Simple Sourdough Bread

Using a sourdough starter, you can have freshly baked, healthy sourdough bread with just a few proper tools and 4 ingredients! This bread is perfectly tender and chewy with a delicious crispy crust. Warm, fresh sourdough with a light drizzle of olive oil and flaky salt is literal heaven. Let’s make some.

* Feed sourdough discard (1:2:2) about 4-6+ hours before starting the dough, ensuring the starter becomes active and bubbly.

This recipe is approx 69-70% hydration.

Prep Time: 15 mins | Rise: 5-6 hrs or overnight | Cook Time: 45 mins | Total Time: 6-7 hrs

What you’ll need:
3/4 cup (170g) active sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups (355g) lukewarm water
4 1/2 cups (550g) unbleached bread flour (I like to do 450g bread flour + 100g Artisan bread flour)
1 Tbsp honey *optional
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

How to make it:
Follow mock schedule as follows:

  1. 8-9 AM - Feed your starter 1:2:2. (1 part discard; 2 parts flour; 2 parts water) Set in a warm place (like a cold/off oven with just the light on, or in a sunny window) until it doubles in volume.

  2. 2 PM - Add all ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook, zeroing out the weight for each ingredient if using a food scale. Begin by blending the starter and water together until dissolved, then add flour, etc. Mix.

  3. Turn the mixer on level 1-2 (never higher than 2 or medium-low) and let the mixer knead the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky not quite form a ball. (If making by hand, knead for about 7-10 minutes.)

  4. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel and set aside at room temperature for an hour.

  5. 3 PM - After the first hour of resting, wet your hands and gently start pulling up the sides of the dough and lift straight up to stretch the gluten. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat this until you’ve come full-circle. The dough will become a little more firm and less tacky just with those four pulls. Cover and let rest.

  6. 4 PM - After another hour, wet your hands and repeat another set of gentle stretch and folds. Cover and let rest.

  7. 5 PM - Repeat another set of coil folds. Cover and let rest another hour.

  8. 6 PM - After it doubles in size, lightly dust your countertop with rice or semolina flour if you have it. Scrape the dough out onto the floured surface. Gently pull the edges to flatten it out a little bit. Fold the dough onto itself a couple of times. You may need to add a dusting of flour as this can be a loose, tacky dough. Roll up the dough and shape into a ball (boule) by gently rotating in a circle, tucking in the bottom with the edge of your hand on each rotation, achieving a smooth, taut top.

  9. Flip the dough top-side-down into a lightly floured proofing basket/bowl. Pinch any holes together to create a generally smooth surface - to which will become the bottom. Cover again and let it rise for an additional 1-2 hours on the counter, or in the refrigerator overnight for 8-15 hours. This completes the bulk fermentation.

  10. ~7 AM - Place a Dutch oven with a lid (or 2 loaf pans, using one as a lid) into a cold oven and preheat to 450°F.

  11. After the dough has doubled in size again, gently flip out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently reshape to tighten the surface with minimal rotations if necessary. Place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper dusted in rice or semolina flour. Score the dough with a sharp serrated knife or bread lame (straight blade). Start at the top right side of the round and begin making one long 1/2” deep score from top to bottom, then create quick diagonal slashes in series from top to bottom on the other.

  12. Once heated, carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven. Remove the lid and use both hands to place the parchment paper and dough inside the Dutch oven. Add several ice cubes in the corners under the paper. Replace the lid. *Optional: It helps to place a pizza stone or large cast iron pan at the bottom of the oven to avoid burning the bottom of the loaf.

  13. Bake with lid on for 40-45 minutes. Test the internal temperature; it needs to reach 205-210° F. Continue baking covered in 5-8 minute intervals (or as needed) until reached.

  14. Remove the lid and bake an additional ~5 minutes, or until the top is nicely golden brown.

  15. Remove from oven and the Dutch oven. Let rest for at least an hour on a cooling rack before slicing with a serrated knife. Slicing a warm loaf of bread too early will result in a gummy and sticky interior.

Enjoy!

Bake with confidence and don’t be afraid of failure, this is what teaches us the most!

Notes: Store on the counter covered with beeswax paper, or in a paper bread bag depending on your humidity level. Don’t place home-baked bread in the refrigerator; it will cause it to become stale faster than if it’s kept at room temperature. However, freezing individual slices of bread is a great way to preserve the bread and eat it toasted. Bread should stay fresh for 3-4 days on the counter.

Keep starter in the fridge and feed when ready to bake.