Ingredients

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320 grams room temperature water

12 grams sea salt

125 grams active sourdough starter

500 grams bread flour

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Instructions

Step 0: (6–8 Hours Prior) Feed your sourdough starter so it’s bubbly and active when you’re ready to mix. You’ll need 120g for this recipe, so make sure you feed it enough so you aren’t leaving your main starter empty. Step 1: In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer), combine the 320g water, 120g active starter, and 10g salt. Give it a quick whisk to disperse the starter and dissolve the salt. Step 2: Dump in your 500g bread flour. Mix it up using your hands, a trusty wooden spoon, or a dough hook until all the flour is hydrated and there are no dry pockets left. It’s going to look like a shaggy, unpromising mess. Trust the process. Step 3: Cover the bowl with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes. This gives the flour time to absorb the water and start developing gluten on its own (a lazy baker’s favorite step). Step 4: First Stretch & Fold

Time for some dough gymnastics. Wet your hands (unless you enjoy wearing dough like leather gloves). Grasp an edge of the dough, gently stretch it upward, and fold it back over its center. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Do this 4 times around the bowl.

Pro Tip: You’ll notice the dough getting tighter and harder to stretch as you go around. This is gluten building in real time. Good job.

Cover the bowl and let it chill out for another 30 minutes.

Step 5: Stretch & Fold

Repeat Step 4 every 30 minutes for 3 more rounds. That’s a total of 4 stretch-and-fold sessions over 2 hours. Your dough should be looking noticeably smoother and feeling more elastic by the end.

Step 6: Bulk Ferment. Cover your bowl tightly and leave it on the counter for its bulk fermentation. Now, we wait. Depending on whether your kitchen feels like a tropical rainforest or an arctic tundra, this can take anywhere from 5 to 12 hours. You’re looking for the dough to rise, show visible bubbles on top, and feel airy when you gently jiggle the bowl.

Step 7: Once bulk ferment is completed, turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently stretch it into a rectangle-ish shape, fold half to the center and fold the other half over the top. Then roll it into gently into a ball.

Step 8: Lightly flour a tea towel and place it into a loaf pan, banneton, basket or bowl. Place the dough ball seam side up onto the towel and cover with the towel and put it in a plastic bag. Let proof again for 2 hours until puffy. Then place in the refrigerator for an hour or up to 2 days.

Step 9: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, turn the dough gently onto a large piece of parchment paper, then pick it up by the sides and rest gently into the loaf pan. Score the top with a sharp knife or bread lane. Splash with a bit of water and cover with another loaf pan the same size to seal in the steam. Bake covered for 25 minutes. Then remove the cover and bake for another 20-25 minutes. Cool and enjoy.

Prep Time: 10 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: Dessert, Snack
Method: Baking