Introducing the 48-hour sourdough
Available on Mondays. The bread that lets me take a day off!
They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and this is certainly true for our 48-hour sourdough, which we sell on Mondays. It all began when I decided to take Sundays off.
After three years of working pretty much seven days a week, I decided—while sipping a fine glass of Txakoli in the Basque Country—that I should close on Sundays and take a day’s rest. The thought of sleeping late and having a leisurely breakfast felt idyllic until I remembered that we still needed bread on Mondays.
The challenge with sourdough is that it takes time; it’s not something you can quickly whip up and bake on the same day. Typically, our bread-making process takes three days:
Day 1: Refresh the levain - our sourdough starter (mixing flour and water with a portion of leftover levain to keep the fermentation going) and leave it to ferment overnight
Day 2: Make the dough and ferment it overnight
Day 3: Bake the bread
This method allows the dough to develop and the flavour to evolve. Some even claim it makes the bread easier to digest, which is why some of our customers can enjoy it without the discomfort they may experience after eating highly processed bread.
Introducing the 48-hour sourdough
My determination to take Sundays off while providing bread we can be proud of on Mondays gave rise to the 48-hour sourdough. The dough is mixed after service ends on Saturday and is then left to ferment until Monday morning, a day longer than our other sourdoughs.
After experimenting with different flours, we’ve finally perfected a 48-hour sourdough loaf we’re happy with. The key is a very strong flour from Wrights Flour in Harlow, Essex, specially designed for long fermentation, to which we add a tiny bit of wholemeal.
We’ve developed a tinned, seeded version, which is very popular with our regulars. We’ve discovered that toasting the seeds enhances the bread’s distinctive nutty flavour. Plus, because we mix the seeds in the dough, there are no annoying seeds on the kitchen floor!
Currently, we’re making the final tweaks to a tinned white variety, perfect for lunchbox sandwiches or anyone looking for a classic plain white loaf (though there’s nothing ‘plain’ about it!).
It’s great to see how, over time, a bread that started as a solution to a problem has become a firm favourite, and we sell out every Monday.
So, let’s raise a glass to the Basque-inspired 48-hour sourdough that works away in the background while I have a day of rest!
Our 48-hour sourdough is available every Monday - including over Christmas!
Check out our festive opening times here: https://www.thamesdittonbakery.com/blog/thamesdittonbakerychristmas2024
