Artisan Sourdough Bread

Instructions:

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*The Night Before*

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1. The night before you want to make dough you need to mix 27g of starter, 89g of flour and 89g of water together in a bowl to create your leaven. Cover loosely and leave on your counter until morning.

2. The next morning add 500g of water to your leaven and mix it by hand until it is nice and bubbly.

3. Take another 14g of water and 14g of salt in a separate small bowl, mix together and set aside.

4. Add 708g of flour into your water and leaven mixture. Mix together by hand until all of the flour is combined. Your dough should be very shaggy and have no shape yet. Cover bowl loosely and let sit for 30-60 minutes to ferment.

5. Add salt water to your dough and mix by hand until you can no longer feel the grainy salt crystals. Cover again and let sit for another 30 minutes to allow the salt to strengthen your gluten structure. 

6. Bulk Fermentation: Now is the time for your 'stretch and folds' or 'coil folds'. I have 2 videos linked in the information section below showing the different techniques. I prefer coil folds for large batches of dough and stretch and folds for smaller batches of dough. You need to perform at least 4 of either, 30 minutes apart, during the bulk fermentation. The more you do, the stronger your gluten structure will be.

7. The hardest part for a sourdough baker is determining when the dough is ready! I have a chart in the information section below that explains dough temperature. Please invest in a good rapid read thermometer and pay attention to your dough temperature. It will determine how long fermentation needs to be and what rise percentage you are looking for. A quick look at your dough can also give you a clue it's done! It should be domed on top with a pillowy look from the air build up. It should only be slightly tacky on top and it should be pulling away from the sides of your container. I also have linked in the information section below a video on the 'Poke Test'.

8. Once you determine your dough is done fermenting, it is time for a pre-shape. Lightly flour your counter and flip your container over. Allow your dough to fall out onto your counter. Separate your dough into two loaves. Take each loaf, flip them over and use a bench scraper to build tension. Once they are in the shape of a ball, place a towel over them and let rest for 30 minutes. I have a video linked in the information section below on how to do a pre-shape.

9. After resting it is time for the final shaping. You want to take your bench scraper and flip the loaf upside down on a lightly floured surface. You want to shape your dough without disturbing the air bubbles too much, but also creating tension on the surface. You can research different techniques that work for you or I have a video linked in the information section below on how I shape my loaves. After they are shaped place them upside down in a banneton or a towel lined bowl and cover.

10. 2nd Rise: You do not need to do your 2nd rise in the refrigerator. However, cold dough is much easier to work with. So you can now place your dough in the refrigerator for 1 to 36 hours. The refrigerator helps slow down the 2nd rise so that your dough does not overproof. A little tip from me: whenever you are ready to bake, just place your dough in the freezer for 30 minutes. It will help tighten the surface so you can score a beautiful design!

11. Bake: Place your dutch oven in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees for an hour. I use parchment paper and cut mine to make a bread sling (video linked below). You need to flip your dough out of your bowl and onto the parchment paper. Now is the time to score your dough. You can just use a knife for scoring but it will snag. I recommend buying a nice bread lame. It will make your life so much nicer! I have my Amazon Storefront linked in the information section below. You can research many different scoring designs but the main important score is one big one down the entire loaf! That will allow the steam to escape from your score and not bust open the top of your dough. I have a video linked below of one of my go-to scoring designs. After scoring, bake your bread for 30 minutes with the lid on and 10-15 minutes with the lid off (until desired color is reached)

12. Remove bread from dutch oven and let cool for at least and hour before slicing. Your bread will be good on the counter for a couple days but will get stale easily. I recommend slicing and freezing immediately. I have found that provides the best freshness. Just toast or thaw before consuming!