Nettle Sourdough

Sourdough, a classic method for baking bread that has seen a monumental rise in popularity over the past few years and there’s no sign of it halting. It’s not surprising why, what with supermarket shelves being filled with processed, artificial bread that tastes basically of nothing. Sourdough, and the high quality bread baked at small, local bakeries in general, completely blows the supermarket bread out of the water. As people increasingly consume such flavourful bread, it is inevitable that people will want to recreate it at home and it is not as daunting as it initially seems. Starters are easy to create, and even easier to maintain. The starter used in this recipe, and in the majority of my sourdough recipes, is created using rye flour. Combine that and an equal quantity of warm water once a day for seven days, and leave in a warm place. By the end of that week, you should have a bubbly and lovely smelling pot of wild yeast ready to put to work, and at this time of year there is no better way to use it. Very little is as evocative of spring as freshly baked bread and the grassy tang of fresh nettles, just make sure you wear gloves when picking the nettles…

500g white bread flour

50g starter

50ml warm water

275ml boiling water

100g fresh nettle tips, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp fine salt

Light rye flour, for dusting

1. The night before you plan to bake the bread, mix together 100g of flour, 50ml of warm water and 50g of starter in a bowl. Cover and leave somewhere warm overnight.

2. The next day, cover the nettle in the boiling water. Leave to steep until the water has cooled to blood temperature, 37°C.

3. In a large bowl, combine the overnight mixture, steeped nettles and the remaining flour, water and salt. Work together then knead for 2-3 minutes. Place in a clean bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for 1.5 hours.

4. After the first rest. place the dough onto a floured surface. It is time to fold it. Stretch the dough away from you, then fold back on itself to trap air inside it. Turn the dough 90 degrees anti-clockwise, and repeat. You want to do this four times in total; think of a clock face, you want to fold it at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock points. Place back in the bowl, cover and leave for 1.5 hours again.

5. Once the second rise is done, generously flour a proofing basket. Fold the dough twice more like we did earlier, then place into the basket seam-side up. Dust the top with flour, cover and leave to prove for one more hour.

6. While the final proof takes place, preheat your oven to 240°C and place a cast iron or heavy enamel pan with lid in there for 20 minutes.

7. Remove the pan from the oven and take of the lid, being very careful with how hot it is. Take a square of baking parchment larger than the proofing basket, place on top of the basket, then flip upside down onto a flat surface. Score what was the underside of the dough with a pattern of your choosing, and holding the baking parchment, fit into the pan. Put the lid on and return to the oven for 20 minutes.

8. After 20 minutes, turn the oven down to 180°C and remove the lid from the pan. Cook for a further 25-30 minutes until the top of the loaf is crusty and brown. If unsure about whether the bread is done, take the loaf out of the pan and rap with a knuckle on the underside. If it sounds hollow like a drum, your bread is done and can rest on a cooling rack until cool.