Recipe: Rustic Sourdough Bread
Dear Reader,
Have you ever felt called to do something, but felt intimated by the process?
That’s how I felt about homemade sourdough for a long time.
“Baking sourdough is a science, not an art,” is what I’ve been told.
I’m not one of mathematics, science, or anything too calculated, so I felt I was out of my ballpark to begin the process (maybe it was the kitchen scale that intimated me too, I don’t know).
Also, the whole “starter” thing, the waiting game for it to rise, and the press-and-fold technicque — it all seemed too much.
I’m here to tell you, though: it’s really not hard to bake sourdough from scratch.
If I can do, TRUST me, you can do it.
I’ve baked a dozen loafs in the last two weeks, and it just keeps getting better and better the more I do it.
I combined a few different recipes and methods and found the perfect sourdough for my liking, which is a bit more rustic with a golden crunchy outside and spongy, slightly-tangy inside.
Now I just need to work on my artful scoring skills—you know, make it more of an art than a science.
Below I share all the tools, materials, and methods I use to making my perfect loaf!
Tools I Use
Scoring tool (i.e., a “bread lame”)
Spatula to mix with
Large mason jar to activate starter
You can also buy this set — has all the things you need, minus the scale.
Ingredients I Use
Sourdough Starter — you can buy premade starter, make it yourself, or simply borrow from a friend.
All Purpose Flour (to feed the starter)
Bread Flour (this is the flour I use for the actual loaf)
Salt
Water
The spongy bubbles!
The Method
Step one: Begin with the Starter
First, you’ll want to feed your starter to get it activated. I put the below ingredients in a large mason jar.
To activate:
Add 1 cup of all purpose flour to starter
Add 1 cup of water to starter
Mix until it gives “peanut butter” thickness
Cover mason jar with anything that isn’t sealed tight — a damp cloth or plastic wrap will do.
Mark your starter (a rubber band or ribbon works) to ensure it grows.
Note: you may have to add more flour to get that desired sticky thickness (you don’t want it runny).
It is “activated” when it begins bubbling (it’s alive!). This is what gives you that delicious spongy texture in your bread. It shouldn’t take long to get your starter activated.
A general rule is to wait until your starter doubles in size. You just want to make sure it grows a bit from that initial marked spot.
Step Two: Mix the bread
Once your starter is activated, it’s time to make your bread!
Get out your scale and set a mixing bowl on top, then “zero out” your bowl and add:
Starter — 75g
Bread flour — 400g
Salt — 8g
Water — 290g
Important note: make sure “zero out” the scale between each ingredient so that each ingredient perfectly measures the amount above.
Step three: “Stretch and fold”
After an hour or so, you can do your first “stretch and fold” (this is how you do it).
After you stretch and fold the first time, let it hang out on the counter for 45 minutes (covered with a damp cloth), then do another stretch and fold.
Repeat this process once more for a total of three stretch and folds.
After your third stretch and fold, allow the bread to sit on the counter for at least 4-5 hours with a damp cloth over the bowl.
Step four: Shape the Bread
Get out your all-purpose flour and sprinkle a surface. Then add your dough to the surface and get rolling — literally.
You can get fancy with this; I don’t. There are hundreds of tutorials on how to shape your bread. I use a “candy cane” method, pulling up and rounding out to the side.
Transfer your shaped bread to your floured bamboo basket, cover with a damp rag, and let it hang out in the fridge for at least 6 hours (again, can be longer — I usually leave overnight and bake in the morning).
Step five: score the bread
Before you do anything, preheat your oven to 500-degrees.
Pull out your bread from the fridge and use your bread sling to remove the bread from its bowl.
Now it’s time to score with your bread lame. If you don’t have a lame, you can simply use the sharp edge of a pairing knife.
We score bread so that it can expand or “spring” to its full potential in a controlled manner during baking (otherwise, it bursts).
Also a fun excuse to add some art to your loaf.
No need for a tutorial (you can literally just do a single line), but you can view some videos for inspiration if you want to get artsy.
Step six: bake the bread
Once you’ve scored your bread, it’s time to use your sling to transfer the loaf into a dutch oven to bake.
Bake your loaf in your dutch oven covered with a lid for 20 minutes at 500-degrees.
After 20 minutes is up, drop the heat to 450-degrees, remove the lid, and bake for another 20 minutes. This is how our loafs get that beautiful golden color on the outside.
Once the time is up, pull the dutch oven out of oven, remove with the bread with its sling, and allow to cool on a cooling rack or cutting board.
Next, give yourself a hug. Yay — you’ve made the perfect sourdough loaf!
Enjoy! xx