sourdough bread recipe

A simple sourdough bread recipe that can be made with minimal effort. The perfect recipe for home bakers that want a healthy loaf of bread to serve with dinner or for beginner sourdough bakers looking to get their hands into bread baking.

Beginner's Sourdough Bread Recipe

sourdough starter

water

fine sea salt

bread flour (unbleached)

Prepare sourdough starter in advance: You will need to prepare 50g of active starter (aka levain) before you begin mixing the dough. To a clean jar add 10g starter + 25g water + 25g flour and let rise until doubled. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the maturity of your starter, this can take anywhere from 4-12 hours.

Mix the dough: Transfer the 50g of active starter and 350g water into a large mixing bowl. Stir to distribute the starter evenly. Add 500g bread flour and 10g sea salt to the bowl and use a stiff spatula or your hands to work the ingredients together until it forms a shaggy mass, making sure that there are no dry bits of flour. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 1 hour.

Stretch and Fold: Pick up the dough on one side and stretch it up and over itself. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat this step until you have turned the bowl a full circle. The dough should form into a tight ball. (If you have time, let the dough rest 30 minutes and repeat the stretch and fold process 1 to 2 more times. This will help to build volume in the final loaf)

Bulk Fermentation: Cover the bowl and let the dough ferment for 7-10 hours on your kitchen counter or in a 65-70°F (18-21°C) area of your home. The dough should have risen by 50% and show signs of fermentation, bubbles on top and sides of the dough.

Shape and Second Rise: Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Shape the dough into a ball by pulling 4 sides of the dough into the middle of itself. Turn the dough seam side down and gently cup the dough, pulling and twisting until it forms a tight skin. Center the dough onto a piece of parchment paper, seam-side down. Place the dough, along with the parchment paper into a bowl and cover. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until it has risen by about 20%.

Score and Bake: 30 minutes before you&#039;re ready to bake, Preheat the dutch oven to 450°F (232°C). Right before baking, use a sharp razor to score the top of the dough. Using the parchment paper as a sling, transfer the dough to the dutch oven. Cover and bake for 20 minutes, uncover and bake an additional 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. The internal temperature of the bread should be around 210°F (99°C). Let the bread cool on a cooling rack until completely cooled before slicing.

https://embed.mediavine.com/videos/gvgxylb2ruert0xolkst

Beginners Sourdough Bread Recipe is an easy, no knead recipe made with sourdough starter, no yeast necessary. This homemade bread is made with bread flour but a small amount whole wheat can be used if desired. All of our recipes are tested with quality flour for consistent results.

Beginners Sourdough Bread Recipe

An easy Sourdough Bread recipe that rises overnight and bakes in the morning. A simple flexible recipe, made with <a href="https://www.feastingathome.com/sourdough-starter/">sourdough starter,</a> that can be adapted to your needs. View the  3 instructional videos above for more details. If you don't see the videos, make sure your ad blocker is off. (NOTE: the recipe multiplier is not working correctly for doubling or tripling - so please calculate this for yourself !!! Sorry.) Stretch and fold techniques from <a href="https://breadtopia.com">Breadtopia</a>

Sourdough Bread

organic white bread flour, spooned

fine sea salt (12 grams)

——

filtered water (385 grams)

rice flour (my favorite) flour

Substitute 1/2 cup rye flour, spelt or whole wheat flour flour flour

seeds

Once

 8-10

 hours before mixing your dough, feed your sourdough starter, leaving it out on the counter. (See notes for extra sour). OR, if you keep your starter in the fridge and fed it in the last 7 days- it is OK to use straight from jar, cold, without feeding. Best to use starter after it peaks, when it is &#8220;hungry&#8221;.

8:00 pm

  PLEASE use a kitchen scale if this is your first loaf. Weigh the flour in a medium bowl (***zeroing out the weight of the bowl).  Then add salt, spices, seeds.  Mix starter and water in a small bowl until cloudy and well mixed. Pour starter-water into flour incorporating all the flour using a fork or  wood spoon. It should be a thick, shaggy, heavy, sticky dough. See video. Mix for about 1 minute using the wood spoon&#8211; it will be hard to mix, sticky, shaggy.  Don&#8217;t worry about tidy dough here, just get the flour all mixed in and cover with a wet kitchen towel and let rest 15 minutes. It will loosen up as it rests.  (Alternatively, mix starter and water in the bowl first, then add the salt and flour-like in my 3rd video- either way, works.)

