Sourdough Starter and Bread

Feeding recipe:

Make sure starter is well-risen and gassy before feeding

Starter160 gHalf of your starter (3/4–1 cup)
Water60 g1/4 cup
White flour100 g7/8 cup
  • Mix starter with water first, then add flour
  • Mix until there are no dry spots—it will be drier than expected
  • The other half of the starter (not needed for feeding) can be composted or used in baking
  • To bake with the new starter, leave the starter out and it will be ready in 8–10 hours
  • Otherwise, leave starter out 2–3 hours, then put into fridge

If you only have a little bit of starter:

  • Feed all of it with a little water and flour; try to keep it the same consistency
  • Wait until it is full of gas
  • Repeat the feeding with slightly more flour/water, about enough to double the amount of starter, and wait again; repeat this until you have 320 grams of starter (about 2 cups)
  • Now you can use the recipe above

Bread recipe:

This recipe uses a starter with a dough-like consistency (i.e., not a very wet starter); starter should be well-risen and full of life—if your starter has been in the fridge for a week, you should throw out half, feed it, and let it rise fully before using it in bread

White flour*94%479 g3 1/2–4 1/2 cups (4 1/2 only if it is fluffy)
Wheat flour6%31 g1/4 cup
Starter21%107 gOne third of amount after feeding
Water64%326 g1 1/2 cups
Salt2%11 g1 1/2 tsp
*White flour can be all-purpose flour, bread flour, or a mix

Mixing

  • Weigh out ingredients
  • Mix the flours, water, and starter ONLY to incorporate the ingredients
  • Cover and let it sit 15–30 minutes (this is the autolyse)
  • Add salt and knead until “done” (do a window test); add flour as needed but keep dough flexible

Rising (Fermentation)

  • Cover the dough and let it rise somewhere warm (at least 70°F) for 2 hours
  • This dough will not puff up like a dough made with baker’s yeast

Shaping and Final Rise (Proofing)

  • Pre-shape the dough into a round shape
  • Cover loosely and let the pre-shape rest and relax
  • Shape the dough into the final form of a large round boule
  • Place the boule on a pan, on a couch dusted with cornmeal
  • Cover the entire pan with a large plastic bag, filled with air
  • Let the dough rise for about 1 hour; then put the whole pan into the fridge**

Baking

  • The next morning***, preheat the oven to 450–500°F with a Dutch oven inside
  • Pull out the pan with the dough about 15 minutes before baking to let it warm up a little
  • Transfer the loaf to a sheet of parchment for easier handling
  • Score the loaf
  • Place loaf (on parchment) in the Dutch oven and cover; little to no steam needed in Dutch oven
  • Return Dutch oven to oven and turn oven to 450°F
  • After 15 minutes, remove the Dutch oven lid to let the steam out; then bake another 10 minutes
  • Test for doneness with thermometer: 190°F

**You can let the dough rise about 2 hours and bake the same day for a less-sour flavor

***You can keep loaves in the fridge an additional night for added sourness