Sourdough Bread

Baking a loaf of sourdough bread is pure therapy: food for the body and food for the soul. Not only will it fill your kitchen with incredible smells of yeasty goodness, you’ll walk away with a handful of life lessons along with a piece of unbelievably fulfilling homemade bread. If you have time, making sourdough bread is the project. Just be careful—you might never be able to settle for store-bought loaves again. Here’s everything you need to know:

What People Are Saying:
"This is a long process, but it makes the best loaf! Tangy, full of bubbles. Looks and tastes just like the artisan loaves I uses to spend a fortune on." - CyanGoggles

"i am so pleased with this recipe!!! the crumbs are way bigger than another recipe i followed, and the high hydration dough is absolutely worth making to get these crumbs!!! please watch the video where june explains the steps, it'll make your journey easier. thank you june!!!!!" - hicksbean

How To Make Sourdough Bread

INGREDIENTS

• Bread Flour & Whole Wheat Flour: Bread flour and whole wheat flour will give you the most structure and a classic taste. If you can't find bread flour and can only get your hands on all-purpose flour, add in 1/4 cup more all-purpose flour and go by feel—because all-purpose flour has lower protein content, its gluten networks will be weaker than those of bread flour.
• Starter: When you're ready to make your first loaf, first make sure that your sourdough starter passes the float test: take a 1/2 teaspoon of your starter and place it gently into a small bowl of water. A ripe starter that's good to use in your dough will float on top of the water—if it sinks, it's either not quite active enough just yet or past its prime. It's important to learn the rise and falls of your starter better by observing the patterns of its activity: how long after feeding does it take to rise to its peak, and how long before it starts to deflate? Time the making of your dough with the peaking of your starter for maximum leavening power. Wondering what a sourdough starter is? Follow our how-to guide for sourdough starter before trying your hand at this recipe—you'll need to prep that at least a week in advance.
• Fine Sea Salt: I prefer to use sea salt because it’s a lot finer than kosher salt, which means it won’t cause as many tears in the dough while you’re mixing.
• Course Cornmeal or Sesame Seeds: Dusting the bottom of the Dutch oven with cornmeal or sesame seeds (or even oatmeal), will help ensure that your loaf releases from the pot easily after baking.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

We’re starting this recipe after our sourdough starter has already been made, so if you need to, start with our guide for making sourdough starter first. The first step is called the autolyse: we’re going to stir together the bread and whole wheat flour with the water with our hands until it’s well combined. The most important thing in this stage is to ensure that there are no dry spots in your bowl—the flour should be completely covered by the water. Once combined, cover and let sit in a warm place (ideally 78°) in your kitchen for at least an hour, up to 3 hours.

Before moving on, make sure to test your starter by doing the float test. Take a 1/2 teaspoon of your starter and place it gently into a small bowl of water. A ripe starter that's good to use in your dough will float on top of the water—if it sinks, it's either not quite active enough just yet or past its prime. If your starter is good to go, then add it to your dough along with the salt. Mix until well combined, then continue to work the dough with your hands. I like to use a shoveling motion to lift the dough from the bottom up and let it fall over itself. Keep going until it becomes less sticky and can be picked up in one droopy piece. After a few minutes, if the dough still feels too slack, let it rest for at least 10 minutes before trying again.

Now, we’ll move onto the bulk fermentation step. This is a pretty time intensive step, around 4 to 6 hours, so make sure your Saturday is free. First, cover the dough and set it aside in a warm part of your kitchen for 30 minutes. Then, after 30 minutes, we’ll start with the stretch and folds. With wet hands, gently scoop up half of the dough from one side and lift it up and away from the bowl. Then, fold it over the remaining dough on the opposite side. While you don’t want to tear the dough, you do want to be firm: lift until you feel tension, but stop before it tears. Turn the bowl and repeat, working to stretch and fold around all 4 sides. After turning to all 4 sides, it should hold a better shape. Flip the dough upside down so the seams can rest underneath, then cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Every 30 to 60 minutes, repeat the stretching and folding process. If you notice the dough starting to become tighter, that’s good—that means the gluten is developing. But, if the dough is too tight to fold, don’t force it. Let is rest for a longer amount of time before attempting to fold again. Repeat for at least 4 sets, or until the dough feels like it can hold its shape. After the last set, cover and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes, but up to 2 hours. After resting, the dough should have risen between 20% and 50% in volume.

Now, we’ll work on preshaping the dough. In my opinion, this is when the real fun starts. Gently loosen your dough from the bowl, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Make sure that the smooth side is up before dusting the dough lightly with flour. Flour one hand, then using that and a bench scraper, pull the dough towards you while rotating the dough against the surface. This will develop tension across the top of the dough. Repeat this motion several times until your dough is smooth, pump, and round. Then, let it rest uncovered for 10 minutes.

Now, we’ll get to shaping. Gently flip the dough over so that the smooth side is facing down on the floured surface. With both hands floured, fold the dough as if wrapping a package. What does that mean? Lift the bottom side of the dough, stretch it a few inches toward you, then fold over most of the way towards the top side of the dough.

