Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bread - made February 12 - 14 and April 19 - 21, 2025

My quilting instructor shared sourdough starter with us as well as the instructions on how to make sourdough bread. She also demo'd how to make the bread. I never got on the sourdough bread baking bandwagon that so many others did during Covid but I jumped on the bandwagon now. 

Breadmaking is not one of my stronger skills, especially if I can't use a bread machine. But I thought I'd give it a go. My first attempt didn't have the same airiness of crumb that my quilt leader's had, my second attempt was better in that the top half did but the bottom half was more dense. The third time finally got close to what she did with irregular air pockets more evenly distributed for a soft but still chewy crumb. I've laid out the multiple steps below. I already had the starter she gifted to us so I'm not including directions on how to make a starter but I'm sure there are plenty of directions out there for starting one.

Although the directions are long, they're not hard or complicated. Just be aware you need to plan ahead and allow yourself 2 days before bread baking (and eating) can happen. Sourdough bead is not something to be rushed but definitely something to be enjoyed.

2 days before you want to bake the bread - Starter Prep Day

1. The night of Day -2 add 100 grams of all-purpose flour and 100 grams warm (~105 degrees F) water to 20-100 grams of starter. Loosely cover and let sit at room temperature overnight.

My sourdough starter after feeding

right after feeding and mixing

left to grow overnight at room temp

Day -1: Bread Mix Day

1. Pour 525 grams warm (105 degrees F) water into large bowl. Add 200 grams starter and mix thoroughly with dough whisk until well combined.
2. Add 700 grams bread flour and 20 grams salt; mix with dough whisk then plastic bowl scraper. You can use wet hands to form a shaggy dough ball.
3. Cover bowl with towel and let rise (autolyse stage) for at least an hour and up to 4 hours.
4. After the autolyse stage, using wet hands, pull the dough from under the dough ball up and stretch it gently as you pull it over the doughball top. Release. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the process until the dough is stretched and pulled from each quarter of the bowl.
5. Over the next 2 1/2 hours, repeat the stretch and fold every 30 minutes for a total of four times. The dough will change from a slimy, ropy mass to a billowy dough with many air pockets and definite body as you stretch and fold it. Do not punch down the bowl at any time. The dough should become elastic and resilient and pass the window pane test. If your dough is still breaking before it goes transparent when pulled, do another stretch and fold.
6. Bulk rise: after the stretch and folds, allow the dough to bulk rise in the bowl at room temperature for 1-3 hours until it rises by 30% or so. Cover the dough bowl with plastic wrap and set it refrigerator for 12-15 hours (overnight).

after mixing and folding

Baking Day: 

1. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit on the counter in the bowl for 2 hours or until the dough reaches room temperature.
2. On a clean, unfloured counter, pour out the dough into a large mass. Flour the top of the dough lightly and evenly.
3. Cut dough in half with bench scraper and form each half into a dough ball: scrape each half in a circle around the dough, leaving it unturned, flour side up. The unfloured counter will hold the dough center and create tension as you circle the dough with the scraper, forming a ball. Repeat for both dough balls. The dough edge should be round and the dough balls should have some form and resilience.
4. Let the dough balls rest for 20-30 minutes. They will spread out but should not fall off at the edge of the pancake. If they do, reform the (round) loaves and bench rest them again to build the structure of the dough better.
5. Final shape and rise: gently slide the dough scraper under one of the dough balls and flip it over so it rests on the floured side.
6. Gently stretch and pull the dough over from the bottom to 1/3 up the loaf. Stretch and pull the dough from the sides to the dough middle. For the final stretch, take the dough from the top of the ball and pull it all the way down to the bottom. Form a seam, pinching the seam as necessary.
7. Place the dough seam side up in a rice-floured banneton or bowl. Cover and place in the refrigerator to rise for 2-4 hours.
8. Set a baking stone, Dutch oven or baking sheet in the oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F for at least 30 minutes.
9. Keep the formed loaf in your banneton in the refrigerator until oven has fully heated for 30 minutes. Remove one banneton from the fridge. Gently flip loaf onto a piece of parchment paper, seam side down. Score with lame or razor blade or sharp scissors. Pick up edges of parchment paper and gently place in very hot Dutch oven. Cover with lid and return covered Dutch oven to oven. Bake 30 minutes at 450 degrees F. 
10. Remove the lid after 30 minutes. Bake an additional 10 minutes, uncovered to 205 degrees F (use a meat thermometer to check). Remove from oven and let cool for at least 1 hour to set the crumb. Repeat with remaining dough loaf.
11. If you don't have a Dutch oven, preheat oven to 400 degrees with baking pan inside for 15 minutes. On the shelf below the baking sheet, fill a pan with water for steam. Reduce heat to 375 and spritz loaves liberally with water before placing scored loaves atop parchment paper inside. Bake 30-40 minutes. Let cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.

when dough is first poured out from fridge

tighten into round ball

in the banneton for final chill and rise

don't forget to score the dough loaf before baking

my first attempt

my first attempt

As you can see from the pictures, my first attempt only had the air pockets in the top half of the loaf and the bottom was more dense. I thought I had taken pictures of the inside of my third loaf but apparently not. Just imagine the third loaf had the top half and the bottom loaf both with more evenly disbursed air holes, lol.