I’ve baked this loaf, or some variant of it, so many times I’ve lost count. This bread was born when I first got my hands dirty with flour and water. Its parent—if you could call it that—was originally Chad Robertson’s Tartine loaf with his liquid levain, brought to life, not with intensive kneading, but rather a series of folds during bulk fermentation.
My best sourdough recipe has grown since then. It has developed a personality of its own as I’ve expanded my baking repertoire and investigated the many facets of baking naturally leavened sourdough. It’s taken on and lost traits from many great bakers out there, borrowing from their inspiration and giving me a direction to raise this bread into something of my own. This bread is one that doesn’t entirely taste like anything else I’ve had, and yet, still employs many of the same processes and ingredients.
That’s one of the greatest things about bread: it can taste and look dramatically different just by changing the two hands that create it. Calling this post “my best sourdough recipe” is a lofty claim, but honestly, I do believe this is the best bread I’ve made thus far.
I sometimes revisit a discussion I had with a few readers of this site and their comments: “bread is just bread, it’s something to be eaten and is something life-giving, isn’t that enough?” I agree, but when something becomes a passion for you it’s important to set lofty goals and get excited when breakthroughs are made. Isn’t that the definition of a craft and the relentless honing required?
I’ve taken my best sourdough recipe from its most nascent form to its current stage and can trace through the years each change to its formula or process — and I’m sure I’ll be changing things well into the future as it continues to evolve — a work-in-progress.
Yes it’s excessive in some way, but there’s an excessiveness to ambition as well.
John Mayer
Maybe the actual recipe for this bread isn’t the most important part, but rather, the lessons and insights learned along the way as I continually hone my baking proficiency. I’m not claiming this recipe will yield the perfect loaf every single time, but I dare say it comes the closest for me—and that’s exciting.
This bread is the bread that I want to make the most often, the one my family asks for the most often, and the one I share most often. I have a special place for whole wheat bread, and taste-wise, it might make me want to call that my favorite one day, but the versatility of this bread is pretty hard to beat. In fact, I bake this so often that my freezer has an entire shelf lined with pre-sliced loaves wrapped and in bags labeled pane perfetto.
While the actual formula for my best sourdough recipe is simply a mix of flour, water, salt, and levain, there are many nuances here to pay close attention to; here are a few key things to successfully making this bread:
- An active starter
- An autolyse
- A high hydration
- Sufficient dough strength
- A warm and complete bulk fermentation
- A long, cold proof
Before writing this post, I pulled out my trusty notebook (or use my free baker’s note sheet!) and paged through the handwritten (and flour-ridden) pages to find any scribbled “ah-ha” moments or little notes jotted down in the margin, along with a few curse words peppered throughout, and have bundled them up into this entry (sans curse words to keep it clean). A compendium of sorts containing my insights, breakthroughs, and ah-ha moments.
My best sourdough recipe doesn’t require an exotic blend of hard-to-find flour, a complicated multi-step levain build, or the use of a mechanical mixer. It’s built around making this bread in your home kitchen.
My best sourdough recipe is very highly hydrated and can be challenging. When mixing, be watchful for the signs and adjust the dough hydration to suit your environment and flour. If you’re not used to working with high-hydration dough, please start with hydration somewhere in the middle and slowly work up.
Flour Selection
I’ve tried a lot of flour out there (and am an avid user of freshly milled flour), indeed not everything there is, but I’ve ordered enough now that the UPS guy thinks I might have a bakery in my backyard. I have baked some great bread with Hayden Flour Mills, Central Milling, and Giusto’s. I’ve also had great success with King Arthur Baking high-protein white flour.
I have consistently made incredible loaves with Giusto’s flour; I only wish it were organic. Nevertheless, I find myself ordering a box of it here and there and enjoying the results every time. Of course, as I mentioned before, try whatever is local first (sadly, my source for local, organic flour is no longer available) and whatever you like.
When trying new flour, remember to hold back more water than you might otherwise, and then slowly add it in at the end of mixing or throughout bulk fermentation. Now, on to my best sourdough recipe.
Watch Me Make This From Start To Finish
I absolutely love this bread and make it often, but it can be challenging for first-time bakers. Be sure to watch my YouTube video below for a look at how I handle the dough and every step of the process.
If you’re brand new to baking sourdough, check out my Beginner’s Sourdough Bread recipe; it has in-depth information on every step in the baking process. Then come back and bake this!
My Best Sourdough Recipe
Vitals
| Total Dough Weight | 1,800 grams |
| Pre-fermented Flour | 6.4% |
| Levain percentage in final dough | 17.1% |
| Hydration | 85.0% |
| Yield | Two 900g loaves |
Total Formula
The target final dough temperature (FDT) is 78°F (25°C). This dough loves a warm ambient environment. Try to keep the dough at the listed temperatures if possible; use your oven with its light on inside, your microwave with a bowl of steaming water, or a proofer. I use my instant-read thermometer to check the dough temperature periodically throughout bulk.
