Homemade Sourdough Bread, Step by Step
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If you love fresh sourdough bread with a golden, crisp crust and a light, airy crumb, this recipe is for you. It’s one of the simplest homemade sourdough bread recipes, and one of the best, too. It requires only 25 minutes of hands-on work and no autolyse or preferment. Below you will find guidance for every step of the way. 🍞🍞🍞
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review:
“Absolutely the best sourdough recipe EVER! I have been baking bread for years (sourdough included,) and things were many times hit or miss. Not with your recipe. You have nailed it. I thank you!” — Rosemary Patterson
This post will show you how to make the simplest of simple sourdough breads. There is no autolyse or preferment, which means the dough itself comes together in less than five minutes.
For those intimidated by sourdough bread baking, this recipe, as well as this sourdough focaccia recipe, are the recipes I suggest making first, both for their simplicity and flavor. Another great beginner’s bread recipe to try is this overnight, refrigerator focaccia or my mother’s simple peasant bread recipe, both of which require minimal effort but yield spectacular results.
This post is divided into 13 sections:
- What is Sourdough Bread?
- What is a Sourdough Starter?
- How to Feed a Sourdough Starter
- When is My Starter Ready to Be Used?
- Equipment
- How to Make Sourdough Bread: A 5-Step Overview
- How this Sourdough Bread Recipe Differs From Others
- Simple Sourdough Bread: A Step-by-Step Guide
- #1 Sourdough Bread Baking Tip
- Troubleshooting: Where Sourdough Goes Wrong
- Sourdough Baking Resources
- Other Sourdough Bread Recipes to Make
- Sourdough Bread Baking Schedule
What is Sourdough Bread?
Sourdough bread is bread that has been leavened naturally, meaning it has been leavened by a sourdough starter as opposed to by commercial yeast or a chemical leavening agent such as baking powder or baking soda.
What is a Sourdough Starter?
A sourdough starter is a fermented mix of flour and water containing wild yeast and bacteria (lactobacilli). Provided it is healthy and active, a sourdough starter is what will make your bread rise.
You can make a sourdough starter from scratch in just about a week. I only recommend doing so if it currently is summer (or a very warm fall) where you are. While it is immensely satisfying to build a starter from scratch and subsequently use it to make a beautiful loaf of bread, I am a huge proponent of purchasing one for a few reasons, namely: when you purchase a starter, you are guaranteed to have a strong, vigorous starter from the start. In other words, you can start baking with confidence right away.
Here are three online sources for reasonably priced sourdough starters:
How to Feed a Sourdough Starter
In order to keep your starter alive, you have to feed it — it’s not unlike having a pet, but know this: caring for a sourdough starter is akin to caring for a very low maintenance pet, one that requires feeding only once every two to three weeks to stay alive, but one that requires feeding much more regularly if you like to bake frequently.
When I am not baking regularly, I store my starter in the fridge in the above-pictured vessel with its lid on. As noted above it can hang out there for 2-3 weeks (if not longer) without being touched. To wake it up or activate it, I like to feed it twice before using it. Often I’ll remove it from the fridge after dinner and feed it: this involves discarding most of it and replenishing it with equal parts by weight flour and water. (Please read this post, which explains in detail how to activate, feed, and maintain a starter.)
I will repeat this process in the morning — discard most of it; then replenish it with equal parts by weight flour and water. By midday, or when my starter has doubled in volume, it is ready to be used.
To store your starter, you should feed it, let it rise till it nearly doubles; then cover it and stash it in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks until you are ready to use it again.
How Do I Know if My Starter is Ready to be Used?
If your starter doubles (or triples!) in volume within 4 to 8 hours after a feeding, it is ready to go. And ideally, you want to use your starter 4 to 8 hours after you feed it or when it has doubled. Every time I feed my starter, I place a rubber band around the vessel it is in to mark its height. This helps me see when it has doubled in volume and is, therefore, ready to be used.
