Beginners Sourdough Bread
HB-6149 · Hand-built original · American
A beginner-friendly sourdough loaf from flour, water, active starter and salt, shaped after stretch-and-fold rounds and a long cold rest, and baked in a lidded Dutch oven until deeply golden.
AmericanBread22 hrServes 12173 kcalVegetarianVeganDairy-freeEgg-freeDiabeticLow-SodiumLow Fat / Low CholesterolRenal
Main ingredient: flour
Pairs well with: coleslaw, cornbread, potato salad, baked beans
Servings:12quantities adjust to match
Ingredients
- 16¾ oz all-purpose flour, 3 1/2 cups
- starter, active and bubbly (1/2 cup)
- 11½ oz water, 1 1/3 cups
- ¼ oz salt, 2 teaspoons
Method
- Feed the starter 4 to 12 hours before you start the sourdough, so it is active and bubbly when the dough is mixed.
- Stir the water, starter, salt and all-purpose flour together in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon or your hands until a single dough forms.
- Cover the bowl and rest the dough for 30 minutes so the flour can hydrate.
- Do a round of stretch and folds: pull one edge of the dough up and back into the centre, turn the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat until you have made four pulls.
- Rest the dough for 30 minutes, do a second round of stretch and folds, rest another 30 minutes, and do a third and final round.
- Cover the bowl with a lid, damp towel or plastic wrap and bulk ferment the dough in a warm place until doubled, 6 to 12 hours or longer depending on the kitchen temperature and the starter's maturity, taking care not to over-ferment it.
- Shape the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface by folding it onto itself, rolling it up, and spinning it toward you into a ball, then rest it 15 to 20 minutes uncovered if you like.
- Turn the ball over, fold two sides in to meet in the middle and pinch them, then repeat on the other two sides to build surface tension for oven spring.
- Place the shaped dough seam-side up in a floured banneton or a bowl lined with a floured tea towel, cover or bag it, and rest it in the refrigerator for 12 to 15 hours.
- Heat a Dutch oven at 500 degrees for 1 hour, turn the cold dough out onto parchment, dust it with flour if you wish, and score it with a lame or razor blade, one large expansion score plus a decorative cut.
- Lower the parchment and dough carefully into the hot Dutch oven, put its lid on, and bake the sourdough for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid with oven mitts, turn the oven down to 475, and bake the loaf for 15 to 25 minutes more, until its crust is golden brown.
Total: 22h 0m
Nutrition (per serving, where published)
173 kcalCalories
10.8 gProtein
29 gCarbs
1.4 gFat
0.3 gSaturates
0 gFibre
0 gSugars
32 mgSodium
13 mgCholesterol
134 mgPotassium
12 mgCalcium
2.6 mgIron
1 servingServing
Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data