For more information on how to calculate DDT, monitor temperature, and maintain temperature have a look at my post on The Importance of Dough Temperature in Baking.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 852g | Medium-protein bread flour (~11.5% protein, Giusto’s Artisan Bread Flour) | 90.00% |
| 94g | Whole wheat flour (Giusto’s Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat) | 10.00% |
| 710g | Water 1 | 75.00% |
| 95g | Water 2 | 10.00% |
| 17g | Salt | 1.80% |
| 30g | Ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 3.20% |
As I mentioned above, my best sourdough recipe is an extremely high hydration. If this is your first time working with this recipe, reduce the total water or hold water back during mixing to ensure your dough can handle the addition. The amount of water your dough will handle will vary based on your particular flour and environment—play it safe the first few bakes and work the water up gradually once you get a feel for the dough.
My Best Sourdough Recipe Method
1. Levain – 9:00 a.m.
Build the liquid levain in the morning and store somewhere warm around 77-80°F (25-26°C) ambient for 5 hours.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 30g | Ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 50% |
| 30g | Medium-protein bread flour (~11.5% protein, Giusto’s Artisan Bread Flour) | 50% |
| 30g | Whole wheat flour (Giusto’s Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat) | 50% |
| 60g | Water | 100% |
If you haven’t yet read through my post on my sourdough starter maintenance routine, check it out for some helpful hints on what to look for when your sourdough starter and levain are ripe and ready to use.
2. Autolyse – 12:00 p.m.
This highly hydrated dough can be mixed by hand or with a mechanical mixer (like a home spiral mixer). Either one will yield great results, but here, I’ll discuss mixing this dough by hand.
Mix the flour and water in a bowl until all the dry bits are incorporated, then cover. Ensure all the dry flour is hydrated—store near levain (we want the dough’s temperature to remain warm).
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 822g | Medium-protein bread flour |
| 64g | Whole wheat flour |
| 650g | Water 1 |
3. Mix – 2:00 p.m.
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 95g | Water 2 |
| 17g | Fine sea salt |
| 151g | Ripe liquid levain (see above) |
Add the ingredients to your dough in the mixing bowl that underwent an autolyse. Add the water slowly, in stages, while you’re mixing, and stop adding water if the dough feels excessively wet or soupy at any point.
Perform folds for about 2-3 minutes in the bowl. Grab under one side, pull up and over to the other side, then rotate the bowl a bit and repeat. I do this probably 30 times or so (it goes fast and easy). In the end, the dough should still be shaggy, but it will be more smooth and will start to hold itself together more in the bowl.
If you’re a fan of the slap & fold mixing technique I’ve described in the past, you can do this but be aware that it is difficult at this hydration. It’s best to first slap and fold the dough without adding all the reserved water to get the dough smooth and strong. Then, return the dough to the mixing bowl and slowly add the remaining water while folding the dough.
I find that the correct level of dough strength at this point is important. You want the dough to be smooth, elastic, and strong, but it doesn’t have to be fully developed, and it will still be shaggy. We will continue to strengthen the dough through stretch and folds in bulk fermentation.
Transfer dough to a tub or thick-walled bowl for bulk fermentation.
5. Bulk Fermentation – 2:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
At 78°F (25°C) ambient temperature, bulk fermentation should go for about 4 hours. Perform six sets of stretch and folds during the bulk. The first three are at 15-minute intervals, and the last three are at 30-minute intervals. After these folds (2 hours and 15 minutes have gone by), let the dough rest for the remainder of bulk fermentation.
I stretch and fold more vigorously at the beginning of bulk than usual since it is extraordinarily slack and extensible (due to this recipe’s high hydration and autolyse). Pick up one side of the dough with both hands and pull it up, just before tearing, and fold it over to the other side. Rotate your container and repeat 4 or 5 times. That is one set.
Above, you can see my best sourdough recipe dough halfway through bulk, after about 2 hours. There is no significant rise as of yet, but the edges are beginning to dome downward, and the dough’s texture is smoothing out slightly. We still have several more folds to do and more strength to build.
It is essential that the dough is kept near 78°F (25°C) as much as possible (minor fluctuations up and down are ok). If temperatures dip down too far, you might have to extend the bulk fermentation duration to compensate, and vice versa. Use your judgment, the signs described below, and be flexible.
At the end of bulk, your dough should look very gassy, with some bubbles here and there, and the edges where the dough meets the bowl should be slightly domed. You can see all these signs in the image above.
When you gently shake the bowl, the entire mass jiggles from side to side—very alive. You’ll also notice that compared with the photo at the beginning of bulk, the dough is smoother and holds its edges, folds, and creases more readily (most of the bumps and ridges you see are due to trapped gasses from fermentation).
6. Divide & Preshape – 6:15 p.m.
Divide the dough into two halves and gently preshape each piece of dough into a round. Then, let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered. Act quickly when handling this dough and rely heavily on your bench knife. I try to use my hands as little as possible when dealing with the dough at this point.
7. Shape – 6:45 p.m.
Lightly flour the top of your dough rounds and flour the work surface. With this recipe use a little more flour on the surface than normal, the dough will be extremely sticky and wet. Flip each round and shape into a batard (see notes below) or boule, whatever your preference.
Here’s a video of how I shape a bâtard. With this dough, be sure to use the “slack dough” shaping method since the dough is such high hydration.
