24-Hour Sourdough Bread

Name: 24-Hour Sourdough Bread
Yield: Makes Two Loaves (1 1/2 pounds each)
Ingredients: 4 1/2 ounces, refreshed starter (1/2 cup); 3–4 ounces, bottled water or filtered, (3/8-1/2 cup), 80 degrees; 5 ounces, unbleached all-purpose flour (1 cup), with 11 to 13 percent protein content; 12 ounces, bottled water or filtered, (1 1/2 cups), 70 degrees; 24 ounces, unbleached all-purpose flour (about 4 3/4 cups) with 11 to 13 percent protein content; 2 1/2 teaspoons, table salt

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated March/April 2005

Desserts or Baked Goods

Breads

Could we take the most difficult bread recipe and turn it into a foolproof, one-day affair?

SERVESMakes Two Loaves (1 1/2 pounds each)

TIME1½ hours, plus 13½ to 20½ hours rising and 2 hours cooling

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

In buying a ready-made starter for our sourdough bread recipe, we produced a flavorful loaf while eliminating the weeks of intense babysitting that cultivating a home starter requires. Turning our attention to the next two time-consuming st...

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