Just a few years ago I made it a goal of mine to learn how to make sourdough. Let’s be honest, I absolutely love Panera Bread (primarily with a warm bowl of Broccoli Cheddar soup served with their sourdough) and I wanted to create something just as enjoyable from home. This recipe is exactly that and I have family raving about every loaf I make!
Everyone’s journey with sourdough looks a little different, and mine is no exception. I’ve had a few very neglected starters that unfortunately had to be tossed. I’ve had loaves that did NOT turn out well. But after much trial and error and a bit more consistency in caring for my starter, I have beautiful sourdough each time I bake!
What Is Sourdough?
In a nutshell, sourdough is slow-fermented bread that doesn’t require commercial yeast in order to rise. Instead, sourdough bread is made with a live fermented culture that acts as a natural leavening agent.
Well known for its its tangy and slighty sour flavor, chewy texture, and crackly crust it makes the most delicious side to a creamy soup, creates the most perfect sandwich, and is ideal paired with a seasoned dipping oil. Not only does it taste amazing, but the naturally occurring acids and long fermentation help to break down the gluten, making it more digestible and easy for the body to absorb!
Sourdough Starter
While you can certainly create a sourdough starter on your own, I decided to purchase my starter from Sunrise Flour Mill and have had amazing results with it. My own basic sourdough recipe is a modified version of their recipe, with more specific measurments, tweeks made, and tips for a better outcome based on my own experience with baking sourdough.
How to Feed Sourdough Starter
When just maintaining my starter (aka not planning to bake the next day) I first measure the amount of starter in grams. I calculate the amount of flour and water needed by dividing the total grams of starter by 2 and adding that calculated amount of each flour and water. Starter: Flour: Water or 2:1:1 or 100g:50g:50g.
If I plan to bake the following day I will use the same amounts of starter, flour, and water (1:1:1) Typically I feed around 175g of starter with 175g of flour and 175g of water. After adding 270g of active starter to my dough when mixing, I then feed the remaining starter as usual (2:1:1).
When is My Starter Ready To Use?
Your stater is ready to use when it becomes bubbly and doubles in size.
This can take anywhere from just a few hours up to 12 hours or more depending on the temperature and the condition of your starter. It may take a few feedings to figure out what works best in your environment.
I have personally found that it works well to feed my starter the night before I plan to mix the dough. I feed it just before going to bed and by morning it is bubbly and ready to go!
Sourdough Bread Ingredients
- Active sourdough starter
- Bread flour – I personally use King Arthur bread flour
- Water
- Sea Salt
- Rice flour – I use Bob’s Red Mill rice flour to dust the bannetons
How To Measure Your Ingredients
I use a kitchen scale for measuring each ingredient added to the dough as I go through the mixing process. I begin by placing my scale on a solid surface and turning it on. Set the bowl being used for mixing on the scale then zero out the scale by holding down “zero” or “tare” until the scale shows 0grams while the bowl is still sitting on the scale. I first measure out the bread four, then zero out the scale before adding the water. I then do the same for each step – place the bowl with flour and water after autolyse on the scale, zero out then add sea salt. Zero out again before adding your active starter.
Why I Use Rice Flour For Dusting The Proofing Baskets
Using rice flour to dust the bannetons has been the most helpful trick I’ve found on my sourdough journey. I recommend dusting the bread baskets with rice flour because it is gluten-free and doesn’t absorb moisture in the same way that all purpose or bread flour does. I find that with rice flour my dough releases perfectly when I turn it out onto parchment paper for scoring prior to the bake. When using all purpose flour I found that my dough tore as it released. If you do not have rice flour available, gluten-free flour would make a good substitution.
Equipment Needed To Make Sourdough
- Danish Dough Hook
- Banneton Proofing Baskets, Bread Lame, and Dough Scraper – here is a great sourdough starter set that is very similar to what I started with and currently use
- Kitchen Scale
- Dutch Oven
- Jar for your starter – I have a set of these jars and have 2 dedicated to starters (one active starter and an extra in case I need to transfer for cleaning).
Steps in Making Your Sourdough Bread
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1000 grams bread flour (I use King Arthur bread flour)
- 700-710 grams water
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 270 grams active sourdough starter
- rice flour for dusting the bread proofing baskets/bannetons (I use Bob's Red Mill rice flour)
Instructions
- Combine the bread flour, water, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a danish dough hook or fork until it becomes a shaggy dough. Cover for 1 hour for autolyse (autolyse is when the mixture of flour and water is given a period of time to rest before bulk fermentation).
- Add the sourdough starter and mix thoroughly by hand. It will take several minutes to fully incorporate the starter. The dough is ready when it is smooth but still sticky to the touch.
- Once mixed, place into a large clean mixing bowl and cover until almost doubled in size. This will take several hours (I usually give mine around 3-4 hours or more depending on the temperature in my home during a given season, but your time may vary). You can speed up the process a bit by placing the bowl on top of a heating pad set to the lowest setting for this bulk fermentation period.
- Once it has doubled in size, you can begin the stretch and fold process. Grab one side of the dough and fold it back onto itself. Rotate the bowl by a quarter turn and repeat. Repeat twice more, for a total of 4 stretch and folds. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Note: it can help to wet your hands with water before doing each stretch and fold so that the dough doesn't stick to your hands as much.
- Repeat the previous step every 30 minutes. Do this 3 to 4 times (for a total of 4-5 total stretch and folds). The dough gets stonger with each stretch and fold.
- Prepare 2 bannetons by first lightly saturating the inside of the basket with water (note: I do not use the linen liner cloth). Then generously dust the basket with rice flour until all areas are well covered with the flour.
- After the final stretch and fold, divide the dough into 2 equal portions on a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough and place into the prepared bannetons using your dough scraper as needed. Cover and place into the refrigerator overnight.
- In the morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator and set on the counter while preheating the oven. Place a dutch oven (lid and all) into the oven and then begin preheating to 450°F. Once the oven has reached 450°F, continue preheat for an additional 30 minutes to allow the dutch oven to fully heat prior to baking.
- Turn out the first banneton of dough onto a large square of parchment paper. Score the sourdough with a bread lame. Remove the dutch oven from the oven and lift the dough into the dutch oven using the parchment paper. Cover with lid and return to the oven.
- Bake for a total of 35 minutes. Keep the dutch oven covered for the first 15 minutes, then remove lid for for the remaining time (leave the lid somewhere within the oven to continure heating for the second loaf).
- Remove the sourdough from the oven and let cool fully on a cooling rack.
- Repeat steps 9-11 for the second loaf.
Other Recipes To Pair With Fresh Sourdough
Let me know in the comments or leave a review if you make and enjoy this sourdough recipe as much as our family does!
*Affiliate links have been used within this post
Leave a Reply