Country Sourdough Bread with Blue Pea Flowers Powder

Who can resist the heart-warming fragrance of freshly baked bread? And what about the surprised faces of your children when you slice it and they realise that it has a light blue heart? We really would be there and see. Let them play around with the colours; let them choose the perfect palette of jams, spreads or whatever they decide to serve with the bread. Have fun!

RECIPE

Sourdough Bread

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INGREDIENTS

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• 240g (2 cup) bread flour
• 60g (1/2 cup) whole wheat flour
• 60g (~ 2 oz) natural yeast (here how to make it), refreshed, or 5g ( ~0.18oz) fresh yeast
• 210g (~ 7.4 oz) water
• 6g (~ 0.2 oz) salt
• 2 tbsp Blue Pea Flowers Powder (optional)

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METHOD

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• Combine roughly the bread flour and the whole wheat flour with water, and let it rest to autolyse for one hour.
• Mix in the natural yeast and the blue pea flowers powder until obtaining a smooth dough, and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes.
• Mix in the salt, and rest for other 10-15 minutes.
• Perform the stretch and fold in the bowl (*), and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. Then repeat it for 2 more times, to allow the gluten to develop.
• Put the dough into a greased container for bulk proof. If the dough loses strength and spreads wider in the container, perform a coil fold (**), to further develop dough strength. Perform a coil fold every 45 minutes for 2-3 times. Let the dough rest after the last coil fold for at least one hour.
• When the dough has increased in size about 40-50 % (it may require 3-4 hours in total), tip it out on a work surface dusted with flour.
• Pre-shape the dough (***) and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
• Shape the dough (****) and place it in a proofing basket (seam side up).
• Allow the dough proof at room temperature for 15-20 minutes. Place the dough in the fridge.
• Pre-heat the oven with the Dutch oven lid inside at 250°C for about 45-50 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the fridge, tip it out on a lightly floured work surface, and score the dough as you wish.
• Bake at 250°C for the first 20 minutes, with the Dutch oven lid on.
• Lower the temperature to 230°C and bake for another 20 minutes without the lid.

(*)How to “Stretch and Fold”: Take a piece of dough from the edge, stretch and fold it over the opposite edge of the dough. Turn the bowl 45 degrees and take the edge and stretch again.

(**) How to “Coil Fold”:  Wet your hands and lift one end of the dough from the middle with both hands. The four fingers have to be below the dough and only the thumbs above the dough. Then fold in the edge of the dough. Turn the container 180 degree and repeat the process for the other two sides of the dough. perform the coil fold only if the dough spreads wide, otherwise let the dough proof.

(***) How to “Pre-Shape the Dough”: Shape the dough by performing two folds, top to bottom and the right to left.

(****) How to “Shape the Dough”: Fold the left and right end to the middle of the dough, then the top to the bottom. This shaping will give you a Batard shaping. For a Boule shaping, pull one end to the middle and repeat in a circular pattern to create a ball.