Chef Sven Wassmer at Memories (2 Michelin stars) at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz shared his signature sourdough bread recipe.

Ingredients for leavening the dough: sourdough (75 g), wheat flour (75 g), warm water about 27 ° C (75 ml).

Ingredients for the dough: wheat flour (400 g), warm water at about 27 ° C (200 ml), sea salt (10 g).

Cooking method:

1. Combine all the leavening ingredients in a large bowl. Cover with a lid and set aside in a warm place (about 25-30 ° C) for 2 hours. The detailed steps for obtaining starter and sourdough are described below.

2. Add sugar, water and salt and stir everything for 10 minutes. Cover again and set aside in a warm place for 3 hours.

3. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 20-24 hours, then remove it and let it stand at room temperature for about an hour. If possible, after removing from the refrigerator, place the dough in a baking basket after sprinkling with flour.

4. Preheat oven to 230 ° C (top and bottom heat). If you have a Dutch Oven, preheat it before preheating the oven. Place the dough gently in a preheated roasting pan.

5. Bake the bread for 40 minutes with the lid closed. Then remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Advice: Since not everyone has a humidity-controlled baking oven at home, the easiest way to bake bread is in a brazier (cast iron container with a lid). As a result, the bread is baked on its own steam with the lid closed with the required humidity.

Method of making bread leaven:

The first day: Combine 50 g wheat flour and 50 ml warm water (about 27 ° C) in a large bowl, stirring vigorously with a spoon. If the resulting mass is too tight, add water (but not more than 60 ml in total). Cover the bowl with a lid, but not tightly (the dough should breathe), and place in a warm place (25-30 ° C) for 24 hours.

Second day: Mix the resulting mass with another 50 g of flour and 50 ml of warm water. Cover and set aside again in a warm place (25-30 ° C) for 10-20 hours. As soon as the leaven has doubled in volume, you can proceed to the third step.

Day three: Mix the starter culture again with 50 g flour and 50 ml warm water. Cover and set aside again in a warm place (25-30 ° C) for 12 hours. Once the leaven has doubled in size, you can proceed to the fourth step.

Day four: Mix 10 g of starter culture with 50 g of flour and 50 ml of warm water. Cover and set aside again in a warm place (25-30 ° C) for 8-12 hours. Once the leaven has grown to half its size, it can be used to make bread.

Advice: If you don’t bake bread every day, the leftover starter starter can be kept in the refrigerator in a small glass with a lid. It is important not to forget to feed the starter, otherwise all the properties of the starter will be lost. To do this, mix 10 g of the starter culture in a clean glass every 7-10 days (the leftovers can be thrown out) with 50 g of flour and 50 ml of warm water.

Author: Zhanna Spiridonova.

Photo: press materials.