Basic Sourdough Bread
I have been baking sourdough bread for over half a decade now, and I have finally perfected my ideal basic sourdough bread recipe. This recipe is a great jumping off point for new sourdough bread bakers and a great recipe to add to your arsenal if you’re already an experienced sourdough baker.
Table of Contents
- Basic Sourdough Bread Ingredients
- Equipment
- Bread Hydration 101
- Step 1—Make the Leaven
- Step 2—Mix the Dough
- Step 3—Incorporate the Salt
- Step 4—Bulk Fermentation
- Step 5—Shape the Loaf
- Step 6—Final Rise
- Step 7—Score & Bake the Loaf
- Suggested Baking Schedule
- More Sourdough Recipes
- Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe
Basic Sourdough Bread Ingredients
To make basic sourdough bread, you will need the following ingredients:
Leaven
- 1 tablespoon active sourdough starter
- 75 grams all-purpose flour
- 75 grams warm water
Basic Sourdough Bread
- 325 grams warm water, divided
- 100 grams leaven
- 450 grams all-purpose flour
- 50 grams whole spelt or whole wheat flour
- 10 grams fine sea salt
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Large mixing bowl
- Dough whisk, optional
- Bench scraper
- Bread banneton
- Bread lame
- Large Dutch oven
- Heavyweight oven mitts
- Instant-read thermometer
Bread Hydration 101
So what is hydration anyway? In the context of bread baking, hydration refers to the ratio of water to flour. For example, if you are baking with 1000 grams of flour and 650 grams of water, the hydration is 65%. This recipe for basic sourdough bread uses 65% hydration.
Hydration percentages between 65% and 75% are most common because they are easier to work with. Higher hydration doughs produce a lighter, more airy crumb but are harder to work with because they are much wetter, which is why a lower hydration loaf is a great place to start if you are new or newer to sourdough baking. In addition to being easier to handle, a lower hydration dough creates a tighter crumb, which I find produces a more versatile bread. While a highly hydrated, airy sourdough is delicious, it’s not great for things like sandwiches because of the looser crumb.
As you become more comfortable working with sourdough, you can experiment with hydration to find your personal sweet spot.
Tips & Tricks for Scoring Sourdough
Scoring sourdough is a serious art form. If you are at all familiar with BreadTok, you have surely seen some of the insanely intricate creations people have shared online. Although I have been baking for quite a while, I am just starting to branch out with my scoring techniques and patterns. These are a few tips and tricks I have picked up along the way to have more success with my scoring:
- Refrigerate your dough before scoring. While not necessary, I find chilled dough so much easier to work with in general and especially when it comes to scoring. I use the overnight rise method, so my dough is coming straight out of the fridge before baking.
- Use a sharp bread lame. Using a bread lame with a sharp blade is crucial for a good scoring pattern. My friend who works in a hospital has been supplying me with scalpels to use for scoring my bread. Let me tell you, those things are SHARP. Excellent for bread.
- Try the seven-minute scoring technique. Score your dough as per usual before baking. Seven minutes into baking, remove the loaf from the oven and go over the score lines a second time, then resume baking as normal. I’ve been doing this lately and have found it makes the scoring so much more defined.
- Hold your blade at a 45° angle. Holding your blade at an angle makes the scoring much easier than holding the blade at a 90° angle to the dough.
- Start simple. Before attempting more complex scoring patterns, work on mastering one of the basic scoring patterns like the square or the single score line.
Step 1—Make the Leaven
A leaven is an active sourdough starter used to make sourdough bread. The night before baking, or at least 8 hours in advance of baking, mix the leaven. Add the starter, 75 grams of all-purpose flour, and 75 grams of warm water into a container—I like to use a one-litre deli container for this—and mix until fully combined and no bits of dry flour remain.
Cover and allow the leaven to ferment at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight. I like to mark the leaven’s height in the container with an elastic band right after feeding it. By marking the height, I can see how much it grows as it ferments.
Step 2—Mix the Dough
The next morning, the leaven should be aerated and doubled in size.
Add 300 grams of the warm water to a large mixing bowl, then whisk in 100 grams of the leaven to disperse it. The remaining leaven will become your new starter.
Measure in the all-purpose flour and whole spelt or whole wheat flour. Mix everything well until a sticky dough has formed. I like to start mixing with a dough whisk, then switch to using my hands once the dough comes together. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and let it rest at room temperature for 25 minutes.
