I’ve played around with Sourdough Bread off and on for a while now. Only with the pandemic have I really had the time to dig deeply. And honestly if it weren’t for the bread hoarders I’d probably not had gotten into it. But I have starter I maintain*, I have loads of flour, and salt. I wasn’t going to sweat the lack of bread on the shelves.

I’m going to bare bones information here on how I do it. I’ll give you links at the bottom for more information.

Starter- you can start from scratch, but I asked around for mine. Ask around for yours. You know somebody who knows somebody with some in their fridge.

Into a few ounces of starter add a 1:1 ratio of water and flour into it. The amount depends on how much bread your want to make eventually. This is feeding the starter. Remove some of the starter to decrease volume then add the water/flour in equal parts. Stir. If you are not going to make bread, refrigerate. Do this every 7-14 days to keep your starter alive. If you are going to make bread do this twice a day, leaving the starter on the counter. Do this 3 or 4 times before starting making bread. Is it bubbly? You’re good to go.

Make the Autolyse-In a large bowl that is wideish, mix the flour and water together to hydrate and let it sit. This step makes a softer crumb, taller bread, so do it. Some people poo poo this step. Mix 1000g flour to 800g water. The flour should be at least 50% all purpose flour and 10% bread or high gluten flour, the rest can be made up of whole wheat or more all purpose or any kind of flour you like. The water is tap. Let it sit, covered with plastic or a clean towel 30 minutes to 4 hours.

You need to be attentive ish for the next 2 hours.

Into the autolyse mix 150g starter and 20 grams salt. It’s going to be goopy and weird. Don’t add more flour but keep at it until it is cohesive. Keep it in the bowl, and this is why you want a wide bowl, so you can get in there and stir. You don’t want to put this on the counter as it will ooze all over. Cover and let sit 30 minutes. After 30 minutes pull an edge over and tuck it in. Like 12 on a clock to 6, 3 to 9. Do this 6 ish times. Be assertive but conscious you are creating air bubbles, so don’t slam it around. After the last pull and tuck, flip the dough over in the bowl. Then cover and let rest. Repeat this action 3 more times. Hence why you need be around for 2 hours. The last time you do this there should be enough tension in the dough that it sits slightly rounded at its edges in the bowl.

In a container fitted with a lid, put the dough to rest for 4-12 hours on the counter. This is when much of the flavor develops. When it’s time to form the dough lightly flour the counter, tip the container on to the counter and gently help the dough roll onto the surface. During the last many hours the dough has developed structure/air and you don’t want to lose that texture.

Form the dough but before you do that get a colander or a basket or a banneton basket and line with a dishtowel. Make sure the towel wasn’t dried with fabric softener it will transfer to the flavor of the bread. Do not use a bowl as the bread needs to be in a breathable container. Dust the fabric with flour really well. Divide the dough in half then form the loaves -really watch a video for this- spread it out into a rectangle on floured surface. It will be sticky, don’t flour it too much. Fold the sides in so it’s skinny, then roll it from the bottom, stretching as you go, trying to create tension. Pace it seam side up basket. Don’t worry if looks too round for loaf or too wonky, it will puddle a bit in the batnneton, losely cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let sit 4 hours on the counter or up to 14 hours in the fridge.

Baking:

Set two Dutch ovens with their lids in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees. Only after it’s preheated, remove the dough from the fridge for the next steps.

Use parchment paper, set it against the dough and gently flip the banneton over on the counter. Remove the towel or basket and brush off some of flour. Score the bread with a razor or a sharp knife at least once or be decorative. Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven pick up the bread using the parchment as handles and place in the hot pot tenderly. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 450 and bake 10 additional minutes with out removing the lids. No peeking. After that remove the lids and bake 15-20 minutes to brown the bread. Go a dark as you dare.

Remove pot from the oven and bread from the pot. Admire your creation and cool before cutting.

Bread for two loaves:

1000g flour

800 g water

150 g starter

20 g salt

500 degrees 20 minutes, covered

450 degrees 10 minutes, covered,

450 degrees 15-20 minutes uncovered

Notes about timing: The four folds, 30 minutes apart are the most time restrictive part of this, and even that, you can go 60 minutes between folds. When the dough is resting at room temp there is a lot of variation in time. Plus once it’s shaped. You can bake the dough after shaping with an hour rise on the counter if you need to. Some folks bake one right away and wait a full day to bake the second loaf which was set in the refrigerator. I heard tell of a 3 day wait to bake the loaf, but I’ve never done that.

My most typical timing is I start the autolyse in the morning. I’ll do my 4 folds over the next few hours, have it done by noon. I’ll then put the mass into a container to set on the counter until 8 or 9pm. I’ll form the loaves and put them in the bannetons to refrigerate overnight. The next morning I’ll preheat my oven to 500 or 475 in the convection, with the Dutch ovens inside and bake off the bread. It’s a solid 24 hours, but I could extend the times on the counter or in the fridge if I need to.

Equipment:

Large wide mixing bowl

2 bannetons-colanders with tea towels work too

bench scraper

8 quart container with lid

lame- or sharp knife

parchment paper

Dutch oven

Fundamental video