Crusty Sourdough Christmas Tree Bread

SOURDOUGH CHRISTMAS TREE BREAD - RECIPE FEATURE IMAGE

Crusty Sourdough Christmas Tree Bread

A festive Christmas Tree shaped sourdough loaf that will take pride of place on your Christmas table. This loaf is easier than you might think to shape and score, so grab your sourdough starter and let's get creative!

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Recipes

Prep Time 4

Cook Time 45

Fermentation Time 12

Total Time 16 45

Servings Loaf

Calories 1851kcal

Equipment

Mixing Bowl
Digital Scales
Oval Banneton (see notes below for size options)
Cast Iron Bread Pan (see notes below for size options)

Ingredients

500 g Bread Flour
350 g Water
100 g Sourdough Starter
10 g Salt

Instructions

PREMIX THE DOUGH

Weigh out your sourdough starter and water into a large mixing bowl and mix together briefly.
Now add your flour and salt and mix whole lot together to form a dry dough.
Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 hour.

FORMING UP THE DOUGH

Bring the dough together into a ball. Pull the edges of the dough into the centre until it's smoother and more formed.
Once the dough has formed into a smooth ball, pop the cling film back on and let it rest for 30 minutes.

STRETCH & FOLD PHASE (STRENGTHENING PHASE)

Over the next few hours you need to create some structure for your dough by "stretching and folding".
Aim to do around 4-6 sets of stretches and folds.
For each set, stretch the dough up and over itself 4 times. Leave around 15 minutes in between each set. Again you do not have to be exact with time, but you need to do at least 4 sets over 2 hours.

BULK FERMENTATION (RISE PHASE)

Once you've finished your stretch and folds, place the cling film or damp tea towel back over your dough and let it rest and ferment at room temperature (a plastic cover is a better option for this stage). You want the dough to double during this stage.

SHAPE THE DOUGH

Once your dough has finished its first ferment, it's time to shape it so that it will fit into your oval bannton. It's this shape that will form the basis of your Christmas Tree.
Try not to use any flour for shaping (it's ok to use a light dusting, but you'll get a better shape if you don't use any at all).
Sprinkle a little rice flour or semolina into your oval banneton. Use a plastic dough scraper to ease the sourdough out of the bowl and flip it onto the counter top so that the sticky, underneath of the dough ends up on top and the smooth side is on the counter (this will help you manoeuvre your dough much more easily).
Use your hands to gently ease the dough out into a rough rectangle, with the short side opposite you.
Now, flip the top of the rectangle down.Take the right side of the dough and flip it in and then do the same with the right side. This is creating structure in the dough.
Now pick up the bottom of the rectangle and gently roll it upwards, creating surface tension as you come to the top. As you reach the top, gently roll the batard so that the seam is positioned underneath.
Now, tighten the surface of the dough by gently putting your hands on the back of the dough and pulling it towards you without taking it off the counter.
Now pick up the dough and flip it into the floured banneton with the seam at the top. Use your fingers to bring the base of the dough together to create a tighter seam if you need to.
Lift your dough around the edges to pop a little more rice flour if you feel it needs it. Just try to handle the dough as little as possible and be really gentle as you really want to preserve all the gases and air bubbles that have formed during your bulk ferment.

PROOFING

Now you need to allow your dough to proof - we generally do this in the fridge. Place an elastic food cover over your dough (shower cap) and place it into the fridge.
Try to leave it in the fridge for a minimum 5 hours.

PREPARE TO BAKE YOUR DOUGH

Once you're ready to bake your sourdough, you'll need to preheat your oven to 230C/450F.
Place your Oval Dutch Oven or Cast Iron Loaf Pan into the oven when you turn it on so it gets HOT.
Leave your dough in the fridge until the very last minute - placing a cold dough into a hot oven will give you a great "spring".
See notes for alternative ways to bake your sourdough Christmas Tree bread.

SCORING INTO A CHRISTMAS TREE

When you're ready to bake your sourdough bread, you'll need to cut and score the dough into the Christmas Tree shape before placing it into the oven. You can see the process I use to cut and score the dough into a Christmas Tree in the post above, complete with step by step photos.
I find that a large, straight edged knife is best for cutting the dough into the basic Christmas Tree shape and making the diagonal cuts. Large kitchen shears work well for snipping the edges of the dough.

BAKE YOUR SOURDOUGH BREAD!

Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven. Place the sourdough into the pot using the baking paper as a handle. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven.
Do not spritz the dough with water before baking as it will dissolve the white flour and you'll lose the decorative effect on your Christmas Tree sourdough bread.
BAKE TIME:
30 Minutes with the lid on at 230C/450F plus
10-15 Minutes with the lid off at 210C/410F

LET YOUR BREAD COOL

When you remove your dough from the oven, carefully remove it from the dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.

Notes

Notes on Flour: This recipe is written using strong Bread Flour. Bread flour has a higher protein content than All Purpose flour. If you choose to use All Purpose flour you may have a different result because of this. You can read more about the differences between All Purpose Flour and Bread Flour here.

Notes on Sourdough Starter: This recipe is based on you having an active starter that you have fed a few hours before starting your bake. For info on how to make a sourdough starter, go here.

Notes on Stretch & Folds: If you are going to do the stretch & folds on your bench top, spray your surface with water mist rather than using flour. You can leave the dough in the bowl if you want to. Wet your hands to stop the dough sticking - although it shouldn't be too sticky. It will get less sticky as you do your stretches and folds. For more information on how to do stretch and folds, go here.

Notes on Bulk Fermentation: If your home is warm then your dough will ferment a lot faster and could be done in as little as a few hours. If it's colder, it will take longer. You will know your dough is ready to move to the next stage when it has *just* doubled in size. It will be fairly wobbly and full of bubbles. You should be able to see large air bubbles under the surface of the dough. You don't want to let it go any further than doubled as it will be over fermented.
You'll find more information on these topics here:

When is my bulk ferment finished?
What is the difference between cold ferment and bulk ferment?
Why does the amount of starter matter?

Cast Iron Bread Pan: I have used a rectangle Cast Iron Bread Pan to bake this sourdough Christmas Tree. The sizing details are - internal dimensions 30cm length x 24cm width x 14cm height which equates to 11.8" x 9.4" x 5.5" height. Banneton - I have used an oval banneton to shape this dough. The banneton measures 10" (25cm).

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