Recipes

Chosen from Diana Henry's Gastropub Cookbook - Another Helping, Diana praises the bread from Y Polyn Gastropub in Carmarthenshire to the skies. Here is co-owner Mark's sourdough bread recipe. As Diana says "Marks' sourdough is second to none and his explanation of how to make it got me baking my own. I love the way Mark explains how to do it - as if he is just standing at your shoulder - so I have left it entirely in his own inimitable voice. Happy baking."

Makes 3 loaves

    750g (1lb 10oz) sourdough starter (see Recipe tip)
    500ml (18 fl oz) tepid water
    500g (1lb 2oz) strong plain white flour
    500g (1lb 2oz) unbleached organic stoneground flour (we use Bacheldre Mill)
    3 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
    Semolina, for dusting

Method

Mark writes: I bake solely by hand because I love the feeling of actually working the dough rather than relying on a food mixer to develop the all-important gluten network. The recipe takes a while to complete. I start it off about 9am and the loaves are ready to go into the oven at 6pm, but the individual steps are both simple and short. It's easy to make a starter and keep it going. Our starter has been alive for just over 2 years and, provided you remember to feed it, it's pretty tolerant of occasional neglect.

Weigh out the starter into a big bowl and whisk in the tepid water. Weigh the two flours and measure out the salt, and add all three to the water and starter mix. Bring together the mixture until it forms a soft dough. Cover with a wet tea towel and leave for about an hour in a warm place until the flour has become thoroughly hydrated.

Now the kneading. You don't need to spend ages on this: 30 seconds to a minute's worth of stretching and folding is quite sufficient. You should see at this stage that the dough becomes smoother and more elastic. Cover the bowl with your wet tea towel again and tuck it back in its cosy corner for another hour to relax and start fermenting.

When you come back you should see that the dough has increased in volume and is beginning to develop some bubbles of gas. Knead the dough for another minute or so and tuck the covered bowl back in its warm place for another hour or so. Then one more round of kneading and resting and you will be ready to shape your loaves.

Divide your dough into six equal portions and give each a final kneading, shaping each piece firstly into a tight ball and then into a neat rugby ball shape. Sourdough is much wetter than yeast-leavened dough and needs some support to hold its shape while it proves. I prove the bread in oval wooden breadbaskets lined with napkins liberally sprinkled with semolina. Leave the shaped loaves to prove in their baskets for 3-4 hours, depending on the ambient temperature.

Once the loaves have doubled in size, turn them out on to an oiled and semolina-dusted baking sheet. Slash the tops 4-5 times and bake in a hot oven preheated to 200C/400F for about 45 minutes, until the crust has developed and the loaves sound hollow when tapped.

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