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Over the last few years I’ve made it my mission to learn how to make the softest, fluffiest, chewiest, naturally leavened bread with my sourdough starter.
This easy sourdough boule is the result of much practice and formula testing. I wanted to keep the recipe very simple and straightforward so that even an amateur sourdough baker could reproduce this bread with beautiful results! If you follow my recipe and learn the technique from watching my video you will definitely be able to master baking an artisan sourdough boule at home in your Dutch oven.
I’ve written a comprehensive guide to sourdough. It answers questions about what sourdough is, why it’s better for your body, how to talk about sourdough and understand common terminology, and how to save yourself years of trial and error.
Learn how to bake a big and beautiful loaf of real sourdough bread. This formula yields a soft and pillowy crumb perfect for slathering with real butter!
Mix the ingredients into a loose shaggy dough with a wooden spoon or dough whisk.
Wet your hands and gently knead the dough in the bowl by hand until it comes together with no excess flour.
Let the dough rest covered for 10 to 15 minutes.
Start the first stretch and fold by wetting your hands and lifting one side of the dough and folding it toward the middle. Repeat this stretch and fold process in all four directions.
Sometimes you can get away with an extra one or two folds depending on the elasticity of the dough. If it wants to stretch, stretch it! If it's tearing or breaking, it needs a rest.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Start the second stretch and fold by wetting your hands and repeating the same folding motion in (at least) all four directions.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Repeat the stretch and fold and resting process up to five more times for a total of seven stretch and folds (or as many as you are able). I have made great bread by just doing two stretch and folds. But remember, the more stretching and folding, the more gluten will develop, and the higher your bread will rise!
After the last stretch and fold cover the dough and allow it to double in size. This can take anywhere from 3 to 6 hours depending on starter strength and ambient temperature.
Prepare your banneton (proofing basket) with a coating of flour. My trick is to use sprouted wheat flour. Sprouted wheat does not develop gluten so it will keep the bread from sticking to the basket. Rice flour, buckwheat, or other non-glutinous flour can also be used.
Working with the doubled dough, start the final stretch and fold. This will act as the "punch down" of the dough, deflating the gasses trapped inside the gluten network. Stretch the dough several times toward the center, each time pressing down on the dough to remove air bubbles.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Lightly wet your hands and remove the dough from the proofing bowl onto your work surface. Shape the dough by repeating the same folding toward the center action. Once a tight ball is achieved flip it seam side down and push it gently in all directions across the work surface to build tension in the outer layer (see attachedvideo).
Let the dough rest seam side down for 5 minutes.
Transfer the dough to the banneton basket. This time you want the seam to be up and the tight surface to be down in the basket.
Sprinkle the seam side of the shaped dough with a light dusting of flour and cover it securely with wrap and a rubber band.
Place the banneton basket in the refrigerator overnight for at least 10 hours. 12 to 24 hours is my preferred proofing time.
Once the dough has crested the edge of the banneton it is ready to bake, but you may keep it in the refrigerator for a longer period of time.
Preheat your oven to 450°F with your covered Dutch oven inside.
Cut a piece of parchment paper big enough to overhang your loaf's circumference by a few inches.
Remove the banneton from the refrigerator, remove the wrap from the dough, and place the parchment sheet over the exposed dough. Hold the parchment in place with your hand while you flip the dough onto the counter. Now the parchment is on the bottom.
Carefully ease the banneton off the dough. Sometimes it takes a little coaxing. Use your fingers to gently work between the dough and basket. Hopefully the basket will lift away clean!
Using a sharp razor blade, score the dough along the top. There are so many scoring patterns to practice with, but a good one to start with is a simple slash or a cross. Score the dough about 1/2 inch deep.
Using baking gloves, remove the Dutch oven from the oven and remove the lid.
Working quickly, pick up the boule by the parchment paper edges and place it into the Dutch oven on top of the parchment.
If desired, add a few ice cubes to the Dutch oven between the parchment and the wall of the Dutch oven, or spray the boule with a few spritzes of filtered water. Adding additional moisture will keep the crust soft, allowing for more rise and giving a nice blistered texture and appearance.
Cover the Dutch oven and place it back in your preheated oven. Bake undisturbed for 25 minutes.
Open your oven and remove the Dutch oven lid. Bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Remove your Dutch oven from the oven and gently lift the boule out using the parchment paper as handles. Remove the parchment paper and cool the boule on a wire rack. Cool the boule completely before cutting (possibly the hardest part of baking this incredible loaf of bread!).
Notes
Beginners: Start with 275 grams water, about 1 1/5 cups.
Also note that all cups and spoons measurements are approximate, for best results please weigh your ingredients!
