Funfetti Sourdough Bread

Three slices of funfetti sourdough resting on a wood cutting board with sprinkles around it.

Author: Heather Thomas

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Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 33

Servings: slices

Ingredients

330 g water room temperature, around 76°F
100 g ripe sourdough starter
50 g granulated sugar
the zest from 1 lemon
550 g high protein bread flour
75 g rainbow sprinkles
10 g brown rice flour for dusting banneton and loaf

Instructions

Prepare the lemon zest and sugar

In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the lemon zest and sugar between your fingers to release the flavor from the lemon. Set aside.

Mix the dough

To a large bowl, add the water and sourdough starter. Mix together with your hands to break up the starter. Add the lemon sugar mixture and flour. Mix with a Danish dough hook or by hand. Make sure no dry bits of flour remain. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
Sprinkle the salt and add an additional 20g of water over the dough. Pinch it together with your fingers to fully incorporate. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.

Dough Development

Over the next 90 minutes, you'll develop the dough through a series of "stretch and fold". This is a gentle kneading process to develop the strength of the dough, which will help it keep its shape as it rises.
Stretch & Fold 1: Remove cover from bowl. Wet your fingers with water to prevent the dough from sticking as you handle it. Lift up on the side of the dough furthest away from you, stretch it up and fold it over itself. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees, lift up on dough and fold it over again. Repeat until all four sides of dough have been stretched and folded. Cover dough and let rest 30 minutes. This is your first series of stretch and fold.
Stretch & Fold 2: After the dough has rested 30 minutes, it will have flattened out. Stretch and fold all four sides of the dough, just as you did in series 1. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
Stretch & Fold 3: After the dough has rested 30 minutes, you're going to start to incorporate the sprinkles into the dough as you stretch and fold for the third time. Pour about 1/4 of the sprinkles over the top of the dough and stretch and fold the top side of the dough over. Add more sprinkles on top, stretch and fold the left side of the dough. Continue to your third series of stretch and fold, incorporating up to half the total sprinkles. The sprinkles should be distributed throughout the dough. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
Stretch & Fold 4: After the dough has rested 30 minutes, continue the fourth series of stretch and folds while also incorporating the remaining half of the sprinkles into the dough. Cover and let rest for the remainder of bulk fermentation.

Bulk Fermentation

Bulk fermentation is when you allow the dough to rise all together. There's no exact time for this process, but there are some signs to look for. You'll know bulk fermentation is complete when: the dough has risen about 40% in volume, has bubbles throughout with a few on top, pulls away from the sides of the bowl easily, and jiggles when you slide the bowl back and forth. This may take about 3-4 hours with a target dough temperature of 78°F. If your dough or kitchen is colder, this could take longer.

Pre Shape

Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Be careful not to deflate the dough. Wet your fingers with water to keep them from sticking to the dough. You can wet your bench knife with a bit of water too. Slide the edge of the bench knife under the side of the dough and sweep it in a semi-circle motion, while tucking the dough under with your free hand. The goal is to create tension on the outside of the dough, while also shaping it into a ball. Repeat this motion until you have a round ball of dough.

Bench Rest

Let the dough rest, uncovered for 30 minutes. During this time, the dough may slightly flatten and the gluten will relax.
Prepare a 9 to 10-inch oblong (batard) proofing basket by dusting with rice flour, or line with a linen towel or hair net (no need to flour the hair net if you are cold proofing). Set aside.

Final Shape

Flour the top of the dough. Using the bench knife, flip the dough over so that the smooth, floured side is facing down on the counter. Pull the top of the dough (the side furthest away from you) towards the center and slightly press down, securing it in place. Pull the left side of the dough over towards the center, followed by the right side. Press down, securing the dough in place. Roll the bottom of the dough towards the center and away from you. Continue rolling, shaping a loaf. Pull it back towards you a few times, tightening the outside of the loaf. Pinch the ends shut if needed.
Slide the bench knife under the dough, flip it over and into the prepared proofing basket. Lightly dust the top with rice flour. Cover with a plastic shower cap or a plastic bread bag (something that will keep it from drying out).

Cold Proof

Place in the refrigerator to cold proof for at least 12 hours or up to 48 hours.
Note: At this point, you can also leave it out and let it rise until puffy, another 2-3 hours. Then bake as directed in the recipe.

Preheat oven

Put a Dutch oven, with the lid, onto the middle rack of the oven. Set oven to preheat to 450°F.
Once oven has preheated for 30 minutes, remove the loaf from the refrigerator. Remove the cover and place a piece of parchment paper over the top. Flip the banneton over, releasing the loaf. It should now be right side up, resting on the parchment.

Score

Using a sharp knife, or bread lame, score the loaf on one side, from end to end. Score with the blade at a 45 degree angle, cutting about one-half inch deep.

Bake

Remove the Dutch oven and take off the lid. Lift the loaf with parchment paper into the Dutch oven. Place the lid on and put into the oven.
Bake with the lid on for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake for 7-10 minutes, until the loaf is lightly golden. If you have a digital food thermometer, take the internal temperature of the dough - it should be at least 200°F.
Lift the bread out of the Dutch oven with the sides of the parchment paper. Place loaf onto a wire cooling rack and discard the parchment. Allow bread to cool at least 2 hours (preferably 3 hours) before slicing. Enjoy your cute Funfetti bread!

Notes

Baking without a Dutch oven: You can bake sourdough without a Dutch oven. The main idea is to create steam in your oven to help it rise nice and tall. You can bake it on a baking sheet or preheated baking stone. Place a deep pan on the bottom of your oven and preheat it with your oven. Carefully add boiling water to the hot pan and close oven door. Let the oven steam up for about 5 minutes before baking the loaf. Bake with the steam for all but the last 10 minutes of the bake time. *To be safe, place a towel over the glass oven door while adding and taking out the hot water.
Stretch and Folds: You can do coil folds instead of stretch and fold - use whichever technique you prefer.
Ripe Sourdough Starter: Make sure you use your starter when it's bubbly and active. For me, I use my starter in the morning at feeding time - I add what I need to my recipe, making sure I have enough left over to feed with.
Temperature: Both dough temperature and climate temperature play a big role in how your dough develops. My kitchen is usually around 76°F. I use room temperature water...so my dough is typically around 76-78°F. My recipe is written taking these factors into account. Warmer temperatures speed up the fermentation process and colder temperatures slow it down. Depending on your kitchen and water temperature, your dough may develop at a different rate than mine. Use your baker's intuition to look for the signs of the completion of bulk fermentation.
Sprinkles: Use the tube-shaped sprinkles, called jimmies. Smaller, nonpareils are too little and will melt away in the dough.

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