A step-by-step guide to making an artisan loaf of sourdough bread. This detailed recipe is going to set you up for success. This is the recipe I use in my own microbakery and the recipe I share with all my students who attend my in-person classes.
If you’re new to sourdough baking, chances are you’re feeling a little bit overwhelmed. I get it. Starting this new sourdough journey is a lot. There’s a whole new vocabulary to learn, a method that feels foreign and the transition from cups and spoons to grams on a scale can feel like too much to handle sometimes. Not to mention the super cryptic response you always get when you ask “but how long does bulk fermentation last?”
When I got my sourdough starter a few years ago, I was completely overwhelmed.
***Googles: “how do I feed a sourdough start” and orders a digital scale***
And the thought of doing stretch and folds, a fermentolyse, preshape … all of that felt completely overwhelming. So I skipped it all and just made bread. And guess what … it worked.
And I still share the recipe I started out with often. It’s my easy, overnight sourdough recipe. It’s delicious and works great, but if you’re aiming for more than great, this is the recipe you’re going to want to use.
But I’m telling you, something magical happens when you add in the rest of the sourdough steps. Doing the stretch and folds make a huge difference. Understanding bulk fermentation is important too. And shaping your loaf the right way really impacts how well it raises in the oven.
I’m not telling you all of this to overwhelm you or make you feel intimidated. I just want you to understand that learning the method of sourdough is so important if you want to be successful. When you understand why we do certain things and how that impacts your final loaf, it makes the entire process so much less overwhelming.
So learn something new from every bake … and then forget about the “failed loaves” that weren’t picture perfect. Because making bread at home is so much better than anything you buy from the store.
So let’s talk a little bit about the process before we get to the actual recipe.
Let’s start with a sample baking schedule.
| Day 1: 8 pm | Feed sourdough starter at 1:10:10 ratio |
| Day 2: 8 am | Mix up your dough |
| 8:30 am | Add salt and mix until salt is dissolved |
| 9 am | Stretch and fold #1 |
| 9:30 am | Stretch and fold #2 |
| 10 am | Stretch and fold #3 |
| 10:30 am | Stretch and fold #4 Let rest while bulk fermentation completes. |
| 3 pm | Preshape your dough (this is assuming your dough was about 75*F throughout bulk fermentation) |
| 3:30 pm | Final shape. Place dough in banneton and into fridge for cold proof. |
| Day 3: 9 am | Preheat oven and Dutch oven to 450*F |
| 9:45 am | Score dough & bake |
| 10:30 am | Bread is finished baking, let cool |
| 12 pm | Slice into that bread and enjoy a taste. |
Next up: stretch and folds.
Gently pull up dough from one side of the bowl.
Fold it over into the middle. Turn the bowl a quarter turn.
Gently stretch the dough up again.
Fold over into the middle. Repeat on the remaining 2 sides.
Now let’s talk about the part of the process that really seems to stress people out the most: Bulk fermentation. The reason this confuses so many people is because there’s not a really easy, cut and dry explanation for when to know bulk fermentation is complete. There are so many different techniques that people use to help them determine when to end bulk fermentation.
The dough temperature, the aliquot method, knowing how to read your dough … all of that comes with practice and some trial and error. So, I’m going to do my best to quickly explain what to look for, but just know that it’s going to take some practice to nail this step. And that’s okay. Practice makes progress.
So you’re looking for your dough to have a domed top and be starting to pull away from the edges of the bowl. There should be able to see some scattered bubbles throughout your dough. It should have also increased in size – the amount of rise is going to vary based on how hot or cold your dough is. And most importantly, your dough should feel light and airy. Dense dough will give you dense bread. Light and airy dough will give you light and airy bread. If your dough feels heavy and dense, let it raise longer.
Now that you know what you’re looking for when it comes to your bulk fermentation, let’s talk about how the temperature of your dough will impact your bulk fermentation. Warm dough = faster fermentation. Cooler dough = slower fermentation. So if your dough is really warm, you’re going to shorten the time you bulk ferment and look for less rise. It’s going to take time for your dough to cool down in the fridge, so we end bulk fermentation early knowing that the dough is going to continue to raise in the fridge for a couple of hours.
But, cool dough can ferment much longer and double in size before heading to the fridge because it’s going to take very little time for that dough to drop down to fridge temperatures. This chart from the Sourdough Journey is a really great resource. This is going to help you understand about how long your dough will need to ferment and when to shape it. When I learned about the correlation between dough temperature and fermentation time it changed everything about my sourdough loaves.
Now that I have probably completely overloaded your brain, let’s get to the actual recipe.
