Foodgeek Master Recipe for Artisan Sourdough Bread

Step 1

About 8-10 hours before baking feed your starter at 1:3:Meaning take 30g starter, 90g flour and 90g water mix it and let it grow at room temperature.

Step 2

If you'd like a more sour bread, you can start earlier.

Step 3

Add 593g bread flour, 148g rye flour and 15g salt to a bowl.

Step 4

Mix it with your fingers until it's well-distributed.

Step 5

Add 148g of sourdough starter and 496g of water.

Step 6

Mix with your fingers until no dry bits remain.

Step 7

Leave the dough to rest covered for 60 minutes.

Step 8

Do three sets of stretch and folds spaced out by 30 minutes.

Step 9

After the last set do a windowpane test, if the dough fails, let the dough rest 30 minutes more and do another set of stretch and folds and then go to the rising stage of the bulk.

Step 10

Put the dough in a see-through container where you can monitor the bulk. Let the dough rise 25%.

Step 11

The time varies on a lot of factors, so go by the rise, not time. For reference, at around 24°C/75°F it takes my dough 2-3 hours to rise to 25%. DON'T USE TIME!!

Step 12

Divide the dough into two equally sized piece by cutting it with your bench scraper.

Step 13

If you are great at eyeballing go with that, the rest of us will probably just use the trusty scale.

Step 14

Preshape both pieces of dough into a boule.

Step 15

Let the dough rest on the counter for 20 minutes.

Step 16

Final shape the breads to boules or batards depending on your preference. Boules are absolutely the easiest, so if you're new go for that. Watch the video to see how both are done.

Step 17

After each dough is shaped dust a banneton with rice flour and add the dough.

Step 18

Then put the banneton in a plastic bag and close it loosely by tugging the end underneath the banneton.

Step 19

Add both bannetons to your fridge. You fridge should be ice cold. Mine's set to 2°C/35.5°F.

Step 20

Let the bread retard for at least 8 hours, up to 48 hours.

Step 21

Heat your oven to 260°C/500°F with a baking steel and dutch oven inside. Heat for an entire hour to make sure both are completely saturated with heat.

Step 22

Grab a dough from the fridge.

Step 23

Dust it with rice flour on the bottom and put your peel over top.

Step 24

Flip it over so the dough rests on the peel.

Step 25

Dust the top with more rice flour and distribute it with your hands.

Step 26

Score the dough.

Step 27

Open the oven and take the top off the dutch oven.

Step 28

Grab the peel and add the dough to the dutch oven.

Step 29

Put the top on, close the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Step 30

Then open the oven and take the top off of the dutch oven.

Step 31

Turn down the oven to 230°C/450°F.

Step 32

Bake for another 20 minutes until the bread is golden and crispy.

Step 33

Take the bread out and put it on a wire rack to cool.

Step 34

Reheat the oven to 260°C/500°F and bake the other bread.

Step 35

That's how you make artisan sourdough bread.