Step 3—Incorporate the Salt
After the initial resting period, add the salt and the remaining 25 grams of warm water. Squeeze the dough between your fingers to combine. Fold the dough onto itself and cover it with the towel. You are now in the bulk fermentation phase.
Step 4—Bulk Fermentation
The first rise, also known as the bulk fermentation, is a crucial phase in the bread baking process. During the bulk fermentation, the dough develops flavour, structure, and volume.
To encourage the development of the bread’s gluten, a series of stretch and folds, or “envelope folds,” are completed in 30-minute intervals throughout the 3- or 4-hour bulk fermentation.
To complete an envelope fold, reach into the bowl with a clean hand and grab the bottom of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it back over itself. Repeat 3 more times, rotating the bowl 90 degrees between each fold. You have now completed one envelope fold. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes, then repeat another fold. Over the bulk fermentation, you will complete 6 to 8 envelope folds.
By the end of the bulk fermentation, the dough will be more aerated and smooth and come away from the bowl easily when you complete a fold.
Step 5—Shape the Loaf
Transfer the dough to a clean, floured work surface. Lightly flour the dough, then, using the bench scraper and one hand, shape the dough into a round shape. Cover and let rest on the work surface for 30 minutes—this is known as the bench rest.
During this resting period, the dough will relax and spread slightly. If the dough spreads a lot and looks more like a puddle than a relaxed loaf shape, this is an indication that the dough did not develop enough during the bulk fermentation. To fix this, shape the loaf a second time and repeat the bench rest. Doing this essentially acts as an extra envelope fold, therefore extending the bulk fermentation.
For the final shaping of the loaf, lightly flour the surface of the dough, then use the bench scraper to flip the dough so the floured side is now on the work surface.
Grab the edge of the dough closest to you, and stretch it up and over itself. Repeat this movement with the sides of the dough to your left and right. Lastly, stretch the edge of the dough furthest from you up, then fold it over itself, rotating the dough away from you so the seam side is now facing down.
Flour your bread banneton with a 50/50 mix of white flour and rice flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Transfer the shaped loaf to the banneton, flipping it so the seam side is now facing up in the basket.
Step 6—Final Rise
When it comes to the final rise, you have two options. Option one: You can allow the bread to rise at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours before baking. Option two: you can delay the final rise by transferring the shaped loaf to the fridge to rise slowly overnight, then bake it the following morning.
Step 7—Score & Bake the Loaf
If your loaf is in the fridge, remove it and allow it to sit on the counter while you preheat the oven. Put the Dutch oven in the centre of the top rack in the oven. Preheat the oven to 500°F with the Dutch oven inside.
Once the oven has come to temperature, flip the loaf out onto a square of parchment. Using a sharp bread lame, hold the blade at a 45-degree angle and carefully score the loaf with your desired pattern. A singular line across the middle or a square on the surface of the dough works best, in my experience. If you are newer to sourdough, I don’t recommend trying any crazy patterns because it may impact your bread’s ability to rise.
Using heavyweight oven mitts—let’s not forget this pan is 500 degrees—carefully remove the preheated Dutch oven from the oven. Transfer the scored loaf into the Dutch oven and cover with the lid. Reduce the oven temperature to 450°F and bake the loaf covered for 20 minutes. During this period, the enclosed environment of the Dutch oven creates steam—imitating a baker’s steam oven—to aid in the rising of the bread as it bakes.
After 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown and the internal temperature of the loaf reads 205° to 210°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the loaf from the oven. Flip the bread out onto a cooling rack. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.
Suggested Baking Schedule
Same-Day Baking Schedule
The Night Before
- 8pm: Mix the leaven.
The Day Of
- 8am – 8:30am: Mix the dough.
- 8:30am-12:30pm: Bulk fermentation.
- 12:30pm: Initial shaping.
- 12:30pm – 1pm: Bench rest.
- 1pm: Final shaping.
- 1pm – 5pm: Final rise.
- 5pm – 5:45pm: Score and bake.
Overnight Rise Baking Schedule
The Day Of
- 8am: Mix the leaven.
- 3pm – 3:30pm: Mix the dough.
- 3:30pm – 7:30pm: Bulk fermentation.
- 7:30pm: Initial shaping.
