Fig, Walnut and Crystallized Ginger Sourdough Bread

I love fall and all of the beautiful changes that it brings…golden and red leaves, the smell of the leaves drying on the ground, watching the squirrels hiding nuts for winter, and the cooler days perfect for a long walk or working in yard.  I love the changes that fall brings in the kitchen too, warm soups, stews and chili, slowly braised meats, harvest vegetables, and….baking!  

I understand that I may be speaking to a very small minority who have sourdough starters or who may be interesting in starting one.  It was always something I had wanted to try and it has been very rewarding for me.  Don’t think you must use a sourdough starter to make a dried fruit and nut bread either.  You could make this bread with any of the ‘No Knead’ bread recipes out there, such as Jim Lahey’s, or use a Cheater’s Sourdough recipe that uses Greek Yogurt instead of sourdough.  You can do a web search and find lots of ideas using the key words “No Knead Bread” or “Cheaters Sourdough”. 

I had dried figs, walnuts and some crystallized ginger on hand and thought the three would make a delicious, fall combination for bread.  And, it was!

The thing to remember about baking bread with a sourdough starter is that you need to start the process the day before you want to bake the bread – that’s the hardest part.  But the taste is unbeatable and the satisfaction of pulling a beautiful loaf of bread out of the oven is very satisfying.

The dough is allowed to rise overnight in the refrigerator in a container about the size you would like for your loaf or loaves, lined with a well-floured tea towel.  I used two rectangular loaf pans. This recipe made two, nice-sized loaves. Don’t worry if they don’t look too puffy after you take them out of the refrigerator, they rise beautifully in the oven.

After the loaves have had their overnight rise, I like to place them on the back side of a cookie sheet on top of a large piece of parchment paper.  This way,  I can slide the loaves, parchment and all, onto my baking stone.  No worries if you don’t have a baking stone, you can always use the preheated dutch oven method used in many other recipes, such as this one.

Slathered in good, fresh butter or jam, or toasted the next day it’s delicious!

Walnut, Fig and Crystallized Ginger Sourdough Bread

Supplies you will need:

A bread stone for your oven is also preferred but you can
also use a cast iron Dutch oven with lid.

Spray bottle filled with water

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups recently fed and active sourdough starter

1 cup water

3 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast (not necessary but helps obtain a
good rise)

3/4 cup diced dried figs, dried cherries or cranberries

1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped into small pieces.

Directions:

In the bowl of a mixer with dough hook, combine the starter,
water, and flour. Stir together until smooth. Cover the bowl and let the
mixture sit for 1 hour. Then, mix in the salt and yeast and knead the dough
with your mixer’s dough hook on medium speed for about 6 minutes. Just before
the kneading is done, mix in the dried fruit. If you don’t have a dough hook
you can knead by hand on a lightly floured surface. Add the walnuts and fold
them gently into the dough. Cover the bowl and allow the dough rise at room
temperature for 40 to 60 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface. If you
wish to make two smaller loaves instead of one large one, divide the dough in
half. With a scraper, scoop up one side of the dough bring it into the center,
pressing down. Turn the dough a quarter turn, and repeat four more times.
Repeat with other loaf, if necessary.

Flour a tea towel or banetton (a bread proofing basket). If
using a tea towel, place it inside of a bowl or pan with a shape you find
pleasing, bottom side up. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, preheat the oven to 450°F for 30 minutes
with a baking stone placed in the lower third of the oven (or a Dutch oven with
Lid). When the oven is preheated, put 1″ of water into a small skillet
that can go into the oven and bring it to a simmer. Take your breads out of the
refrigerator. Don’t worry if they have not risen a lot, it’s okay.

Place the simmering water skillet into the bottom of the
oven. Place a piece of parchment on a baker’s peel or the back (flat) side of a
baking sheet. Turn the refrigerated loaves out onto the parchment. Slash the
top of the loaves, and slide the bread, paper and all, onto the stone in the
oven. Spray the inside of the oven generously with water from a spray bottle.
In 5 minutes, spray once more and bake for another 35 minutes, or until the
center of the loaf reads 200°F with a digital thermometer.

Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

Note: If using a cast iron Dutch oven, when the oven has
preheated for 30 minutes, remove the lid. Slide the slashed loaf into the Dutch
oven and bake, with cover on for 20-25 minutes. Remove lid, and bake until
bread reaches 200F, about another 15 minutes, watching carefully. Times vary
depending on the size of the loaf, and how hot your oven gets.