Vegan Mozzarella Garlic Sourdough Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup (~230g) recently fed sourdough starter (if you don't have a sourdough starter, get some from a friend first or allow a couple of weeks to make one)
  
• 1 3/4 cups (~400g) lukewarm water
• 5 cups (~600g) all purpose or bread flour
  
• 1 tablespoon salt + a little extra to sprinkle on top
  
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 head of garlic (wrap in foil and roast for ~30 minutes at 350F then allow to cool)
• ~120g vegan mozzarella cheese, cut into cubes/chunks about 1cm square. I use Buffalo Motzahrella from the local Vegan Cheezery, you may have other options - look for something that will melt similar to actual cheese. (If you're not vegan, of course, you can just use regular mozzarella.)
  

Instructions

• Day before baking (allow 3-4 hours):
• Mix together the starter, water, flour, oregano, and salt and mix until entirely blended. If you have a stand mixer you can use the hook attachment for a minute or two, but mixing by hand is fine also.
  
• Put a tablespoon of vegetable oil (e.g. olive or avocado) into a covered bowl or pot and tilt the bowl so the oil lines the bottom and sizes. Relocate the dough into the oiled bowl, cover bowl and leave to sit at room temperature for about an hour. (Meanwhile roast the garlic if you haven't already.)
  
• Pick up the dough and fold it over on itself a few times, then put back in bowl and cover for another hour at room temperature.
• Repeat this folding again and leave for another hour.
  
• Peel the garlic cloves out of their skins, they should be soft but still intact enough to cut into halves or quarters. Also cut the mozzarella into chunks about 1cm to a half inch square.
• Mix the garlic and mozzarella into the bowl and fold the dough around them several times, enough so the chunks are distributed reasonably evenly throughout. Fold the edges of the dough down underneath, until you have a reasonably smooth ball on top with all the bits of garlic and mozzarella inside dough rather than exposed, if possible.
• Cover the bowl again and leave overnight in the fridge.
• Day of baking:
  
• In the morning, dust flour over the inside of a Dutch oven or other large, covered pot that can be baked.
• Take the dough out of the fridge and place it in the bottom of the Dutch oven, allow to come to room temperature (1-2 hours)
• Preheat the oven to 400 F
• Sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and cut a couple of shallow lines on top. Sprinkle some additional salt on top (optional).
  
• Once oven is hot, put the lid on the container and place it on a middle oven rack
• Bake for 45 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until the top is as brown as you like it
  
• Remove from oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool
• Try to allow to cool close to room temperature before eating
  

 

Optional variations: 

• Play around with other ingredients - see also: olive oregano sourdough bread. Sun dried tomatoes would probably be delicious also. Love garlic? Double the garlic! Will also work fine with nothing added at all - no oregano, no garlic, no mozzarella, just plain sourdough. Etc.