I decided to try using olive oil this time, and WOW it made such a difference. Soft and springy and delicious!

340g water

100g starter

500g flour

10g salt

20g olive oil

I added the starter and water then my flour. Then dimpled in the salt and olive oil and rested for close to an hour. Then my 4 sets of stretch and folds.

Bulk fermented in my counter overnight for around 10 hours. My kitchen is around 68° I think.

Shaped around 8 am the next morning and put in the fridge until I put it in the oven at 2 to bake. Baked for 35 minutes at 450° in the Dutch oven with a lid, then removed the lid and baked for another 10 minutes.

by Putyourmoneyonme80

10 Comments

  1. murfmeista

    Since we are trying to reduce the amount of seed oils, I have used avocado oil and get the same results! It’s a great hack for a softer bread.

  2. beatniknomad

    I make all my loaves with butter… it is so bouncy and delicious. Since you’re doing olive oil, try ~1% dried herbs next.

  3. Anaidydal29

    I use either olive oil or homemade ghee for my breads for a softer crust.

  4. Exotic_Today_8248

    Yea they last longer without going stale too! I love my sandwhich sourdough

  5. picked1st

    I once added honey to it. Idk what it did. But it wasn’t bad

  6. deliriousfoodie

    Olive oil doesn’t affect softness or springiness that’s the starter doing it’s thing, and hydration level. But it does alters flavor and crust depending how much you use. I loved using oil because it makes it so much easier to work with the dough, it doesn’t stick to anything. However, i wanted bread to taste more like bread than pizza dough or ciabatta, so i only use oil when i want the taste closer to that.

  7. psychecaleb

    Olive oil really makes a big difference.

    If you are adding fats, there is a huge opportunity in also adding lecithin (phospholipid)

    For this recipe size ~4g of lecithin would probably just take it to the next level in the same direction that the olive oil is taking it.

    You can get granules and they do work but powder is usually easier to disperse.

    Last tip, sunflower lecithin > soy lecithin.

    Eggs also contain lecithin but I have had much better results with just pure lecithin.

    It’s pretty much the only emulsifier that doesn’t mess with your health/microbiome. It’s nutritious, cheap, effective, enhances shelf life, texture/consistency, rise, kneading and loaf appearance 👍