There are many methods of making sourdough bread; the one we’re sharing with you is beginner friendly. As you experiment and learn more, you’ll discover the autolyse method, the stretch & fold, coil fold and others. It takes patience and care to make to make sourdough bread, but it's worth it! Follow along and enjoy!
Ingredients
- 98 g of active starter
- 270 g of water at room temperature
- 390 g of bread flour
- 9 g of salt
- Rice flour to dust basket only
You'll also need La Couplet Banneton Bread Proofing Set! And other tools like a dutch oven, saran wrap, parchment paper and a digital scale.
Method
1. Most important step is to have the starter active and fed at 100% hydration. If you don’t have one, don't worry! click here to get started with one and then come back. If you're starter is ready, continue with step 2.
2. Pour the water into a mixing bowl. Then add the sourdough starter and mix well.
3. Continue to add the flour. You can use a mix of flours, like whole wheat, to add more flavor!
4. Add the salt and continue mixing until you form a rough ball. Cover it with saran wrap and let it rest to hydrate for 30 minutes.
5. Transfer the dough onto a work surface and shape it into a ball by rotating and tucking. Stretch it a bit and then fold the two sides of the dough over each other, then roll it up. From there, press the dough from the sides and rotate it to create tension using your surface as the grip. Then with your fingertips tuck the dough under itself, and then rotate again. Do the rotate and tuck until you have a tight and smooth ball. Then move it back into the mixing bowl and cover it.
6. Leave it out at room temperature to bulk ferment for four to six hours or until the dough increases by 75%. For example, during winter months in NY, six hours is perfect.
7. After the bulk fermentation is complete, carefully transfer the dough to shape it once more like in step five. This time do so with light hands so the gas doesn’t escape too much. To test, poke the dough, if it pops back out slowly and leaves a slight indentation, the dough is ready! Be very gentle on this step.
8. Dust the banneton basket liberally with flour. Rice flour will prevent the dough from sticking to the basket better than any other flour. Highly recommend for best results.
9. Transfer the dough into the banneton basket seam side up and seal it. Make sure the dough is in a ball tight before you transfer. Then, cover the basket with the linen liner and leave it out at room temperature for 45 minutes.
10. After the 45 minutes, place the dough in the fridge for an overnight rest for about 10 to 15 hours. This rest adds flavor and texture to your bread.
11. The next day preheat the oven to 490 F with the Dutch oven inside, lid included, for 30 to 45 minutes.
12. Plop your dough in one quick flip onto the parchment paper, brush off any excess flour and score it half inch deep.
13. Transfer the dough carefully into the hot Dutch oven. Cover it, and bake it for 20 minutes at 490 F. After the 20 minutes, remove the lid and back to the oven for another 20 minutes at 450 F.
14. The loaf should have a caramelized crust and should sound hollow when you knock it. If you’d like it darker, bake it for five more minutes. Let it cool down on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing or serving and enjoy!
Extra Tips
If the dough is too sticky, wet your hands before handling.
To store your loaf: Wrap it in saran wrap and a dry tea towel. Place it in the banneton basket to keep it fresh and soft for at least a week at room temperature. Every morning I toast it for breakfast and it's perfect!
Always adjust recipes to your own liking and remember the room temperature plays an important role when you're bulk fermenting. For example, warm weather above 73 F speeds up the fermentation and lower than 70 F will take longer.
Finally, practice makes perfect. Don’t get discouraged and keep baking!