Lemon Rosemary Sourdough Bread

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This is one of the breads I make the most in the summertime. It has a light, fresh flavor due to the lemon zest that I absolutely love. If you don't have a pot of rosemary growing at your house, you're missing out. Plant rosemary for luck and smell rosemary to remember. Fresh herbs – such as rosemary – make sourdough bread have a new flavor all its own. It will be a favorite of yours, I'm sure.
Servings: 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 50 grams Bubbly Sourdough Starter – (1/4 cup. See step 1 of instructions)
  • 350 grams Warm Water (80 degrees F) – (1-1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
  • 500 grams Bread Flour – (4 cups plus 2 tablespoons) You can use other flours, too: white unbleached flour, white whole wheat, or spelt. Whole wheat flour will be more dense and won’t rise as much as white flour. For your first few loaves you'll have more success if you don't use it. Don’t use gluten free flours.
  • 9 grams Celtic Sea Salt (finely ground) – ( 1-1/2 teaspoons) or Himalayan salt
  • 1 tablespoon Rosemary – finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon Lemon Zest – (use a microplane grater)

Materials

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Instructions

  • You need to make sure your sourdough starter is bubbly and ready to go. If it has not been fed recently, take a few spoonfuls of sourdough starter from your fridge and give it that much flour and water and let it ferment for 6 – 8 hours. Here is more help for a bubbly sourdough starter.

Before Bedtime ~ Making the dough

  • Gather all ingredients and materials.
  • Close to your bedtime, add the bubbly sourdough starter and warm water to a ceramic bowl. Mix them together with a whisk until well combined.
  • Then add the flour and salt and combine together with a stiff spatula. You can also use your hands to get the flour fully incorporated. The dough will look a little scraggly, feel dense, and stick to your fingers. Try and scrape off as much dough from your hands as possible but don't over mix it at this point. Then mix in the chopped rosemary and lemon zest into the bread, folding and kneading the bread over a few times till well incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and rest for 20-30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, flour your hands and work the dough into a smooth ball. Do this by folding the dough over and pressing it into the center until the dough starts to turn into a smoother ball.
  • Place the dough back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise overnight for 8-10 hours (around 70 degrees F). The next morning the dough will have risen in the bowl and look puffier than it did the night before.

In the Morning ~ Making and Baking the Bread

  • In the morning, use your spatula and gently pull the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Dust your hands with flour and start at the top and fold the dough over to the center, repeating on all sides (add more flour if needed).
  • Then line an 8 inch bowl with a towel and dust generously with flour. Make sure your hands are still floured and pick up the dough and place it in the bowl with seam side up.
  • Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 to 60 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit your pot, leaving excess so you can grab the bread and take it out of the pot. Place your parchment paper over the bowl and invert the bowl to allow the bread to release onto the paper.
  • With a small razor blade or serrated knife, score the bread with four slashes.
  • Pick up the parchment and carefully place your bread in the pot.
  • Place the lid on the pot and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Then remove the lid and continue baking for 30 more minutes.
  • You can take it out of the pot and onto the rack to bake for 5 minutes longer to darken the bread if you’d like.
  • When the bread is done, take the bread out of the pot and place it on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes to an hour, although we often can’t wait to eat it! Store loaf in a bag on the counter or wrap and freeze as this bread freezes beautifully.