recipe | rustic sourdough boule

smitten with sourdough... Last month my sourdough starter arrived from King Arthur Flour. I had ordered a box full of items in a blind baking frenzy and had forgotten that I tossed in some sourdough starter right before I checked out. It wasn't until I pulled the small cup of beige goo out of the box and sat down to read the page of "feeding" directions that I realized I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Feed two times a day!!! That is a lot of pressure. On top of feeding my family, our two cats, six chickens, two tadpoles, and a few fish, I've gotta feed this starter too? I wanted to bow out right then and there.

But then I learned a little more about what I'd call the lazy woman's sourdough starter. Rather than keeping it out at room temperature, where you would have to keep it continually fed, I store my starter in the fridge and feed it once a week. I've fallen into a really comfy routine where I take out the starter every Friday night. I give it a stir and remove a solid cup full and compost it. Then I add in a half cup of water and one cup of flour. Stir and cover. I let that sit out overnight on my counter. Bright and early Saturday morning, I give it another stir and then add in another half cup of water and one cup of flour. Let that sit out for another 4-5 hours and voilá, your starter is ready and waiting to be used.

The brilliance of a good, hearty bread is pretty basic. Use quality ingredients and fresh yeast and bake with a zest of steam and you are pretty much guaranteed to produce a delicious, crusty loaf of bread. I tend to mix up my recipe every time I make a loaf. Lately, I've been trying to add as many whole grains as possible, but still keep a light, airy texture. I contribute a lot of these multigrain loaf's success to the sourdough.

I've believe that a nice loaf of artisanal bread simply wrapped always makes the perfect hostess gift. I usually just wrap a sleeve of parchment around the bread and tie with some of my favorite striped baking twine from Divine Twine. Jot down the loaf's name on a tag and add as a finishing touch. Simple elegance. Toss in some homemade butter and you'll be set for the day.

Here's a great sourdough loaf recipe for the crusty boule lover in all of us. To make it into a whole grain feast, I mix up the five cups of flour by dividing it out amongst 1/2c wheat germ, 1c spelt flour, 1 1/2c whole wheat flour, 1/2c potato flour, 1c white whole wheat, and 1/2c oat flour.

Rustic Sourdough Bread

from King Arthur Flour

1 cup "fed" sourdough starter

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

2 teaspons instant yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

5 cups All-Purpose Flour

Combine all of the ingredients, kneading to form a smooth dough.

Allow the dough to rise, in a covered bowl, until it's doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Gently divide the dough in half; it'll deflate somewhat.

Gently shape the dough into two oval loaves, and place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until very puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 425°F.

Spray the loaves with lukewarm water.

Make two fairly deep horizontal slashes in each; a serrated bread knife, wielded firmly, works well here.

Bake the bread for 25 to 30 minutes, until it's a very deep golden brown. Remove it from the oven, and cool on a rack.