The Most Delicious Artisan Sourdough Bread

Learning how to bake homemade sourdough bread is the cornerstone to adopting an artisan lifestyle. For me, it was the first step in my journey to eliminate the toxins that are all-too prevalent in our grocery store food. Earlier this year, a friend of mine lent me a half-cup of her sourdough starter, which I used to throw together my first loaf of sourdough bread. To be fair, it was lumpy, awkward, and a bit flat, but once I took that first bite I knew that I could never go back to store bought bread. Not to mention that the process of making the bread–the kneading, the stretching, the folding–was all incredibly therapeutic. I was hooked from the very first loaf, and I’ve been baking this bread once a week ever since. While I am no sourdough expert, I’ve made enough loaves in the last few months to feed a small village and I feel confident in sharing this recipe with all of you.

If you’re anything like me, you might be a bit overwhelmed by the process. After all, baking sourdough can be fairly time-consuming. There continues to be a mind-boggling variety of recipes on the internet with differing proofing times, types of stretch-and-folds, shaping techniques, and more. With all this information, it can get really confusing to know who to listen to. I’m here to tell you that I was in the exact same spot–but here’s what I’ve learned. 

Baking sourdough is an art, not a science. Since we all don’t live in labs where every external factor is perfectly controlled, we have to simply grow accustomed to the needs of our dough and adjust the recipe when necessary. All that to say, I’ve found that most loaves can still be delicious even if slightly over- or under-proofed. 

If you’re at all interested in tackling this recipe, know that it is attainable, enjoyable, and highly rewarding! 

The beautiful truth about sourdough bread is that it only calls for 4 simple ingredients: flour, water, salt, and starter. 

While you can use just about any type of flour that you have in your pantry, I would recommend using an all-purpose or bread flour. Anything finer (like pizza flour) can make your loaf incredibly dense and chewy. I like to use Trader Joe’s Unbleached Organic All-Purpose Flour (organic and unbleached makes for a noticeably richer flavor). 

A good starter is the basis of your sourdough bread. In essence, a starter provides the environment for colonies of yeast and healthy bacteria to flourish within a mixture of flour and water. These colonies, when fed appropriately and allowed time to ferment, provide your bread with that deliciously tangy flavor that we’re after.

If you don’t already have a starter, you have three options. 

• • You can borrow some from a friend

• • You can purchase some online. I know Amazon sells sourdough starter kits for about $20 each. 

• • Or, you can make it yourself. Keep in mind that the process of making your own starter can take up to 2 weeks. But, with regular maintenance, you can keep the same starter for decades to come.

Now, before we get into the details, let’s go over some definitions. 

Sourdough Bread Definitions

• • Autolyse: the process of mixing the flour with the water and starter and allowing it to rest for a short period of time. When the flour gets hydrated, a bunch of enzymes are released to break down the starch into sugars, which in turn bring out the flavors and feed the natural yeast in the starter. Cool, right?

• • Banneton: a small basket used to provide structure to the dough while proofing

• • Boulle: a round-shaped loaf

• • Bulk Fermentation: This is when the majority of the fermentation happens, which gives the bread its iconic tangy flavor. Once you’ve mixed your ingredients and performed a couple stretch-and-folds, the dough is allowed to sit out at room temperature for anywhere between 4-12 hours (this is where the temperature of your home comes into play).  

• • Crumb: the texture of the bread and size of the holes once your bread is done and sliced into. 

• • Elasticity: a measure of how strong the gluten is. In essence, if your dough can stretch well and return easily to its original shape, then it has good elasticity. If the dough splits when you’re stretching it, it might be over-proofed.

• • Lactobacilli: the little bacteria present in sourdough that produce lactic acid and carbon dioxide, allowing the bread to rise. 

• • Lame: a sharp razor that’s used to score the dough before it’s baked

• • Oven spring: the final expansion of the dough in the oven before the yeast dies off

• • Proofing: the final rise of the dough once it’s been shaped and before it is placed in the oven

• Scoring: the art of adding decorative slashes to the top surface of your dough before placing it in the oven. There are usually one or two deep utility cuts (these allow for the dough to properly expand in the oven) and then your choice of designs.

Sourdough Bread Tools

• • Kitchen scale: I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to have a kitchen scale. You’ll want to set the units to grams, which allows you to be a lot more precise in your measurements. 

• • Large bowl for mixing

• • Wooden spoon

• • Measuring cups: If you don’t have access to a kitchen scale, there’s no need to worry. You can still make a delicious loaf of sourdough bread using your standard measuring cups, you’ll just want to make sure that you’re being as precise as possible.

