Ube Coconut Sourdough Art Loaf

1Dissolve the starter and ube extract in the water. Whisk the starter and ube extract into the 340 g of lukewarm water, about 80°F, until the starter is fully dissolved and the water turns an even pale violet with no streaks. A few small bubbles on the surface are a good sign your starter is active and ready to leaven. In a South Florida kitchen running the air conditioning, your tap water is often cool enough on its own, so skip warming it if the kitchen already feels warm.

2Mix in the flour and ube powder, then rest. Add the 500 g of flour and the 3 Tbsp of ube powder and stir until no dry flour remains and you have a shaggy, deep violet mass. The dough will look stiffer than a plain loaf at this stage because the ube powder drinks up some of the water, and that is expected, not a mistake. Cover and rest 30 to 40 minutes so the flour fully hydrates.

3Add the salt and knead. Add the 10 g of salt and knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth, or squeeze the salt in with wet hands and do a round of stretch and folds in the bowl instead. The dough should feel tacky but no longer sticky to the touch once the salt is fully worked in.

4First stretch and fold. Pull the dough up at the side of the bowl and fold it toward the center, rotating the bowl to fold every side, the same motion used on the site’s Plain Sourdough Loaf. Cover and rest 30 minutes. The dough should feel slightly less sticky and a bit more elastic by the end of this rest, a sign the gluten network is starting to organize.

5Three more rounds of stretch and fold. Repeat the stretch and fold three more times, for a total of 4 rounds, resting 30 minutes between rounds. By the final round the dough should hold its shape when you pull your hand away instead of slumping flat, which tells you the structure is ready for bulk fermentation.

6Bulk ferment. Bulk ferment at room temperature for 2.5 to 3.5 hours, until the dough has risen about 50 percent, not doubled. In an air conditioned South Florida kitchen this usually lands around the 3 hour mark, but a warmer kitchen or a sluggish starter can push it past 4 hours, so watch the dough rather than the clock.

7Turn out and pre-shape. Loosen the dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the top edges in toward the center twice to form a loose round, then let it bench rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes. This short rest relaxes the gluten so the dough stops fighting you during final shaping.

8Final shape. Flip the rested round over, then roll it into a tight ball, dragging it across the counter to build surface tension until the top looks smooth and taut. Pinch the seam closed on the bottom. A properly tight shape is what lets the leaf scoring hold its pattern instead of blowing out unevenly in the oven.

9Press on the coconut and place in the banneton. Lightly mist the smooth top surface of the shaped dough with water, then press the toasted coconut flakes evenly over it. Flour the banneton well, then flip the dough in so the coconut-covered, smooth side is down against the cloth, since this is what will become the top crust once you turn it out to bake. Pinch the seam closed on top and dust with flour.

10Refrigerate overnight. Cover with a shower cap or bowl cover and refrigerate overnight, at least 10 hours and up to 16. This cold retard slows fermentation enough to deepen the tang and makes the dough firm and easy to score straight from the fridge the next morning.

11Preheat the oven. About 45 minutes before baking, set a Dutch oven inside your oven and preheat both to 475°F. A fully hot Dutch oven is what gives the crust its first blast of steam-trapped oven spring, so do not rush this step even though nothing is visibly happening.

12Score the leaf pattern and transfer. Turn the dough out of the banneton onto a piece of parchment paper, coconut side up. Score a center line down the length of the loaf, then angle shorter cuts outward from it on both sides like the veins of a monstera leaf, cutting about ½ inch deep at a confident, steady angle. Lift the dough by the parchment into the hot Dutch oven and tuck 4 ice cubes down beside it, under the parchment, before covering with the lid.

13Bake. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake uncovered for 15 minutes more, until the scored veins have opened wide and the coconut on the crust has toasted to a deep golden brown without scorching. If the coconut is browning too fast in the last few minutes, loosely tent that side with a scrap of foil.

14Cool and slice. Move the loaf to a cooling rack and let it rest at least 1 hour, ideally longer, before slicing. Cutting in too soon lets steam escape before the crumb finishes setting, and you will lose some of the clean color contrast you worked for. Slice to reveal the crumb, which should be an even soft lavender throughout, flecked slightly darker near the coconut-crusted top.