Homebaker beginner sourdough recipe

I like adding the water to the bowl first before I add flour in later steps, as this makes it easier to incorporate all ingredients into the dough. Combining your starter and water first will alsl help with evenly distributing the starter into the dough. Make sure that your water isn't too hot or too cold (between 20°C and 30°C).

Adding the salt now lets you easily dissolve it into the starter-water mixture. Some bakers like to add salt at a later stage, as salt can slightly slow down fermentation. But in my experience this is negligible and by adding the salt early you're sure not to forget it later on!

Add the flour in steps of 100-200 grams, thoroughly mixing the dough in between, either by hand or using a spatula or dough whisk (of course this can also be done with a machine).

The dough should already feel much smoother now. I like doing two rounds of stretching and folding here to strengthen the dough even more.

After this round of stretching and folding, check to see if your dough passes the window pane test (if it can be stretched to be almost see through without tearing). This is a great sign that your dough is already very strong. If it tears easily, wait another 30 minutes and do another stretch and fold.

Knowing when your dough has bulk fermented long enough is one of the trickiest parts to learn and it can take some experimenting. Depending on your dough and ambient temperature, as well as the activity of your starter, this can range from 3-6 hours.

By not using any flour in your work surface, you'll have an easier time pre-shaping the dough. Wet your hands and tools to make the dough less sticky. To pre-shape the dough into a tight ball, I like to first fold four sides of the dough into the middle of the dough, then flip the dough over using a bench scraper. I then use the bench scraper and my other hand to slide the dough across the surface to create a tight dough ball. This will take some practice and I can recommend watching some videos on the process first.

Liberally put flour on your dough and work surface (using s sieve makes this process easier). Shape the dough into a boule or batard depending on your banneton (proofing basket). I recommend watching videos of this process to get to know the techniques first.

Ideally use rice flour for your banneton and transfer the dough with the help of your bench scraper. Dust with another coating of rice flour and cover with a kitchen towel. If you don't have a banneton, you could use a bowl lined with a clean kitchen towel that you've liberally floured.

The ideal temperature in your fridge should be around 4°C (39.2°F)

Pre-heat for at least 30 minutes. If you're using a dutch oven to bake your bread, let it pre-heat in your oven.

Once the oven has been pre-heated, get your loaf from the fridge and flip it onto a sheet of baking paper. Putting the baking paper onto a cutting board makes this process easier. You'll probably need to cut your baking paper into a square so that it will fit into your dutch oven. Make sure that your baking paper is big enough that you can use the edges to pick up the dough to transfer it into your dutch oven. Remove any excess flour and then carefully use a razor blade or sharp knife to score your bread at an angle. The cut shouldn't be too deep, but not too shallow that the cut doesn't stay open. If you've never done this before, look up videos of basic bread scoring to get an idea of what to do.

Take out your dutch oven. Using oven gloves, carefully pick up your dough using the sides of your baking paper and transfer it into your dutch oven. Close the lid and return the dutch oven into your hot oven. Bake covered for 20 minutes at 250°C (482°F). If you're not using a dutch oven, bake your loaf on a baking pan/tray. If you're not using a dutch oven, spraying some water into your oven before you close the door will improve the oven spring.

Carefully take off the lid from your dutch oven, admire your loaf and then let the loaf bake for another 20 minutes.

Exact baking time will vary depending on your oven, but your loaf should be nice and brown when you get it out of the oven. You can also test this by knocking on the bottom of your loaf (like knocking on a door) and the sound should be hollow (like a door), which indicates that your bread is done baking. Now comes the hard part: for best results you need to let your dough rest for at least an hour, ideally more. Your loaf should cool down to room temperature before cutting in, as your loaf is still technically baking while it's cooling down. Once cool – enjoy!