If your starter is not doubling within 4 to 8 hours of feeding it, you should spend a few days strengthening it. This will involve discarding most of it — truly, don’t be afraid to be aggressive with how much you are discarding — and replenishing it with equal parts by weight flour and water. If you do this twice a day for several days, your starter will be in great shape.
What Equipment Do I Need?
At a minimum, you’ll need:
- a sourdough starter (see above)
- flour, bread flour if possible, my preference is King Arthur Flour
- salt
- water
Ideally, you’ll also have:
- digital scale
- straight-sided vessel for monitoring the bulk fementation
- bench scraper
- flour sack towels
- parchment paper
- banneton, such as this one or this one
- razor blade
- heavy lidded vessel, such as this one or this one
How to Make Sourdough Bread: A 5-Step Overview
There are essentially 5 steps to making sourdough bread. Each of these steps is explained in more detail below.
- Mix the Dough: This is simply a matter of combining water, sourdough starter, salt and flour in bowl, and stirring to form a sticky dough ball.
- Bulk Fermentation: This is just a fancy name for the first rise. During the first two hours of the bulk fermentation, you’ll perform a series of stretches and folds, which will give the dough strength and elasticity.
- Shape + Bench Rest: This step ends the bulk fermentation. You’ll shape the dough, let it rest, then shape it once more.
- Proofing the Dough: In this recipe, you’ll cold proof the dough in the fridge, ideally for 24 to 48 hours, though you can get away with a shorter proof.
- Scoring + Baking the Dough: After the dough has proofed, you’ll turn it out onto a piece of parchment paper, score it; then transfer it to a preheated baking vessel.
How This Sourdough Bread Recipe Differs From Others
This recipe differs from others in three main ways:
- No Autolyse. Why? I’ve never found employing an autolyse makes a big difference in the final texture of the bread, and I find the process of doing an autoylse frankly to be kind of a pain. What is an autolyse? Autolyse is a technique that calls for mixing flour and water together and allowing them to sit for several hours before adding the salt and sourdough starter. This process allows gluten to develop in dough prior to mixing. It also makes the dough more extensible. This is due to the hydrating effects of soaking the flour, as well as — and this is getting a bit scientific — from the enzymatic activity of protease, which breaks down some of the gluten that forms as the dough hydrates. This process weakens the dough’s elasticity, in turn increasing its extensibility. If you are after a super open crumb, autolyse is something to consider.
- 50% (roughly) Increase in Volume. If you come from the yeast-leavened bread world, you are accustomed to letting your dough double in volume during the first rise. When I first got into sourdough, I was applying this same method, and while I had success, I realized I was often letting my dough overferment — I was pushing the bulk fermentation too far. As soon as I stopped the bulk fermentation when the dough increased by 50-75% in volume, I got a much better oven spring.
- Long Cold Proof. After the bulk fermentation, you’ll shape the dough, and store it in the fridge ideally for 24 hours but it can hang out there for 48 hours or even a bit longer. This long, cold proof will make for a much lighter, open, airy crumb. (Note: If you were to leave the dough in the fridge for 12 hours or less, which you can do, the crumb will be tighter and denser.) After you remove the dough from the fridge, you score it, and transfer it immediately to the oven — there is no need to do a room temperature proof first.
Simple Sourdough Bread: A Step-by-Step Guide
Mix the dough.
To start, pour 375 grams of water into a bowl:
Add 50 to 100 grams of sourdough starter.
Stir to combine; then add 11 grams of salt:
Finally, add 500 grams of bread flour:
Stir to combine:
Let it Rise. (Bulk Fermentation)
Transfer the dough to a straight-sided vessel. Cover it, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Perform a set of stretches and folds:
If time permits, perform four total sets of stretches and folds every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours. You should notice the dough getting stronger and more elastic with every set of stretches and folds. This is the 4th set:
After the 4th set of stretches and folds, cover the vessel — I love these Dot and Army cloth bowl covers for this — and set it aside until it increases in volume by 50% or so.
How long should the bulk fermentation take?
The time will vary depending primarily on the strength of your starter and the temperature of your kitchen. Rather than rely on a time period, however, you should rely on visual cues.
