Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe (Beginner's Guide)
This recipe is perfect for those who have little experience in making sourdough bread. This bread has a low hydration and is therefore easy to handle. For those who are not familiar with sourdough basics such as: stretch and folds, lamination, etc., I recommend reading the entire blog post carefully before making this recipe.
Servings: 2 loaves
Equipment
- 1 cast iron pot
- 1 bakery cutter
- 2 proofing baskets
Ingredients
Starter feedings
- 100 g starter
- 100 g water
- 100 g organic whole wheat flour
levain**
- 75 g active starter*** refreshed 2-3 times for optimal results (see notes)
- 75 g water** around 20 °C in summer and around 25 °C in winter (see notes)
- 75 g organic whole wheat flour** or organic white flour in summer if very hot (see notes)
Dough
- 700 g water around 20 °C in summer, around 25 °C in winter
- 800 g organic white bread flour with at least 13% protein
- 200 g organic whole wheat flour
- 20 g sea salt
Extra:
- 1 tablespoon of rice flour for dusting the proofing baskets
Instructions
Refresh your starter (day 1, 10:00 am)
- Around 10 am, in a container, mix 50 g of starter, 50 g of water and 50 g of flour until combined. Cover and allow to rise for 4-6 hours until doubled in volume.
- Around 16:00 pm, repeat the process. Keep 50 g of starter (discard the rest) and mix it with 50 g of water and 50 g of flour until combined. Allow to rise for 4-6 hours until doubled in size. Once this happens you can make the levain.
Levain** (day 1, 22:00 pm)
- Just before going to bed, around 22:00 pm, make the levain. Mix 75 g of starter, 75 g of water and 75 g of flour until combined, place in a container, cover and allow to rise overnight.
Autolyse (day 2, when your levain has doubled in size, let's say around 8:00 am)
- In a large mixing bowl, add the flours, 650 g of water and the levain. Mix until no dry bits remain. Cover the bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Then add 30 g water and the sea salt, and knead until incorporated.
- Next set the dough into a moistened large baking form made of glass, cover it and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch and folds & lamination (day 2, 9:00 am)
- Do 2 rounds of stretch and folds (wet your hands lightly while doing them) followed by a 30 minutes rest.
- Next laminate the dough, then cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Bulk fermentation (day 2, 10:30 am)
- Press the dough into the moistened baking dish and mark the height of the dough. Allow to rise 40-50%. This might take from 3 to 8 hours depending on your room temperature. Mark the height of the dough with a marker or a piece of tape so that you can check the rise.
Pre-shaping (day 2, time depends on bulk fermentation)
- Lightly flour a working surface and scrape out the dough. Divide the dough in half.
- Shape into a round shape, cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
Final-shaping (day 2, 15 min. after preshape)
- Shape each dough into an oval (batard) and place in proofing baskets (previously floured with rice flour). Cover with plastic wrap and set in the lower part of the fridge to rest overnight.
Baking (day 3, after 8:00 am)
- Preheat the oven and Dutch oven to 250°C (500 °F).
- Then remove Dutch oven from the oven, open it and cover the bottom with a sheet of baking paper.
- Remove one dough from the fridge, flip it onto the baking sheet, score it, cover with the lid ofthe Dutch oven, set it into the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
- Then, remove the lid and continue to bake for 20 minutes longer. Than remove from the oven and repeat the process wit the second dough.
- Allow the loaves to cool for 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.
Video
Notes
**Note: Depending on the room and water temperature, the levain may take more or less time to double its volume. The goal is to wake up in the morning when the Levain is super active and its volume has doubled.
If you prepare the Levain at 22:00 in the evening, and you don't want to prepare the bread before 8:00 in the morning I recommend the following:
At a room temperature around 20°C (in winter, for example), I recommend using water with a temperature around 25°C to accelerate the fermentation process.
If the room temperature is around 25°C, I recommend using water at a temperature of around 15°C.
At a room temperature around 30 °C, I recommend to use water with a temperature around 10 °C. to slow down the fermentation process (otherwise it will double too fast!).
With time you will get to know your starter and its timing. I live in Switzerland and in summer, when we have about 25-28 °C, I prepare the levain in the evening around 10 o'clock, with cold water, and in the morning around 8 o'clock it has doubled its volume and is ready for baking. In winter I have to wait 2 hours longer in the morning or prepare the levain a little earlier in the evening, around 8 pm.
You can also affect the rising of the levain by using other types of flour. In fact, whole wheat flour ferments faster than white flour. So if you live in a hot place, I recommend using white flour for your levain.
*** Note: The success of your sourdough bread is directly related to the health of your starter. The more active he is, the better your bread will turn out. On the other hand, if your starter is weak and too sour, the bread will tend to be gummy, flat and too sour. So refresh it at least 2-3 times before you use it to bake bread. Read the blog-post to know how to do it.