8:20 pm: Do the first set of stretch and folds

  (See the 1st video in post) With one wet hand (put a bowl of water next to you) pull the dough from one side and stretch it upward, then fold it up and over to the center of the dough.  Turn the bowl and repeat, stretching and folding from the side, up over the middle, repeat for about 30 seconds or until the dough gets firm and resists. This helps strengthen the gluten. Cover, rest, and repeat the process  15 minutes later. Wet hand, stretch and fold, for 30 seconds until the dough gets firm. Then turn the dough over in the bowl. Yes, you could do this a couple more times if you would like to build the gluten, but not imperative.  🙂

8:35 pm

 Proof overnight, at room temp. Cover with plastic or wax wrap or a damp kitchen towel (to keep the moisture in) and place it on your kitchen counter for 8-12 hours.  (see notes on temperature) 68-70F is the ideal temp. (If it is warmer, check at 6-8 hours. If it is cold, it may take up to 18 hours in winter.)

6-8 AM

Check the dough in the morning. The dough should have flattened, expanded, with a slight springy dome to the top. It won&#8217;t necessarily double in size ( maybe 1.5 -1.75 times bigger) but will have expanded. Do the POKE TEST: With a floured finger, poke into the dough. If it indents easily, and mostly springs back to original shape,  it has probably risen enough. If it feels firm or very hard to indent, let it rise longer. If it feels loose, runny, or indents too easily and doesn&#8217;t spring back, it is most likely over-proofed (bake it anyways).

Line a high-sided bowl with parchment

  This brand of parchment does not stick to the bread- but if you are unsure about yours, spray oil your parchment lightly before putting the dough in it. (If you are a seasoned bread baker, you do not actually need parchment -this is only for easier transport only, bread will not stick to the inside of a dutch oven.) I like using a high-sided medium-sized bowl versus a flat or shallow bowl to help shore up the sides. You can also use a rice-floured Banneton (bread proofing basket) if you have one.

 2nd Set of STRETCH and SHAPE

 (Watch 2nd video -Stretch and Shape video). Loosen the dough from the all edges of a bowl with using your wet fingers, a wet spatula or wet plastic dough scraper,  sliding down the sides of the bowl. With both wet hands, carefully pull the dough straight up, in the middle and lift it, stretching straight up in the air- about 1-2 feet (see photo) and place it back down, gently folding it on top of itself. This first stretch, the dough may feel quite loose and runny.  This is OK. It should firm up as it stretches and folds. (Note: If your dough breaks here, it is probably over-proofed, bake it anyways. If your dough won&#8217;t stretch like the photo and feels too tight or firm, it needs to proof longer).  After the first stretch, give the bowl a quarter turn, wait 30-60 seconds, wet your hands again and stretch it up high again, folding over itself in the bowl.  Wait 30-60 seconds. (You could repeat this one more time, 15 minutes later). Then, the third time you lift and stretch, you will lift it all the way into your parchment-lined bowl,folding over itself like you&#8217;ve been doing. (Alternatively, lift it into your floured proofing basket seam side up. ( If seam up, pinch the seam closed).  Sprinkle top with seeds and flour (get the sides too) gently rubbing it to even coat &#8211;and add seeds if you like. If using a banneton, sprinkle the seeds in the banneton before adding the dough. 

FINAL RISE

 and PREHEAT OVEN: Place the bowl in the refrigerator for one hour uncovered which will firm up the bread, make scoring easier and help boost  &#8220;oven spring&#8221;.  It won&#8217;t rise in the fridge.  (You could also keep it in the fridge for 3-4 hours if you want to bake later.) Preheat the oven (for 1 FULL hour)  to 500F with your dutch oven inside and lid on (see notes). If you have convection- use it.  You can also bake the bread at 45oF or 475F.  You want your oven as hot as possible here&#8211; so don&#8217;t skimp on the preheat. I usually preheat for 1 full hour.