I prefer to shape these as batards, and my shaping method is as follows:
- Flip pre-shaped round
- Fold the bottom up to about halfway
- Fold the left side over to about 3/4 to the right
- Fold the right side over to cover left
- Stretch top up & away from the center and fold down to about half (you’ll now have a “letter”)
- Grab a little of the dough at the sides near the top and stretch it over the center, so the dough crosses. Imagine lacing up a shoe where you first grab your laces and cross them over
- Repeat three times from top to bottom (the result will look like a laced up shoe)
- Take the bottom and gently roll the dough up to the top and try to seal it slightly when done rolling
Alternatively, if the dough feels pretty strong, you could shape it by “cinching” up the dough. For more instruction on how to shape this dough as an oblong loaf, see my post on how to shape a batard (with video!).
After shaping, let the dough rest on the bench for a few minutes and then place it into a banneton that is lightly dusted with white flour. You’ll see above my bannetons give the dough plenty of room to relax and expand in the fridge overnight. If your proofing container is on the smaller side, and you find your dough almost spilling over the edges, it might be time for a larger basket.
8. Proof – 7:25 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., the next day
Cover your banneton with plastic and place it in the refrigerator at 38°F (3°C) overnight.
9. Bake – Next Morning: Preheat oven at 8:00 a.m., Bake at 9:00 a.m.
Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C). Remove the dough from the fridge (there’s no need to let the dough come to room temperature) and uncover. I scored the dough with a single, long slash to get that dramatic opening when baked. I keep the blade at a reasonably shallow angle so the taut skin created during shaping will “peel” back as the loaf rises.
I steamed my oven in my usual way, described here in my post on how to steam your home oven for baking. But you can also bake in a pot or Dutch oven.
Bake for 20 minutes with steam, then remove your steaming pans if baking on a surface or Dutch oven/combo cooker lid. Then, bake for an additional 30 minutes until done to your liking. I like to bake rather dark, so I sometimes extend this second half of baking until I get the crust I’m looking for.
Once your loaf is done, remove and let cool on a wire rack for 1-2 hours. See my post on the best way to store the bread after it’s baked for a few tips on keeping it on the counter and freezing if you think you won’t get through both loaves in a week.
Conclusion
It’s hard to put into words just how much I enjoy this “my best sourdough recipe.” I bake it almost every week (sometimes multiple times if baking for friends and family), and yet every time I pull it from the oven, I smile. The crust color, the open and light interior, only the smallest perception of sour notes, and the way it crunches when toasted. I could go on and on.
The photos to follow are the results of scattered recent bakes that all followed this process exactly and have a slightly different outcome. You’ll notice some are a bit darker, some have more or less flour on them, some expand differently in the oven, and some are taller and some are shorter—that’s the nature of baking.
With baking, every single bake is different no matter how consistent you try to be. It’s the same with my Dad and his Italian restaurant, and the reason I’ll sometimes get a call in the middle of the afternoon: “hey, the pizza dough is incredible today, you should head over and grab some.”
Crust
As a kid, I was known to take slices of bread, cut out the center, and eat the crust. It used to anger my family because they’d reach into the breadbasket only to find slices of only the soft parts. That’s how much I love the crust! Can you blame me, though?
I enjoy bread with a chunky, chewy crust, but this bread with its delicate and cracker-like crust takes the top spot for me. Even though I bake these rather dark, the crust remains thin and brittle, crackling under the slightest pressure. I love using the “heel” (the very end) of this bread to eat soup or combined with hefty slices of cheese. It’s delicious.
Crumb
I think there’s a balance to be had with bread like this. It’s possible to let the crumb open up too much, but for me, this is just right. Scattered open areas with that translucent webbing spanning from wall-to-wall, a dynamic movement to these areas, almost show you how shaping was carried out.
Taste
This bread has an almost imperceptible hint of sour, and because of this, the wheat flavors from the flour come forward. It has an incredibly tender, soft crumb that almost dissolves in your mouth. It’s one of those rare foods whereupon taking that first bite your mouth begins to water.
In the end, bread is just bread. But it’s also the staff of life and has been for thousands of years. It’s is also more than the sum of the ingredients you add to the mixing bowl. It’s how it makes you feel when you give some to a friend, and they grin ear-to-ear as they take a big bite. It’s the knowledge that you created this thing over a few days that once was a lump on your counter and is now an incredibly delicious food meant to be shared. To me, this is real bread and my best sourdough recipe to date.
Buon appetito!
Print
My Best Sourdough Recipe
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 24 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves
- Category: Sourdough, Bread
- Cuisine: American
Description
This sourdough bread is one of my favorite recipes. It’s a highly hydrated dough that results in a loaf with an open and lacey interior contrasted by a thin, crispy crust.
Ingredients
Levain
- 30g medium-protein bread flour
- 30g whole wheat flour
- 60g water
- 30g ripe sourdough starter
Main Dough
- 822g medium-protein bread flour
- 64g whole wheat flour
- 745g water
- 17g salt
- 151g ripe levain
Instructions
- Levain (9:00 a.m.)
In a small container, mix the levain ingredients and keep at 78°F (25°C) for 5 hours. - Autolyse (12:00 p.m)
In a medium mixing bowl, add 822g medium-protein bread flour, 64g whole wheat flour, 650g water, and mix until no dry bits remain. Cover the bowl and let rest for 2 hours. - Mix (2:00 p.m.)
To the mixing bowl holding your dough, add 95g water (holding back any as necessary if the dough is too wet), 17g sea salt, and the ripe levain (from step 1). Pinch and mix all the ingredients together and do folds in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough smooths and is cohesive. Then, transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover. - Bulk Fermentation (2:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.)
