Sourdough bread
Artisan sourdough bread with a golden, crackly crust, open crumb and deep flavour. The definitive recipe for making truly great bread at home, with a slow cold fermentation.
Ingredients
- 500 g bread flour (W280 or higher)
- 350 g cold water (20 °C)
- 100 g active, bubbly sourdough starter
- 10 g fine salt
Instructions
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Autolyse
Combine the flour and 320 g of the water in a large bowl until no dry flour remains. Cover with a damp cloth and rest for 30-40 minutes. This phase hydrates the flour and encourages gluten development without kneading.
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Add the starter and salt
Add the active sourdough starter to the autolyse. Dissolve the salt in the remaining 30 g of water and incorporate it too. Knead for 5 minutes using the stretch-and-fold technique until the dough is cohesive and slightly tacky.
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Bulk fermentation with folds
Leave the covered dough to ferment at room temperature (22-24 °C) for 3-4 hours. During the first 2 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes: pull the dough upwards and fold it over itself from all four sides. The dough should increase by 50-75% and look bubbly throughout.
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Pre-shape
Gently turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pre-shape into a tight ball by folding the edges into the centre and rotating the dough against the counter. Rest uncovered for 20 minutes.
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Final shape and cold proof
Shape the final loaf by building tension from the ends towards the centre. Place seam-side up in a well-floured banneton (or a bowl lined with a well-floured cloth). Cover and refrigerate for 8-16 hours for the final cold proof.
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Bake in a Dutch oven
Preheat the oven and a Dutch oven with its lid to 250 °C for 45 minutes. Turn the loaf onto a sheet of parchment paper, score it (one diagonal slash, 1 cm deep, using a lame or sharp knife) and lower it into the very hot Dutch oven. Bake covered for 20 minutes at 250 °C, then uncover and bake for a further 22-25 minutes until deeply golden. Internal temperature: 96-98 °C.
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Cool before slicing
Remove the loaf and place it on a wire rack. Wait at least 1 hour before slicing: the interior keeps cooking from the trapped steam and the crumb needs time to set. Cutting too early gives a gummy, wet crumb.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I need to prepare a sourdough starter ready for baking?
Approximately 5-7 days, refreshing equal parts whole-wheat flour and water every 12 hours at room temperature. The starter is ready when it doubles in volume within 4-6 hours of a feeding and passes the float test: a spoonful dropped in water should float.
Can I use plain flour instead of bread flour?
You can, but bread flour (higher protein content, W280+) produces a more open crumb and a stronger structure. With plain flour the loaf will be denser. Blending 80% white flour with 20% wholemeal also gives excellent results.
Why does my loaf turn out flat?
The most common causes are: an underactive starter (fails the float test), incomplete bulk fermentation (not enough bubbles in the dough), insufficient tension during shaping, or an oven and Dutch oven that are not hot enough. Make sure to preheat the Dutch oven for at least 45 minutes.
I want to learn the full bread-making process before trying sourdough. Where do I start?
We recommend reading the complete guide on how to make bread at home first: it covers ingredients, the stages of the process and the most common mistakes. Once you have mastered the basics, this sourdough recipe is the natural next step.
