Baking a Simple Sourdough Loaf

This recipe makes two medium-sized loaves and comes with a warning….

I am not an expert at this ☺️

I’ve only made about ten loaves, and all of them during lockdown and although this recipe is lengthy it’s also super easy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

INGREDIENTS

White Bread Flour 900g
Lively sourdough starter 200g (75/80% hydration)
Room temp Water 620g
Salt 16g
(extra flour & water required for other steps)

EQUIPMENT

1 bowl
1 proofing basket or banneton (or use a clean floured bowl)
1 bread scraper (or use blunt knife/spatula)
1 razor blade (or sharp knife)
1 teatowel
1 water spritzer (or use hands)
1 weighing scales
1 dutch oven or casserole dish (or use steam)

1st day: Feed your starter in the evening.

2nd day: Make the dough, stretch and folds, preshape, and final shape.

3rd day: Turn out, score, bake, and enjoy!

1ST DAY: FEEDING YOUR STARTER

If you have not made a sourdough starter before, or don’t have one at the moment please take a look at our …

sourdough starter guide

…before having a go at the loaf.

Making the starter can take up to a week, but feel free to buy ready-made starter online if you prefer.

You will need to feed it the night before making your dough, I feed mine at 75% hydration (75g of water & 100g of rye flour or strong bread flour) but you can feed it at 100% hydration and up the water by 25g. Keep it on the side at room temperature overnight, not in the fridge for maximum fermentation.

By the next morning, it should have doubled in size and you should see many bubbles throughout the mixture. To test if it is ready or not, you can put a spoonful in some water to see if it floats, but don’t worry if it doesn’t! Mine had loads of bubbles and had doubled in size but it didn’t float this time and it still worked really well.

2ND DAY: MAKING THE DOUGH & SHAPING

Step 1: Making the dough

Put 200g of your lively, bubbly starter into a large mixing bowl with 620g of room temperature water and mix together using your finger tips. You may feel the water warming slightly, this is a sign of the starter starting to ferment.

Add 900g of bread four and 16g of salt to the mixture. You can use lots of different types and ratios of bread flour to make your loaf, but for this recipe, I used strong white bread flour.

Mix all the ingredients in the bowl together with your hands for a few minutes to form a shaggy mass. You should be able to feel that the mixture is a consistent texture all the way through and that there are no lumps of flour or pockets of water.

Leave the mixture on the side to stand for 30 mins, covered with a clean tea towel.

Stage 2: 1st Stretch & fold (8-14 folds)

Watch the video below to see the technique, and read on for the more in depth method!

The concept behind this first stage is to start to form the mixture from the shaggy mix stage into a cohesive mass which will eventually form into a lovely loaf shape. Try to think of your dough as having a top and a bottom, the part of the dough that is exposed to the air in the bowl will form the ‘top’ of the loaf, and the dough touching the bottom of the bowl will be its ‘bottom’.

Prepare your work area by spraying water over the countertop, the ‘top’ of the dough, the scraper, and your hands.

Tip the dough out slowly onto the wet surface, easing it out with your hand so the ‘bottom’ of the dough is now facing upwards. Don’t worry if it starts to stick a bit at this stage, just keep the bread scraper handy to loosen any bits that do.

To do your first stretch and fold, grab a section from the edge of the mass, stretch it out and fold it into the middle. Repeat this 8-14 times around the edge of the dough, until its edges are uniform and circular (rather than lumpy) and pop back in the bowl ‘bottom’ down. Whilst you were doing the stretch and folds the dough was ‘upside down’ so remember to flip it when you put it back in the bowl (the folded ‘bottom’ part should be touching the bottom of the bowl).

Leave for 1 hour, covered with a tea towel.

Stage 3: 2nd stretch & fold

Watch the video below to see the technique, and read on for the more in depth method!

After being left covered on the side for an hour you should start to see bubbles forming in your dough. 

To do the second stretch and fold, spray all working surfaces with water like before and tip the dough out onto the counter ‘bottom’ up. Stretch and fold between 5-7 times around the edges of the dough and pop back in the bowl ‘bottom’ or folded side down. 

Leave for 1 hour on the side, covered with a teatowel. 

Stage 4, 5 & 6: Repeat the Stage 3 process 3 more times, with an hour rest in between. You should notice during each stretch and fold that the dough is becoming more and more like a cohesive ball rather than a shaggy mass.

By Stage 6: You should notice lots of bubbles forming, and the dough should be much easier to handle. 

Leave for 1 more hour before doing the pre-shape.

Stage 7: Pre-shape

Apologies, I forgot to video this technique but here is a photo of the finished pre shaped ball. Follow the method below for instructions on how to do the step.

You will need to follow the same process as stages 3, 4, 5 & 6, but instead of using water to stop the dough sticking, we will now be using flour. At this stage, we are also going to split the dough in half into its two loaves. (this does not need to be exact!)

Tip the dough out onto the floured surface ‘bottom’ up and split it down the middle into two separate pieces. Put one piece of dough aside, and start pre-shaping the other. Stretch and fold the dough 5-8 times to create your dough ball. Turn it over so that the ‘bottom’ or folded part of the ball is touching the countertop. Tuck the sides in with your hands or use the bread scraper to encourage the dough ball shape.

