classic sourdough loaf
batch makes 2 round sourdough bread loaves
Trust me, I used to think learning the art of sourdough was impossible. The whole idea of feeding a starter, discarding 1/2, letting it rise and proof…it all sounded like way too much work. However, after purchasing sourdough from my friend Emily (@messerhomestead on IG) for months, I knew when she moved back to Illinois I would have to learn how to bake it myself. It has now become my favorite hobby, and I adore making it for friends and family weekly! If this feels much to overwhelming for you, I’d be happy to bake you a weekly loaf or teach you how to do it, but I promise you are more than capable!
Here is the recipe I use; I started out with following the Ballerina Farms recipe, however have made my own modifications to make it work for the environment I’m in and tools I have. Sourdough bread will turn out differently depending on the weather and temperature of your home, so sometimes the flour to water ratio will change (our house is usually around 72 degrees for reference.
INGREDIENTS
250g active starter
600g filtered water + 50g when you add the salt
950 - 1000g unbleached all purpose flour (I use King Arthur) — I use 1000g when I can tell the dough is more stick due to warmer weather
24g sea salt (Redmond Real Salt is the brand I use)
DIRECTIONS
add your active starter to a mixing bowl — Kitchen Aid if you have one.
add 600g filtered water.
mix starter with the water until it looks “milky”.
add in 950-1000g unbleached flour.
mix those ingredients together for 1-2 minutes — I use the “kneading” attachment on my Kitchen Aid, just don’t over-mix.
cover the bowl with a plate and let sit for 30-minutes.
after 30-minutes, take off the plate and add in 24g real salt and the other 50g of water.
mix for 2-3 minutes, then cover and let rest for another 30-minutes.
Over the next ~1.25 hours, perform 3-4 sets of “stretches and folds”. Cover and let the dough rest after each series. Here is what my schedule looks like:
After 30-minutes - round 1 of stretches and folds (0.5 hrs)
After 15-minutes - round 2 of stretches and folds (0.75 hrs)
After 15-minutes - round 3 of stretches and folds (1 hr)
After 15-minutes - round 4 of stretches and folds (1.25 hrs)
Cover the bowl of dough with a plate and let rest at room temperature until doubled in size — I put mine in the warmest spot of the house.
Dump the dough onto a clean counter and divide the dough in half.
Spread the dough out into a large rectangle shape. Fold the top and bottom, then fold in the sides and roll it up.
Once rolled up, push it away from you and then pull it towards you to build tension in the dough. Do that 3-4 times until the loaf is round and bouncy. Set it aside and repeat the same with the other loaf.
Wait 20-minutes, then repeat steps 12 & 13 again.
While you are waiting, take two medium size bowls and line with a floured tea-towel. You will use these for each loaf while they proof in the fridge.
After you repeat the folding process for the second time, gently take each loaf and place upside-down into the tea-towel lined bowls. Cover each with a shower cap or saran wrap sealed with a rubber band.
Set in fridge overnight or for 6+ hours — this is called “proofing” the loaves.
Set dutch oven in your oven while it warms up to 450 degress.
While the oven warms, flip out one loaf onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Score your bread (you want both shallow and deep cuts — the deep cuts allow air to escape the loaf). Then place in dutch-oven and bake for 25-minutes with the lid ON. After 25-minutes, take off the lid and bake for another 14-minutes.
Take out and let cool before cutting — repeat with other loaf.
Enjoy!
OTHER TIPS:
I believe I’ve perfected the time-line for bread (for me), so I wanted to share it with you to make these 21 steps seem much more manageable.
Start mixing dough at 12pm. This will allow you to be completely through steps 1-9 by 2pm.
At 2pm, set dough in a warm spot for 6-8 hours — this brings you to about 8pm to complete steps 10-17 by 9pm.
At 9pm, set dough in fridge to proof overnight until morning (roughly 8 hours), then take out at roughly 7-8am the next day. Bake loaf one for breakfast and have both completed by lunch!
I recommend getting an active starter from someone else who already has one made — this is what you feed everyday or place in the fridge until a day before you’re ready to make bread. If I know I’m not baking bread that week, I place my starter in fridge then feed it 1-2x before making bread.
To test if your starter is ready, take a bowl of filtered water and drop in some. If it floats it’s ready, if it sinks it’s not “bubbly” enough! This means you need to wait until it grows more, or until after you feed it again.