Roasted garlic and cheddar cheese sourdough

I have a little reflection on this sourdough business. The amount of waiting for a perfect loaf of sourdough was so painstaking I was completely turned off just  thinking about it. With frequent baking, since I have to feed the starter periodically anyway, the constant waiting becomes a rather leisurely luxury, something to fill the pockets of lull on a slow day. How interesting perspectives changes even if circumstances did not.

There's no great reason for me to bake this other than the fact that my kid is a garlic monster who consumes it raw, roasted, powdered and fried. Minus the garlic breath ,garlic's sophisticated aroma teases and cajoles  lesser accompanying ingredients to shine as well.

Verdict : Is it worth 3 day's  effort making this ? Definitely, dough one man's meat is another's poison. The fusion of grilled garlic and cheese creates a banana-like aroma and pairs well with chowders, cheese or stew. Since the sourdough is not left to rise too long, it has a fairly closed texture without the characteristic sourdough holes, rendering it easy for cutting and convenient for mopping thinner soups.

Makes one mighty loaf or 2 loaves.

Ingredients :

200g starter, fed overnight

340g water

3 g malt syrup ( malt syrup breaks down the flour sugars for a rounded fermentation, but use honey if this is not available )

352g bread flour

156g whole wheat flour

2 t salt

1 bulb fresh garlic

1 cup cheddar, cubed

28g flour

Method :

Day 1 :

The night before, take out the sourdough starter and bring it to room temperature, overnight.

Day 2 :

The next morning, feed the starter with 1 part starter, 2 parts water, 3 parts bread flour. I use 50g starter, 100g water, 150g  bread flour. Mix well and leave it to ferment for another day, covered in the fridge.

Day 3:

Take out about 200 g of fed starter and let it come to room temperature, one hour. Meanwhile, microwave 1  garlic bulb, 50 seconds. Remove hot garlic carefully and grill for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for later use.

Keep the rest in the fridge, for the next round of baking. This is your Nth generation starter dough.

Combine 3 g malt syrup, 198g starter, 340g water. Mix until starter is broken up, 2 minutes. This can be done with a kitchen aid with dough hook or bread machine.

Add 352g bread flour, 156g whole wheat flour to starter solution. Mix for another 10 minutes.

Now add 2 teaspoon of salt. Knead another 2 minutes.

Mix garlic, 1 cup cubed cheddar and 28g bread flour. Mix. Pour into main dough in the mixer. Mix for another 1 minute until garlic and cheese are well distributed.

Leave dough to ferment, 60 minutes. Dough is ready for the next step when it springs back halfway when poked with a finger.

On a floured worktop, stretch dough and fold into thirds. Leave it on the worktop, covered, to ferment for 60 minutes.

Divide to 2 loaves, stretch and fold to thirds for both loaves. Leave to ferment, another 60 minutes. It would have doubled in bulk.

Place the 2 loaves on an oiled or parchment lined tray. Preheat oven to 250 C, with baking rack and a tray of water.

20 minutes into baking, mist spray dough and score the dough with a very sharp knife.

Just before baking, mist spray one more time. Score once again on the previous cut.

Bake for 10 minutes at 250 C. reduce temperature to 230C and bake for another 10 minutes. Bread is ready when dough does not yield when pressed.

Cool completely. Serve sliced , with garlic butter and your favorite chowder.