SCORE &amp; BAKE 

When ready to bake, place dough by the stove. Pull out the dutch oven, close the oven, remove lid.  Score the bread in the bowl, using a very sharp knife, lame, or razor blade, score the dough swiftly and deeply, at a 45-degree angle, 3/4- 1-inch deep. One deep slash is just fine. Or criss-cross, or crescent shape. (Or feel free to add other designs, for ideas -google &#8220;scoring bread&#8221;). Oiling the knife helps as well as using a lame. You want to score where you want the dough to puff out from. You can also cut with kitchen scissors. Carefully lift the parchment by the corners and place both bread and parchment directly into the dutch oven. Cover quickly. It is OK if parchment peaks out. You want to score and transfer as quickly as possible. (Alternately, if using a proofing basket, cover the basket with parchment, carefully flip the dough into the parchment in the palm of your hand and then center the parchment and dough into your dutch oven, then score).

 BAKE

. Place in the middle of the oven for 20 mins with convection on, 25 minutes w/no convection (or 28 minutes at 450F). Remove lid and it should be puffed and just lightly golden. Lower heat to 450 F, Continue baking 10- 15 minutes until deeply golden and internal temp reaches 202- 208F.  No pale loaves please, let them get golden! (For a less &#8220;crusty&#8221; loaf, increase covered baking time, lower uncovered baking time. You can play with this for desired results.)

COOL

It will smell heavenly. Remove from the dutch oven, let it cool 1 hour on a rack or tilted up on its side, before slicing so you don&#8217;t let the steam out and don&#8217;t smash it- be patient. This is the hardest part. 😉. Take a picture! Feel proud. You did it!

SERVE

This type of bread is always BEST, served toasted! Then lather it with butter, ghee or olive oil. Add mashed avocado and salted tomatoes, almond butter, honey or jam. A piece of toast can turn into great meal. See this Mushroom Toast!

STORE

 Store the bread wrapped in a kitchen towel for the first day or two to keep the crust nice and crispy, then move it to a zip lock bag to keep it moist for longer. Bread can also be sliced and frozen. Make sourdough croutons with leftover bread- great in salads and soups!

I made the starter which took me 2.5 weeks.  I almost gave up but kept with it.  So glad!  Your instructions are fabulous!!  I have made 2 sourdough breads and my husband is in heaven, loving the bread.  He likes it more sour so I will wait until day 6 after feeding this time.  Now he wants me to made a jewish rye bread!  Do you have a recipe for that?  Thank you so very much for your videos.  They kept me going.  So very easy for the regular cook, and especially for a new break cook.

I have never made sourdough bread before and your starter recipe along with this no-knead sourdough bread made it so easy. The bread is amazing. I have made a few loaves and they have all been delicious. Thanks!

I forgot to ask you a question.  My first loaf was very successful, done exactly the way your site and video illustrate.  Then I fed the starter a week later, and mistakenly left it out to rise double the size again.  After it did I put it in the refrigerator and 3 days later I made my 2nd loaf, which. turned out to be larger than the first, which I assume was due to leaving it out to double in size.  Is that correct, and is that the right thing to do. if you want a larger loaf?  Can you explain the difference please?  Thanks Sylvia.

Outstanding recipe in terms of clarity, simplicity and results. Please, more sourdough bread recipes!

Hi Sylvia: If I want to bake 2 loaves, should I put them both in the oven at the same time,  or bake one at a time? Thanks.

I posted a comment but I don't see it, so I will post again.  I am using starter on the 7th day before feeding so I can get a more sour taste.  I used 1/3 cup starter from refrigerator, and followed your instructions, however, after the first 15 minutes the batter is crumbly.    Any idea what's wrong and should I toss it and start again in a few days? Thanks Sylvia.  Sorry to bother you.  Of course I am trying to make 2 loaves this time, ugh.

Hi Sylvia; Yes I mean when mixing the dough it is dry, and it still looks the same after over 9 hours.  It did not rise overnight.  I did use the starter as I mentioned on the 7th day without feeding, and assumed it was hungry but did not check it.  Perhaps that is what i did wrong?  I guess I don't understand if you always have to check to see if you're starter is healthy (the floating test) if it's within the 7 days of feeding.  Thanks any info is appreciated, and if I should throw the dough out?

