a cloth or plastic wrap and place in your trusty warm spot.
While your dough is proofing, place your baking stone on the lowest rack in your oven, and your cast-iron pan on the highest rack. Preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C. Check in on your bread periodically; if the surface feels dried out, spray it with a bit of water to allow for maximum expansion. If it feels cold, make it warmer. This may take up to 2 hours, depending on the conditions of your kitchen. The loaf is ready to go in when it feels very airy and holds a fingerprint when pressed into the surface.
Flip the loaves over onto your peel. If you’re worried about cheese on your baking stone, line your peel with pieces of parchment and load the bread onto that. It might take a couple of batches to bake all your bread, depending on your oven size. Score the face of the loaf with your razor in your desired pattern—we like to slash four or five “gills” down each side. Now, grab three ice cubes from the freezer. Being careful to not keep the oven door open too long and let the heat out, open the oven, slide your loaf onto the stone, throw the three ice cubes into the cast-iron pan and close the door. After 5 minutes, quickly open the door and spray the interior of the oven with water. Continue baking until the loaf is evenly browned, about 25 minutes, and has a nice hollow thump when you tap it on the bottom. Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.
CHEDDAR-CHIVE BREAD
CHEESE IT. CHEESE IT GOOD.
This is a fantastic bread for sandwiches, and we’ve had customers rave about using it for hamburger buns. The recipe below makes three larger boules—as our joy lies in ripping off hunks and swiping them across whatever’s left on our plates—but you could also make the boules half-size and end up with six smaller rounds. Just keep an eye on smaller loaves in the oven, as they will take about 5 minutes less to bake.
OVERVIEW
• Yield: Three 1 lb 10 oz/750-g loaves
• Desired Dough Temperature: 85°F/30°C
• Mixing Time: 40 minutes
• Bulk Fermentation: ~2 hours
• Proofing Time: ~2.5 hours
• Baking Time: ~25 minutes
• Cooling Time: ~15 minutes
12 HOURS BEFORE THE BAKE
Mix your final starter (see here ). This will be enough for the bread formula, plus some extra to carry on the starter.
8 oz/240 ml 75°F/20°C water
10 oz/280 g white bread flour
2 oz/40 ml liquid sourdough
BAKING DAY
2 lb 0.5 oz/1 kg white bread flour
4 oz/110 g corn flour
8 oz/230 g liquid starter
1 lb 5.5 oz/610 ml 90°F/32°C water
2 oz/60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
3 ¼ tsp/23 g fine sea salt
1 ¼ tsp/5 g instant yeast
10.5 oz/300 g sharp cheddar cheese, cut into small dice
1 small bunch chives, minced
Combine your flours into your large mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix your liquid starter, water and olive oil, and remember to keep that water warm to give your yeast a comfortable atmosphere to grow. Then, dump the flours on top of the liquid ingredients, and mix it by hand for about 30 seconds, until it comes together in a shaggy mass. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl regularly; you want all of that flour hydrated and don’t want to see any dry spots. Set aside in a warm place, at least 80°F/25°C, for 30 minutes. If you’re having trouble finding your warm place, it’s time to use your trusty heat lamp.
Sprinkle the salt and yeast on top of the dough and grab a four-finger pinch of the dough and pull. It should stretch out like chunky taffy rather than just tear off. Incorporate the salt and yeast into the dough, continuously pushing the sides of the dough into the middle while turning the bowl. After a minute of this, the dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl and developing a bit of a sheen, and you shouldn’t feel any crunchy salt crystals. Mixin the cheese and chives using the same motion. Remember, they will keep getting mixed in with the folds, so don’t wear yourself out getting them perfectly
While your dough is proofing, place your baking stone on the lowest rack in your oven, and your cast-iron pan on the highest rack. Preheat the oven to 450°F/230°C. Check in on your bread periodically; if the surface feels dried out, spray it with a bit of water to allow for maximum expansion. If it feels cold, make it warmer. This may take up to 2 hours, depending on the conditions of your kitchen. The loaf is ready to go in when it feels very airy and holds a fingerprint when pressed into the surface.
Flip the loaves over onto your peel. If you’re worried about cheese on your baking stone, line your peel with pieces of parchment and load the bread onto that. It might take a couple of batches to bake all your bread, depending on your oven size. Score the face of the loaf with your razor in your desired pattern—we like to slash four or five “gills” down each side. Now, grab three ice cubes from the freezer. Being careful to not keep the oven door open too long and let the heat out, open the oven, slide your loaf onto the stone, throw the three ice cubes into the cast-iron pan and close the door. After 5 minutes, quickly open the door and spray the interior of the oven with water. Continue baking until the loaf is evenly browned, about 25 minutes, and has a nice hollow thump when you tap it on the bottom. Let cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.
CHEDDAR-CHIVE BREAD
CHEESE IT. CHEESE IT GOOD.
This is a fantastic bread for sandwiches, and we’ve had customers rave about using it for hamburger buns. The recipe below makes three larger boules—as our joy lies in ripping off hunks and swiping them across whatever’s left on our plates—but you could also make the boules half-size and end up with six smaller rounds. Just keep an eye on smaller loaves in the oven, as they will take about 5 minutes less to bake.
OVERVIEW
• Yield: Three 1 lb 10 oz/750-g loaves
• Desired Dough Temperature: 85°F/30°C
• Mixing Time: 40 minutes
• Bulk Fermentation: ~2 hours
• Proofing Time: ~2.5 hours
• Baking Time: ~25 minutes
• Cooling Time: ~15 minutes
12 HOURS BEFORE THE BAKE
Mix your final starter (see here ). This will be enough for the bread formula, plus some extra to carry on the starter.
8 oz/240 ml 75°F/20°C water
10 oz/280 g white bread flour
2 oz/40 ml liquid sourdough
BAKING DAY
2 lb 0.5 oz/1 kg white bread flour
4 oz/110 g corn flour
8 oz/230 g liquid starter
1 lb 5.5 oz/610 ml 90°F/32°C water
2 oz/60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
3 ¼ tsp/23 g fine sea salt
1 ¼ tsp/5 g instant yeast
10.5 oz/300 g sharp cheddar cheese, cut into small dice
1 small bunch chives, minced
Combine your flours into your large mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix your liquid starter, water and olive oil, and remember to keep that water warm to give your yeast a comfortable atmosphere to grow. Then, dump the flours on top of the liquid ingredients, and mix it by hand for about 30 seconds, until it comes together in a shaggy mass. Don’t forget to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl regularly; you want all of that flour hydrated and don’t want to see any dry spots. Set aside in a warm place, at least 80°F/25°C, for 30 minutes. If you’re having trouble finding your warm place, it’s time to use your trusty heat lamp.
Sprinkle the salt and yeast on top of the dough and grab a four-finger pinch of the dough and pull. It should stretch out like chunky taffy rather than just tear off. Incorporate the salt and yeast into the dough, continuously pushing the sides of the dough into the middle while turning the bowl. After a minute of this, the dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl and developing a bit of a sheen, and you shouldn’t feel any crunchy salt crystals. Mixin the cheese and chives using the same motion. Remember, they will keep getting mixed in with the folds, so don’t wear yourself out getting them perfectly
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