Overnight Faux Sourdough
623
- Makes4 to 6 servings
Photo, Jan Scott.
A few years ago, I stumbled on a pizza dough recipe that called for nothing more than self-rising flour and Greek yogurt. Doubtful that it would work, I made four pizzas in three days just to prove to myself that this interesting ingredient combination really could deliver a crust worthy of our weekly pizzas. It did indeed succeed, but my kids weren’t crazy about the slight tang they detected in the dough. I continued to experiment and came up with a no-knead Dutch oven bread, only this time the tang was welcomed, as it was reminiscent of our favourite sourdough bread I often bought from a local bakery. I usually mix up the dough after dinner and let it rise on the counter while I tend to other tasks. Then, I slip the bowl into the refrigerator overnight and bake the bread the following morning.
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp instant dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup 2% or full-fat Greek yogurt
1 tsp liquid honey
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, yeast, water, yogurt, and honey. Using the paddle attachment, mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Alternatively, you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon until it comes together. The dough will be wet and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours or until it doubles in size.
Transfer the bowl of dough to the refrigerator and let it rest overnight or for 8 hours.
Lightly flour a work surface and, using a bench scraper or spatula, scrape the dough onto the floured surface. Sprinkle with a little more flour and fold the dough over itself a few times. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to a piece of floured parchment paper, placing the dough seam side down. Invert the bowl you used for proofing and place it over the ball of dough, allowing the dough to rise for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
Half an hour before the dough is ready, place a covered medium Dutch oven (4 to 6 quarts/3.8 to 5.7 L) inside the oven and pre- heat to 450°F (230°C). When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and, using the parchment paper, lift the ball of dough into the hot pot. Tuck the parchment paper into the pot and, using a sharp knife, cut a deep slit into the middle of the ball of dough.
Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 25 minutes or until the bread is crusty and golden brown on top. The internal temperature of the bread should be approximately 190°F (85°C). Remove the pot from the oven and let cool in the pot for at least 30 minutes before slicing the bread.
Excerpted from Oven to Table by Jan Scott. Copyright © 2019 Jan Scott. Photography by Jan Scott. Published by Penguin Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.