This video shows the dough nearly doubling (increasing by 100%) in volume, but the more I bake sourdough, the more I realize I have better success when I stop the bulk fermentation when the dough increases by 50%. It may take some trial and error to know what works best for you. You may find a 75% increase in volume is best or you may find that to be too long. Sourdough is all about experimenting and adapting based on your experiences.
Shaping
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface:
Shape the dough gently into a round and let it rest for 20-40 minutes. This is called the bench rest.
Meanwhile, prepare a bowl or banneton with a flour sack towel and rice flour.
Proofing
Shape the round again; then place in prepared bowl for proofing. Transfer to fridge for 12 to 48 hours.
Bake It.
Remove bowl from fridge, and turn it out onto a sheet of parchment paper.
Score it.
Transfer to preheated Dutch oven. Bake covered at 450ºF for 30 minutes; uncover, lower the temperature to 400ºF, and bake for 15 minutes more:
Remove from oven and let cool one hour before slicing.
You’ll need a sharp knife (like this one or this one) when it’s time to slice:
#1 Sourdough Bread Baking Tip
The refrigerator is your friend. Use it.
The most common mistake I see people make when making sourdough bread is letting the bulk fermentation go too long. They mix the dough at night; then wake up to dough that has tripled in volume and is a sticky mess.
To prevent over fermenting your dough, use your refrigerator as needed. After you complete the 4 sets of stretches and folds, you can put your dough in the fridge at any time. If you are tired and need to go to bed, transfer the dough to the refrigerator; then pick up where you left off in the morning: remove the dough from the fridge and let it continue to rise until it increases in volume by roughly 50%.
To accurately gauge when your dough has risen to roughly 50% in volume, I highly recommend investing in a straight-sided vessel such as this 4-qt Cambro (or this one, which is BPA-free!). When dough rises in a bowl, judging when it has risen sufficiently is tricky. There’s no question with a straight-sided vessel.
Troubleshooting: Where Sourdough Goes Wrong?
If you have ever had trouble baking sourdough bread, your issues likely stem from one of four places:
- Using a weak starter or not using starter at its peak.
- Using too much water relative to the flour.
- Over fermentation: letting the bulk fermentation (first rise) go too long.
- Using too much whole wheat flour, rye flour, or freshly milled flour.
I address each of these issues in this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? 4 Common Mistakes, so please give it a read if you’ve had trouble with sourdough bread baking.
Sourdough Resources
- Sourdough Troubleshooting: This post addresses 4 common mistakes people make when baking sourdough bread and answers many FAQ’s as well.
- The Nutritional Benefits of Sourdough Bread + 6 Healthy Toast Topping Ideas
- Feeding Your Sourdough Starter
- Essential Equipment For Sourdough Bread Baking
- A tip for getting a more open crumb? Shape a batard as opposed to a round:
Other Sourdough Bread Recipes to Make
- Simple Sourdough Focaccia
- Sourdough Bread, Whole Wheat-ish
- Simple Sourdough Pizza
- Sourdough Detroit-Style Pizza
- Simple Sourdough Sandwich (or Toasting) Bread
- Sourdough Ciabatta
- Two Sourdough Discard Recipes: Sourdough Flour Tortillas & Irish Soda Bread
Sourdough Bread Baking Schedule
If you are new to sourdough bread baking, the timing of it all may feel overwhelming — you may find yourself asking: How can I do this without baking at midnight?
It’s a very good question! As noted above, your biggest friend when it comes to sourdough bread baking is your refrigerator. If after you’ve performed your stretches and folds, you don’t have time to stay up for the dough to complete the bulk fermentation, stick the vessel in the fridge and pick up where you left off the next day or the day after that.
Here is a rough schedule I like to follow. Adapt it to work for you:
Wednesday Evening: Remove starter from fridge. Feed it by discarding most of it and replenishing it with equal parts by weight flour and water.
Thursday Morning: Feed starter by discarding most of it and replenishing it with equal parts by weight flour and water.
