Lavendar & Walnut Sourdough

Recently, I fell in love with Lavender tea. Not only did it helps me to sleep better, the aroma is so soothing and pleasing and the room smells great!

It another sourdough baking day. Usually I will bake 1 white and 1 wholegrain. As I sipped my Lavender tea, I can at the same time visualise the taste of a homemade Lavender Sourdough. Without hesitation, I infused a cup of lavender, ready to bake my 1st Lavender bread.

Ingredients:

• 120g leaven (10g sourdough starter + 30g water + 30g unbleached bread flour)

• 100ml hot water + 125ml room temperate water

• 375g unbleached bread flour (I use all purpose flour here for softer texture)

• 1 cup Walnut (washed)

• 5 g Culinary Lavender Bud

• 1/2 tbsp sea salt

• 15g butter

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, prepare leaven and leave it to rise for 6hrs.

2. Infuse culinary lavender into hot water. Leave for 5min, add remaining room temperature water. (remove Lavender, set aside and use it for later)

3. When leaven is ready, Stir the infuse lavender water into leaven.  Add chopped walnut & Lavender

4. Add the bread flour and stir until the dough forms a ball. leave it to rise for 30 minutes.

5. Butter table top, transfer bread dough to table. Knead for about 5 minutes, add salt. Continue kneading for another 5min.

6. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl; cover; and leave it to rise until doubled in size, about 30min.

7. Dust some flour on table top, transfer bread dough to table. Stretch dough and fold dough twice. Stretch once from top to bottom and fold another from left to right.

8. Dust some flour on the large bowl, transfer dough to the bowl, cover and leave it to rise until doubled in size, about 30min.

9. Repeat step 7 & 8. This time leave it to rise for 90min.

10. Preheat oven to 200C (400º F) 15min

11. Once the bread dough has risen, transfer dough to baking tray. Score the top of the bread with 4-5 cut.

12. Bake bread for 20 minutes under 230ºC, then 15min at 200ºC and another 20min at 175ºC. 

13. Open over door slightly, allow bread to stay in oven for 5min before removing it & rest on rack to cool.