Vicki’s Kitchen Sourdough Bread Step-by-Step

To Make One Loaf of Sourdough Bread:

1. 6:00am: Before work, about 12 hours before you plan to mix your loaf, feed 25 grams of your starter 50 grams of water and 50 grams of all purpose flour to equal a total of 125 grams starter. Allow starter to grow until at least doubled and very bubbly.

2. 6:00pm: After work, combine 100 grams starter with 300 grams cool tap water, 10 grams salt (any kind is fine, I use iodized table salt), 50 grams whole wheat flour and 450 grams bread flour in a large bowl. Mix by hand with a rubber scraper and/or your clean hands, or with the dough hook on your stand mixer until dough forms a ball.

3. Cover dough ball and set timer for 30 minutes.

4. 6:30pm: After 30 minutes, complete one round of stretch and folds. To do this, grab dough from one side and stretch the dough up and fold over the dough ball. Rotate the bowl 90º and repeat the stretch and folds. Rotate and repeat, then rotate and repeat, for a total of four stretch and folds.

5. 7:00, 7:30 and 8:00pm: Repeat four stretch and folds every 30 minutes for a total of four repetitions. If you want to add inclusions, add them with your second round of stretch and folds at 7:00.

6. 8:00pm: Cover bowl with plastic wrap or lid and set aside for 8-12 hours. I use cold water and purposely plan for a total of 12 hours. (This is called the Bulk Ferment) This could take longer or shorter, depending on your water temperature, health of your starter and temperature of your house.

Use this source for more information about how long to let your dough ferment and and the science behind fermentation.

7. 6:00am: When dough is at least doubled in size and nice and bubbly and webbed underneath, dump it on a clean surface.

8. Gently tap dough into a square with fingers, then fold the corners in toward each other, forming a ball. Turn the ball over and drag it over the counter a bit to add surface tension.

9. Using the bench scraper as a scoop, place the rounded, shaped loaf, seam side up, in a banneton or tea towel lined bowl. Fold the edges of the towel over the loaf and place in the fridge for final proofing (this is called the Cold Ferment).

10. 4:30pm: Place enameled dutch oven in cold oven and preheat the oven to 450º. Allow dutch oven to preheat for at least 30 minutes.

11. While oven and dutch oven are preheating, take loaf out of fridge. Place loaf seam side down on parchments square, sprinkle with rice flour and score as desired.

12. 5:00pm: Carefully remove hot dutch oven from hot oven with thick oven mitts and remove the lid. Use the corners of the parchment to lift the loaf into the pot. Cover the pot, then use oven mitts to move the dutch oven to the heated oven. Set timer for 35 minutes and walk away.

13. 5:35pm: When the timer goes off, carefully open the oven and remove the lid from the dutch oven. Bake for 5-10 more minutes, depending on desired browning.

14. 5:45pm: Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven and check the temperature in the middle of the loaf with a digital probe thermometer. It should be at least 205º. If your loaf needs more time, cover the dutch oven and cook in 5 minute increments until it reaches 205º.

15. 5:45pm-as long as you can wait: Carefully move loaf to cooling rack. The longer you can wait to cut into it the better, though warm bread is the best!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Where can I get a starter?
If you want to make your own starter, there are lots of directions online. Alternately, you can buy a starter, such as from King Arthur Flour (or from me!)

What do I do with the starter that’s left after I use 100 grams for the loaf?
Either add the excess to your discard jar or feed it 50 grams each of flour and water for your next loaf!

Wait, what’s discard??
Discard is leftover/unfed starter. You can either feed it to make starter for a loaf or keep it in the fridge and use for discard recipes, such as scones.

How do I store and maintain my starter?
If you plan to bake frequently, keep your starter on the counter. If the starter is being kept at room temperature, it should be fed at least once per day. I like to dump most of my starter in my discard jar in the fridge, then feed about 25 grams starter 50 grams each of water and all purpose flour each day.

If you don’t plan on baking very often, place your starter in the fridge about 2 hours after you feed it. It’s good in the fridge for a week or two. When you’re ready to bake, take your starter out of the fridge about 24 hours before you need to use it. Discard it down to 25 grams, then feed 50 grams each of flour and water. About 12 hours later, reduce to 25 grams again and feed equal parts of flour and water to make enough starter for your recipe.

What if I don’t have a stand mixer?
Feel free to mix by hand!

What if I don’t have whole wheat flour?
You can use more bread flour or other whole grain flour. The whole wheat flour adds extra interest and flavor.

What if I don’t have a dutch oven?
Use any covered pot you have as long as it is high-heat resistant! Or follow this alternate baking method, starting at step 11: During preheating step, place metal baking sheet or cast iron pan in bottom of oven. When oven is preheated, place scored loaf on parchment on a baking sheet. Move to hot oven, then add boiling water to the pan on the bottom of the oven. There should be enough water to last about 20 minutes. Bake for 30 minutes, checking for browning. You may need to cover with foil so the loaf doesn’t get too dark. Continue baking and follow steps 13-15, baking to a minimum of 205º.

What if I want to add inclusions like fruit, herbs or cheese?
Add well-drained inclusions during the second set of stretch and folds (7:00pm).

What if I want to skip the Cold Ferment (Step 9)?
Go for it. In order to score your bread nicely, it might be helpful to place your shaped loaf in the freezer for 15-20 minutes before you dust with rice flour and score. The purpose of the Cold Ferment is to develop more flavor and help the loaf rise as much as it can.

Why do I have to score my loaf?
Scoring gives your dough a place to expand as it bakes. If you don’t score your loaf, it might blow out the side or bottom and that’s not pretty. The scoring decorations are just for fun:). Look on Pinterest for lots of fun scoring ideas!

How can I store my loaf?
Your freshly baked loaf will keep in a paper or plastic bag on the counter for up to 3 days. To extend the shelf life, I like to slice half the loaf and freeze it, removing slices as needed. You can also freeze the whole loaf. When you’re ready to use it, thaw on the counter. If you want to warm it, run it under water and place in a 350º oven for 15-20 minutes.