Discard French Bread
Posted On 12 August 2021
If you make sourdough, sooner or later your starter will be out of control and you’ll be looking for things to do with it. I found a French Bread recipe and decided to see if I could incorporate a starter.
Photos coming soon.
Discard French Bread
A French Bread recipe with plenty of options and using starter discard.
Equipment
- French Bread Pan (optional)
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
Starter
- 100 grams discard sourdough starter
- 175 grams lukewarm water
- 3 grams yeast, instant or active
- 100 grams bread flour
- 25 grams white whole wheat flour
Dough
- All of the starter
- 225 grams lukewarm water (1 cup)
- 3 grams yeast, instant or active
- 7 grams sugar
- 450 grams bread flour (up to 500 grams)
- 12 grams salt
Other
- Semolina Flour
- Olive Oil
Instructions
Starter
- Stir all of the starter ingredients together. Will be goopy.
- Cover and let rest at least 2 hours and up to 10 hours overnight. The longer you can let it rest, the better the flavor. BUT, if you're going to let it rest longer, go lighter on the yeast as the discard starter will "wake up" and do some lifting, too.
The Dough
- Add the starter to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add the water, yeast, sugar, and ~400 grams of the flour. DO NOT add the salt.
- Stir on low for 2-3 minutes just until mixed.
- Let it rest for 15-30 minutes. This is to let the flour absorb all the liquid and begin building its own gluten structures. (Adding salt will inhibit this.)
- Add the salt.
- Stir on low again for 1-2 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, measure out 100 grams of bread flour.
- Knead the dough on speed 3 or 4, adding flour as necessary to make a soft dough. Knead for 10-12 minutes total.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap (or a cheap shower cap) and let rise until almost doubled. This should take 1-2 hours depending on the weather.
- NOTE: If you want to go out and let this rise longer, put in the refrigerator for this bulk rise. Take out and let come to room temperature before shaping.
- Gently deflate the dough and pour out onto a lightly floured surface. Don't knock all of the air out of it.
- If you want to make two smaller loaves, divide in half.
- Cupping your hands around it form into one (or two) balls.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a half-sheet pan and dust with semolina.
- Gently place the ball(s) on the baking sheet, seam side down.
- Cover the dough with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap and let rest until puffy and increased in size 40-50%. This should take 45-90 minutes.
- Heat oven to 500°F. Put a metal pan filled with ice cubes on the bottom.
- Remove the plastic wrap and dust the bread with a little flour. Slash the top or do a design (I suck at this) with a sharp knife or a lame.
- Place the bread in the oven. Reduce the temperature to 425°F.
- After 15 minutes turn the sheet around.
- If cooking two small loaves, it should only take another 10 minutes or so. If cooking one large loaf it may take another 20 minutes. Check the internal temperature — should be 195-200°F — and when done remove the pan from the oven, turn the oven off. Remove the loaf/loaves from the pan and return to directly put on the rack in the oven. Prop the door open with a wooden spoon and let cool.
Notes
Optional: Use a French Bread Pan and form the loaves into logs, not balls.
