How To Make Smoked Gouda And Chives Sourdough

Instead of the usual cheese you and I would go for, let’s try something smokey

Among all, parmesan is the most frequent add-in to my sourdough. I fancy that sharp and nutty flavor that guarantees the complex profile of baked goods. Despite my liking for parmesan, I am certainly open to other options.

I had my “a-ha” moment the other day while checking out the deli section at the shop. The yellow label caught my eye and there it was, the smoked gouda cheese. Instantly I came out with this smoked dutch cheese and chives sourdough idea. (Chives is my new favorite herb at the moment)

Extended sourdough workflow explained

The whole bread-making process took over three days this time. Part of the reason is that I fed the starter later (in the afternoon) than usual when I plan to make bread on the same day. As a result, the lengthy schedule.

– Generally when I plan to make bread, I feed the starter either the day before or on the same day

• the day before: feed with a higher ration (1:3:3 to 1:5:5) so it takes longer to double size. I can use it the next morning
• the same day: feed at 1:1:1 in the morning so I can use it in late morning or early afternoon

– On day 1 after finishing 3 sets of coil fold, it was late (for me). I was tired and I decided to go to bed instead. I transferred the dough to the fridge (first proof) to avoid overproofing (it is summer at the moment).

– On day 2, after coming back from work, I took out the dough from the fridge and left it at room temp to resume bulk fermentation. 6 hours later, the dough was ready to go through shaping (double size, domed surface and giggly dough). I then shaped the dough twice (pre-shaping and final shaping with 30 minutes of bench rest in between). Once again, I left the shaped dough in the fridge for the second time (final proof) and I went to bed.

– On day 3, after work, I finished baking this bad boy with the usual steps- preheat the oven, score and bake. (and cool it down before slicing, of course)

Takeaways for you

It seems there was so much time involved. In fact, dough was left in the fridge mostly. By all means, try this recipe at your own pace and schedule. Don’t forget, the fridge is your best friend. Make good use of it and you can work around your own time effortlessly.

Smoked gouda and chives sourdough recipe

weight	ingredients	baker’s percentage
400g	baker’s flour (12.5% protein)	100%
328g	water	82%
80g	starter (100% hydration)	20%
8g	salt	2%
72g	smoked gouda	18%
8g	chives	2%
total 895g

Workflow

Day 1
14:30	Feed Starter (1:1:1) Use it when it doubles or reaches its peak.
15:00	Autolyse: using a paddle attachment, mix both flour and 90% of water together in a mixing bowl until a dough is formed. Cover with a tea towel and leave it aside at room temp.
	Prepare inclusions* – smoked gouda: cut into small cubes – chives: chopped into the desired length
18:50	Add in active starter and mix until gluten develops. (windowpane test) Add in salt and remaining water. Continue mixing until the dough doesn’t stick to the side of the mixing bowl. the Dough should be smooth and shining. Final Dough temperature: 26.2 degrees
	Lamination*: spread out the dough on a lightly oiled/floured bench, sprinkle smoked gouda and chives evenly on the dough, fold it and leave the dough in a transparent rectangular container for bulk ferment.
19:05	Bulk Ferment starts. Perform 3 sets of coil fold with 30-minute intervals at the first 1.5 hours.
20:40	Transfer the dough to the fridge.
Day 2
14:30	Resume bulk ferment in room temp Remove the dough from the fridge and perform 1 set of coil folds. Leave the dough in room temp until almost double size*.
20:00	Pre-shape: tighten the dough into a ball. Rest for 30 minutes
21:10	Final shape: batard (oval)
21:15	Cold proof in the fridge overnight.
Day 3
15:00	Pre-heat oven and baking steel to max temperature setting.
16:00	Prepare boiling water for steam. Score the bread and bake. 250 degrees, 20 minutes, with steam 230 degrees, 25 minutes, without steam.
	Cool down for at least 1 hour before cutting.

Notes

* Lately I have been prolonging autolyse phase. Without a particular reason, I autolyse the dough after I feed the starter (feed at 1:1:1). The duration of autolyse is about 4 hours. Generally 20 minutes of autolyse is more than enough to get the gluten to start developing if you are running out of time (or even leave the autolyse out).

* I began practicing working with higher-hydration dough. If not confident, start with 70% water (hydration) and increase hydration slowly.

* inclusion preparation: for better distribution, I cut the cheese into small cubes. As for chives, I chopped them short.

* I use lamination to include add-ins in this recipe. (Check here for the detailed demonstration of lamination.) I found that in order to evenly incorporate herbs, it is a good approach to use lamination instead of adding herbs into my stand mixer (Kenwood) while it is mixing. It also has something to do with the size of chives. The first time I made this bread, I had chives cut into 3cm (picture below). I added the green to the dough and continued mixing for a minute. And it turned out most of the chives stayed on one side.

* The comparison of dough before and after bulk fermentation. The volume doubled up, the dough became pillowy and giggly. And all the air bubbles around the side.

* As usual, I made a video of scoring this big mama bread. (sound on)

At the end

I can’t emphasize enough that making sourdough bread is about flexibility and possibility, time-wise and ingredient-wise alike. Change it up a little and you will be surprised how it comes along eventually. I hope you get inspiration from it and enjoy this smoked cheese sourdough recipe and the video.