Classic Homemade Sourdough Bread
This recipe makes two loaves, so give one to a friend, or keep them both for yourself!
Equipment
- glass jar for your starter
- mixing bowl
- dutch oven or large pot with a lid make sure your pot AND lid are oven-safe for up to 450 degrees.
- banneton basket you can use any basket, but a round or oval one is peferred.
- tea towel
- dough scraper optional but useful tool
- sourdough starter adding this to the equipment section since this is something you will already have to have to make this recipe. see above for ways to obtain a starter!
- scale
- bread lame optional, for scoring your dough. can also use a razor blade.
Ingredients
For The Starter
- 30 grams sourdough starter
- 150 grams bread flour you can use other flour, but this works best for my starter.
- 150 grams water
For the Bread
- 200 grams active starter
- 20 grams salt
- 600 grams water
- 600 grams all-purpose flour
- 300 grams bread flour if you don't have this, just use all-purpose.
Instructions
Day 1: Feeding the Starter
- In the morning or early afternoon, take your starter out of the fridge and grab a clean glass jar. Using a scale to measure, spoon 30 grams of starter into the jar, along with your water and flour. Mix together thoroughly until no dry clumps remain. Scrape the sides of the jar to keep the mixture together. Cover this and leave this on the counter next to your oven for the day. I like to loosely cover mine with a lid to allow it to breathe a bit.
- Later in the afternoon, your starter should have doubled in size and you should see lots of bubbles on the side of the jar. Repeat everything in step 1 again and leave the mixture out over night this time. (If you'd like you can use the same jar, just make sure you discard your extra starter into another container. You can compost this or save it in your fridge to make discard recipes!)
Day 2: Making the Dough
- Check your starter to make sure it rose again over night, then grab your scale and mixing bowl. In your mixing bowl, add 600 grams of water, then add 200 grams of your active bubbly starter. Give this a mix and let it sit for a minute or two. Add in your salt and give it another mix. Slowly start incorporating your flour into your water and starter mixture. Do this until all of the flour is used and you have no dry bits of flour in the bowl. You now have your dough made.
- Gently shape the dough into a ball and set aside for 30 minutes. At this point, you can cover your dough with a towel and leave it in a warmer place in your kitchen if you'd like.
Bulk Fermentation (Stretch and Folds)
- After 30 minutes of resting, it's time for the first set of stretch and folds. Take your dough and imagine it has four sides to it. Gently lift one of your "sides" out of the bowl, stretching up and folding it over to the opposite side. Work your way around the bowl folding each side one time. Once that's done, gather your dough back into a ball in the center. Then put the tea towel back over the bowl and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
- Repeat the stretch and fold process two more times. After your third set of stretch and folds, take your dough out of the bowl and place it on the counter.
- Round your dough into a tight ball, and place it back into the bowl with the tea towel over it. This time, you're going to let your dough sit until it doubles in size. This typically takes 2.5-4 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is. Try not to let it go over double.
Shaping the Dough
- After your dough has doubled, it's time to divide and shape it. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a dough scraper or a butter knife, divide the dough evenly. Take one of your dough pillows and pull at the sides to create four corners, stretching it into a square. Fold one side of your dough 2/3 of the way over, then fold over the other side to create a long rectangle.
- Take the top of the rectangle and start rolling the dough in towards you into a tight ball. Flip the dough over so the crease is on the counter and continue to tuck and roll the dough ball to get it tighter. Set your dough aside and repeat the process for your other dough pillow.
Proofing
- Lightly dust the inside of your baskets with flour.* Place your dough into the baskets with the seam side up.
- Take a banneton basket cover or the tea towel from earlier and cover both baskets. Let it sit for 30 minutes to get a head start on the proofing process.
- After the 30 minutes, place your dough in your fridge to proof over night.**
Day 3: Baking Day
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees with your Dutch oven or large pot inside of it. You will want the Dutch oven to be nice and warm for the dough to bake nicely. Because the Dutch oven takes up a lot of space, I only bake one loaf at a time.
- After about 20 minutes, take one of your baskets out of the fridge. Roll your dough out of the basket onto a piece of parchment paper or silicone bread sling (the one I use is linked above). Using your bread lame or razor blade, slice your dough gently on the surface from top to bottom. This will help open up your dough and give that "ear" on your loaf.
- Open up your Dutch oven and carefully place your dough inside. Put the lid back on and let it bake for about 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the lid from your Dutch oven and let your bread bake for another 10-15 minutes. This will help you get a nice golden brown crust on your bread.
- Once your bread is crisped to your liking, carefully remove it from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. DO NOT cut into your bread right away! Let it fully cool for at least an hour before cutting into it. If you dive in too early, you'll get a gummy crumb and your bread will be chewy.
- Repeat all Baking Day steps for your second loaf.
- Once your bread is fully cooled, now you can enjoy it! I love a slice of sourdough with butter and jam.
Storing your Bread
- There are many ways you can store your bread. The best way to store it depends on how quickly you'll eat it and also the temperature of your kitchen. I keep mine in a gallon zip lock bag that I keep reusing for bread. Eventually, I'd like to get a bread box. I've seen people have luck with a linen bread bag or wrapping it in a towel, however, when I did this it went stale within a day.
Notes
*Using a little rice flour or gluten-free flour helps so the dough doesn't stick, but any flour will do.
** You are able to leave your dough in your fridge for anywhere from 8-24 hours, but I usually just wake up the next day and bake right away. I find that my bread falls flat and does not hold its shape if I go longer than this.