The method to make sourdough bread is not simple. On top of the below details, you need to maintain a healthy sourdough starter. I will not cover that on this website because it is covered elsewhere on the internet and in books.

I won’t write tons of fluff in this intro. The only important thing I want to say is that when I began making sourdough bread, I was intimidated by all of the steps and methods for making the bread. I did not want to proof, shape, stretch and fold, and knead the dough. I wanted to take shortcuts and still make good bread. I never made a good loaf by taking shortcuts. After months of experience, making at least 2 loaves per week, I have learned that the only way to make a good loaf, and consistently make good loaves, is to follow all of the steps and pay attention to all of the little factors that affect the end product.

It is time consuming and daunting, but if we want to make good bread, we need to put the effort in.

Page Contents

1. Ingredients
2. Method
   1. Autolyse
   2. Mix in All Ingredients and Knead
   3. Stretch and Folds
      1. Windowpane Test
      2. How to do a Stretch and Fold
   4. Bulk Fermentation
   5. Shaping
   6. Proofing
      1. Sourdough Boule Proofing
   7. Baking
   8. Eating

Ingredients

I usually make loaves using 2 - 4 cups of flour. Below is a table showing rough ratios of ingredients needed for 1 cup of flour. Scale up as needed.

Method

This is how to prepare sourdough for baking into bread or some other sourdough products.

Autolyse

This allows the flour to absorb water and makes the dough easier to work with and more stretchy, able to hold gas better.

• Mix flour and water, so all flour is moist.
  • Do not add starter and salt yet. The dough should be pretty thick, very hard to mix with a mixing tool, and not too wet. The wetter the dough is, the harder it will be to work with, but the more moist the bread will be.
• Place dough in a container and cover with a moist towel. Let sit for \(\frac{1}{2}\) - 1 hour.

Mix in All Ingredients and Knead

Now we get the dough on a cutting board or any hard surface that a wet dough will not easily stick to. We will add all ingredients and knead the dough. Some types of flour may need more kneading than others. I have only used 100% whole wheat flour, which needs more kneading, but I have heard that white flour does not need kneading.

• Add starter and salt to dough ball.
• Knead the dough for 5 minutes if using 100% whole wheat flour. Do not add flour to surface for kneading.
  • This mixes the starter and salt into the dough and makes the dough more stretchy. Knead until dough can be stretched a decent amount without ripping.
  • Dough kneading is messy at the beginning, but just keep kneading and dough this will all get cleaner magically.
  • If dough is too moist for kneading, wait a minute and continue kneading. Adding flour should be a last resort, because this can make the final product too dry.
• Perform a stretch and fold on the dough, then place the dough in a bowl covered by a moist towel.
  • The moist towel keeps the top of the dough from drying up and making a hard crust. It also prevents contaminants like bugs and dust from getting on the dough.
  • See the next section for what a stretch and fold is.

Stretch and Folds

These stretch and fold sequences strengthen the glutens in the dough and make the dough hold gas better.

• Every 30-45 minutes, do a stretch and fold on the dough. Do this 4-6 times, or until the dough passes the windowpane test. Place the dough back in the bowl, covered with a moist towel, between stretch and folds.

Windowpane Test

This is to ensure that dough is strong and stretchy enough for further processing. See this youtube video for a demonstration of the windowpane test.

If you stretch part of the dough, and it stretches thin enough to see through it without ripping, the dough is strong enough and the stretch and fold sequences can be ended.

How to do a Stretch and Fold

It’s probably easiest to use youtube to learn how. Here is a good video showing the stretch and fold method.

• While dough is in bowl, gently grab a side of the dough ball between thumb and index finger.
• Gently pull dough up to stretch away from dough ball, then fold this over the center of the ball.
• Rotate dough 45 degrees, and gently pull the side of dough up again. Repeat this until the dough does not stretch much anymore.
  • Usually once you go around the dough one complete time, the dough stiffens up and the stretch and fold can be ended.
• Let dough sit in the bowl with moist towel covering until next step, whether it be stretch and fold or shaping the dough.

Bulk Fermentation

Now that the stretch and fold sequences are finished, we let the dough rise for a while, until the dough gets about 30% to 50% larger. Time will vary depending on temperature, flour type, starter strength, etc. I have been doing this rise overnight, outside in about 60 degree weather, for about a 12 hour rise, and it has been working well.

Shaping

The dough ball has risen 30% to 50% in size and is full of gas now. Everything we do with the dough should be gentle now, so we don’t degas the dough too much. We will shape the dough into its final baking shape, then proof the dough by letting it rest a little bit more.

• Remove dough ball from bowl and place on cutting board or hard surface.
• Shape the dough into its final baking shape.
  • For a sourdough boule shape, a good method is shown in this video.
  • The process is just too hard to explain with words.

Proofing

We will let the dough rise again resting in its final baking shape.

• Make sure dough will not stick to container when removing it later.
  • Do this by coating the container with oil (I have tried olive oil and ghee; both work), or dusting top side of dough with flour before placing in container.
• Let rest for 2-3 hours with moist towel covering it.

Sourdough Boule Proofing

For a sourdough boule, I dust the top side of the dough ball with flour and place the boule into a bowl, top-side down, so seem-side is facing up.

Baking

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Let cooking vessel preheat in oven with it.
  • Cooking vessel should have some way of making sure bread won’t stick to it. I use butter or ghee.
  • I use a cast iron pan for baking sourdough boules.
• Once cooking vessel is hot, remove it, and place bread dough onto it.
• Score the dough with a \(\frac{1}{4}\) to \(\frac{1}{2}\) inch deep cut across the top of the dough.
  • Use a very sharp knife or razer blade to do this, so dough doesn’t get dragged with the blade.
• Place a pan or glass baking sheet with water into the oven, to steam the oven.
  • This makes the bread product have a crispy crust.
• For sourdough boule with 4 cups flour, bake 40 minutes at 400 degrees.
  • Remove the water pan from the oven after ~ 20 minutes, and let bread bake for the rest of the time.
• Bread is done when, if you tap the bottom, the bread sounds hollow.

Eating

I’ve heard you should not eat bread until 15 minutes of cooling after baking. I’ve heard that bread should not be cut until 2 hours of cooling. I use the 15 minute rule, and the bread tastes good.

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