Hi again: At second look the doughs does not look as dry and the indent remains when I put my finger in the dough and feels soft.  I think it just didn't rise as much as my last 2 loafs.

Wow!!!! Just wow!!! I've been making sourdough for a few months now but it's turned out more like bread. This recipe along with my $29 Kmart Dutch oven has made an AMAZING loaf of sourdough!!! It's glossy and holey and soft and crunchy.....all made in less than 12 hours. Thankyou so much for this recipe and method!!

So great! Love this recipe so much. I have made it a few times and it always comes out perfect! I had a question and I’m sorry if it’s already been asked, if I make this recipe and divide it into to loaves at what point should I divide the dough? Thanks for sharing this easy and fabulous recipe. It’s a new favorite of mine.

The easiest blog, videos and recipes to follow!  I have made my starter and breads, using your blog.  I have also shared your sourdough blog with friends and family!

I've been maintaining my own sourdough starter and shared it with many!  I love making sourdough bread, pizza, cinnamon rolls, etc.  

Thank you for the easy to understand blog and videos!

HI, This is the second time I've made bread from this recipe. It was rainign yesterday and the dough seemed super wet and I kept adding flour and kept thinking it was still too wet but I went through the steps and it came out great!!! - I too appreciate the very descriptive instructions and videos. Thank you.  I will confess though, I never weigh my flour,  just add the 4 coups then see how it goes from there.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/j5IPZwWE.mp4

A video on how to do the stretch and fold technique when making sourdough bread. 

Sourdough Bread -stretch and fold technique

This beginner sourdough recipe is perfect for bakers looking to jump right in! It's is a low-hydration dough, meaning it will yield a 'tight' crumb (small holes). It is great for sandwiches and toast.

Sourdough Bread: A Beginner's Guide

150 grams/ 5.35 oz bubbly, active starter

250 grams/ 8.80 oz warm water, preferably filtered*

grams/ .90 oz olive oil

500 grams/ 17.65 oz bread flour (not all purpose flour)

grams/ .4 oz fine sea salt

cornmeal,

**You will need a 5 1/2 or 6 quart Dutch oven

Whisk the starter, water, and olive oil in a large bowl. Add the flour and salt. Squish everything together with your hands until all of the flour is absorbed. The dough will be dry and shaggy. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, reusable wrap or a clean, very damp kitchen towel. Let rest (autolyse) for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour, if preferred.

After the dough has rested, work the dough in the bowl into a rough ball, about 15 seconds.

Make the Dough

Cover the bowl with wrap or a very damp kitchen cloth. Let rest in a warm spot to rise. The dough is ready when it no longer looks dense and has doubled in size. This can take anywhere from 3-12 hours depending on the temperature of your ingredients, the potency of your starter and surrounding environment. For example, in the summer rise times can take anywhere between 3-4 hours @ 85 F whereas in the winter, the dough will take about 10-12 hours @ 68 F.

Bulk Rise

During bulk rise, you have the option to perform a series of &#8216;stretch &amp; folds&#8217; to strengthen the dough. Start 30 minutes into the bulk rise. Gather a portion of the dough, stretch it upwards and then fold it over itself. Rotate the bowl ¼ turn and repeat this process until you have come full circle to complete 1 set. Do this once or twice spaced about an hour apart. Although this step is not mandatory, it will increase the total volume and height of your bread. Click here for a step-by-step video tutorial.

Optional Step: Stretch &amp; Fold the Dough

Divide your work surface in half; lightly flour one side (for cutting) and leave the other half clean (for shaping).

Remove the dough from the bowl, and place onto the floured section so that it does not stick. You do not need to &#8216;punch down&#8217; the dough; it will gently deflate as you fold and shape it.

Cut the dough in half to make 2 loaves, or leave it whole for a single loaf.

To shape, use a bench scraper to move your dough to the non-floured section (if there is any flour present, it will be difficult to shape- brush away any excess). Starting at the top, fold the dough over toward the center. Give it a slight turn, and then fold over the next section of dough. Repeat until you have come full circle.