Lift the left side of the dough next, and cross it over most of the way to the right, then lift the right side and cross it over to the left.

The final step is to lift the top of the dough and fold it over all the way to the bottom. Now your “package” is sealed! Flip the dough over so that the seams are facing down, then pull the dough towards you and rotate it a few times (this will develop more tension in the life). Then, let it rest uncovered for 2 minutes.

Now, grab either a banneton basket or a colander lined with a clean, lint-free tea towel. Heavily flour your basket—use way more than you think! You want to make sure the dough releases, and you can always brush off any excess before baking. Then, using your bench scraper, gently reach under the dough and flip the smooth side into your free hand to transfer it into the floured basket, smooth side down. Lightly flour the top of the dough, then place the basket in a plastic bag and seal it tightly. Let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes, then transfer it in the fridge for 12 to 16 hours.

This recipe calls for an overnight cold proof to help the loaf develop more flavor while slowing down the dough activity and the proofing process. If you'd prefer a faster result, proof the bread at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours—or until it increases about 30% in size, depending on your ambient room temperature—and bake the same day.

We’re almost at the finish line: place a Dutch oven into the center of your oven, then preheat the oven to 500°. Once preheated, use long oven mitts (be very careful!) to remove the pot from the oven. Then, sprinkle the bottom with a generous layer of cornmeal or sesame seeds.

Again, being very careful, flip your dough upside down into the pot so that the smooth, flour-covered side is facing up. I like to use a pastry brush to brush off any excess flour.

Then, use something very sharp—a razor, sharp knife, or pair of good scissors—to make one or more cuts across your dough. Feel free to get creative here, but no need to get crazy—this allows expansion during baking. Cover the Dutch oven with a well-fitting oven-safe lid, and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 475° and bake for 10 more minutes. Uncover the Dutch oven, then continue baking until the loaf reaches a dark caramel color, this should take around 25 minutes. If you're using a thermometer, the internal temperature of the loaf should reach 208°.

Once done, let it cool inside the pot for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let it rest for at least 1-2 hours (be patient!) before slicing, serving, and enjoying the fruits of your labor.

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Enjoy the journey. If your first loaf isn't picture perfect or exactly what you had imagined in the beginning, don't let that discourage you! The first four loaves will be experiential learning experiences and each loaf will teach you something different—be open to absorbing the details and observing the effects of little variations in ambient temperature, technique, and time elapsed. Just like anything else, breadmaking is a skill gained gradually through repeated practice: less-than-ideal results are lessons along the way, not failures!
• Good things take time. When making the dough, a longer autolyse period will hydrate the flours better and result in a dough that’s much more pliable and flavorful. Let the water and flours rest for at least 1 full hour before incorporating salt and starter, up to 3 hours. A longer bulk fermentation after the incorporation of salt and water will allow for that classic sourdough tang to shine through. Time = flavor.
• Don’t force it. Be firm, but gentle. With every step in this recipe, you are attempting to build air into the dough while strengthening the gluten. This is why we don't knead the bread in the later parts of the bulk fermentation. Once the starter and salt is fully worked into the dough, the goal is to gradually build structure and strength into the gluten networks by a series of stretch and folds. While you don’t have to baby the dough, being too rough with it might result in tears that'll destroy the structure you’ve created with each stretch and fold. As gluten develops, the dough will hold more tension and feel more elastic and less wet: if it ever feels too tight to complete another fold, let it rest a little while longer and avoid forcing it. Patience is key.
• Use a scale. You’ll never look back after using a scale for your next baking project. No more spooning and leveling flours, no more washing dirty measuring cups and spoons, and no more losing track of how many cups of flour just went into the mixing bowl. A good food scale will help you get more accurate results with precise measurements, and clean-up will be that much faster—and who can say no to that? A scale for baking is especially helpful if you plan on experimenting with different flours and hydration levels in your bread: jot down notes of what you did each time for a more scientific approach and work towards creating a formula for your ideal bread.

Sourdough Bread Variations

At first glance, this might seem like an overwhelmingly detailed recipe, down to the last gram of flour. But have fun with it! With practice, you will find enough confidence to play outside these boundaries. Let the dough autolyse a little longer. Work a little more water into if you want to test a higher hydration loaf, or reduce the water for a sturdier lower-hydration loaf. Try fewer or more stretch and folds. Some bakers love to add in nuts and seeds—start with no more than 1/4 cup of add-ins, folded into the mix during the second half of your bulk fermentation. Each will give you a slight variation in your bread. There is really no good or bad here: it's all just playing with flour and water and time and seeing how they work together to produce a beautiful loaf of homemade sourdough bread.

Rye flour will add a little more earthy acidity to the mix and will result in a looser dough that won't hold shape as well. Spelt flour will add mild sweet notes without the intensely nutty, borderline bitterness of whole wheat—but again, it will result in a looser dough. Don't be too concerned if your loaf can't seem to develop as much tension in the final shape: go with the flow, bake it, and see what happens! If you don't love the results, try something a little different next time until you land on the perfect loaf for you.

Storage

Store sourdough in a breathable bag—like a paper bag—at room temperature, or store the entire loaf in the freezer.