Original Artisan Sourdough Loaf
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Kitchen scale
- Danish Dough Whisk
- Dutch Oven
- Bread Lame
- Banneton Basket
- Bench Scraper
Ingredients
- 100 grams active sourdough starter
- 350 grams water reserve 10-15 grams for after the fermentolyse
- 500 grams bread flour
- 10 grams sea salt
Instructions
Prepare your sourdough starter
- Feed your sourdough starter at a 1:1:1 ratio about 4 hours before you want to mix up your dough. Combine 40 grams starter, 40 grams water, and 40 grams flour. Stir until everything is well combined and there are no dry bits of flour stuck to the bottom.
- Feed your sourdough starter at a 1:5:5 ratio about 12 hours before you want to mix up your dough. Combine 10 grams of starter, 50 grams of water, and 50 grams of flour. Stir until everything is well combined and there are no dry bits of flour stuck to the bottom.
- Your starter should be bubbly, at least doubled (maybe even tripled) in size, have a sweet, yeasty smell and a flat top. For best results, mix your dough up when your starter is at it’s peak.
Day 1: Prepare your dough
- Fermentolyse: Once your starter is ready, mix together: 100 grams active starter, 340 grams water (use warm water if the ingredients are too cold and cool water if the ingredients are too warm), 500 grams bread flour. Mix with your dough whisk until a shaggy dough forms and there are no dry clumps of flour. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add the reserved 10 grams of salt and 10 grams of water. Combine using your hands by squeezing the dough between your fingers, pinching chunks of dough and reincorporating together. The dough will break apart and then reform in the bowl through this process. Continue pinching the dough until it no longer feels gritty and the salt is incorporated. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Folds: Perform a series of “stretch and folds” throughout the next 2 hours. This is how you strengthen your dough since we don’t knead it. First, wet your hands, so the dough doesn’t stick to it. Reach to the bottom of the bowl, pull the dough up and over and place it on the top of the dough. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretching and folding motion 4-6 times. You’ll notice the dough changes through this process. Your first set will look a little bit shaggy, but by the end you should have a nice, smooth and elastic dough. Cover the bowl and wait about 30 minutes in between each set of stretch and folds.Stretch and fold #1: 30 minutes into bulk fermentationStretch and fold #2: 30 minutes laterStretch and fold #3: 30 minutes laterStretch and fold #4: Optional, if your dough is still sticky or isn’t starting to hold it’s shape in your bowl you can do a fourth set to continue adding strength to the dough.
- Finish bulk fermentation: Cover the dough and let rise for 1.5-2 more hours (longer in the winter when it’s cold). You’ll know the dough is ready to shape when the dough is puffed up, jiggles when you shake the bowl, has scattered bubbles visible on the sides and top. *See bulk fermentation temperature chart above for a typical timeline*
- Pre-shape: Lightly flour your counter and place your dough on the floured counter. Gently pull your dough across your counter until you’ve got a round ball. Using a bench scraper can be helpful. The goal is to introduce some tension in your dough, but we’ll be back for the final shaping in a little bit.
- Bench Rest: Let the dough rest uncovered on the counter for about 30 minutes. The dough will probably flatten during this time. This allows the gluten in the dough to relax and prepares the dough for the final shaping.
- Shaping: Prepare your banneton basket. Place a kitchen towel in the bowl and flour as needed. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough. Using a bench scraper, lift the dough up off the counter and place it back on the countertop – floured side down. This ensures that the flour is staying mainly on the outside of the dough.For a boule (round loaf): Going around in a circle, pull the dough sideways towards you and then fold up to the top of the round. Turn 90 degrees and repeat the same process pulling the dough sideways and then folding up to the top. As you continue this process around the dough, increase the tension as you pull. Gather the bread into a circle and place into your prepared bowl. Place into your prepared banneton basket.For a batard (oval loaf): stretch your dough into a chubby rectangle. Fold into thirds – like you would fold a letter for an envelope. Then roll the dough up and pinch the sides together. Gently pull the dough back across the counter to build tension. Place into your prepared banneton basket.
- Cold Fermentation: Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight or up to 36 hours. If you want to bake the same day, you can skip this step and let the dough rise for about 2-3 hours in the banneton basket until it’s puffed up and risen. Then bake according to recipe directions.
Day 2: Baking
- Preheat your oven and Dutch oven to 450 °F for 45 minutes.
- Once preheated, pull the loaf out of the refrigerator and remove the covering. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Flip the dough over so it is now sitting on the parchment paper.
- Scoring: Use a bread lame score the dough. Decorative scores should be shallow. Your expansion score should be deep.
- Baking: Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Take the lid off and place your bread into the Dutch oven (including parchment paper – this helps with the transfer). Put the lid on and put back in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid of the Dutch oven and continue baking for 20 minutes until the bread is a crackly deep brown. Remove the Dutch oven and place on a wire cooling rack. Your bread is fully cooked with it reaches an internal temperature of 200-210 °F
- Cooling. I know it’s hard, but try to let your loaf cool for at least one hour before you slice into it.
Notes
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