Repeat this process with the second piece of dough.

Leave both pre-shapen dough balls on the side for 1 hour covered with a tea towel.

FINAL STAGE: Final shape

Firstly, you will need to prepare your proofing basket or banneton by covering the inside surface with four (I like to use rice flour because it seems to stop it sticking less… I think because there is way less gluten). Be liberal, you don’t want the dough to stick when you turn it out, so more is better. You can always dust off the excess flour before baking!

To do the final shape you will need to turn the dough ball over again onto a floured surface, so its ‘bottom’ is facing up. Be very gentle with your ball at this stage. You may notice it is starting to feel like an inflated balloon, and the last thing you want to do is knock all the air out of it!

Start at the side furthest away from you and fold the edges in from each side one after the other (left then right) to form a plait shape. Once you’ve reached the side closest to you, roll the plait back on itself and stick it to the end you started on by sliding it back and forth across the countertop. This technique is pretty hard to describe, so it’s probably best to watch the video to see more clearly how to do the final shape.

Once you’ve rolled you’re dough plait up into its final shape, the seam should be at the bottom touching the countertop. Release any stuck bits with the dough scraper and gently place it into the banneton or proofing basket SEAM SIDE UP! For its final proof in the banneton & fridge overnight, your dough should be upside down. This is so that when you turn it out in the morning it will be the right way up, ‘bottom’, or seam side down.

Repeat with the other dough ball, and put both bannetons covered in the fridge overnight ready to bake in the morning!

3rd Day: Bake your loaves!

See video below for my method, using a dutch oven.

See written method for a more detailed description, or to see the method if you don’t have a dutch oven!

There are a few ways to bake your loaves depending on what equipment you have at your disposal. The main thing we want to do in the first half of the bake is to keep the outside of the loaf moist so that it can reach its full expansion potential! If the crust is too dry it will form too early and this will stop the bread rising. The second half of the bake is all about creating a crispy delicious crust!

If you have a dutch oven or casserole dish:

You will have to bake your loaves 1 at a time unless you have two of the above!

Heat the oven and your chosen baking container 1 hour before baking to 230C. At the same time take the proofing loaves out of the fridge to warm up to room temperature.

Once the oven and the container have reached 230C it’s time to bake!

Gently peel the sides of the dough away from its proofing basket to minimise the risk of them sticking as you turn it out. Sprinkle a small amount of flour on to a piece of baking paper. (I am using the lid of my dutch oven because it is flat, but most of you will have to transfer the loaf into the dish using baking paper. Make sure you cut the baking paper big enough to use it to transfer the loaf from the countertop to the casserole dish/dutch oven). Get your sharp knife/razor blade ready to score, and your hot dutch oven/casserole dish out of the oven!

When you are ready, flip the basket over onto the baking sheet so the dough is released seam side down. Use the razor blade to score a line slightly to one side of the loaf. Make sure you go right to each end of the loaf and that it goes deep enough to allow the loaf to open up during the bake. Don’t wait around! As soon as you’ve scored, use the baking sheet to transfer the dough into the dutch oven/casserole dish, pop the lid on, and put it in the oven for 20 mins.

After 20 mins, take the dough out of the dutch oven/casserole dish and turn the oven down to 215C to bake for another 20 mins.

After a total of 40 mins (20 min for the rise, 20 min for the crust) take the loaf out of the oven and transfer it on to a cooling rack. To check if its done tap the bottom of the loaf, it should make a hollow sound if it’s ready to come out!

Leave your beautiful loaf to cool to room temperature before slicing, and enjoying it however you like!

Repeat with the second loaf.

If you have a baking stone or tray follow these instructions:

Most likely the stone or tray will be big enough for you to cook both loaves at once!

Heat the oven and your tray/stone, plus an extra deep tray underneath the stone 30 mins before baking to 230C. At the same time boil a full kettle & take the proofing loaves out of the fridge to warm up to room temperature. Once the oven and the trays have reached 230C it’s time to bake!

Gently peel the sides of each dough away from its proofing basket to minimise the risk of them sticking as you turn them out. Sprinkle a small amount of flour on to a piece of baking paper. (I am using the lid of my dutch oven because it is flat, but most of you will have to transfer the loaf ont to the tray using baking paper). Get your sharp knife/razor blade ready to score, and your hot tray out of the oven!

When you are ready, flip the basket over onto the baking sheet so the dough is released seam side down. Use the razor blade to score a line slightly to one side of the loaf. Make sure you go right to each end of the loaf and that it goes deep enough to allow the loaf to open up during the bake. Don’t wait around! As soon as you’ve scored, use the baking sheet to transfer the dough into the tray and put all the kettle water in the other deep tray below the one your loaves are on. The steam from the water will soften/moisten the outside of your loaf so it doesn’t crust and this will allow it to expand to its full potential.

After 20 mins take the bottom tray with the kettle water in out of the oven, and leave the loaves to bake for another 20 mins at 215C.

After a total of 40 mins (20 min for the rise, 20 min for the crust) take the loaf out of the oven and transfer it on to a cooling rack. To check if its done tap the bottom of the loaf, it should make a hollow sound if it’s ready to come out!

Leave your beautiful loaf/loaves to cool to room temperature before slicing, and enjoying it however you like!

Mine came out like this!