Give the dough 6 sets of stretch and folds. The first three sets are at 15-minute intervals, and the last three sets are at 30-minute intervals. - Divide and Preshape (6:15 p.m.)
Lightly flour your work surface and scrape out your dough. Using your bench knife, divide the dough in half. Lightly shape each half into a round shape. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered. - Shape (6:45 p.m.)
Shape the dough into a round (boule) or oval (batard) and place it in proofing baskets. Cover the baskets with a reusable plastic bag. - Proof (7:25 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. the next day)
Cover proofing baskets with reusable plastic and seal them shut. Then, place both baskets into the refrigerator and proof overnight. - Bake (Preheat oven at 8:00 a.m., bake at 9:00 a.m.)
I steamed my oven in my usual way, described here in my post on how to steam your home oven for baking. But you can also bake in a pot or Dutch oven. Preheat your oven with a combo cooker or Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C). Remove your dough from the fridge, score it, and transfer it to the preheated combo cooker. Place the cooker in the oven, cover with the lid, and bake for 20 minutes. After this time, remove the lid (you can keep it in the oven or remove it) and continue to bake for 30 minutes longer. When done, the internal temperature should be around 208°F (97°C). Let the loaves cool for 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
This is a very highly hydrated dough. Don’t add in all the reserved water during mixing if it feels like the dough is becoming overly weak, slack, or soupy.
What’s Next?
If you want more help getting an open crumb with this bread, I’ve created a 100+ page book with step-by-step instructions. Learn the best flour to use, the right fermentation schedule, and all my tips in my Bread Baker’s Handbook.
Are you a TPL Member? If so, the handbook is free for you!
2,142 Comments
Hi Maurizio. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. How would you modify it if the temperature in my apartment is around 23.5-24C? (74.5F)
The process will likely just take a little longer. I’d say another 30 minutes in bulk (assuming the final dough temperature is lower than what I list above). You could also leave the dough an extra 5-10 minutes on the bench after preshaping before you shape. Hope that helps!
Hello,
I would like to make this recipe using all white bakers / AP flour. Should the water be reduced? Would this severly impact the crumb? If anyone experimented with this, helpful insight is greatly appreciated
I would say yes, to be safe reduce water by 5% and see how the dough feels. During mixing, remember to hold back some of the water as well, only add it in if the dough feels like it’s holding together. Even at 5% reduction it really depends on your flour and whether it can take on higher hydration or not. If it can’t, that’s just fine! Each flour is different.
You’ll likely have to extend bulk fermentation a bit longer with no whole wheat flour, just try to follow the signs and description I have above for when to stop bulk fermentation and divide the dough. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, it’ll likely be around 3.5-4.5 hours if kept around 76-82°F.
Hope this helps!
Hello ,
First of all i would like to thank you for that beautiful recipe I have a question . I bake my breads this morning and the bread came out like a balloon the crust doesn’t crack. Btw the crumb was nice and bubbly but I didn’t have this beautiful oven spring did I over proof it my dough temp for 30minutes went to 90 F When I bulk ferment the dough that was the problem? Thanks a lot.
It’s really hard to say without more details and/or some photos of the result. If you think the dough went over, which I might have at that hot of a temp, try to keep it cooler next time during bulk. Ideally, 80F would be the sweet spot. I never like to let my dough get up past 85F.
Hi Maurizio
This isn’t a question, just another thank you 🙂 I’ve baked bread using your best sourdough recipe dozens of times now and in my opinion it is THE BEST SOURDOUGH RECIPE. EVER. I’m not hugely experienced but I followed the recipe’s high hydration from the first time and have always had amazing, consistent results. As long as I use good, strong organic flour (I live in NZ – after months of producing slop that would not be shaped I discovered our flour is very low protein so I buy imported organic flour) a proofer and my Lodge dutch oven I am guaranteed to produce the best sourdough. I do use other recipes with higher wholewheat and rye when I fancy something more wholesome, but this is the most irresistible bread I’ve ever baked and everyone loves it. I now use this method for all my sourdough baking regardless of the recipe, as I feel it makes a real difference to the crumb and oven spring. Thank you again for your wonderful inspiration and for supporting amateurs like me to be impressive bakers!
Donna, thanks so much for the kid words and feedback, really happy to hear all that! If you’re looking for more whole grain recipes, check out my recipes page under the whole wheat section — lots more to explore there, too! In any case, thanks again and happy baking!
Hi Maurizio,
I’ve noticed that many people like yourself like a sourdough with just a light touch of sourness. I’ve been baking for over a year now expecting my palate to refine itself, but I’m still hopelessly attached to bread with more robust sourness. It seems like many bakers tend to praise the subtlety of a breads sour qualities while gently deriding bread with pronounced sourness. Am I a barbarian?
Also, why do you think flavors from dough fermentation are held to a narrower standard than the flavors from the cultures of cheese which can be as stinky as they want to be? Do you ever find yourself liking a bread with a more pronounced sourness (sometimes I like milder) or are you pretty loyal to a certain level of sour?
Hah! You’re definitely not a barbarian — each person has their preference and their desired flavor in a loaf of bread, there’s nothing wrong with that at all!
