Artisan Sourdough Boule using Potato Flake Starter

The good ol question.. Can you make an artisan loaf with a potato flake starter?

Drum roll please….. YES! You can!! Boy was I thrilled when I created the perfect recipe for a perfect potato flake sourdough boule. Today I’m going to walk you through how to achieve that classic crusty chewy loaf.

ingredients needed for your potato flake sourdough boule:

A feed and active potato flake starter – This means this potato flake starter has been fed 4-12 hours before starting the dough. it will sound like rice cereal popping.

Water – Filtered water is best

Salt – I love using redmond real sea salt, you can also use pink himalayan. try to stay away from table salt.

Unbleached all-purpose flour or Freshly Milled – For the photos in this post I used 2 cups organic all purpose and 2 cups freshly milled hard white wheat.

tools you may need:

Large mixing bowl or kitchen aid with dough attachment is essential when preparing potato flake sourdough bread.

scoring tool – I like to use a sharp razor blade

Banneton basket or simply use a bowl lined with a tea towel

Dutch oven

measuring cups & spoons

bench scraper

Large glass bowl for bulk rise

How to make potato flake artisan sourdough bread

add & knead all the ingredients in a stand mixer until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl once the dough starts to look stretchy see if it will pass the windowpane test. This is when you take a small piece of your dough and pull it between your fingers and stretch it out. You should be able to stretch it out into a thin layer that you can see through.

If it breaks apart and you can’t get it to stretch then place it back into the stand mixer or kneed by hand for a few minutes.

Once passes test cover with plastic wrap and sit aside. I’ve tried a damp towel and beeswax cover but it seems to still dry out. Try what works best for you, plastic wrap is my favorite, although it isn’t great for the environment, I do reuse it as much as possible.

Stretch and folds

I have made this sourdough with and without stretch and folds and although it tastes just as good either way, I like doing the stretch and folds because you get those nice air bubbles which results in the classic slice of sourdough that you are probably use to.

Once kneed together cover the dough when it times to do the stretch and fold here is how you do it.

With the dough still in the bowl grab the edge of the dough pulling up stretching it upwards as you pull. Take that piece and put it back into the center. Turn the bowl about a quarter and repeat, continue until you’ve stretched all sides.

First 3 stretch and folds – every 15 minutes

last 3 stretch and folds – every 30 minutes.

Like I mentioned above, I don’t always do stretch and folds, especially when I’m in a time crunch, sometimes I even do a few stretch and folds, don’t over complicate it.

Bulk Ferment

Now it’s time for the bulk ferment.

allow to ferment for 8 to 24 hours in a warm place, I like to place mine onto of my oven. If you are gluten sensitive like my family, you may need to do a long fermentation so it is easier to digest. But be careful because you don’t want your dough to ferment too long which can cause a mess, your dough should at least double in size and that can vary depending on season and climate and the type of flour you are using.

Shaping A Boule

After the bulk ferment punch down the dough, (very stress relieving) and turn the dough to a floured surface.

Spin the dough towards you until it is shaped into a round shape, you can do this by pulling it against the counter. Place the dough ball into a banneton basket, seam side up and pull the seams together and pinch them together.

Cover and allow for your dough to rise a second time until it has doubled.

After about 2-4 hours, depending on your climate and the temperature of your home, place your cast iron dutch oven in your oven preheat to 450 degrees.

Scoring your sourdough boule

turn your dough onto a piece of parchment paper and sprinkle with arrowroot flour ( if you are unable to tolerate unfermented grains) or use regular flour if it doesn’t bother you. Then using a scoring knife or a razor blade and score a pretty design on top, or keep it simple with a slash on top. Whatever you decide, a score is needed to give your bread room to expand.

Time to Bake

Once your oven has been pre-heating for 450 degrees for 30 minutes to an hour, it is now time to bake for 15-20 minute with the lid on. Set your timer to 15 minutes and add more time if needed, you are looking for the bread to be a light brown.

After the 15-20 minutes take the lid off and continue baking for another 15-25 minutes. You are wanting your bread to be browned but not burnt, the shift can happen quickly so keep an eye on your bread 🙂

After the time is up, remove from oven, take out of the cast iron and allow to sit until cooled. This part is SO hard, BUT very important, especially if you don’t want a gummy bread.

Yay! It is now finally time to eat! Add some grass fed butter and raw local honey and enjoy 🙂