The most blissful experience for me is baking bread. I love baking bread, especially sourdough bread. So I try different and varied methods to get a more open crumb every time I bake a loaf. This time I want to post about baking a sourdough loaf that is laminated. The resulting crumb form a laminated dough was light and more open. It is a fun way to work the dough and the results are simply glorious.
What makes this loaf awesome
Like I mentioned, the key to this amazing loaf is the lamination. If you have experience with making puff pastry sheets you will have a good idea about lamination. Lamination is a process by which we spread out the dough into a very thin sheet and stretch the gluten strands in the process. Then we fold the stretched dough on to itself and keep it for bulk fermentation.
The general procedure is to laminate the dough first and then perform coil fold or stretch and fold later. But my experience is slightly different. I find my laminated dough has a more open structure when I perform the coil fold first and finally laminate the dough. You can try both ways to see what works best for you.
If you want to start with the lamination – After all the ingredients of the dough are mixed together, leave it to rest for around 30 minutes. Then transfer the dough to a clean and lightly greased surface. It is not essential to grease / oil the surface. But I found it helpful initially till I became more comfortable with this method. Spread the dough with your hands from all sides. Try to spread it as a rectangle because it will be easier when you fold it in. Spread the dough to as thin a layer as possible. If it tears, do not worry. Just pinch it together and continue the process.
Once the dough has been spread out completely, fold one length side of the dough towards the centre and then the other side, like a threefold. Then fold from the breadth side and make it into a small dough ball. Let it rest till the next round of coil fold, 30 minutes later.
If you want to laminate the dough as the last step before bulk fermenting -Finish the lamination as detailed above and then cover the dough to let it rest for 4-5 hours till it doubles in volume.
For other sourdough recipes check out the Sourdough Turmeric Loaf, Stiff dough Sourdough Bread and Sourdough Burger Buns.
PIN IT FOR LATER
Sourdough Loaf with Laminated Dough
Equipment
- OTG or MIcrowave Oven to bake
Ingredients
For the sourdough starter
- 10 gms Unfed starter
- 20 gms All purpose flour
- 20 gms Water
For the dough
- 240 gms All purpose flour
- 180 gms Water
- 6 gms Salt
- 50 gms Sourdough Starter
Instructions
- Take the unfed sourdough starter and add the flour and water to it. Mix well and set it aside till it doubles in volume, around 3-4 hours
- At the same time, mix the flour and water required for the bread dough in a large vessel. Cover and set it aside till the starter is active and bubbly
- Once the starter is active and bubbly, add it along with the salt to the bread dough. Mix it well to incorporate the starter nicely into the dough. Set aside for 30 minutes
- Perform 3 rounds of coil folds at 30 minute intervals each as shown in the video below. Cover and set aside after each round.
- After the third round of coil fold, rest the dough for 30 minutes and then proceed to laminate the dough. Extend the dough till it reaches a thin film like consistency. Then fold it over itself and form a dough ballThe process is detailed in the post above.
- Cover and set the dough aside till it doubles in volume. It should take around 4 hours in a warm place
- Once the dough doubles, transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Stretch and fold it to form a tight dough ball.
- Transfer the dough to a banetton. Cover and refrigerate the dough for 12-15 hours.
- The dough would have slightly increased in volume. Grease a dutch oven or any oven proof dish. Transfer the dough to it. Use a sharp blade and score the dough on top with 1-2 cuts to allow the dough to expland while baking.
- Preheat the oven to 230C
- Bake for 40 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered.
- Cool the loaf completely on a wire rack before slicing. It should take around 2 hours to cool fully
Lovely bread Sowmya. You are bread queen I must say! Thanks for sharing the recipe and tips.
Looking at all your breads I wish I had folks who would eat bread. It’s so sad that no one eats it. I love love breads , but it is not practical to bake for one single person.
This loaf looks super flavorful , and the term lamington is new for me in making dough.
I tried this loaf precisely because it is relatively small ! Only thing I did differently was laminate in some rosemary … it’s perfect ! Thank you for the lesson ! For those who are saying they don’t bake just for themselves … here’s your chance
Rosemary in the lamination sounds delicious! So glad you liked it!!
I am echoing the same feelings as Vaishali… even in my home, it is just regular bread, nothing else works and I get so upset that I can’t even attempt making any. The process of lamination seems to give the bread even more beautiful pores…
Hello! I’m new to baking sourdough bread. I tried the lamination after doing 4 sets of stretch and fold. I left it to bulk ferment for 8 hours but didn’t get a doubling in volume. I got little oven spring and the crumb was dense. I think I accidentally deflated the dough. Perhaps I should have done the lamination first?
Hi Betty! If the dough rises around 60-70% it is workable. How much the dough rises depends on how strong the flour is and the weather. Most people laminate first and then do stretch and fold. You can try that. You need to be gentle with the dough, especially while shaping. It will get better with practice. All the best 👍
I’m 6 or 7 months in to learning sourdough (well all bread baking actually). I grew up in the SF Bay Area with sourdough bread as a staple. I’ve been trying many recipes attempting to produce something that compares. Your crumb pics of this loaf caught my eye, it looks softer than the big hole open crumb chewy sourdough breads that are so popular. Everything about this recipe is contrary to what I have been learning. The A P flour, no real second rise, leaving covered for so long in the oven… all that and the lamination which I’ve never attempted. I wish I could share a photo here because this produced the best looking loaf that I’ve made so far. It has a beautiful big ear, covered in lovely blisters, and has the most beautiful perfect golden crust! I haven’t cut into it yet but am pretty confident it will be just as nice on the inside.
Thank you so much Dana. You made my day. I am a self taught baker and I have realised that what works for one may not work for another. Keep experimenting and enjoy baking!! Drop in a message if I can help in any way!
This is a tiny bread. Does it scale up?
Yes it does. Do let me know how you like if