That’s a great comparison with the world of cheese and I’m not sure I have an answer to that. My preference is for a more subtle sour flavor, mostly because I want it to help elevate the flavor of the grain and other fermentation flavors but not overpower everything. To me the sourness is welcome, but it’s kind of like using acidity in cooking: it helps brighten all the other flavors and senses.
However, there are many bakeries where I’ve had bread much more sour than mine and I do find them enjoyable. I think it’s all up to what you’re after, what you might also be eating the bread with, and what your customers/family push you into baking 🙂
I’ve tried more than a few sourdough recipes. and I am THRILLED to say – I finally got a springy airy loaf. wow. worlds away from the rubbery bricks I’ve been baking until now. thank you!
Awesome, Esther! Really glad to hear that. Happy baking!
Hello Maurizo,
I’ve been using your recipes for 6 months or so and think they are great and the blog is very helpful in general. I made this recipe this weekend and got a loaf with good oven spring but no ear as the spring seems to overtake the slice: https://i.imgur.com/FLeMoKG.jpg. Why is this? Is it underproofed? My thinking is that when baked, there is “too much” expansion left in the dough. This expansion should’ve happened before putting it in the oven. Is this correct?
Hey, Phil. It’s hard to say for sure but yes, I’d say the loaf is on the under proofed side based on the picture and your description. If you’re seeing overly dramatic rise in the dough it typically means the dough could use more time in bulk and/or proof. I’d try to leave the dough out of the fridge after you shape it for 45 mins to one hour before placing it in the fridge. This will give it more time to ferment at room temp and speed things along.
I hope that helps and sorry for the delay!
I got the gumminess too! I thought it might have been because I didn’t bake it long enough–my crust was closer to “golden” than “brown”. I’m trying again today, hopefully it turns out better.
Thought I would chime in with my first experience with the “Best” recipe. I’ve made the Beginners a dozen times or so, all in a Dutch oven, and almost all turned out quite well. Biggest issue was my family didn’t like the hard crust, but overall a very positive experience.
The high hydration in this recipe was not a big issue……at first. Dough mixed well, even easier than the Begginners because of the extra water. Folding and shaping went fine also, no issues. I did note that I was not quite getting the doming of the dough at the end, which should have been a flag.
Into the fridge it went for overnight proofing. I don’t have proper proofing baskets, so I put them in Le Creuset bread baking dishes, with parchment paper. The intention was to transfer them to a pizza peel then into the oven in the morning. However…..that was not to be. The dough was sticking to the parchment like glue, so they stayed as they were and were baked in the baking dishes.
Steam was provide by 5 towels rolled up in a stainless baking pan and a spritzer and worked really well. In the future I will use the stainless pan and Grillpro ceramic briquettes. I switched to these in my grill, and they are a much cleaner solution than lava rocks, I recommend them. I preheated to 475 with a baking steel, lowered to 450 for the initial bake and then 425 for the post-steaming bake. This gave a little softer crust which keeps the family happy.
So, how did it turn out? Better than expected, I’m happy to report. Nice rise on both loaves. The steaming worked really well. The loaves released quite nicely from the parchment, which I was somewhat worried about. Baked to an internal temp of 205F. Got a little blowout on one side because the dough would not hold a score very well. All in all, an excellent result for a first attempt! Thanks!
Right on Kevin, sounds like overall a good result. I might suggest next go reducing the water a bit, perhaps just 5%, and see if that helps. Alternatively, you could do more mixing/kneading upfront, or more sets of stretch and folds during bulk, to give the dough more strength. It should be rather strong by the time you shape the dough so it cleanly removes from the baskets when you go to bake.
Regardless, great job and happy baking!
Interesting! It could be several things causing that gummy interior, including under proofed dough (this is typically the issue) or it’s over hydrated. Feel free to shoot me over an email through the Contact link up top and I’ll see if I can help diagnose further.
Hello Maurizio!
A huge fan here. I’ve been reading and researching sourdough for the last month, and have just pulled out my 4th loaf out of the oven! It’s not remotely close to your beautiful loaves, but it’s getting better each time. I am a “weekly” baker, so I have found your baking and starter feeding schedules super helpful.
As I continue to follow your advice, hints and tricks, I hope each loaf that comes out is better than the last – or at least supplies me with helpful information to improve. There is one question that I haven’t found on your website:
What is the best way to store a loaf that should last for 4-5 days? I have read paper bags or cotton cloths, at cool temperatures preserve well. But what do you do, or would you recommend, to keep that crust crackly (is that a word?), and preventing the inside from hardening? All the best, and a thousand thanks for your advice!
Hey, Jalen! Glad to hear my website has been a source of useful information. I usually use a bread box to store my bread after it’s been cut. If I’m using a bread box I won’t place the bread in anything — just straight into the box. The purpose of the box is to keep just enough humidity in there to keep the bread soft but not too soft. If I’m not using my bread box then I’ll either be sure to keep the crumb side of the loaf down on the cutting board so the crust naturally surrounds the entire loaf. Imagine cutting a loaf directly in half and then turning those halves down.
Happy baking!
This bread looks amazing! However, I’ve been struggling with my sourdough recently (particularly with oven spring), and so would want to reduce the hydration of the recipe the first time I try it. Can I just check how that works? If I reduce the hydration what is the formula to working out all the other ingredients amounts? Can I keep all the other ingredient amounts the same and just reduce hydration amount, or have to change everything?
