
Online Resources:
- Flourist Basic Sourdough Boule Recipe
- Making and maintaining a sourdough starter
A couple tips that I cannot press enough if you are planning to get in to sourdough baking are to acquire a good set of resources and to always read the recipe all the way through before beginning. There are so many wonderful books and recipes online that have phenomenal tips and tricks for successful baking, the above are just a few of my favourites.
I’ve tried to include lots of pictures and videos (see end of post) here to help any sourdough newbies who tackle this recipe. If you’re unclear on a step in the sourdough process, I would highly recommend cross referencing resources. Flourist has tons of great tips for sourdough, so I’d start with their site.
Let me know if you give this a try, I’d love to see the final products! 🙂
xx
Ashley
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Kitchen Scale
Ingredients
- 700 + 50 grams warm water, divided
- 200 grams active sourdough starter
- 900 grams white flour
- 100 grams whole wheat flour
- 20 grams fine sea salt
- 100 grams wild leeks (ramps), roughly chopped
Instructions
Mixing the Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, weigh 700 grams of the warm water. Add your active sourdough starter and mix with you hands to disperse. Add the white and whole wheat flours and mix by hand until a shaggy dough forms, cover and set aside to rest at room temp for 25 to 40 minutes.
- After the initial rest, add in the salt and remaining 50 grams of warm water. Mix by hand, squeezing the dough between your fingers to disperse the salt. Once the salt has been thoroughly incorporated, transfer the dough to a large container and fold it in on itself. A fold is completed by grabbing one side of the dough, pulling it up towards you and folding it in on itself. This process is then repeated on the remaining 3 sides of the dough. (See photos for demonstration).
The Bulk Fermentation
- At this point you will conduct a series of folds over 3 to 4 hours (this is called the bulk fermentation period). Set a timer and give your dough a fold every 30 mins. This is ESSENTIAL to the development of the dough, so don't skip your folds! On the second fold (one hour into the bulk fermentation) you will add in your roughly chopped wild leaks and incorporate them into the bread by completing a fold as you have done before. Don't worry if the leeks are not fully incorporated after this fold, you still have several more folds ahead of you before the bulk fermentation is done.
- After 3 hours of bulk fermentation, check on your dough. When your dough is ready to be shaped it will be smooth, elastic, and come away from the container easily. If it is not like this at 3 hours, conduct two more folds to bring you up to 4 hours of bulk fermentation.
Shaping the Loaves
- To shape the loaves, transfer the dough to a clean and unfloured work surface. Lightly flour the surface of the dough and use a bench scraped to cut into two equal(ish) pieces. Use the bench knife to flip the dough so that the floured sides are now facing down. Pull the side furthest away from you up and fold it in on itself (just like the previous folds we did), repeat with remaining 3 sides and the second piece of dough. Lightly flour the folded side and them flip the dough. Use your hands and the bench scraper to form the dough into round loaves. Cover and allow to rest at room temp for about 30 mins, this is called the bench rest.
- While the dough is resting, mix together a handful of rice flour and white flour in a small bowl. Sprinkle two proofing baskets (or mixing bowls lined with clean kitchen towels) with the flour mixture and set aside.
- After the bench rest, the final shaping is done by pulling the side furthest from you away from you and then folding it in on itself, repeat with remaining sides, flip the dough and use you hands and bench scraper to build tension and form the dough into a ball. Use the bench scraper to lift the dough and flip it in to one of the prepared proofing baskets (the side with your folded seams should now be facing up). Cover the proofing basket and repeat with the other loaf.
The Final Rise
- At this point you have two options, one is to allow the dough to rise at room temp for about 4 hours and the other option is to slow or retard the rising process by transferring the covered proofing baskets to the fridge. If you choose the latter option, the dough can be left to rise overnight or for up to 12 hours.
Baking the Loaves
- I simply lay the parchment overtop and then drop the dough on top so that it all falls into the pot.Place your Dutch oven (with the lid!) into the oven and preheat to 500°F. If you have two Dutch ovens, you can place both of them in the oven during the preheating period. Once the oven has preheated (usually takes about 20 mins), carefully remove the Dutch oven(s). I like to line my Dutch oven with a square of parchment. Carefully flip the dough into the hot Dutch oven. The seam side should now be facing down.
- Before baking, the loaves must be scored. I use an exacto knife to do this, but if you own a scoring razor that is definitely more ideal. Be careful to avoid the hot pot and score a square into the top of each loaf, holding the blade at a 45° angle.
- Place the lid on the Dutch oven, return to your preheated oven and immediately reduce the heat to 450°F to bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for a further 20 minutes. When the loaves are a deep golden brown they are ready. Remove from the oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before attempting to slice. If you only have one Dutch oven, repeat this process for baking the second loaf, being sure not to skip preheating the Dutch oven in a 500°F oven first.