Thursday Afternoon: Mix dough, let it rise. On Thursday evening, when the dough has completed the bulk fermentation, I’ll shape it and stick it in the fridge to proof. (As noted: If the dough hasn’t completed the bulk fermentation, I’ll stick the vessel in the fridge, and pick up where I left off the following day.)
Friday Evening or Saturday Morning: Score and Bake it. There is no need to let the dough come to room temperature before baking it. Simply remove it from the fridge, turn it out, score it, and bake it!
Homemade Sourdough Bread, Step by Step
- Total Time: 18 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf
Description
Inspired by The Clever Carrot
If you are new to sourdough, watch the step-by-step video here: Simple Sourdough Bread or in the post above.
Troubleshooting: If you have issues with your dough being too sticky, please read this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? The 4 common mistakes.
Notes:
- You need an active sourdough starter. I have had success activating starters from:
- As always, I highly recommend investing in a digital scale before beginning any bread baking adventure.
- This is the Dutch Oven I use for sourdough bread. I used this Dutch oven for years, and it’s a great one, too.
- Flour sack towels are a great investment because they ensure your dough will not stick while it is proofing.
- I love using rice flour for dusting (as opposed to ap or bread flour) because it doesn’t burn. When you use a flour sack towel, however, you don’t need to use any flour.
- Find all of my sourdough essentials here: Essential Equipment For Sourdough Bread Baking
- I love a high-hydration dough, and I have great success using 380 grams of water in this recipe, so feel free to play around and push the hydration here.
- Salt: I have had success using both kosher salt and fine sea salt here. When I use kosher salt, I use the Diamond Crystal brand. When I use sea salt, I use the Baleine Fine brand. Regardless of the brand, I use 12 grams.
- Shaping: If you’re looking to get a more open crumb, try shaping a batard (as opposed to a round). Watch this video for guidance. Also: The recipe below follows the traditional shape once, rest, then shape again method. I often skip the preshape now and simply shape the dough once. I still get a nice open crumb.
How much Sourdough Starter to Use?
- Because my kitchen is cold for much of the year, I like using 100 g (1/2 cup) of starter as opposed to 50 g (1/4 cup). When determining how much starter to use, consider a few things: If you live in a warm, humid environment, 50 g should suffice. If you plan on doing an overnight rise, 50 g also should suffice. If you want to speed things up or if you live in a cold environment, consider using 100 g starter. Note: If you use 100 g of starter, your dough may rise more quickly, so keep an eye on it. As always, rely on the visual cues (increasing in volume by 50%) when determining when the bulk fermentation is done.
- A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.
Ingredients
- 50 – 100 g (1⁄4 – 1/2 cup) bubbly, active starter — I always use 100 grams, see notes above
- 375 g (1 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp) warm water, or more, see notes above
- 500 g (4 cups plus 2 tbsp) bread flour
- 9 to 12 g (1.5 – 2.5 teaspoons) fine sea salt, see notes above
Instructions
- Make the dough: Whisk the starter and water together in a large bowl with a fork or spatula. Add the flour and salt. Mix to combine, finishing by hand if necessary to form a rough dough. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and fold: After 30 minutes, grab a corner of the dough and pull it up and into the center. Repeat until you’ve performed this series of folds 4 to 5 times with the dough. Let dough rest for another 30 minutes and repeat the stretching and folding action. If you have the time: do this twice more for a total of 4 times in 2 hours. Note: Even if you can only perform one series of stretches and folds, your dough will benefit. So don’t worry if you have to run off shortly after you mix the dough.
- Bulk Fermentation (first rise): Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise at room temperature, about 8 to 10 hours at 70°F (21°C) or even less if you live in a warm environment. The dough is ready when it has increased by 50% in volume, has a few bubbles on the surface, and jiggles when you move the bowl from side to side. (UPDATE: In the past I have recommended letting the dough rise until it doubles in volume. If you’ve had success with this, continue to let the dough double. Recently, I have been stopping the bulk fermentation when the dough increases by 50% in volume, and I feel I am actually getting better oven spring in the end.) (Note regarding timing: If you are using 100 g of starter, the bulk fermentation may take less than 8 to 10 hours. If you live in a warm, humid environment, the bulk fermentation may take even less time. In the late spring/early summer, for example, my kitchen is 78ºF and the bulk fermentation takes 6 hours. It is best to rely on visual cues (increase in volume by roughly 50%) as opposed to time to determine when the bulk fermentation is done. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly increased in volume by 50%.)
