Beginner Sourdough Bread
- Cindi Dowdle
- Aug 10
- 4 min read
This beginner sourdough bread recipe is easy to follow and what showed me that I really make beautiful, delicious, successful sourdough loaves. It creates a delicious loaf of sourdough that is light and fluffy.
Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 35 Minutes
Bulk Fermentation: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours, 40 minutes
Yields: 1 loaf; 12 servings
Equipment
measuring cups
1 medium bowl
1 banneton or bowl with lint free kitchen towel
1 dutch oven
parchment paper
bread lame or sharp knife
Ingredients
600 g bread flour (I have found King Arthurs Unbleached bread flour gives me a very strong starter to make amazing, springy loaves)
420 g water
100 g sourdough starter
15 g salt
Directions
The Night Before: Feed Your Starter
Feed 25 grams of starter with 50 grams of flour and 50 grams of water. Cover and let rise overnight
The Next Morning: Prepare the Dough
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the entire contents of the sourdough starter and water.
Pour the water and starter mixture over the flour mixture. Use a rubber spatula or dough whisk to mix the dough until a shaggy dough forms.
Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Perform your first set of stretch and folds. Grab one edge of the dough, gently pull it up until you feel maximal resistance. Fold the dough over itself. Turn the bowl a quarter turn, then perform another stretch and fold. Continue to do this two more times until you complete a full rotation around the bowl. Cover and let rest.
From here, perform two more sets of stretch and folds over the next two hours. It is easiest to set a timer for every 30 minutes, but do not stress if your time intervals are a bit longer or shorter.
After your last set of stretch and folds cover the bowl for bulk fermentation. When bulk fermentation is complete, the dough will appear increased in size by about 50%. The top will have several large bubbles and will appear dome-shaped. This will typically take 4-8 hours depending on the time of year. Please see notes in the post for signs that bulk fermentation is complete.
Shape the Dough
Gently dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. If the dough sticks to the bowl, gently scrape and loosen the dough with your hand.
Stretch the dough into a rough square. Here is where you're going to want to add any inclusions to your loaf. You'll want to add inclusions evenly across your stretched square of dough, and more with each fold and before you roll the dough up to form a ball. See inclusions ideas below.
Fold the dough into thirds by grabbing one edge of the dough and folding it 1/3 of the way across the dough. Grab opposite edge of the dough and fold it over the dough, as if folding a sheet of paper in an envelope.
Roll the dough towards you to form a ball of dough.
Place the dough seam side down on the counter. Pull and rotate the dough towards you on a diagonal angle several times. This will build tension around the surface of the dough and form it into a tight ball.
Cold Fermentation
Place the dough seam side up in a lightly floured banneton or a bowl lined with a lint-free cotton towel. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Note: I typically recommend a 24 hour cold ferment, but you can refrigerate your dough for 1 hour, up to 72 hours.
Score the Dough
Place your dutch oven in the oven and preheat the oven to 450℉.
Place a square piece of parchment paper on your work surface. Place your cold dough seam side down in the center of the paper.
Use a sharp knife or bread lame to make a shallow X across the dough, scoring edge to edge (where the dough makes contact with the counter).
Pick up the parchment paper from the corners and use it to place the dough in the preheated dutch oven. Carefully replace the lid of the dutch oven and place back in the preheated oven.
Bake for 7 minutes. Remove the dough from the dutch oven. Use your knife or bread lame to score your bread deeper along the same X you made for your initial score. This will allow the dough to expand more.
Return the bread to the dutch oven, replace the lid, and return to the oven. Bake for 10 more minutes.
After the 10 minutes, remove the lid and bake for 15-20 minutes longer, or until the outside appears deep golden brown.
When finished baking, remove the bread from the dutch oven immediately. Transfer to a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
Inclusions
Everything But The Bagel Seasoning
Cheddar & Jalapeño
Pepperoni, Italian Seasoning, Mozzarella
Roasted Garlic & Rosemary
Grated Butter to make the "Croissant" loaf
Pecan Maple
Double Chocolate Espresso
Rosemary Roasted
Sundried Tomatoes & Parmesan
Caramelized Onions & Gruyere
Honey Butter & Cinnamon
Lemon & Blueberry
Cranberry & Oranges
And, so many more!!
*The Blueberry Lemon Curd loaf is made with a different recipe to include lemon juice and freeze-dried blueberries are added during the stretch and folds. Lemon Curd and more blueberries are added during shaping.
Comments