Also, when you specify that you use ‘whole wheat flour’, is this a wholewheat bread flour, or just normal wholewheat flour? I can get hold of both at my local organic health food store (my go to for flour normally), but I’m not sure which one would be better to go for? Thank you!
Thank you. Yes, just reduce the amount of water in the recipe to what you feel your flour can handle — this is definitely a very high hydration, so I’d shoot for something around 75% to start. You can calculate the hydration percentage by taking the amount of water and divide it by the total amount of flour (e.g. 700g water / 1000g flour = 70% hydration). See my Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Recipe for more — and this might be a great recipe for you to try as well!
Either would work, I’m sure. I don’t typically see whole wheat labeled as “bread flour” so it must be that particular brand you’re buying.
Hope that helps and happy baking!
Delicious recipe! A note to those who don’t want to carry multiple kinds of flour. I used all purpose flour (APF) and vital wheat gluten (VWG). For half the recipe, I used 428 g of APF (conventional) and 11g VWG. It came out more flat, but still airy and delicious. I only have a round dutch oven, so I maybe my round shaping skills could use some work. I probably didn’t develop enough surface tension to make it go up instead of out.
Thanks for those suggestions! I’ve not used VWG, but another suggestion would be to mix in some higher protein flour, such as “bread flour” here in the USA, to add some support to the dough. Alternatively, reducing the hydration will also bring quite a bit of strength to those struggling with loose, slack dough.
Happy baking!
Hi again
Ive tried this recipe twice. Both times i get a great tasting loaf with good crumb and chewy crunchy crust. Everything is perfect except the shape. Its always a little flat because the dough is so high hydration. Ive tried working the dough more but it didnt help much. Ive shaped them really well but after the overnight proof they lose their taught shape. Also when i cut them right before placing them in the dutch oven it causes them to lose shape. I dont know if its that it needs more proofing time or more stretch and fold or better shaping (i think i do a good job). Any suggestions? And thanks in advance.
Yes, this dough is super high hydration. I’d recommend you drop the hydration of the recipe down by 5% and see if that helps. Then, you can drop it further if you notice an improvement and want a stronger dough (which should rise up higher), or slowly bring it back up (if desired).
I hope that helps!
Hi Maurizio,
I was wondering which size bannetons you tend to use. At the moment I’m using an old ricotta colander (round) lined with muslin, but I can only bake one at a time this way. I’d like to purchase some oblong bannetons but I’m confused which size to buy! Which size do you have here? I’m still making your beginner’s sourdough after a not so great attempt at this recipe here but would love to graduate to it eventually (and others on your site!). Thank you so much and thanks for improving my sourdough attempts 100x!
All the bannetons I use regularly are listed on my baking tools page, head over there to take a look! The ones here are 14″ long, which is quite long but I like to let the dough relax out fully (this assumes the dough has sufficient dough strength to not spread too readily).
I hope that helps and happy baking, Megan!
Thank you Maurizio- finally, after a year and a half of practicing different recipes, this is one for which I can be truly proud of the result! I have one question to help make it perfect next time… I cooked my loaf in the Dutch oven. I did 20 minutes with the lid on then 25 with it off. The inside is still a little sticky (I waited 4 hours to cut) and the crust a little doughy, like it’s all just a little bit undercooked? Is there a better timing for when using the Dutch oven?
Wow, super glad to hear that, Danika! Fantastic.
It’s very possible it’s not baked out fully. If you have an instant read thermometer use that to test the interior of the loaf before removing it — the temp should read 210°F or higher to ensure it’s fully baked!
Thank you Maurizio- I have baked a few more times now for longer and it has been fantastic 🙂 now, thanks to your answers to some of the questions above, the next job is to get it to rise a bit higher… I will try slightly less water. Appreciate you answering everyone and taking the time to help us x
You bet, happy to help. Happy baking, Danika!
Great information and beautiful bread!!
Have you experimented or worked with sourdough and adding olive oil or butter? I have a recepie I’ve developed on my own with research and experiment but my crumb is closed and the bread dries out with two days but the flavor is good and people buy it but I always feel it could be better. I’m making bread for a local health food store and have been experimenting using dofferent methods and was wondering if you had any suggestions! Just reading your information on this loaf has added to my knowledge!
Thanks, Kaitlin! I have several recipes here where I use butter (check out my brioche hamburger buns) but none that use olive oil — yet. I’m working on a new recipe as we speak that does include a small percentage of olive oil (should be out soon).
There could be many reasons for a closed crumb — so many in fact it’s hard to provide any general recommendations! I’d need more information on flour, fermentation times, temps, etc. If you have photos and need some additional help, send me an email through the Contact link up top and I’ll try to help!
Hi Maurizio, I’ve read some articles on your website, great source of information!!
A question: If I only keep 20g of my starter and feed with 100g water + 100g flour twice a day, I have to discard A LOT of starter, if I don’t bake a couple of breads every day. What’s your suggested formula for people who bake, like, two breads a week maybe? Would you keep a bigger portion of the starter?
I usually keep my starter in the fridge for a few days, feed it 2-5 times after taking it out / before baking. When feeding, I used to keep all of my starter (only discard very little parts of it every now and then) and add 50g of water + 50g of flour. I’m looking to improve my feeding without wasting/discarding a whole lot of my starter every time I feed.
