🍞 Sourdough Bread Recipe & Process Guide
📊 Ingredients by Loaf Size
| Ingredient | Baker’s % | 1 Small Loaf | 1 Regular Loaf | 2 Regular Loaves | Pizza Crust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🌾 Bread Flour | 100% | 400g | 500g | 1000g | 300g |
| 💧 Water (80-85°F) | 70% | 280g | 350g | 700g | 210g |
| 🥖 Levain (active) | 20% | 80g | 100g | 200g | 60g |
| 🧂 Salt | 2% | 8g | 10g | 20g | 6g |
🌾 Important: Always use King Arthur Bread Flour. The higher protein content (12.7%) makes a real difference in gluten development and final loaf structure.
🫙 Starter Maintenance
📖 Starter vs Levain – What’s the Difference?
- Starter (or “mother”) = the ongoing culture you maintain daily
- Levain = the portion you build specifically for baking
You feed your starter daily, and when you want to bake, you build a levain from it. The levain is what goes into your dough as the “Levain” ingredient in the recipe above.
📅 Daily Feeding (No Refrigeration)
Ratio: 1:10:10 (starter : water : flour)
Generally feed daily. If you miss a day, you’re probably okay. If you’ll be missing a few days, feed your starter and then put it in the fridge. When you return, you may need to do a few daily feeds before it responds like it used to.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| 🥖 Starter (saved) | 3g |
| 💧 Water | 30g |
| 🌾 Flour | 30g |
| Total | 63g |
🍞 When You Want to Bake
Instead of discarding down to 3g for maintenance, save 43g total:
- 40g for building your levain
- 3g for continuing maintenance
Building the Levain (1:1:1 ratio)
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| 🥖 Starter | 40g |
| 💧 Water | 40g |
| 🌾 Flour | 40g |
| Total Levain | 120g |
This yields 120g of levain – enough for a 100g “Levain” in the recipe above, with a little extra. For larger batches (like 2 regular loaves needing 200g), double the levain build.
✅ When is the Levain Ready?
Your levain is ready to use when it’s active and bubbly. Most bakers aim for one of these stages:
- Just before peak – rising, very active
- At peak – doubled in size, domed top
- Just past peak – slight dip in center, just starting to fall ✓
Waiting until it “starts to fall” is perfectly fine – you’re catching it just past peak, which is still very active. The danger zone is if it has collapsed significantly (fallen way back down), meaning the yeast has exhausted its food.
💡 Float test: Drop a spoonful of levain in water. If it floats, it’s ready to use!
⚠️ Important: Don’t put starter down your sink! The sticky dough can clog pipes over time. Scrape as much discard as possible into the trash before washing your container.
🥣 Mixing & Initial Fermentation
Set timers so you don’t forget! *See sequential timer schedule in Tips & Terminology section below.*
🌀 Initial Mix
- Mix water and levain until well combined
- Add flour, until just combined (rough, shaggy dough) – NO SALT YET!
- Scrape down sides of bowl
- Cover with damp towel or lid
- Set salt on top so you don’t forget!
- Rest for 1 hour
🤲 Stretch and Fold Series
Perform 4 sets of stretch and folds being careful not to rip the dough:
- First stretch and fold
- Sprinkle salt across top of dough
- Incorporate salt using fingertips
- Perform stretch and fold to incorporate salt
- Perform 4-8 quarter turns
- If using aliquot method, take dough now
- Rest for 30 minutes
- Second stretch and fold
- Perform 4-8 quarter turns
- Rest for 30 minutes
- Third stretch and fold
- Perform 4 quarter turns
- Rest for 30 minutes
- Fourth stretch and fold
- Perform 4 quarter turns
- Cover and leave for bulk fermentation
Usually after 4 series, the dough passes the windowpane test (dough stretches thin enough to see light through without tearing).
📈 Bulk Fermentation
- 4-12 hours fermentation at room temperature
- Typically done overnight or throughout most of the day
- Dough should increase by 50-70% in size. If using aliquot, dough is done when reaches the lid.
🔧 Shaping & Final Proof
🔄 Pre-shaping
- Turn dough onto lightly floured surface
- Shape into rough round
- Bench rest: 10-30 minutes
🎯 Final Shaping
- Shape dough into final form (boule or batard)
- Add any inclusions (seeds, nuts, etc.)
- Place seam-side up in proofing basket (banneton)
🧺 Banneton Rest
- 5 minutes in basket
- Perform one final pinch to tighten seam
⏳ Final Proof
- 30-60 minutes at room temperature if baking right away, OR
- 8-24 hours in refrigerator for cold proof if baking next day
🔥 Baking
Choose one of these baking methods:
🍲 Method 1: Dutch Oven in Conventional Oven
🌡️ Oven Preparation
- Turn oven on to 450°F and place Dutch oven inside
- After oven hits 450°F, proceed to next steps
👨🍳 Baking Process
- Turn dough onto two stacked silicone mats (Silpat) placed on a cooking rack
- Score the bread with bench knife or lame
- Place in hot Dutch oven with 8-10 ice cubes for steam
- Cover with lid
💨 Method 2: Steam Oven
👨🍳 Baking Process
- Place dough on baking pan with parchment
- Score the bread end to end with double score under ear
- Place pan/bread in steam oven using level 2
- No preheating required
🌬️ Cooling
- Cool completely on wire rack (at least 1-2 hours) with cloth covering
- Once cooled, store in bread bag or wrap
💡 Tips & Terminology
🌡️ Temperature-Based Schedules
🔥 Warm Environment Schedule (75-80°F+)
| Day | Phase | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Levain Preparation | 4-6 hrs |
| 1 | Mixing & Initial Fermentation | 3 hrs |
| 1 | Shaping & Final Proof | • 30-60 min room temp • 8-24 hrs cold proof |
| 1-2 | Baking and Cooling | 1.5-2 hrs |
| Total | Either Option | • 9-13 hrs room temp • 17-32 hrs cold proof |
❄️ Cool Environment Schedule (65-70°F)
| Day | Phase | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Levain Preparation | 8-12 hrs |
| 2 | Mixing & Initial Fermentation | 8-12 hrs |
| 3 | Shaping & Final Proof | • 30-60 min room temp • 8-24 hrs cold proof |
| 3-4 | Baking and Cooling | 1.5-2 hrs |
| Total | Either Option | • 17-26 hrs room temp • 25-50 hrs cold proof |
⏱️ Sequential Timer Schedule
| Timer | Purpose | Set Timer For |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start first stretch and fold (initial mix rest done) | 1:00 hours |
| 2 | Start second stretch and fold (first rest is done) | 1:30 hours |
| 3 | Start third stretch and fold (second rest is done) | 2:00 hours |
| 4 | Start fourth stretch and fold (third rest is done) | 2:30 hours |
📖 Terminology
- Starter (mother): The ongoing sourdough culture you maintain daily
- Levain: The portion of starter you build specifically for baking – this is what goes into your dough
- Quarter turn: 90-degree rotation of dough around the bowl
- Windowpane test: Stretch a small piece of dough thin enough to see light through without tearing
- Float test: Drop a small piece of active levain in water; it should float when ready
🧪 Aliquot Method (Optional):
- After the first stretch and fold, place 40g of dough in a 2oz container that has a lid
- Keep container on top of main dough during the stretch and fold rests and bulk fermentation
- Bulk fermentation is complete when the aliquot dough reaches the top of the container (doubled in size)
✅ Tips
- Internal temperature should reach 205-210°F when done
- The crust should sound hollow when tapped
- Resist cutting too early – the bread continues cooking as it cools (wait at least 1-2 hours)