Then flip the dough over and place it seam side down. Using your hands, gently cup the sides of the dough and rotate it, using quarter turns in a circular motion. You can also pull it towards you to even out the shape. Repeat this process until you are happy with its appearance. *See note below.

Cut &amp; Shape the Dough

Now the dough needs to rise again, but for a shorter period of time.

Coat the bottom of your Dutch oven with cornmeal. Alternatively, use parchment paper to prevent sticking (this is what I do, now). Place the dough inside for a second shorter rise, about 30 minutes to 1 hour and cover with the lid of the pot or a very damp cloth. The dough ready when it is slightly puffy but not double in size.

Preheat your oven to 450 F towards the tail end of the second rise.

Second Rise

Right before your bread goes into the oven, make a shallow slash about 2 inches long in the center of the dough. Use a bread lame, sharp pairing or a small serrated steak knife.

Score the Dough

Place the bread into the oven on the center rack (lid on) and reduce the temperature to 400 F. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the lid, and continue to bake (uncovered) for an additional 40 minutes or until deep, golden brown. Keep in mind that all ovens are different; you might have to make minimal adjustments to these temperatures.

You can also take the internal temperature of your bread to double check that it is done. For sourdough, it should read about 205-210 F.

Remove the bread from the oven, and cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing. Don&#8217;t cut too soon or else the inside will have a gummy texture!

Bake the Dough

Thank u so much for your recipe! I am trying it right now and so far very pleased. I have been comparing many recipes and so far your s seems to be by far the clearest to understand.

I am recipe resistant. I feel obligated to embellish. This time I followed to the letter. Great result! The only difference is that, with each feeding, I add a pinch of diastatic malt powder and a few drops of lemon juice to the starter

This dish looks delicious and nutritious. I really like it. I have tried it many times but still not as good as today. I follow your recipe and I have a delicious meal. May I ask if I add more flour to this dish is it okay? What do you think?

How long after feeding the starter can i put it in the fridge? Straight away, or do i have to wait for it to ferment?

Also, when taking it out of the fridge, does it need to warm up before feeding it again?

Our son sent us this recipe after getting into Sourdough baking (with starter from his sister).  What a beautiful loaf this recipe produced!  We did stretch the dough and we proofed it in a closed oven with the light on.  Perfect temp!  Wet baked it on an oblong Dutch oven, scoring it in three places.  Everything worked perfectly!
Thank you for Fabulous recipe!

This recipe had served me so well in making sourdough bread. Thank you for the inspiration to make easy, delicious bread.

Do you have any other recipes using this starter?

I've made this recipe several times with great success, but the last two times after the bulk raise, the dough is completely slack and sticky.  I've added flour to handle it, but then it won't raise for the shorter raise before going in the oven.  What is happening?

I have used this recipe time and time again, and it always produces the perfect loaf. It’s a great low maintenance recipe with plenty of optional easily made adjustments that don’t sacrifice the quality of the loaf. I send it to all my friends, from beginners to seasoned sourdough bakers, and everyone loves it.

This recipe produces a delicious sour dough loaf with great bubbles. But although I've  followed the recipe carefully each time, the dough is too saggy to properly shape. it stays quite sticky so that it just spreads on baking. No boule shape remains after baking.  Should I change the quantities, or knead it?

This recipe is amazing - first time making sourdough! It is very user friendly. 

Quick question - can I proof in the fridge overnight so that it is ready to be baked in the morning? 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR RECIPE!!

I’ve been using this recipe for months and absolutely love it.  The bread always comes out delicious, and when we have kerrygold butter on hand it rarely lasts to the next day.  Would I be able to bake this bread in loaf pans?  If so, how would that change the baking time?  Thank you for creating and sharing this recipe!

I love this recipe - so easy to follow and the bread is amazing! However, I have the opposite problem from so many other people - my bread after to autolysis looks nothing like yours. It is dry and is extremely hard to stretch. I’ve increased the water to 280g and it still is hard to handle. It tastes amazing, but it’s the nice beautiful shape like you get. Thoughts? Just add more water? Thanks again for the very easy and tasty recipe!