- 7:30pm – 8pm: Bench rest.
- 8pm: Final shaping.
- 8pm – 8am (next day): Final rise.
The Next Day
- 8am: Score and bake.
More Sourdough Recipes
If you’re in your sourdough baking era and want to try your hand at some more recipes, be sure to check out these fun sourdough recipes:
Sourdough Apple Fritter Focaccia
Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread
If you make this Basic Sourdough Bread, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! I love to see what you all are making.
Feel free to leave any questions, comments, or reviews below. I love to hear from you!
Basic Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Large mixing bowl
- Dough whisk optional
- Bench scraper
- Bread banneton
- Bread lame
- Large dutch oven
- Heavyweight oven mitts
- Instant-read thermometer
Ingredients
Leaven
- 1 tablespoon active sourdough starter
- 75 grams all-purpose flour
- 75 grams warm water
Basic Sourdough Bread
- 325 grams warm water, divided
- 100 grams leaven
- 450 grams all-purpose flour
- 50 grams whole spelt or whole wheat flour
- 10 grams fine sea salt
Instructions
- The night before baking, or at least 8 hours in advance of baking, mix the leaven. Add the starter, 75 grams of all-purpose flour, and 75 grams of warm water into a container and mix until fully combined and no bits of dry flour remain. Cover and allow the leaven to ferment at room temperature for 8 hours or overnight.
- The next morning, the leaven should be aerated and doubled in size. Add 300 grams of the warm water to a large mixing bowl, then whisk in 100 grams of the leaven to disperse it. The remaining leaven will become your new starter.
- Measure in the all-purpose flour and whole spelt or whole wheat flour. Mix everything well until a sticky dough has formed. I like to start mixing with a dough whisk, then switch to using my hands once the dough comes together. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and let it rest at room temperature for 25 minutes.
- After the initial resting period, add the salt and the remaining 25 grams of warm water. Squeeze the dough between your fingers to combine. Fold the dough onto itself and cover it with the towel. You are now in the bulk fermentation phase.
- To encourage the development of the bread’s gluten, a series of stretch and folds, or “envelope folds,” are completed in 30-minute intervals throughout the 3- or 4-hour bulk fermentation. To complete an envelope fold, reach into the bowl with a clean hand and grab the bottom of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it back over itself. Repeat 3 more times, rotating the bowl 90 degrees between each fold. You have now completed one envelope fold. Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 30 minutes, then repeat another fold. Over the bulk fermentation, you will complete 6 to 8 envelope folds.
- Transfer the dough to a clean, floured work surface. Lightly flour the dough, then, using the bench scraper and one hand, shape the dough into a round shape. Cover and let rest on the work surface for 30 minutes—this is known as the bench rest.
- Lightly flour the surface of the dough, then use the bench scraper to flip the dough so the floured side is now on the work surface. Grab the edge of the dough closest to you, and stretch it up and over itself. Repeat this movement with the sides of the dough to your left and right. Lastly, stretch the edge of the dough furthest from you up, then fold it over itself, rotating the dough away from you so the seam side is now facing down.
- Flour your bread banneton with a 50/50 mix of white flour and rice flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Transfer the shaped loaf to the banneton, flipping it so the seam side is now facing up in the basket.
- When it comes to the final rise, you have two options. Option one: You can allow the bread to rise at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours before baking. Option two: you can delay the final rise by transferring the shaped loaf to the fridge to rise slowly overnight, then bake it the following morning. See the suggested baking schedules in the blog post for more details.
- If you refrigerated your loaf for the final rise, remove it and allow it to sit on the counter while you preheat the oven. Put the Dutch oven in the centre of the top rack in the oven. Preheat the oven to 500°F with the Dutch oven inside.
- Once the oven has come to temperature, flip the loaf out onto a square of parchment. Using a sharp bread lame, hold the blade at a 45-degree angle and carefully score the loaf with your desired pattern.
- Using heavyweight oven mitts—let’s not forget this pan is 500 degrees—carefully remove the preheated Dutch oven from the oven. Transfer the scored loaf into the Dutch oven and cover with the lid. Reduce the oven temperature to 450°F and bake the loaf covered for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a deep golden brown and the internal temperature of the loaf reads 205° to 210°F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove the loaf from the oven. Flip the bread out onto a cooling rack. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.
