Ingredients

Unlike our Hertfordshire sourdough, the San Francisco loaf is made without a mother dough. Instead, it relies entirely on a liquid levain inspired by traditional San Francisco sourdough cultures.

The levain began life from a special San Francisco starter culture, combined with flour and water and left to naturally ferment. Fed daily with white flour, rye flour and water, it develops the distinctive tangy flavour that has made San Francisco sourdough famous around the world.

Process

To create each loaf, we combine 25% liquid levain with flour, water and salt, before mixing the dough until it becomes smooth, sticky and glossy.

The dough is then gently folded and turned by hand, helping to create the open crumb structure and characteristic air pockets found in traditional sourdough. After shaping, each loaf is placed into a flour-dusted basket and slowly proved for 14–16 hours in a carefully controlled environment.

As the dough slowly develops, it doubles in size and builds flavour. Before baking, each loaf is dusted with flour and hand-scored down the centre, ready to emerge with a crisp golden crust and the distinctive character of San Francisco sourdough.

Ingredients

At the heart of our sourdough is a living liquid levain – a naturally fermented culture made from flour, water, grapes and local Hatfield House honey.

Originally started in a humble bucket, the levain is now carefully maintained in a temperature-controlled fermentation tank, where it is fed daily with white and rye flour to keep it healthy and active. Always fermenting, it develops the distinctive fruity aroma and tangy character that gives our sourdough its unique flavour.

Process

• Every day, a portion of our mother dough is combined with white flour, rye flour, organic wholemeal flour, water and fresh liquid levain.
• The dough is slowly mixed, then worked until smooth, glossy and elastic before being hand-portioned and shaped into individual loaves. Each loaf is placed into a flour-dusted proving basket and left to slowly develop for 12–15 hours in a carefully controlled environment.
• Before baking, every loaf is hand-scored to help it rise evenly. It is then baked at high temperatures with steam, creating the crisp golden crust, open texture and distinctive flavour that define great sourdough.

Mother dough

• The secret to consistency is our mother dough – a living culture that is never fully used.
• Each day, only half is incorporated into production. The remainder is refreshed with flour, water and liquid levain, then left to ferment for another 24 hours. As it matures, it doubles in size and develops its characteristic honeycomb structure, ready to become the foundation of the next day's bake.