Elien Lewis is a big fan of Lodge Cast Iron for her bread making endeavours which she kindly shares on her website and via social media. Be sure to check out her website if you need to get a sourdough started.

This olive and fresh herb sourdough is rustic and flavourful. Fresh thyme and rosemary add colour and fragrance while juicy kalamata olives bring salt and texture. The structure in the bread is created using a simple stretch and fold method. The bread is baked in the Lodge Cast Iron Combo Cooker which works as a Dutch oven to trap steam and create a good bread rise. You’ll need an active sourdough starter for this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Leaven

• Makes approximately 125g, 100g is needed for the bread
• 25g starter
• 50g flour
• 50g water

 Bread

• 380g high-grade flour
• 260g water
• 100g leaven
• 7g salt
• ½ cup kalamata olives, drained and sliced
• 2 Tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped

METHOD:

Making the leaven

1. Measure out 25g starter, 50g flour and 50g water and mix this well, then pour it into a clean jar, covered with a cloth. 
2. Leave it to rise in a warm place. It should double within 6 hours and needs to be used before it passes its peak and starts collapsing.

Making the dough

1. When the starter has almost finished rising, combine the bread flour and water in a large bowl. Use a fork or your hands to mix it into a shaggy dough ball. Cover the bowl with a plate or a lid. Simply mixing the flour with the water and allowing it to sit for a while will help develop the gluten in the flour.
2. Once the starter has doubled, add the starter to the dough along with the salt. Use wet hands to combine it together into a sticky dough. Leave it to sit for 30 minutes, then perform one set of stretch and folds. A stretch and fold is when you take a side of the dough ball and stretch it up and fold it over itself. For each set, stretch the dough and fold it over at least 4 times, turning the bowl a quarter turn each time. Use wet hands when performing the folds as this stops the dough sticking to your fingers. Leave the dough for 30 minutes again, then add in the chopped olives and herbs. Perform another set of stretch and folds, as many turns as needed to combine the olives and herbs into the dough.
3. Perform 4 more sets of stretch and folds over the next 2 hours, leaving 30 minutes rests in between each set.
4. After the last set, leave the dough to proof anywhere between 2-4 hours until it bulks out by 50%. How long this step takes depends on room temperature. You can create a warm spot for the dough to proof by gently preheating an oven, then turning it off and keeping the dough in there.
5. When the starter has almost finished rising, combine the bread flour and water in a large bowl. Use a fork or your hands to mix it into a shaggy dough ball. Cover the bowl with a plate or a lid. Simply mixing the flour with the water and allowing it to sit for a while will help develop the gluten in the flour.

Shaping the bread

1. Line a banneton basket or bowl with a towel and flour it well.
2. Tip your dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gently form it into a rectangle. Bring all the corners of the rectangle into the middle to create a ball. Flip the ball upside down so it is seam side down.
3. Use the palms of your hands to twist the ball on the bench repeatedly to create surface tension on the dough. Ensure there isn’t too much flour on the bench as this will cause the dough to slide and not create the tension.
4. Place the dough ball into the floured bowl or basket, seam side facing up. Cover with a floured tea towel and place in the refrigerator for 8-20 hours.

Baking

1. Preheat the oven and a Lodge Cast Iron Combo Cooker at 230°C  for about an hour. Once the oven and the Combo Cooker saucepan and skillet are at temperature, dust the bottom of the Lodge skillet with flour. Take the dough from the fridge and carefully flip the dough out of the basket into the skillet. Score the dough using a razor blade or very sharp knife. Cover the skillet with the Lodge Combo Cooker saucepan and bake for 20 minutes.
2. Remove the saucepan from the skillet and place the skillet back in the oven. Bake the bread uncovered for 15-20 minutes more until browned to your liking. Let the sourdough cool for at least two hours before slicing.