Sourdough bread

An easy, foolproof recipe for sourdough bread.

The first time I tried to bake bread with my starter I had zero experience in baking in general, I had had some poor attempts at making bagels or pizza with commercial yeast but without much success. A friend gave me some starter and shared a couple of easy recipes with me, helping me troubleshoot whenever I was unsure of the state of my starter or whenever I needed tips.

My first bread came out perfect, I was so shocked and in awe that I never stopped backing ever since, and even 9 months after I’m still finding so much satisfaction in getting the perfecly round loaf out of the oven.

Tips: to see all my tips on how to feed your starter, levain, what flour to use etc., go to this post.

Timing: to make this bread, I start roughly 20 hours before i want the loaves to be ready (considering your starter is active). You need roughly 4 hours to prepare your leaven, then 3 hours of bulking and then cold proofing overnight. If you start mid morning, you’ll be able to bake your loaves early the morning after.

Tools: the two things you will need for this bread are a kitchen scale and a Dutch oven, everything else is nice to have but not strictly necessary.

Ingredients

Makes: 2 large loaves

Prep time: 20 mins

Rest / proofing: 16 - 24 hours

Cook: 50 mins per loaf

• 200g leaven

• 1000g strong white bread flour

• 750g tepid water

• 30g fine salt

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Preparation

Your leaven must be ready and bubbly. You can perform the float test if you’re unsure: drop a spoonful into hot water, if it floats then it’s ready to be used.

1. Mixing the dough: mix the water, salt and the leaven in a large bowl by using a spatula. Add the flour and mix the dough with the spatula until you obtain a rough dough: it doesn’t have to be smooth but the flour should all be mixed in without any dry bits left.

   Cover and let it rest for 30 min to 1h to allow the flour to absorb the water.

2. Bulk fermentation: start performing a series of stretches and folds on your dough: with one hand grab the bowl, with the other side of the dough that is further away from you. Slowly stretch it upwards, and fold it on top of the dough. Rotate the bowl by 90 degrees and repeat the process until you’ve worked your way around the bowl. Wait 30 min and repeat for the next 2 hours (4 times in total).

   After the 4th set of folds, cover your bowl and set it aside until it’s risen by about 50%.

3. Pre-shaping: pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into two. Shape your two doughs into two boules with the help of a bench scraper (if you don’t have one, try with a spatula!). Place the scraper under the dough, and move it in a circular motion as to create tension below and give it a round shape. Do this two or three times, cover and let it rest 30-40 minutes before the final shape.

4. Shaping: prepare two bannetons or two bowls and line them with a kitchen towel and scatter them with flour (ideally rice flour but any will do!).

   Your dough will have relaxed from when you pre-shaped them: repeat the shaping you did in step 3 until you have two tight boules. With the help of your scraper, delicately lift them up and place them in your bowls, smooth side down (basically the side that was on the surface is now facing upwards).

5. Cold proofing: now, pinch the top of your dough to create more tension, cover it with the corners of your kitchen towel and place them in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. 12 hours will give you a smaller crumb, while proofing for a longer time will result in a more open, airier crumb.

6. Score: pre heat your oven to 250*C with your Dutch oven inside. Flip the bowl with the loaf onto some parchment paper and score the top with a blade, knife or scissors. This will help it expand in the oven without bursting, and will determine the final look of your loaf. You can use this step to decorate your loaf however you want: just remember that you’ll need a larger score to release the tension and let the bread expand.

7. Bake: remove your Dutch oven from the oven and carefully place your loaf inside by holding the parchment paper. Bake at 250C for 25 min with the lid on and then 25 min at 230*C without so the crust can develop.

8. Rest: let it rest on a cooling rack for at least 1h before cutting it, the loaf is still baking as you get it out of the oven!