Fabian
Keeping your starter in the fridge is a great approach, and in fact, this is typically what I recommend for those who just want to bake once or twice a week. You can always reduce the amount of starter you keep on hand, too. Keep your percentages of flour, water, mature starter the same just reduce the amount of each.
If you haven’t yet, check out my guide on maintaining a weekend baking schedule, it has all my advice on this exact topic!
Hi Maurizio,
Sorry for answering that late and thanks for your response! I have actually reduced the amount of starter I keep and I usually do something like 10-15g of starter with 50-75g of water+flour. But when I take my starter out of the fridge, feed it, say, 3 times before baking with 10g/50g/50g, I end up with 110g after 1st feeding and if I wouldn’t discard anything, I’d have about 7 kgs after 3rd feeding, whereas the amount I need for a loaf is maybe 30-70g.
I’ve read your guide, which is very helpful and I like the pancake recipe. I guess I just have to make pancakes more often then.
I always discard a large portion of my starter at each feeding, usually I carry over 10-20% depending on the season. If I didn’t discard, yes, I’d end up with quite a bit!
Making copious amounts of pancakes is always a good option 😉
HI does it matter alot to use organic flour ?
There’s really no way for me to answer that question! Choosing organic flour is really up to you and what you’re looking for in the end. I’d say it’s similar to asking someone if they want organic tomatoes or conventional tomatoes — it really depends on your stance on organic vs. not. Hope that helps 🙂
Ok thats a good answer. I was just wondering if its any texture difference, are u gonna feel alot difference to a sourdough bread with a conventional flour or a organic flour in the end result, and we would be talking about the same formula.
But btw I really like your website keep on the good work.
Thanks, Jon!
Hi Maurizio – I want to thank you for this formula. I’ve made many of your breads before, but this one is going to be my new favorite for when I want a simple loaf. Great rise, and looked perfect. I would say that my crumb was about 80% open compared to yours, but otherwise, just beautiful with exactly the flavor I wanted. I used 100g less water, which I think made it still wet (and sticky), but just on that edge so that I could shape it and get some tension. I also made your fig & fennel this week, but it needed some more stretch & folds and so I didn’t build up enough gluten (my flours were not exactly as you recommended, so that may have added to the problem). After the bake, I salvaged it by slicing it very thinly and toasting it just enough to make delicious crackers! Wonderful with some goat cheese and a slight drizzle of honey, so it’s not a total loss (kind of an unexpected treat, really). Will try to post photos on Instagram of the sourdough.
Glad to hear that, Tracey! I still make this loaf, or a variant of it, almost every week. Depending on the flour I also have to adjust the hydration as needed — sometimes even quite a bit lower than my recipe prescribes. It all depends.
That fig loaf sure is tasty. I have not thought about using it as a sort of cracker but what a great idea! I’ll have to give that unexpected recipe a try 🙂
Hi Maurizio,
Thank you for the awesome site! My bread hasn’t had a great rise as of late. Would the flour matter in the rise? I have been using King Arthur Bread flour. Could Central Mills give a better rise? A few weeks ago I used an artisanal flour from Breadtopia and it had a much better rise and flavor!
Thank you for your time!
Hey, Harlan — yes, flour is really important! Those sound like all great flour choices, though. Instead of looking at the flour in this case you might want to look at other factors in your process and see if you can find the issue. My best advice is to try and stick to the same flour for a while so you know that isn’t a variable. Buy a bunch of the same flour, see how your bakes go, and adjust other things to improve.
There are a lot of variables in baking and by keeping as many things consistent as possible (in this case the flour) from bake-to-bake we can focus on one aspect of the bake at a time. This way we can see if the few changes we make improve the end result or do not.
I hope that helps!
I did my first loaf of sourdough bread today and it came out fantastic!! Thank you for all your guides and posts that take out some of the guesswork but also inspiring me to experiment! But I did mine today with a boule and a preheated dutch oven, did you preheat with a pizza stone or just place in on room temp baking sheet with the oven preheated with steam? Again thank you for all that you do 🙂
That’s great, Ariel! Glad to hear that. For almost all of my bakes these days I choose to bake directly on my baking stones or baking steel. You can see my process for steaming a home oven right here. Hope that helps and happy baking!
Hi Maurizio, thank you for sharing all your breadmaking knowledge with us. Today is my first try at one of your breads — Your Best Sourdough. I got started through Ken Forkish’ book and now tweaking my process using your tips and insights is fun and hopefully will improve my breadmaking . In bulk right now and looking good so far (fingers crossed). I do have one question though— I think it was in your basic recipe where you said to look for 30-50% increase in bulk. From your photos it looks like it has at least doubled. Am I misreading the photos or missing something? Thanks.
Awesome, Ray! That’s a fantastic book and a great starting point to baking (it’s one of the books I recommend on my reading list). The rise during bulk really depends on the particular dough you’re working with. Some doughs, like this one which is very highly hydrated, might not rise as much as others (and this is certainly true when working with 100% whole grain doughs). I like generally saying 30-50% just to indicate there should be some rise with lots of activity in the dough. The dough should jiggle in the bowl when you shake it and it should look nice and smooth by the end of bulk. It’ll be stronger and more elastic (the property for the dough to resist stretching out).
