Polenta and Rosemary Sourdough
I recently went on a hunt for freshly milled flour, which you think would be easy to find in Kansas because of all the wheat grown here, but apparently it’s not a very lucrative business, or at least there’s not a demand for it here. Anyway I stumbled upon a bakery/coffee shop that actually mills the flour for the bakery on the premises! Super excited I ordered some online and went to pick it up in KC from Ibis Bakery. They were selling some beautiful looking loaves, one of which was this polenta rosemary loaf. I had to try and recreate it! I used Paul Hollywood’s sourdough boule recipe as a base because it’s so flavorful and simply made.
To be honest, when I first made this I added the rosemary in with the flour in the beginning, but some recipes suggest that this can tear the gluten (I got a great crumb so I don’t think it made a difference) but just in case, I wrote the recipe having you add the rosemary after kneading the dough. Enjoy!
Recipe Resource: Paul Hollywood “How to Bake”
Recipe adapted by Tierney Larson, I adjusted the flour to account for the polenta and added rosemary, I also changed the technique a bit by adding an autolyse.
Ingredients:
580g Bread flour
170g Polenta, corn grits
500g ripe sourdough starter
15g kosher salt
350-450g room temp water
5g rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
ok so….
Add the flour, polenta, salt and starter into a large bowl. Add about 3/4 of the water and mix with your hand until a shaggy dough forms, add the rest of the water as you need to get all the flour bits and form a cohesive dough. It will be sticky that’s okay! Cover the dough and let rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, knead the dough inside the bowl by doing stretch and folds around the bowl for 5 minutes. Dip your hand in water to prevent the dough from sticking to your hand as you knead. After 5 min of kneading, sprinkle the rosemary around the top and sides of the dough and press it into the dough. Do a few folds to get the rosemary incorporated.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled container and cover. Let the dough rest for 5 hours doing one coil fold halfway through. A coil fold: Lightly wet your hands with water, pick up the dough with both hands, one on either side. Let the dough stretch as you pick it up and then place it down on top of it self. Then turn the container or bowl and repeat picking up from the other sides. Tuck the dough in, under the sides (creating some tension on the surface).
The dough should be bubbly and should have risen by almost double by the end of the 5 hours. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly oiled countertop and divide into two even pieces. Shape them into two boules.
To shape a boule: Fold the dough from the outsides into the center, forming a ball shape. Flip over so the seam is on the bottom. Then using your hands in a cupped shape, drag the dough while turning it in a circular motion a few times towards you. Your hands should be almost tucking the dough underneath itself as you pull it towards you. This creates tension on the surface. Repeat this once more. You don’t want to do it too much or the dough could tear.
Then place seam side up in a floured proofing basket or a colander lined with a kitchen towel, and then floured. Repeat with the second half of the dough. Cover both boules with a reusable proofing bag and put them in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, place a Dutch oven, lid and all, or baking steel or stone in your oven and preheat to 450F. If you’re using a baking stone or steel, also put a rimmed baking sheet on the lowest shelf of your oven so you can add steam later. Let your oven preheat for at least 30 min.
Then remove one boule from the refrigerator and set aside. Get a trivet or something you can place your Dutch oven on safely and remove the Dutch oven from your oven. *If you’re using a baking steel or stone see below. Carefully dust or grease the inside of the Dutch oven with flour, cooking spray or corn meal. Then flip the boule out of the basket and into the Dutch oven. Using a lame or razor, carefully, quickly and confidently, score the dough however you like. Straight down the center is fine, about 1/4 inch deep. Cover and place into the oven. Bake for 25 min, then remove the lid and let it finish baking for another 20-25 minutes. When that boule is done, repeat with the second one in the fridge.
The bread is done when it’s a deep golden brown. Use a spatula to help you remove it from the Dutch oven and set it on a rack to cool completely before cutting in.
*For baking steel or stone, prepare a piece of parchment on top of a peel or a baking sheet with no sides. Flip your boule out of the proofing basket and onto the parchment and score with a lame or razor any way you like. Then trim the parchment leaving about an inch around the boule. Slide it onto the steel or stone and fill the sheet tray that you preheated with 1 cup of hot water. Quickly close the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until it’s a deep golden color and the internal temperature is above 200F.
