Traditional Sourdough
Sourdough
Recipe Source Video
Here is my instructional video for this recipe:
I also highly reccomend watching this video because it is extremely thorough. It's a different recipe than mine (there are a couple of aspects I find to be more complicated than necessary, especially for a beginner), but the visuals are so helpful!
You can modify the below recipe into smaller loaves (simply divide into more pieces, cold proof in small bowls) to make bread bowls! So yummy with soup season approaching!
Ingredients
Bread Flour
Filtered Water
Active Starter
Salt
I typically have very good results making this in the bowl of a stand mixer, but you can also mix by hand (starting with a dough whisk or spoon) if you don't have one.
Instructions
Preparation
Feed Starter (maintenance feed) 4-6 hours prior to making your loaf (morning/early afternoon).
Mixing
Once starter has doubled (active), mix 200g warm water with 115g starter.
Add 300g of bread flour and 7g of salt. Stir until completely combined.
Cover bowl with a towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm resting area (like oven with light on) for 30 minutes.
Bulk Ferment
Remove covering and perform first set of stretch and folds (4). Wet hands and stick under dough, grabbing a quarter of the mass and lifting it, dropping it over the other side. Side video for visual. Work around the bowl until dough is a taught ball, then cover and return to resting place.
Repeat stretch and folds at 30 minute intervals three additional times over the course of 2 hours.
Let dough rest in resting area, covered, for an additional 2-3 hours, until doubled in size.
Shaping
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, allowing it to naturally release from the bowl.
Stretch the dough out slightly into a rectangle. Fold it in half, then roll it into a tight ball.
Use a sweeping motion to roll the ball of dough across the counter to further develop tension.
Transfer the dough into a banneton (or makeshift banneton, like a soup bowl lined with a towel dusted in flour) and cover with plastic. Let rest at room temp an additional 1-2 hours, time permitting.
Transfer to fridge before going to bed for a cold, overnight proof. Leaving it at room temp will lead to overproving and the bread will be flat and sad.
Baking
13. Remove from fridge at least 12 hours later and preheat oven to 450 degrees F with dutch oven inside (if you don't have a dutch oven, add an empty baking pan to the lower rack instead). Turn dough out onto a sheet of parchment.
14. Brush excess flour around the loaf with your hand. Use a lame or sharp knife to make an incision down the length of the bread, at least a quarter inch deep, called an "expansion score". You can also add surface level decorative cuts, if you'd like.
15. Once oven is preheated, remove dutch oven and transfer loaf into it using parchment. Replace lid and place back into the oven. (If you don't have a dutch oven, as you put the bread in on a baking sheet, pour boiling water into the empty baking dish on the bottom rack. This will create steam to help your bread rise.) Bake, covered, for 20 minutes.
16. Remove lid from dutch oven and allow bread to bake for 20 more minutes or until golden. (If you don't have a dutch oven, remove the baking dish with water in it, and allow bread to bake for 20 more minutes).
17. Remove from oven. Wait at least 2 hours before cutting into the loaf or the texture will be "gummy".
