Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe

I’ve had a starter for 6 years and I’ve been making this artisan bread for 5 - I started making this bread before this big sourdough bang of 2020 and I haven’t changed my method. I learned by looking at and feeling the dough which has always served me well no matter what kind of flour I’m using or how hydrated my starter is. Here’s my recipe:

Shop my sourdough baking supplies here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/hopewellheights

Start your own sourdough starter:
https://hopewellheightsblog.com/sourdough-starter/

Yield is 1 loaf

1.5 cups water
1 cup active starter
1 T salt
3 cups flour

Add warm water and starter to a mixing bowl and mix, then add flour. Add 2 cups, mix, and then add more flour until you have a shaggy, dry dough. Do not knead, it’s ok if you can see bits of flour not totally mixed in in this first step. Just get it all to come together.

Cover and let rest at room temp or in a proofer for 30 min.

Add 1 T salt and work into the dough. Cover and rest for another 30 minutes.

Start your stretch and folds. After the 30-minute salt rest, stretch and fold the dough then rest for another 30 minutes. Repeat this stretch and fold followed by 30 minute rest 3 to 4 more times.

After the last stretch and fold, let the dough rest until it is almost doubled in size. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t over-proof and start to fall flat.

Turn the proofed dough out onto the counter and shape it into a ball, turning to create tension. Let the shaped dough rest for 30 minutes.

Use a bench scraper to turn the dough into a basket, cover, then cold-proof overnight in the fridge.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat a DO or bread oven at 425. The DO needs to be very hot!

Turn the dough out onto parchment paper and score, then bake covered in the DO for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes, watching for the color you want on the crust.

Let the bread cool completely before you cut into it. This is important because the bread continues to bake even after it’s removed from the oven. Cutting into it too soon can cause it to be gummy.