A stalk of wheat----Epi bread is a type of classic and common artisan bread. Crackly crust and creamy, airy crumb! Store the bread wrapped in butter paper until it is used, and if the bread has started to go stale, sprinkle it with water and bake briefly to refresh it.
- 240 g Sourdough starter
- 420 g Water at 20C/68F
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- Sift together the flour and dry yeast in a bowl. Combine the starter and water in a large mixing bowl. Add in the flour mixture and stir on low speed for 2 minutes. Let the mixture rest for 25 minutes, allowing the flour to absorb the water. Add in salt and stir for 4 minutes on middle speed. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Scrape the dough on to a lightly oiled work surface and pat it out to form a flat rectangle. Fold one end, a third of the length, back to the centre. Fold the other end back over it, like folding puff pastry. Pat it out again and fold it once more. Cover and leave at room temperature for 60 minutes. Repeat pat-flat-fold, leave another hour and repeat one more time. Slash the dough with a razor and if bubbles form in the dough, it’s ready to shape. Or leave the dough one more hour and check again.
- Divide the dough into the loaf sizes. Shape each into a baguette by stretching each dough into a rectangles, then folding the bottom and top thirds to the center, pinching the seam together and allowing them to rest for 10 minutes. Fold the dough over lengthwise and press the ends together. Roll each dough back and forth to elongate it to the desired length and taper the ends.
- Place the loaves on a baking sheet dusted with flour, cover and let rise until slightly under proofed. Preheat the oven to 210C/420F. Cut one end of the loaf at an angle with a scissor, pull the cut piece of the loaf to left side. Move down a couple of inches, make a snip and pull the cut piece dough to the right. Alternate directions while cutting the dough. Bake in the preheatd oven for 25 minutes until golden crispy. Cool them on a rack.
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