Sourdough Bread

Adapted from Iliana Regan's Guide To Making Sourdough Bread (Bustle.com 2020)

To make sourdough bread, you first need to make the Sourdough Starter.

Sourdough bread takes a long time to make, so I created a printable sourdough bread making worksheet from this recipe to make it easier on myself.

Test the starter by dropping a small bit in a glass of water. If it floats, it’s ready!

Combine the following in a big mixing bowl and mix together gently with your hands:

  • 250g healthy starter culture (fed roughly 12 hours before use)

  • 700g 76-80 degree water

Then, add the following and mix with your hands or a plastic bench scraper until there are no clumps of flour remaining: 

  • 200g whole wheat flour

  • 800g bread flour

Rest the dough for 45 minutes. 

Then, add 29g salt + 55 g water (mixed together) to the dough and gently massage it in.

Now, it’s time to start developing the gluten that gives the bread its chewy, airy structure. 

With the dough in the bowl, gently pick up the top quarter, at 12 o'clock, and drop it into the center. Repeat at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock. Perform four series of stretches and turns on your dough with 40 minute intervals between each turn.

Rest for 60 minutes in a place that is slightly hotter than room temperature.

Turn the dough out of the bowl onto the unfloured counter.

Lightly dust with brown rice flour using as little flour as possible.

Divide dough into two 1000g portions.

Shape each into a boule by doing the same kind of stretches and turns done earlier in the bowl - but this time on the counter.

Lightly flour the proofing baskets.

Rest the boules for 15 minutes on the counter

Do one final round of shaping, then place boules seam side up in the proofing baskets.

Rest for 3-4 hours in a 75-80° F place OR 12-16 hours in the fridge

Final bake:

  • Put a dutch oven in the oven with the lid on and set it to Bake at 500° F

  • Leave it there for at least 30 minutes to heat up

  • Using oven gloves, pull the dutch oven out of the oven and put it on the (cold) stove. 

  • Turn out the proofed loaf of bread into the dutch oven seam-side down.

  • Use a clean xacto knife or other razor to score the smooth top of the bread.

  • Return to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. 

  • Drop the oven temperature to 450.

  • Bake for 10 minutes. 

  • Remove the lid of the dutch oven. 

  • Bake for 10-15 minutes until the desired color is achieved. 

  • Cool on a cooling rack for at least 40 minutes.

Brian Snyder