Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe
A basic sourdough bread recipe that balances detailed instructions for beginners and a higher hydration recipe for ideal moisture and an open, chewy crumb.
Ingredients
- 600 grams bread flour
- 460 grams filtered water
- 12 grams sea salt
- 100 grams ripe sourdough starter 8-12 hours after last feeding
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour (600 grams) and filtered water (460 grams) and stir to combine (mixture will be “shaggy”). Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm, room temperature location for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes (this gives the mixture time to autolyze), add 100 grams starter and 12 grams salt to the flour/water mixture and stir well.
- Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 4-6 hours (see next step for steps to strengthen dough during the 6 hours).
- We will perform a set of folds to strengthen the dough during the first two hours of this “bulk fermentation” time.
- Every 30 minutes, uncover the bowl of dough. Dip your hands into warm water (this keeps the dough from sticking to your hands). Slide your hands down around the top of the dough. Lift this side of the dough up and fold it down over the side opposite. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat lifting and folding until you have lifted and folded each of the four sides of the dough. Replace the plastic wrap and leave the dough to set for another 30 minutes.
- Repeat twice more.
- After you’ve completed three sets of lifting and folding the dough, do a final set of dough strengthening folds. Slide you dampened hands around the dough sides (right and left). Lift the dough straight up from the bowl. The ends will dangle down and stretch. Do not let the dough break. Set the dough straight back down on itself. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat, completing four lift and stretch sets.
- Now let the dough sit for about four more hours undisturbed to complete bulk fermentation.
- At this time, the dough should be smooth and rounded, holding its shape with somewhat of a dome toward the edges of the bowl. Large bubbles may appear under the surface of the bread.
- Now it’s time to shape the bread into a loaf. You can divide the dough at this point and make two smaller loaves or shape into ovals or baguettes or whatever you desire. We will simply shape one round loaf.
- Place the liner in the banneton and sprinkle with rice flour (the rice flour doesn’t have gluten so it won’t stick to the bread dough).
- Lift the dough from the bowl and place it into the basket, flipping it upside down so that the smooth “top” of the dough is now face down in the basket. Tuck the excess dough onto itself to form a neat upside down loaf.
- Sprinkle rice flour on top of the dough to prevent it from sticking to the plastic wrap and also to dust the baking dish when it flips over into the pan at baking time.
- Wrap the entire basket with plastic wrap so that it is sealed up. Place in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 12 hours.
- When it’s time to bake, place the Dutch oven into the oven and preheat to 500°F. Allow the oven and Dutch oven to heat at this temperature for at least 30 minutes (I try to do 1 hour).
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator and discard the plastic wrap.
- Carefully take the hot Dutch oven out of the oven. Quickly flip the banneton basket upside down to dump the dough into the center of the Dutch oven.
- Score the loaf with the lame. This gives the bread an area for steam to escape and the loaf to puff during baking.
- Quickly place the lid onto the Dutch oven and return it to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes at 500°F.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 450°F and carefully remove the lid - turning the lid away from you so that the steam doesn’t rise out toward you.
- Continue baking for about 10 minutes longer or until the crust is deep golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and transfer the loaf to a cooling rack to cool completely.
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Notes
Storage: Store cooled bread in an airtight container once it has been cut into. Bread is most delicious on the first day after baking.
If you feed your starter by keeping 50g of starter, 50g of flour, and 50g of water, then you should end up with almost exactly 90g of starter leftover that can then be used for this sourdough bread recipe.
Bread flour is preferred to all-purpose flour here, but you can use all-purpose if that’s all you have. Whole wheat or whole rye is fine. You can do 100% bread flour as we have here or a combination (no more than 20-30% whole grain flour).
This is a 77% hydration recipe - to find the hydration, you’re dividing the amount of water by the amount of flour. Stick between 70% and 80% hydration - the lower the hydration, the easier the bread is to work with, but the higher hydration, the yummier. 🤣 (Higher hydration has a more open crumb and a thinner/crispier crust). We’re also using 17% starter and 2% salt.
The step to autolyze the dough helps the gluten begin developing and makes the dough more pliable from the start. I've seen this done in a million and one different ways - this seemed to work best for me.
There are two basic techniques of the “stretch and folds” - the easy over method is done when the dough is just starting to develop and the lift and set down method is done later in the process when the dough is much more pliable and stretchy. The stretches and folds help the gluten develop, strengthen the dough, and add air. I also like the "slap and fold" technique, which I haven't detailed in this basic sourdough recipe.
Overnight proofing in the fridge helps the dough develop more flavor and it slows down the fermentation. It’s pretty flexible. You can leave the dough in the fridge for 12-18 hours at least if you need flexibility in baking time.
The lame and the proofing baskets make a world of difference. Go ahead and invest in these; they’re worth the results.
Nutrition
Calories: 282kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 586mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 2IU | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg
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