Basic Sourdough Loaf Recipe

Takes about 24 hours

Yields two loaves ( ~ 1 kilo each)

FORMULA

1,000 grams flour (8 cups)

700 grams water (3 cups)

200 grams mature starter (1 cup)

22 grams salt (1 tbsp & 1 tsp)

PREFACE

My starter typically takes about 12 hours to peak and hit maturity after feeding it. So if I plan to mix the bread dough @ 10 am Sunday morning, this requires me to feed the starter @ 10 pm Saturday night.

This recipe calls for 200 grams of mature starter, but plan to make extra. You’ll need leftover starter to continue maintaining it in perpetuity.

STEP 1–10 am

In large bowl, mix 700 grams water with 200 grams mature starter. Incorporate with hands until starter is fully dissolved in water. After dissolved, mix in 1,000 grams flour. Mix until completely incorporated — no dry clumps of flour. Dough should come together in a cohesive mass after about five minutes of mixing. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rest for 40 minutes.

The 40 minute rest period is called a fermentolyse — it’s allowing the flour time to fully absorb the water without being inhibited by the salt. Salt, although primarily responsible for flavoring the bread, can have a tendency to slow down fermentation, so temporarily holding it back allows time for the microbes to get to work on the dough. This step is similar to the more traditional autolyse, but differs in that an autolyse only calls for mixing just the flour and water. An autolyse rest period can last much longer — several hours even — because fermentation is delayed due to the absence of the starter.

STEP 2–10:40 am

After the 40 minutes have elapsed, add 22 grams salt to your dough. Mix until totally incorporated — pinching and squeezing the dough until the salt has sufficiently been dispersed.

The dough will still feel tacky at this point, and it will likely stick to your fingers. To avoid this, have a pitcher or bowl of water nearby. Routinely dunk your hands in the water before handling the dough — this will make the dough less prone to sticking. Be mindful, though, that every time you wet your hands before mixing, you’re effectively adding more water to the dough.

Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rest for 40 minutes.

STEP 3–11:20 am

After the 40 minutes have elapsed, wet your hands and gently release the edges of the dough from the bowl. This will allow you to pick the dough up and fold it under itself — developing tension and forming a taut outer layer. The goal of this is to develop dough strength which leads to more oven spring, a better crust, and uniform end product. Once folds are completed, cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rest for 40 minutes.

STEP 4 — noon

Apply an identical set of folds previously mentioned in step three. You’ll notice the dough’s surface begin to smooth out, and perhaps even a bubble or two. These are both good signs — fermentation is well under way and the dough is beginning to build strength. Once folds are completed, cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rest for 40 minutes.

STEP 5–12:40 pm

Same as step 4. The dough should begin feeling lively at this point — a bit bouncy and full of gas. Once folds are completed, cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rest for at least an hour, sometimes more. This will be the last fold before dividing the dough.

STEP 6–2:00 pm

This marks the end of bulk fermentation, and judging this is admittedly one of the more difficult parts of the sourdough process. You want to make sure your dough is lively and bouncy, usually having expanded in size by 30% — 50%. The dough should not be sticky and should easily pull away from the sides of the bowl. These indicators are all somewhat ambiguous — getting to know the lifecycle of your dough through continuous bakes with the same ingredients is the only way to truly get comfortable with this step.

Release dough from the sides of bowl with wet hands as if you were performing a fold, but this time dump dough contents onto a clean work surface. Using a bench scraper or knife, cut dough into two pieces. To the individual pieces, we’ll essentially be performing the same fold we were executing inside the bowl — shaping the pieces into rounds and using the work surface to create skin tension. This step is called “pre-shaping” and although it’s not totally necessary, it helps keep things tidy and gives your dough some extra strength.

Once pre-shaping is complete, cover with a damp dish towel and leave the dough to rest on the counter for 20–40 minutes. This is called a “bench rest,” and it allows the dough time to relax making final shaping easier.

STEP 7–2:40 pm

Having had time to relax, the dough should have visibly flattened and spread itself out. Dust both the surface of the dough and work surface with flour. Flip dough over (flour side down) and execute final shaping shown below. Both a boule (ball) and batard (oblong ball) are shaped in the Tutorials highlight on the @Loaf_bakehouse IG page. Shaping takes practice, and there are hundreds of ways to execute this step. Try out as many techniques as possible and do what feels comfortable. This is how I shape nearly all of my breads.

Once shaped, place the dough seam-side up in floured proofing basket. Any bowl with a dish towel will work for the boule, and bread pan with a dish towel will work fine for the batard. I’ve tested multiple flours — white, whole wheat, semolina, cornmeal, bran — to see what works best to prevent the dough from sticking to the basket. Rice flour always wins. Same goes for preventing the bottoms of your loaves from burning.

At this point I usually leave the baskets on the counter for at least an hour before chucking in the refrigerator. This is very temperature dependent, and if your dough is already poofy and gassy, throwing directly into the fridge is your best bet.

STEP 8–4:00 pm

Dough should have visibly risen in the basket and be soft to the touch. The “poke-test” can help gauge this — lightly press on the dough, enough so to leave an indentation. If it quickly springs back, it could probably proof some more. If it slowly spring back, you’re likely good to put it in the fridge. If it doesn’t spring back at all, you probably should have put it in the fridge an hour ago. This test is by no means fool-proof, but can be a good way to quickly assess the dough.

In any case, place your dough in the fridge and cover it with a damp dish towel.

STEP 9–8:00 am (the next day)

Preheat your oven with a dutch oven or any lidded casserole dish at the highest temperature your oven can go (my dinky oven goes to 550 F) for at least an hour. Make sure the bakeware is oven-safe and can sustain high temperatures.

BEFORE PREHEATING — cut out a double layer of parchment paper that mirrors the dimensions of your bakeware’s base. Cut handles on the parchment for ease of lifting and transporting your dough into the bakeware. This will make the whole process much easier.

STEP 10–9:00 am

Liberally spread rice flour on your pre-cut parchment paper. Remove dough from fridge and flip it onto parchment. Score the dough with a razor blade. This helps control the bread’s expansion and helps dictate how it springs up in the oven. Once scoring is complete, use handles to lift parchment with dough up and place inside your bakeware. Put lid on bakeware and place in oven.

The lid is essential because it helps trap in steam. Steam helps loaves reach their fullest expansion by helping the bread delay its formation of the crust.

At this point I reduce the temperature to 500 F and set a timer for 20 minutes.

STEP 11–9:20 am

Pop the oven door open and remove the lid from the bakeware. This helps release the steam, and from this point forward the bread’s crust will begin forming. Close the oven door, drop the temperature to 450 F, and set a timer for 30 minutes. Alternatively, if your oven has hot spots (like mine) I set my timer for 15 minutes and adjust the positioning of the bakeware halfway through.

STEP 12–9:50

Remove bakeware from oven, bread from bakeware, and place bread on a wire rack to cool. Alternatively, If you like your crust darker and more pronounced, feel free to turn off the oven and leave it in for an extra few minutes with the oven door cracked.

Be sure to let the bread cool for at least a half hour before slicing. Enjoy.