• • Kitchen towel: for covering the dough while it rises

• • Banneton: for the final proof. If you don’t have one you can always use a bowl lined with a floured tea towel

• • Lame: for scoring the bread prior to baking it. You can also use a sharp razor for this

• • Dutch Oven: This is the most expensive sourdough tool that you will invest in, but it is also the most crucial tool by far! It will provide the high-temperature, steamy environment necessary to create delicious sourdough bread

So now that we’ve gone over the basics, let’s get baking!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Feed Your Sourdough Starter 

When feeding your sourdough starter, keep in mind the 1:1:1 ratio (1 part starter, 1 part flour, 1 part water). Before feeding, make sure that you discard half of the starter. Leave the starter on the counter for 4-8 hours (depending on how warm your home is) to ferment. When the starter is ready, it will get bubbly and double in size. Discarding half prevents the starter from overflowing during the fermentation process. 

P.S. There are plenty of delicious sourdough discard recipes out there, so don’t feel you like you always need to dump this down the sink!

Step 2: Mix the Starter + Water

Pull out your kitchen scale and set the unit to grams. Make sure to zero it once your empty bowl is placed on top. 

Mix 100g of mature starter with 330g of lukewarm water. Stir gently until the starter has completely dissolved into the water. If you want to add in any nuts or seeds, you can sprinkle those in now.

Step 3: Combine the Flour with the Starter + Water Mixture 

In a separate bowl, measure out 480g of flour. Gradually add your starter and water mixture to the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until it is thoroughly combined. The dough should be thick, lumpy, and shaggy.

Measure out 15g of salt and fold it into the dough until well incorporated.

Cover the dough with a wet towel or cling wrap and let it sit out on the counter for 15-20mins. This period of hydrating the dough is called autolysing (see above).

Step 4: Perform 2-3 Sets of Stretch-and-Folds 

Wet one hand under running water and uncover your dough. Take ahold of one side of the dough and stretch it up and away from the bulk of the dough, pulling it as far as it will go before it rips. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until all four sides have been stretched. These stretches help to strengthen the gluten, so your dough will be very pliable to begin with and will strengthen up with each stretch.

Cover and let rest for 15-20mins. Then repeat 1-2 more times.

Step 5: Bulk Ferment for 4-12 Hours

Your bulk fermenting time will vary depending on the temperature of your home. If it’s the middle of summer and you lack AC, you might only need to let it sit out for 4 hours. If it’s a little chilly inside, it might need the full 12 hours. I’ve found that 8-9hrs tends to be the sweet spot for a room-temperature home. 

During this time, keep on eye on your dough! Once the dough has doubled in size but still maintains it’s rounded edges on the sides, it’s ready to be shaped. 

Step 6: Shape 

Sprinkle flour onto a clean, dry surface.

Remove your dough from the bowl by inserting your hands on either side and pulling up. Gently place the dough topside-down onto your floured surface. 

Shape the dough by folding in two opposite sides into the middle. Give the dough a quarter-turn and fold the remaining two sides into the middle. If you are making an oval-shaped loaf, you can stop here. If you want a boulle-shaped loaf, fold in the four corners and tuck them securely in the middle.

To create surface tension, roll the side closest to you away from you, then drag the whole loaf back towards you.

Pick up your loaf and drop it face-down into a floured banneton.

Step 7: Cold Proof in the Fridge for 4-8hrs

Place your loaf and banneton into a plastic grocery bag (or cover with cling wrap) and place it into the fridge. You’ll know your loaf is ready when it has doubled in size once again.

Step 8: Score

Place your Dutch Oven into the oven and preheat it to 500 degrees 

Once you’ve determined that your dough is ready to go, remove it from the fridge and flip it out of the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper (P.S. in the photos here, I used aluminum foil because that’s all I had. While it works, I would not recommend the aluminum foil since it can cause your dough to overheat and burn on the bottom)

Using a lame, razor, or sharp knife, score the dough by adding some decorative cuts to the surface and one or two large utility cuts. If you’re new to scoring and need some inspiration, there are plenty of scoring designs and tutorials on youtube!

Step 9: Bake 

Remove your Dutch Oven from the oven and using the parchment paper, carefully place the scored dough inside. Cover with the lid and replace it in the oven. Let it cook at 500 for 20 mins.

Once 20 mins has elapsed, drop the temperature to 475 and remove the lid. The loaf should have risen significantly in the oven and an “ear” or exaggerated edge should be visible near your utility cut. Continue to bake for 25 more minutes. 

Step 10: Remove and Enjoy 

You’ll know your sourdough bread is fully cooked once it has a warm golden-brown crust on the top. At this point, remove it from the oven and let it rest for at least one hour before slicing into it.