I’ve followed this recipe twice now and both times had great results. A different, more involved recipe really let me down so I’m back to this one! Relatively quick and easy process compared to some that call for 4 days of work before baking. I did notice this bread comes out a bit gummy, even after letting it cool for several hours. What can I do for it to be less dense and chewy inside? Also, my crust stays kinda pale and never gets golden brown. Do I need to bake longer or something?

Whenever I need to use up a lot of starter at one time, this is my go-to recipe.  I've made it with freshly fed starter many times, but I've also made it with starter that was straight out of the fridge and hadn't been fed in several days and it worked great. I always end up adding the extra water to get a higher hydration because I like working with doughs of that texture better. this recipe just seems to work no matter what I do, maybe because there is SO much starter in it - it has not choice but to perform!  When I use the starter straight from the fridge, the dough takes a little longer to get going, but it always does eventually. This time I experimented with adding about 120 grams of pumpkin puree (because I wanted a nice golden tinted bread)  in the initial stage with the starter, thinking that it would take the place of some of the water.  Strangely enough, it was still way too stiff - I still ended up having to add the full 325 grams of water, even with the pumpkin puree.  I was surprised by how little moisture the pumpkin ended up adding, given that it is usually considered a liquid ingredient.  It also made the dough stickier than I would have expected.  In addition to the pumpkin, I also added some chiffonaded fresh sage leaves,  120 grams of chopped sautéed pancetta, 120 grams of diced Reggiano Parmigiano, crushed black pepper, and a little garlic powder.  It is SO GOOD!!! Thanks for this virtually foolproof recipe!!

Admiring the time and energy you put into your site and in depth information you present.
It's good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn't the same old rehashed information. Fantastic read!
I've saved your site and I'm adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.

Yes, you’re reading it correctly! It just heats up nice and hot to 450 with nothing in the oven, then when it reaches temp, you pop the lid on your pot, put it in the oven and immediately drop the temp to 400 for baking :) It yields a nice crusty bread, you’ll love it! Enjoy!

Will it help the dough to rise if I put a teaspoon of sugar in the first phase of mixing starter, water and olive oil?

I have tried other sour dough bread recipes but this one is the easiest and the best.

My first try at this recipe is autolysing as I type! I’m planning to split the dough in two and just bake half right now. How long will the other half keep in the fridge wrapped in a damp tea towel as you advise?

My loaves cook up nicely as shown except they always burn black on the very bottom before they get to 250 degrees.  Could my oven be too hot?  I put them on a mid to high center rack in a le cruset dutch oven.

“Watch the dough, not the clock”
Thank you so much for this! It will become my baking mantra. I have just made the most beautiful crusty and tasty sour dough ever. It took a very very long while, it’s about 20degrees in the house at the moment. I started on Saturday and baked on Monday. As an experiment, I was determined not to move on from one process to the next until the dough was ready even if it meant throwing away a mouldy mess after three weeks. More than 24hrs first rising and 4 for the final rise. The bread is beautiful and I have experienced a lightbulb moment. At 65yrs old is it just possible that “patience” has finally come to me?

Thank you so much for this recipe, with your tips, mine worked out great using All purpose flour.

I was intimidated to start making sourdough, i love bread so much i didnt want to mess it up!
Thank you thank you thank you

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/6d6x2gPy.mp4

A simple and easy technique that strengthens the gluten and incorporates air into bread dough

How to Stretch and Fold Sourdough 

A reliable, flexible recipe for a lovely sourdough sandwich bread using the dutch oven, stretch and fold and long cold rise methods. This bread slices well, makes excellent toast, paninis and sandwiches.

Milk & Honey Sourdough Sandwich Bread

Starter (2 Cups)

water (1 Cup)

Whole Milk-warmed (1 1/2 Cups)

Eggs (4 large eggs)

Honey (1/3 Cup)

bread Flour (8 Cups)

natural sea salt (1 1/2 Tablespoon)

Weigh out starter into a large bowl.

Add water and mix until it turns into...

Add water and mix until it turns into cloudy murky water.

Add Milk, Eggs, Butter, and Honey and mix....

Add Milk, Eggs, Butter, and Honey and mix. (I mix them together and warm them all to about 80 degrees in my microwave)

Add flour and mix with your hands(or a...

Add flour and mix with your hands(or a dough spatula) until the dough comes together.