If you nail the final dough temp times in my formulas the times for bulk fermentation should be very close but always keep an eye on the dough and make an adjustment as necessary. Determining when to stop bulk takes some practice and experimentation, but we always want to see dough that looks alive and well fermented.
I hope that helps and happy baking!
Thanks for the quick and detailed reply. I will try to develop a feeling for the development and not be so concerned with size. As for the bake, the result was not perfect but not too bad. Maybe a bit heavy, but the taste is very good. But I didn’t succeed in developing sufficient strength, a common problem for me. When folding it seemed pretty strong — by the fourth fold of a set it was very stiff and would barely stretch, but when it came time for shaping the strength was not there. I don’t think I was over hydrated. I did 78%, reducing 5% to the compensate for the low absorbency of the flour I get here in Japan and another 5% just to be cautious for my first try. But the oven spring was good and I am enjoying eating it. Had enough success to be looking forward to my next try. Thanks for the recipe😊
Strange that the dough strength wasn’t there at the end, given it felt strong during bulk. Perhaps bulk went too far? Just keep an eye on the dough and see how it’s developing. Wet your hand and gently tug on it when you think it’s near completion. It should offer strength and resistance when it’s finished.
Keep at it — this does take practice. But! It’s always edible and alway delicious 🙂
If it is OK with you, I will post updates here as it may help someone else. I don’t think the bulk went too far — from your description it may not have gone long enough. After doing some searching and trying to separate the internet wheat from the chaff, I am thinking it may be the flour I am using — maybe its enzymatic activity it a bit too much, which apparently can adversely affect the gluten over time. I will try to find a new source for good flour, not all that easy here in Japan.
Yes, that is absolutely possible! Keep us posted on how it’s going, I’m sure others will encounter the same thing!
Sorry for the late update. I’ve been baking every week, but not anything significant to report. I think I’ve been progressing as far as feel for the dough and handling, but until now still could not develop much strength. I switched flours to a local one (about 11.5% protein) recommended by @fumigrafico, but still weak dough, way too much extensibility. Ate many tasty breads during the process, but not getting the crumb I wanted. But last bake I made a change that helped a lot — I eliminated the autolyse. Well, changed to a 30 minute rest (quasi-autolyse?) after mixing to the shaggy state, including the levain and salt. Had significantly more strength at forming. Kind of flattened out when removing from banneton and scoring, but that was probably a proofing problem. My next challenge is getting a feel for when it is properly fermented and proofed. Striving for “the perfect loaf” becomes an obsession, doesn’t it?
I also want to thank you for all your helpful replies to the comments in your posts. I have learned a lot just reading through them.
One last post about this. If I had listened more closely to Maurizio’s words, I could have saved myself many problems. You stress the importance of a lively starter. My old starter seemed OK, but it took a long time to double. I built a new one from your instructions and it made more difference than all the other tweaks combined. I now have decent strength and crumb. Maybe the old starter had developed some component that was degrading the gluten or maybe it just wasn’t lively enough. Whatever the cause, things are much better. Thanks for your help. Now if I can only improve my dough handling skills ……..
Right on, Ray, glad to hear this! Yes, a lively starter is very important! Fermentation is everything when it comes to bread.
Regarding your findings with the autolyse time change: 30 mins is still plenty of time for an autolyse and many bakers do shorter than this, it really depends on what flour you’re working with and the rest of your process. Reducing that autolyse time might have made the dough less extensible, which presented itself to you as a stronger dough. It might be that amount of time is the sweet spot for your flour. It’s yet another thing to experiment with when baking…
Have fun and thanks for the update!
Hi Maurizio!
I have tried to make this bread quite a few times. I have made tasty breads but never managed to get a really huge ovenspring. The reason for that i think is because my dough really often is overproofed. I have tried to lower the proofing time and I have tried to lower the amount of starter, but the overknight proof is somehow always to much. I have tried to make the bread resting 2 hours on the kitchentable instead successfully. Somehow In that case I got a nice oven spring. The taste is just not as developed as I want. I really don’t know what I can do better. I bake in a dutch oven and I’m feeling quite good shaping and working with this wetdough.
Thank you!
Hey, Sofus! I am right there with you, I much prefer the depth of flavor with dough that’s retarded overnight in the fridge. I’ll usually recommend cutting some of the proof time, perhaps 2-4 hours, depending on how fermented the dough is going into the fridge the night before. I also typically recommend reducing the levain percentage, but it sounds like you’ve already tried this.
If you’re leaving the dough out on the counter after shaping before placing it in the fridge, cut that rest time out and just retard it to the fridge immediately after shaping. You could also try to cut the time you spend in bulk but a short bit, perhaps only 15-30 minutes, and again get the dough as soon as it’s shaped into the fridge.
If none of these work on their own you might need to try them in combination — reduce levain, cut bulk a little short, and then cut proof a little short as well.
Let me know if any of this works out for ya!
Hi Maurizio,
This is delicious bread with a fresh baked pot of beans!
I notice that during the overnight proof in the fridge, the basket liner
absorbs quite a bit of moisture. Does this affect the crust in any way?
There’s nothing quite like pairing a pot of beans and fresh baked sourdough! One of my weekly staples for sure. I actually like the fact that the liner absorbs some of the moisture from the dough — it can be a good thing. I find it helps crisp up the crust a bit more, and in my case, usually is for the better since I push the hydration quite far.