Sourdough Herb & Garlic French Sticks

This recipe makes 2 Savoury French sticks

Dry Ingredients 

500grams Sourdough Bread Mix

2 teaspoons No Knead Dry Active Yeast     

2-3 Tablespoons Herb & Garlic Mix 

Liquid Ingredients

335mls water 

2 tsp No Knead cold pressed oil 

Optional Topping: 

Sesame seeds, poppy seeds or kaipseeds

 Baking tools

French Stick Tin

 

Method

Mix your ingredients

1. Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix.

2. Add in approx. 300mls of the water and oil.

3. Mix thoroughly using a cutting and turning action, until all the flour is incorporated, adding small amounts of the remaining water if needed. The dough should be firm and slightly tacky.

Stretch & Folds

1. Either spray your bench with water or spread a few teaspoons of oil on it.

2. Using your plastic dough scraper, tip the ball of dough out onto the dampened bench.

3. Using a little technique stolen from sourdough bread-making you can improve the structure of your dough by performing a couple of sets of what are called “stretch and folds” (“S & Fs”). There is a video to demonstrate.

4. With damp hands (oil or water), flatten the dough into a bit of a square, lift one side of the dough up and allow the weight to stretch the dough. Fold that edge into the middle and press in place. Repeat with the other 3 sides of the dough.

5. Oil your bowl and place the dough back into the bowl, smooth side up.

6. Cover your bowl with something dense like a thick towel, a lid or heavy chopping board. This will hold the warmth AND moisture in the dough.

7. Leave the dough in a warm place for about 20 mins, then repeat the set of “S & Fs”, return the dough to the bowl again and leave to rise until fully double in size.

Shape Dough

1. Clean your bench and dust generously with flour, tip the dough out onto the flour and flip the dough over, this ensures your dough is coated and won’t be too sticky.

2. Use your dough chopper to divide the dough in half, with each half divide into three equal pieces and roll out each piece into a sausage shape the length of the French stick tin, when you put the dough to one side it will naturally shrink back. After rolling out the three pieces take the first piece and lay it across the board horizontally. Take the other two pieces and form a cross on top of the first piece. 

3. Commencing with the right side, plait the dough by always taking the outside strand under the middle strand pulling the strands quite firmly. Once you have finished the right side, start the left hand side the same way tucking the ends under. 
4. Spray with water or coat with an egg glaze, sprinkle with seeds (optional). Repeat with remaining dough.  
5. Alternatively each half of the dough can be rolled into a thick sausage and placed into the oiled French stick tin in the same way. 
6. Oil French stick tin, allow the dough in the French stick tin to double in size. 

Bake

1. Pre-heat oven 220*C or 200*C fan forced, place dough into the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. (For softer top place foil cover over rolls for the last 5-10minutes of cooking.)