Wild Yeast San Francisco Style Sourdough Bread

I am pretty happy with this Wild Yeast San Francisco Style Sourdough Bread. The bread has an amazing sourdough "tang," and has a lovely airy and gelatinized crumb. Plus, my sourdough starter did all of the work.

This bread is San Francisco "style" because, unless you live in The City, you don't have access to Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis to the same extent that you would if you lived there. Fortunately, according to Peter Reinhart, these yeasty organisms exist everywhere, but just not in the same concentration as they do in San Francisco. I guess it's way better than in my town or yours.

However... I will testify that the yeasties in my neighborhood produced some pretty amazing bread. Judge for yourself.

Holey moley!

This bread takes a couple of days to make, but the schedule is fairly flexible after the first rise. The bread is tasty, and pretty hard not to hide from the rest of the members of your household so that you can keep it for yourself.

Wild Yeast San Francisco Style Sourdough Bread

Makes two approximately 1 1/4 pound loaves

Ingredients

Starter

56 grams 100 percent hydration sourdough starter that has been fed and gotten bubbly within the last 36 hours

227 grams unbleached bread flour

142 grams water

Final Dough

All of the Starter

397 grams of lukewarm water (95 degrees F)

567 grams unbleached bread flour

18 grams Kosher or sea salt

Instructions

Day One:

1. Combine all of the starter ingredients in a medium bowl and mix with a dough whisk or large spoon for about two minutes. 
2. Turn the dough out onto your counter and knead by hand for about 30 seconds. Return it to the bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for six to eight hours. Place the starter in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Day Two:

1. Cut the starter into small pieces and place them in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the water, and mix with the paddle attachment on low speed for about a minute. 
2. Add the flour and the salt and switch to the dough hook. Knead on the lowest speed for about two minutes. Let the dough rest for five minutes. 
3. Mix on medium low with the dough hook (you can also hand knead) for four minutes. Your dough should be on the sticky side. 
4. Transfer the dough to the work surface and hand knead for about two minutes. This dough is pretty sticky, so sometimes I will lightly oil my hands. 
5. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, and then do one "stretch and fold" from all four "sides" of the dough. 
6. Form the dough into a ball, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Do one more stretch and fold, and then place the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover, and let rise at room temperature for four hours. Place the dough in the refrigerator for up to three days. 

Day Three:

1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for two hours. 
2. Remove the dough from the bowl, divide it in half, and gently shape it into two boules or batards. You can also make rolls. You can place the loaves seam side up in floured brotforms, or place them seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for about two hours, until they grow to about 1 1/2 times their original size. 
3. One hour before baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with two cast iron Dutch ovens placed on a rack on the lower third of the oven. 
4. Carefully remove the Dutch ovens from the oven, and place the dough seam side down into the pan. Slash the dough, cover, and place the pan back in the oven. (You can also bake the loaves on a baking stone with steam as with this bread.)
5. Bake for 20 minutes, uncover, and bake for 10 to 25 minutes more, until browned and the interior has reached 200 degrees F. 
6. Cool completely on a wire rack. 

Recipe adapted from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day