- Shape (See notes above): Coax the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently shape it into a round: fold the top down to the center, turn the dough, fold the top down to the center, turn the dough; repeat until you’ve come full circle. If you have a bench scraper, use it to push and pull the dough to create tension.
- Rest: Let the dough rest seam side up rest for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, line an 8-inch (20-cm) bowl or proofing basket with a towel (flour sack towels are ideal) and dust with flour (preferably rice flour, which doesn’t burn the way all-purpose flour does). Using a bench scraper or your hands, shape it again as described in step 4. Place the round into your lined bowl, seam side up.
- Proof (second rise): Cover the dough and refrigerate for 1 hour or for as long as 48 hours. (Note: I prefer to let this dough proof for at least 24 hours prior to baking. See video for the difference in the crumb of a loaf that has proofed for 6 hours vs one that has proofed for 24 hours. If you choose to proof the dough in the fridge for an extended period of time, you may want to tuck it into a loosely tied bag — produce bags from the grocery store are great for this purpose — to ensure the dough does not dry out. The original recipe calls for a 1-hour rise, and if you have had success doing that, by all means, keep doing it.)
- Place a Dutch oven in your oven, and preheat your oven to 550°F (290°C). Cut a piece of parchment to fit the size of your baking pot.
- Score: Place the parchment over the dough and invert the bowl to release. Using the tip of a small knife or a razor blade, score the dough however you wish — a simple “X” is nice. Use the parchment to carefully transfer the dough into the preheated baking pot.
- Bake: Lower the oven to temperature to 450ºF (230ºC). Carefully cover the pot. Bake the dough for 30 minutes, covered. Remove the lid, lower the temperature to 400ºF (200ºC) and continue to bake for 10 – 15 minutes more. If necessary, lift the loaf out of the pot, and bake directly on the oven rack for the last 5 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before slicing.
- This loaf will stay fresh up to 3 days stored at room temperature in an airtight plastic bag or container. It freezes beautifully, too.
Notes
- This recipe has been adapted from Artisan Sourdough Made Simple. Changes I have made to the original recipe include:
- Using 11 g salt as opposed to 9 g.
- Performing 4 stretch and folds during the first 2 hours of the bulk fermentation, which build strength in the dough.
- Doing a cold proof for at least 24 hours before baking, which produces a lighter airier crumb. In the video, you can see the difference between the crumb of a loaf that has proofed for only 6 hours vs a loaf that has proofed for 24 hours.
- Finally, I like preheating my Dutch oven, which makes a crisper crust.
- Prep Time: 18 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
3,036 Comments on “Homemade Sourdough Bread, Step by Step”
So far this recipe i by far the easiest I’ve followed! I am struggling on getting temps/times right because I’m higher altitude. I’ve found most resources say to raise the temp or raise the time, do you have any suggestions to fit into this recipe? Since there are few temps I’m not sure where to fit in the adjustment. Thanks!
Hi! Before I advise, is the bread turning out browned to your liking? And does it seem to be cooked properly? As in, it’s not undercooked?
I tried this recipe on a whim based on the reviews and it is amazing! I’ve been baking sourdough for about 2 months and trying a new recipe each time to find what works for me, and this is by far the best recipe I’ve tried! I tripled it to take to family and switched out about 50 grams (per loaf) of BF for whole wheat, I also added the extra water mentioned in the notes. I started it at 8pm and left it after stretch and folds until 7am. I thought for sure it was overproofed because it had doubled but it came out amazing and had such good oven spring. I’ll definitely be using this recipe again!
