Description
This classic sourdough bread recipe yields a beautifully crusty loaf with a chewy, airy crumb, made using simple ingredients and naturally fermented sourdough starter. The slow fermentation process enhances flavor and texture, producing a delicious loaf perfect for toasting and topping with your favorite spreads or meals. Ideal for bakers looking to master artisanal bread with a rustic touch.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
- 4 cups organic white bread flour, spooned and leveled (520 grams total flour)
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt (12 grams)
- 1 7/8 cups water (385 grams)
- 90 grams homemade sourdough starter or store-bought starter (⅓ cup), fed 8-12 hours earlier
Optional Ingredients
- Rice flour (for dusting banneton)
- Seeds for flavoring: 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon caraway seeds, 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
- Substitute ½ cup rye flour, spelt flour, or whole wheat flour for white bread flour (max 62 grams)
- Herbs (fresh or dried – rosemary, thyme, sage, etc.)
- Nuts, olives, garlic, dried fruit, or cheese (optional – see recipe references)
Instructions
- Feed Starter (12 hours before): Feed your sourdough starter about 12 hours before you begin mixing the dough, allowing it to double in size within 6 hours on the counter. Alternatively, if refrigerated and fed within the last 7 days, you can use it straight from the fridge.
- Mix Dough (8:00 pm): Weigh flour into a medium bowl, add salt, spices, and seeds. In a small bowl, mix starter with water until cloudy. Pour starter-water into flour and mix with a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes until a thick, shaggy dough forms. Cover with a wet kitchen towel and rest 15 minutes.
- First Stretch and Fold (8:20 pm): Using wet hands, stretch the dough from one side upwards and fold it over the center. Turn the bowl a quarter and repeat three more times to strengthen gluten. Cover dough and rest.
- Second Stretch and Fold (8:35 pm): Repeat the stretch and fold process 15 minutes after the first to further develop gluten. Turn the dough over in the bowl and cover.
- Overnight Proof (8:35 pm – 6–8 am): Cover the bowl and proof the dough at room temperature (68-70°F) for 8-12 hours. Check rise with poke test the next morning; dough should be expanded and slightly springy.
- Shape Dough (6-8 am): Loosen dough from bowl edges. With wet hands, stretch the dough upwards gently and fold it over itself. Rotate bowl and repeat stretch and fold 2-3 times. Transfer dough to a parchment-lined high-sided bowl or rice-floured banneton, coating with flour and seeds.
- Final Rise and Preheat Oven: Refrigerate bowl uncovered for 1 hour to firm dough and improve oven spring. At the same time, preheat oven with Dutch oven inside at 500°F for 1 full hour (convection preferred).
- Score and Bake: Remove Dutch oven lid, score dough sharply (1 slash, ¾-1 inch deep, 45° angle), quickly transfer dough with parchment into Dutch oven and cover. Bake at 500°F with lid on for 20 minutes (25 minutes without convection). Remove lid and continue baking at 450°F for 10-15 minutes until deep golden and internal temperature reaches 204-208°F.
- Cool: Remove bread from Dutch oven and cool on a rack for at least 1 hour to set crumb and prevent sogginess.
- Serve: Best served toasted with butter, olive oil, or your favorite toppings like mashed avocado, almond butter, honey, or jam.
- Store: Wrap bread in a kitchen towel for 1-2 days to preserve crust, then move to a sealed bag to maintain moisture. Bread can also be sliced and frozen or repurposed as sourdough croutons.
Notes
- Weighing flour with a kitchen scale ensures accuracy and consistency, especially for beginners.
- Using unfed sourdough starter refrigerated for 4-6 days gives a more sour flavor.
- Seeding bread with fennel, caraway, and chia seeds adds flavor but is optional.
- Proofing temperature and time vary: ideal room temp is 68-70°F; warmer means shorter proof, colder means longer proof.
- Poke test is essential to check readiness: dough should indent easily and mostly bounce back.
- Baking with a Dutch oven traps steam for a crusty exterior; preheating oven and Dutch oven is vital.
- Scoring controls how bread expands in oven; be decisive and quick to maximize oven spring.
- Cooling bread fully prevents gummy texture inside.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (active hands-on time)
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Artisan, Western
