Easy, Beginner Artisan Sourdough Loaf Recipe
Quit scrolling the internet for the perfect sourdough loaf recipe and just get started. My recipe is tried, simple and forgiving! I promise it will leave you motivated to expand your baking skills.
Equipment
- 1 Large Bowl
- 1 Kitchen Scale
- 1 Dutch Whisk (or wooden spoon)
- 1 Cast Iron Dutch Oven + Lid
- 1 Banneton Proofing Basket + Liner (or medium bowl and tea towel)
- 1 Silicone Sling (or parchment paper)
Ingredients
- 350 g Water
- 150 g Active Sourdough Starter
- 10 g Salt
- 500 g All Purpose Flour
Instructions
- In The Morning: feed your starter and let it double in size.
- In The Evening: Place the large bowl onto the kitchen scale and ensure it is in grams for units. Zero out the scale.
- Combine 350g of room temperature water and 150g of active sourdough starter to the large bowl. Mix well.
- Add salt and mix again. Mix any salt that congregated on the bottom of the bowl.
- Add 500g of all purpose flour and mix into a shaggy dough.
- Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel, plastic wrap or beeswax towel and let it rest (autolyse) for 60 minutes at room temperature.
- Begin a series of stretch and folds, once every 30 minutes three times (total of 1.5 hours). Wet your hands each time and grab one edge of the dough, pull outward (don't break the dough) and fold it back into the center. Rotate until each side has been folded inward. Rest another 30 minutes and continue the next stretch and fold until you've completed 3 rounds. Cover the dough each time you're finished.
- After your final stretch and fold, cover the dough and let it bulk ferment at room temperature for 8-12 hours depending on the temperature of your house and the outdoors. The goal is for the dough to double in size. This will be much faster in the summer and slower in the winter. Keep an eye on it until you are familiar with sourdough baking.
- The Next Morning: Prepare a lightly floured surface and dump the dough onto it. Stretch the dough gently until it's in a rectangular shape. Trifold the dough back into itself and begin tucking the edges underneath. Use one hand to gently push the dough with some resistance across the prepared surface, then rotate it and continue this process until you have strong, elastic surface tension.
- Prepare a lined banneton basket or medium bowl with a floured tea towel in it.
- Gently scoop the dough up and flip it upside-down into the prepared bowl. Flour the top lightly (this is actually the bottom of the dough facing upward) and cover with a towel or beeswax wrap. Leave room for it to grow slightly.
- Place the dough in the fridge for a 60 minute cold proof. This will also help keep the dough in a boule shape for baking.
- While the dough is cold proofing, preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C) and place the dutch oven (lid on) into the oven as it preheats. It's important to preheat the two together. The long preheating time ensures the oven is equally heated and that the dutch oven is equally as hot so there's no delay when the dough is placed in it.
- After one hour, remove the dough from the fridge. Turn it out onto the silicone sling or a sheet of parchment paper. Remove the dutch oven from the oven and immediately place the dough into it. Put the lid on and place it in the oven for 25 minutes.
- After 25 minutes, remove the lid and set another timer for 15 minutes. This next period of baking will allow the crust to thicken and become "crunchier".
- After another 15 minutes, remove the artisan sourdough loaf and place it on a cookie sheet to cool.
- Allow the bread to completely cool before cutting into it. The dough is still cooking even after removing it from the oven.
- Enjoy!!