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This recipe yields a boule that has a hydration percentage of 73.3%
Higher hydration doughs will have a more open crumb (bigger holes). Want to play around with hydration? Use this website to calculate the hydration percentage of your dough: Bread Hydration and Conversion Calculator.
Because You Are Awesome and Read All the Way to the Bottom of This Post You Get My “Pro Tips” for This Recipe!
Pro Tip #1You can use up to 60% whole wheat or other heirloom or ancient grain in this recipe. Be aware that you may want to add additional water because whole grains absorb more water in the dough. Start with 10 additional grams of water per 50 grams of whole grain flour used.
Pro Tip #2If you are baking in an electric or gas oven with a bottom heating element, always use a baking stone, pizza stone, cast-iron griddle, or cast-iron frying pan on the rack below your Dutch oven! Position the Dutch oven directly above the barrier pan or stone — this will help keep the bottom crust from getting too dark!
Depending on your oven, you will need to preheat for up to one hour to ensure the oven is at temperature and the Dutch Oven is searing hot. Sourdough bread should be cooked in a Dutch Oven for 45 minutes at 230C or 450F (with the lid off for the last 10 to 15 minutes).
Insulate the Dutch oven with a baking sheet or stone to avoid crust burning. Place a baking stone or sheet on a rack below the Dutch oven to help prevent burning. Most ovens have a bottom heating element that can provide far too much heat on the bottom of your dough, especially if you place the rack too close.
While the bread is proofing, preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C) with a lidded cast-iron pan inside. (Note: your bread will bake better if you have a baking stone on the oven rack below your bread. It will act as a buffer against the heating elements in the bottom of your oven.)
Most no knead bread recipes call for preheating the Dutch oven while the oven heats up. Not only do we not recommend heating an empty Dutch oven, but it can be challenging to wrangle the wet dough carefully into an extremely hot pot. But we found that preheating is really not necessary to achieve a delicious loaf.
Right before you pull the dough out of the bowl, place the dutch oven into the oven and preheat it to 450 degrees F. Placing the artisan bread dough into the warm dutch oven results in a golden-brown crispy crust.
You can shape your dough on a rectangular sheet of parchment paper, then use it to safely lower the dough into your Dutch oven. Once your gorgeous loaf of bread is finished cooking, the parchment paper makes removing the loaf super easy.
Aluminium foil might seem like a good alternative to parchment paper when baking sourdough bread. However, aluminium foil lacks the non-stick properties that parchment paper offers. This means that when you use it to bake, there is a small risk that your bake will become stuck to the parchment paper.
Give the bottom of the loaf a couple firm taps with your thumb. The bread will sound hollow when it's done. If you're new to this technique, try doing this every five minutes toward the end of baking and you'll hear how the sound changes.
Note: As loaves begin to overproof they lose their height and shape. The crumb becomes more dense.The holes become more ragged and irregular in shape.The crust begins to thin and separate from the crumb.
It's fairly simple to adjust the timing for baking sourdough in a loaf pan. Unlike using a Dutch Oven to bake sourdough bread, using a loaf pan means that the loaf is uncovered for the entire time it is in the oven. This means that you need to reduce the temperature to ensure that the top of the loaf doesn't burn.
Heat your oven to 450 degrees F, and place a covered Dutch oven on the center rack to preheat for about 30 minutes (I used a 6-quart Dutch oven, but even a 4-quart or 8-quart Dutch oven would work).
The dutch oven should be entirely made of cast iron, including the handle. This will help the dutch oven deal with the extremely hot temperatures inside your oven while baking sourdough. The shape of the pot determines what shape the sourdough bread will come out.
Your bread will be pale and shiny like the picture above. Continue to bake (uncovered) for an additional 40 minutes or until deep, golden brown. The internal temperature should read 205-210º F/ 96-98º C. Cool on a wire rack for at least a 1 hour before slicing.
Heat oven to 425 degrees.Bake bread for 30 minutes (starting timing as soon as you turn on oven). 7. Remove lid and continue to bake until bread is deep brown and registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer.
After closing the oven door I set the oven to conventional bake mode (no fan) and set the temperature to 220 degrees Celsius (430F). The sourdough bakes for 30 minutes covered with the pot, I remove the pot and leave the sourdough to finish baking for twenty minutes.
For “lean” breads, which contain only the basic four ingredients, I bake them at 450 degrees F. Baguettes and rolls bake for about 20 – 25 minutes, while most other loaves bake for 35 to 45 minutes. An instant read thermometer is a big help in telling when a loaf is done.
Introduction: My name is Dean Jakubowski Ret, I am a enthusiastic, friendly, homely, handsome, zealous, brainy, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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