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
Can I use King Arthur Bread Flour? Also, if I am using a cast iron dutch oven, do I still need to apply steam? I am new to sourdough bread, by the way. I honestly have so many questions.
Yes, KA Bread Flour will work well for this recipe. If you’re using a Dutch oven with sealed lid, you won’t need to steam (it will trap steam as the dough is baking).
So. This recipe is delicious. I’ve made it a few times now using your exact measurements and process. However, my dough after bulk fermentation is *always* still like a pancake batter. I have to add several hundred more grams of flour just to get it to be semi-workable, and it still remains a goopy mess to work with. It’s almost impossible to shape. What is wrong? I’m using stone-ground whole wheat and bread flour (not malted bread flour). That said, it always turns out delicious and full of air holes with a marvelous crusty crunch. I just never get a dough that looks anything like what you’ve got here OR in videos on youtube.
Hi Jacob, I feel your pain man! This was happening to me too, I almost accepted that that was the way it was going to be, partly because I was baking in a domestic oven that was lucky to reach 220C. However, after reading some of the below threads I managed to have some success! So, Maurizio’s recipe is super-high hydration, absolutely delicious but incredibly wet. What it meant for me was that I was unable to build sufficient strength into the dough (I don’t have a machine, which probably might have done it?) so when I tipped it out into the work surface it would just spread out, like a very relaxed, ample midriff having its belt undone. When baked, if I didn’t use a cast iron pot to contain it, the end result looked more like a crispy giant bread beret!
What I did, which worked for me was… Autolyse with 600g water, then when adding the levain (as long as it’s nice and active there’s enough yeast here to give it a really decent rise. Mine is over 2 months old now and works good) add another 50g water, then finally when adding the salt I added a further 20g water. so 670g of water in total compared to 755g the recipe states. Then I did a pretty thorough slap and fold technique which brought a lot of strength into the dough. This strength meant the dough actually stood up for the first time ever after I brought it out of the fridge the next day. It also meant that scoring the dough worked much better too. I did a couple less stretch and fold than normal as well cause it didn’t really need them. So glad I cracked it at least, I’ve made dozens of loaves that weren’t as deep and fluffy as I’d have liked, so glad I finally found out what it was. I’ll probably try to introduce a bit more hydration as I go to find the sweet spot.
Anyway, I hope this helps and good luck!
It sounds like your dough is over hydrated. Try reducing the hydration by 10% and give it another go — the reduced water should bring a lot of strength to the dough and you’ll feel it immediately. Once you find a suitable hydration, you can try to push it back up, but as you do, take note of how the consistency of the dough changes: the dough will start to slacken out as you add more and more water, this means you’ll likely have to mix more upfront or add another set or two of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation.
Try to keep everything else as consistent as possible and let me know how the next attempt goes!
Hi, do I build a levain for this recipe or simply use some of sourdough starter (if there is sufficient in the bottle)? My concern is the starter may be too sour if I take it directly from the bottle. Thank you
That’s one of the reasons why I make a levain! You’ll see it as step #1 in the post.
Hi Maurizio –
Take two as my first comment disappeared before I could submit. I am new to levains and just getting the hang of them. I am midway through this recipe and it is going nicely. The thing is, I set up the levain last night and when I used it this am, I had only 126 g versus the 150g required, and I supplemented with fed starter to meet the 150g- not sure how that will work?
Wondering how I can make sure my levain build is strong enough in the future? Do you think it fell due to overnight temp? Or could it be the flours? I used what I have handy so KAF Bread and Great River 7 grain. I actually retired the cool old analog scale we had and bought a digital scale yesterday just to follow your recipes, but am still very new to levains (this is my second), so would love your thoughts.
Thanks for including the timing cues in your recipes!
That’s a big difference! It’s ok to be a little short, but 24g is a little much. What you did is fine, use the starter to compensate. Next time you could try adding a bit more flour, water, and starter to make a larger levain to make up for any loss.
A strong levain comes from a strong starter! Be sure to refresh it around the same time each day (I refresh 2x a day), keep it warm, and use good flour (yours sounds good).
Thank you Maurizio, I thought the loaves were too wet and a lost cause, but they were excellent! My family ate both within a few hours and asked me to make more!