Great to hear, Melissa! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this 🙂 🙂 🙂
Ok, let me tell you how happy you have made my Sunday!! I was having a rough time with my starter. So, I took the discard, which I didn’t weigh, to start this recipe. I had about 7/8ish of a cup of starter bc of what a different recipe called for. I found your recipe and chose to follow it. My dough was wet so I added more with each manipulation. I live in a cooler environment also so I decided to let it ferment for 12 hours. This was the 1st time my dough actively rose like….bread dough lol. I baked it in 2 loaf pans. It tender and sour and crusty and I Am So Happy. This is my 1st sourdough bread success. Thank you!!
Yay! Great to read all of this, Jamie! Thanks so much for writing. Congrats on your first sourdough success! It’s the best feeling.
I’m brand new at this.
Just got 40 grams of starter.
Want to try your Homemade Sourdough Bread (100g)
I added 80 grams each of water and flour 12 hours ago but only got 120 grams total
I was expecting 200 grams?
So, that only so that only would leave me 20 grams for a new starter.
I panicked and feed it 80 grams of each again.
After it doubles will it be ok to use?
Why didn’t I get 200 grams. I had it in a 78 degree room.
Would really appreciate any help.
Hi Linda,
I can’t explain why you didn’t end up with 200 grams of starter unless you perhaps mismeasured or perhaps you scale is off?
Regarless, I’m probably too late here, but yes, after it doubles, it will be OK to use after that second feeding.
After all that it came out perfect and tasted wonderful
Thank you for responding.
Next i want to try a long loaf.
I have steam bake mode, should I use it?
Great to hear! I don’t have steam mode in my oven, so I can’t speak to how that will turn out, but it sounds wonderful (and I’m jealous) — go for it!
I did the 24-hour plus proof in fridge. I haven’t baked yet. Does it need to sit out for several hours to not be so cold?
Nope! Easier to score when it’s cold… it should go basically straight from the fridge to the oven (after you score it).
Hello. Have made several times and it delicious. When you put it into the refrigerator, are you just covering with the cloth? Mine dries out and is hard on the outside. Do you seal it in plastic? Thank you! Cindy
Great to hear Cindy! I do stick mine in a ziplock bag (2-gallon) or produce bag tied with a knot to prevent the dough from drying out.
Thank you so much for this recipe! Super happy I found it! My bread turned out beautifully!!
Great to hear, Abi!
I received some starter from my mom and ended up giving this recipe a try and I was shocked at the results. A beautiful loaf of bread!
Great to hear! Thanks for writing 🙂
I have made three very successful loaves with this recipe and am half way through the proofing process for loaf number four. I do not throw out my “cast-off” starter when I feed it, which I only do twice a week or less unless I am baking bread. I use the cast off in making the fluffiest pancakes by replacing 1/3 of the liquid in my pancake recipe with 1/2 cup of starter. Anyways, love the recipe and the almost ritual process of going through the first batch of folks and proofs.
So nice to read all of this Michele! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes here 🙂
I made my first sourdough with this recipe and it turned out phenomenal! Thank you so much!.
Great to hear!
I used this recipe to make my first loaf of sourdough bread with my three week old starter. It turned out way better than I thought it would and was loved by friends. Thank you for the thorough and easy to follow instructions! I am about to try the recipe again, but wanted to divide the dough in half to make two loaves with different inclusions. Do you have any recommendations for how long to cook half the dough at a time?
Great to hear, Liv! I think the timing will be roughly the same for smaller loaves: you could try baking covered for 25 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes or until browned to your liking.
What a great recipe! I have tried many sour dough bread recipes over the years. This is the first that has given consistent results. My bread is perfect! So thankful I found this recipe!
!
Great to hear, Jeni! Thanks for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
This recipe worked so well for me!! The only sour dough recipe I am making right now. Thank you, Ali!
Great to hear, Carey!
Hi! This is my go to recipe. It’s so straight forward and always comes out great! I don’t know what I was thinking today but I completely messed up my timing and mixed in the afternoon and just finished my folds. It’s 7pm. Wondering if I should let rise until bedtime then put in fridge then take out and let finish bull rise when I wake up? With timing at this point I’d have to wake up at 5am otherwise. Hoping this works!
