Apricot Sourdough with Anise

A slightly sweet and herbal bread, this apricot sourdough features soaked dried apricots and liquorice aniseed.

We make sourdough bread every few days, and one of our favourite things to do is mix up the additions to make delicious flavoured breads like this one. It’s a little less common than our classic cinnamon raisin sourdough, but equally good.

With a hint of liquorice scented anise, this apricot sourdough has the perfect flavour balance. A hint of sweetness, a little herbal, and, of course, the classic sourdough tang.

Soaking the apricots beforehand means that the hydration percentage in the dough remains steady (otherwise the fruit would soak up the water and skew the percentages). You can soak the dried fruit in any number of liquids – think vanilla, brandy, even white wine.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Method
• Tips and Notes
• Substitutions
• Recipe

Ingredients

Method

One Day Before Baking

Add the active starter and water to a large bowl and mix until well-distributed. Add the flour and, using a dough whisk and/or your hands, mix to form a shaggy dough.

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Cover with a tea towel and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting, soak the apricots in enough warm water to fully cover them. Once soaked, drain and roughly chop.

Next, add salt and mix to incorporate. Add the soaked apricots and anise, and use your hands mix again.

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Stretch and fold the dough a total of six times, once every 30 minutes over a total of three hours.

Dust a banneton with flour and set aside.

Shape the dough into a boule, dusting with flour as needed. Try to keep the apricots from poking through the surface tension of the dough, tucking them under when needed.

Once shaped, turn the loaf into the banneton, seam-side up. Sprinkle flour over the loaf before covering with a towel.

Transfer the shaped loaf into the refrigerator to rest overnight.

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Day of Baking

Place a dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 260°C (500°F). After the oven has come to temperature, let the dutch oven continue to preheat for another 30 minutes.

Once preheated, take bread out of the refrigerator. Gently invert the dough onto a piece of parchment paper (seam side down) that is large enough to lift your bread into and out of the dutch oven.

Score the bread with a sharp knife or bread lame.

Using oven mitts, carefully remove the hot dutch oven. Remove the lid, then quickly and carefully lift the dough into the pot using the edges of the parchment paper as handles. Using oven mitts, carefully place the lid back on the dutch oven and put the vessel back into the oven.

Reduce oven temperature to 230°C (450°F) and bake for 25 minutes.

Carefully remove the lid (be careful of steam) and bake for another 20-25 minutes with the lid off, or until the bread is golden to dark brown (depending on preference) and crusty.

Using the parchment paper as handles, transfer the bread from the dutch oven to a wire rack. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into it, at least 4 hours.

Tips and Notes

If you need some general help, check out our guide on troubleshooting sourdough bread.

With any loaf that includes dried fruit, any that’s exposed on the outer layer of dough or comes through during baking is likely to burn. Try to contain all of the apricots within the dough when you shape to help mitigate this.

We like unsulphured apricots because they have the best flavour. These are the darker coloured ones in the shops.

Apricot sourdough bread is a nice spring option to add to your sourdough repertoire, and makes a lovely addition to spring-holiday meals. Try it with a sharp cheese or, even better, use this loaf to make a grown up grilled cheese!

Substitutions

Other dried fruit, like plums, dates, or cranberries, can be used in place of apricots. Still soak them beforehand.

If you don’t like anise flavour, use another spice like cumin. If you still want that hint of liquorice, use another similar spice like nigella seeds.

To make a slightly more wholesome bread, use up to 40% whole wheat flour.

An equal weight of levain can be used 1:1 in place of the active starter.

More Flavourful Sourdough Breads

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread
Sourdough Hot Cross Buns
Sourdough Focaccia
Sprouted Grain Sourdough Bread
Honey and Oat Spelt Sourdough

If you make this recipe, let us know by tagging @baked_theblog + #bakedtheblog on Instagram! We love to feel like we’re in the kitchen with you.