Rest the dough without stretching for 30 to...

Rest the dough without stretching for 30 to 60 minutes:

Add salt, work in with wet hands using...

Add salt, work in with wet hands using a pinching action. Drive the salt into the dough with your fingers rather than try to mix it in or roll it.

Cover. Rest 30 minutes.

Pull the dough gently but firmly from the...

Pull the dough gently but firmly from the back of the bowl up and over to the front. Turn the bowl 1/4 Turn and repeat. Do this until you have stretched the dough and folded it over on all four sides.

Rest the dough covered, 30 minutes at room...

Rest the dough covered, 30 minutes at room temperature(about 70 degrees). (I set a timer)

Repeat the stretch and fold process four times...

Repeat the stretch and fold process four times 30 minutes apart. You are building the gluten in the dough in this stage. As you repeat the stretch and folds the dough will change from a gloppy mess to an elastic resilient dough.

Let the dough sit and bulk ferment (raise)...

Let the dough sit and bulk ferment (raise) for 1 hour at room temperature.

Put the bowl into A plastic(grocery) bag and...

Put the bowl into A plastic(grocery) bag and set in the refrigerator to finish cold fermentation for 24 hours. ***see notes at page bottom

Remove Dough from the refrigerator and turn out...

Remove Dough from the refrigerator and turn out onto a floured board.

Divide (by weight for even size) into two...

Divide (by weight for even size) into two dough balls. Gently shape into two rounds, cover and let rest until dough comes to room temperature and is pliable. 30 to 60 minutes.

Shape and gently place into bannetons or pans...

Shape and gently place into bannetons or pans (seam side up) to rise at room temperature until raised 20 to 30 percent.

Chill in refrigerator before baking two hours to cold...

Chill in refrigerator before baking two hours to cold proof in the plastic bag again. (this helps get a higher oven spring).

Preheat oven with Dutch oven inside to 450˚F...

Preheat oven with Dutch oven inside to 450˚F for at least 30 minutes.

Cut a piece of parchment paper large enough...

Cut a piece of parchment paper large enough to accommodate your loaf. You'll use the paper as handles to lower your proofed loaf down into the very hot Dutch oven.

Take the risen dough out of the refrigerator...

Take the risen dough out of the refrigerator .

Place the parchment round over the basket and...

Place the parchment round over the basket and carefully flip the whole thing over and un-mold the dough.

Using a pastry brush, dust the loaf to...

Using a pastry brush, dust the loaf to remove excess flour.

Score.

Spritz liberally with water (for a blistered, flour...

Spritz liberally with water (for a blistered, flour free crust) or omit the spritz for a rustic looking loaf

Carefully lower your loaf into the preheated Dutch...

Carefully lower your loaf into the preheated Dutch oven and place the lid on and set into the oven.

Slide a sheet pan one rack below the...

Slide a sheet pan one rack below the Dutch oven to deflect excess heat from the bottom crust.

Bake covered for 30 minutes at 450˚F. *(MY...

Bake covered for 30 minutes at 450˚F. *(MY oven is so hot I bake the bread completely covered for 40 minutes on convection heat at 450 degrees and it comes out as pictured. Adjust these directions to your own oven)

After 30 minutes, remove the Dutch oven from...

After 30 minutes, remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Carefully remove the par-baked loaf from the Dutch oven using the parchment paper as handles.

Slide loaf back into the oven directly on...

Slide loaf back into the oven directly on the center rack.

Spritz oven with water bottle.

Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until an...

Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until an internal temperature of 200˚F-205˚F is achieved.

Remove from oven to a cooling rack.

Let cool completely. To keep the soft crust...

Let cool completely. To keep the soft crust store the loaf in a plastic bag at room temperature. 

Let the Dutch oven heat back up for...

Let the Dutch oven heat back up for a few minutes and start the process over again for the second loaf. Enjoy!

Instead of forming for boules after bench rest...

Instead of forming for boules after bench rest roll the dough out and degass it.

Now form the dough into loaves for two...

Now form the dough into loaves for two 9 x 4.5 x 5 bread pans.

OIL your bread pans and lay the dough...

OIL your bread pans and lay the dough in so it just touches the sides of the pan and the ends.

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