Thanks!
Hi… I’m likely too late here. You can do many things: let it rise at room temperature and then proceed with the recipe in the morning. This is a little risky bc the dough could potentially overferment, but I find it to be less risky during these cooler months. Or you could stick the dough in the fridge, then proceed in the morning with the bulk fermentation at room temperature.
What did you end up doing?
Just wondering if I can double this recipe to make two loaves and if so how that would change any of the timings? Thanks!
Worked perfectly! Thanks so much for putting this together. I look forward to experimenting with subtle possible changes that you noted.
Great to hear, Daniel!
Accidentally used AP flour instead of bread flour 🙁 really hope I don’t get a flat plank cake when I bake tomorrow LOL
Should be fine!
Hi, i havnt tried the recipe yet. But, no kneading????? Just stretch and fold?
Thanks!
Correct!
Thanks. Any insight as to why some recipes use kneading? Most do , right?
With sourdough, it’s very common to use stretch and folds to develop gluten as opposed to kneading.
I’ve never been complimented more on a loaf! Excellent
Great to hear, Keanna!
I love this recipe and have been using it successfully for months. However, now with winter the last two attempts have failed to get the fantastic oven spring I was used to seeing with this approach. I have confirmed my starter is not the problem as it as done well with a beautiful focaccia bread. I have tried bringing it to room temp longer after the overnight in the refrigerator and still no success. Any suggestions on things I should try? I really love this recipe and hate to give up on it. I am sure it is something in my technique with the winter
Thank you
Is this dough too wet to knead? I’d like to cut 2 hours off of the mix time if possible. Looks like a great recipe!
Hi Lori! Great to hear you like the recipe and bummer about the lack of oven spring. What type of flour are you using? And are you using a scale to measure? Typically, how long do you cold proof it before baking it?
thank you for your response. I have been using the same ingredients consistently , king Arthur’s all purpose flour, I let it bulk rise for about 6 hours and then cold rise for 12-24 hours. I had this happen during a previous winter and found that if i used the oven to do the final proof it seemed to help but that was before I tired the cold proofing and I really love how that worked. I wonder if I am scoring the dough too deeply or if I am not forming the final shape tight enough. Just so hard to figure this out , except that the cold weather seems to be a factor Thank you again
Hi! I don’t think scoring too deeply is the issue. I do think not shaping tightly enough could be the issue. You might want to try KAF bread flour, too. When you do the bulk rise, are you using as straight-sided vessel so that you can see how much the dough is truly rising?
Sometimes when I am making the dough, my starter won’t fully dissolve in the water. It sticks in clumps to my danish dough whisk. I let it sit for about 30 minutes and eventually got to to mostly dissolve. Does this mean the starter was not ready to use? The starter had doubled and passed the float test.
Hi! Are you using a scale to measure? And are you feeding your starter with equal parts flour and water by weight?
Yes . Using scale and feeding equal parts
OK, if your dough is rising fine during the bulk fermentation, then your starter is fine to use when you’ve been using it. If you are finding the bulk fermentation to be excessively slow, your starter might benefit from feeding it once or twice more before using it. You could also try using slightly more water (like 5-10 grams more) to make the starter slightly wetter.
I added the salt to the starter and water instead of adding the salt to the flour. Would that make my starter clumpy and not dissolve?
Nope! Should be just fine.
Best recipe ever! I went ahead and did the autolyse for two hours while my starter activated. Proofed in fridge for 17 hours. Doubled in size in the fridge and doubled again during baking. Best over spring I have ever had with any loaf. Ecstatic!
Wow, great to hear, Timothy! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
I am in the process of using this recipe after just learning about sourdough and starters. I started this when I was too tired, and used AP flour instead of bread flour. The dough is quite sticky and I’m about to do my fourth fold. Have I totally ruined it?
Nope! Should be fine. Are you using a scale to measure?
What ratio do you feed your starter for this recipe? Do you adjust the water at all when you use 100g of starter? Thanks!! Excited to try!
