By Cambria Kelly and Rosie Lu
Have you ever been to a bakery and said, “Wow, this bread is so good—I wish I could have this every day.” If the answer is yes, then you are at the right place! Welcome to Cambria and Rosie’s pro tips on how to bake the best bread! Let’s start at the very beginning—our sourdough starters, William and Bob. The easiest way to begin your sourdough journey is to get a piece of an established starter from someone else. Every starter can be born from another, but once it’s yours, it needs care and consistency.
Feed your starter daily or refrigerate it and feed it weekly. Use a 1:1:1 ratio for starter to water to AP flour (but measure in grams, not volume). We mix 50 grams each of starter, water, and AP flour.
You can keep your starter on the countertop, not the refrigerator. Don’t put the lid on tight, just set the top so air gets in but not bugs.
You want to use your starter while it is on the rise and not on the decline—around four to six hours, and it should be bubbly and doubled. You can put a rubber band on the jar so you can see when it doubles.
Once your starter is happy and active, it’s time to bake!
Premixing the Dough
Ingredients:
- 100g active sourdough starter
- 375g water
- 500g bread flour
- 10g salt
Whisk starter and water together.
Add flour and salt, then mix everything with the handle of a wooden spoon. Make sure the dough is fully combined with no major clumps.
Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth.
Let it rest for 1 hour.
Forming your dough
Perform a stretch and fold, then wait 60 minutes to stretch and fold again. Each stretch and fold is typically four reps, or until the dough stops tearing and resisting. Continue stretching and folding every 15-20 minutes, for a total of 4-6 times.
Bulk Fermentation
Cover the dough and let it sit on the counter until it doubles in size—it can take anywhere from 4 to 10 hours depending on the conditions.
Shaping the Dough
Once your dough has finished its rise, flour your countertop with rice flour. Gently pour the dough out so the bottom is facing up.
Use a silicone scraper to help handle the dough. Pull the dough from one side to the other, rotate, and repeat until shaped.
Flour your container of choice with rice flour, and place the dough in the basket, smooth side down, then cover.
Cold Fermentation
Place the basket in the refrigerator for 5 to 36 hours—the longer the cold ferment, the more flavor your bread will develop.
Baking
Preheat your oven and your Dutch oven to 450°F.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and flip it onto parchment paper—make sure the parchment is long enough to use the corners as handles. Gently score your bread with a razor or sharp knife.
Remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven—adding 3 ice cubes inside for steam. Place the scored dough into the Dutch oven, using the corners of the parchment paper. Cover with the lid and return to the oven.
Bake for 35 minutes with the lid on, then 10 to 15 minutes with the lid off for browning. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack, removing the parchment paper.
Make sure to wait 90 minutes before slicing! The bread is continuously cooking, so cutting too early can impact the quality of your dough. After you slice into the crackly, crispy, bubbly, flaky crust, the soft and pillowy inside will greet you (if you did it right). Enjoy your perfectly made bread and prepare to show off to your friends!