Hi! I always feed my starter equal parts by weight flour and water.
Not sure what you are asking here: “Do you adjust the water at all when you use 100g of starter?” Can you clarify? Thanks!
Thanks for the response! So you feed your starter 1:1:1? I meant when you use more starter, do you use less water? Thank you!
Hi! I feel like it’s more of a 1:2:2… so if I have 50 grams (roughly) of starter in my container, I feed it with 100 grams each flour and water. Often times it’s probably more like 25-30 grams of starter, and I feed it with roughly 60-70 grams flour and water each. Hope that helps! I truly never measure the small amount of starter I have left in my vessel after using whatever amount of starter I need for a recipe, and regardless of how much flour and water I feed it (within the range of 50-100 grams), it always turns out. Very forgiving!
This is absolutely my favourite sourdough recipe/website. Thanks for being so thorough! I’m just wondering, even though my loaves turn out really well, why do you think my dough flattens out a bit in the fridge? It makes it a lot more difficult to score them. Thanks so much again for the detailed recipe. It’s helped me SO much!!
Hi Julie and thank you 🙂
It sounds as though the dough may be slightly over proofed? When do you end the bulk fermentation? When the dough doubles in volume? Or more or less?
I shape the dough after it has increased by 50%. The final loaf turns out very well, it’s just that the dough looks a little miserable after I turn it out from the banetton and go to score it. I’ve had issues with overproofing when I’ve tried to do the bulk fermentation overnight on the kitchen bench so I do keep a keen eye on it during the day before I stick it in the fridge.
OK! Are you sticking the banetton in a bag while it’s in the fridge? It sounds as though you have a very strong starter, which is great. I’m wondering if you could get away with shortening the bulk fermentation so that you end it when it has increased by 30% or so. Are you using a straight-sided vessel for the bulk fermentation?
When I put the banetton in the fridge I cover it with a tea towel. I’ve tried a bag before but the dough goes a bit sticky. I always proof my dough in a straight sided container and mark the line of the dough with a whiteboard marker. I’ll stop the bulk fermentation at 30% next time and see how it goes. Thanks for all your responses. You’re very generous with your time.
It’s my pleasure, Julie! Great to read all of this. Hope the next attempt goes well.
Still trying to figure this out. This time my dough was very sticky and too soft and it did rise on first proof but 2 fridge proof it didn’t. Then when baked it lost any sort of shape a looks more like focaccia. Help? Please
Are you using a scale to measure? Is your starter strong and doubling reliably? You may want to check out this troubleshooting post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? 4 Common Sourdough Mistakes + Answers to FAQ’s
Hi–
I’m doing a 24-hour fridge bulk fermentation. The loaves roll out of my Cambro fine into kind of a blob ;>). But am I supposed to re-shape them again before cutting with lame? Like your roll and stitch method?
Thank you!
Hi! Questions: did you do a room temperature bulk fermentation first? But yes, after you remove the dough from the bulk fermentation vessel, you need to shape it into a loaf. Ideally, the shaped loaf goes back into the fridge for sometime before you score and bake it.
Hello,
As I don’t currently have a dutch oven. Can I cook this in a normal oven?
What temperature and time would you suggest.
Thank you.
Hi! Do you have a pizza stone or a baking steel? Ideally you want to cook this on a hot surface, and you can mimic the environment of a Dutch oven by using a stone/steel with an aluminum bowl turned over and placed on top.
Thanks so much for taking the time to explain all the details of this recipe and the step-by-step guide. I’m 36 weeks pregnant and don’t have the usual energy, but reading this
recipe and the instructions really helped. The bread turned out very tasty despite no oven spring and it didn’t rise as much as I would have liked but that might be because I don’t have a Dutch oven…
Regardless it was delicious!
Great to read all of this 🙂 Do you have a pizza stone or baking steel? You can make a “Dutch oven” using that in combination with an overturned bowl.
Hope the last few weeks of pregnancy are treating you OK… it’s not easy at the end 💕💕💕