I did, and they are proofing in the fridge now – I stayed up to 1:30 am with them and in my sleepiness, I think I rough handled the dough when shaping because they went pretty flat so giving them a longer proof. The bread in the fridge I built a stronger levain and just used what I needed.
I am trying to make a double recipe now as well (I am in the bulk fermentation stage) as my step dad asked for a loaf – and the dough feels really too wet. I also came up short in my levain, possibly as I am doing the overnight levain? I am concerned about the moisture level and wondering if I ought to add more flour, or place outside for more ambient heat? I was hoping to also make the olive bread or the fougasse today but it’s getting late. My timing is wonky.
my starter is strong as I also use rye, but I did try to go down to one feeding because I can not use it fast enough. After the olive bread it is going in the fridge!
Have a marvelous 4th with your fam and I appreciate your thoughtful work.
Hi Maurizio – I am in the middle of making these loaves and so far, things are going swimmingly. However, I overnighted my levain build (and was meticulous in my measurements) and it did not come to the full 150g – it came to about 125g. I am not sure if our house was too warm and it had begun to fall, or another factor caused it to come up short? I supplemented the 25 g with fed starter and am crossing my fingers. I am just wondering if you have any tips to get the right amount in the future?
I actually just retired our cool looking old scale for the digital scale because of your recipes! I really like how some of your recipes have timetables as well, as a new baker it is helpful- as are the flour suggestions ((I had to use KAH bread flour and Great River 7 grain as that is what I have) I am comfortable with starters but just getting the hang of the timing and using levains. Thanks so much!
After the autolyse is done, why do you split up mixing in the levain and the salt (and here, wait 30 minutes in between), as opposed to mixing in all at the same time? I noticed this in your fifty whole wheat recipe as well and was wondering the reasoning behind it.
Sometimes I split up the salt addition during mixing because salt has a tightening effect on the dough and can sometimes make it difficult to sufficiently strengthen the dough. Another reason was simply because this was my method years ago! Sometimes I still do this when mixing by hand, but I’ve found it’s fine to add the salt at the beginning as well.
Thanks! Really appreciate your website! What a great resource for home bakers.
Are these temperatures for a fan oven? or do they need to be adjusted for a fan oven?
This was baked without convection (no fan).
Thanks for your detailed explanations on this and other pages. I’ve made this and similar sourdough loaves. My observation is that there is a trade off between how long you retard the loaf in the fridge (longer=more sour flavor) and the rise while baking (less time in fridge results in more oven “pop” but less flavorful). Am I missing a step? For a sandwich loaf, I place the dough in a loaf pan in the fridge for 1 or 2 nights. (Don’t have a lid for the loaf pan, could be the problem.) For the round loaf, it’s in the fridge for 1 or 2 nights in the banneton, then placed in a hot Dutch oven for baking. Your ideas are appreciated.
That’s exactly right, Lisa. Generally, the longer you proof the dough the less rise you’ll see in the oven. As it ferments (even in the fridge some activity will continue) the gluten matrix in the dough will eventually begin to degrade — and this is a good thing to some degree, but the longer you proof the more it’ll breakdown and reduce it’s ability to hold the gasses produced during fermentation (and especially when in the oven).
Thank you.
I made this yesterday/today. It didn’t get quite the oven spring that I hoped for, but the taste is very nice and the crumb isn’t bad (and will probably be even better on the loaf I will slice tomorrow). I think when I do it again, I will extend the cook a bit. I generally cook to a darker crust, so I’m not sure why I didn’t today.
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I have been so worried about over-proofing prior to retarding that I think I didn’t proof it quite long enough. Ooops!
Any thoughts or tips from anyone are welcome!
I made this loaf for the first time about 2 weeks ago. It turned out fantastic! My best yet (I’m relatively new to baking anything). I’m in the process again today and it is just not firming up (I know that is not the correct terminology). When it went to the counter after bulk, and I shaped it to a round, I could tell it was too loose. Sitting for that 30 minutes resting, it just started to flatten out, and then it was nearly impossible to shape. Anything in particular I should be watching out for next time? I did a slap and fold immediately after autolyse and I don’t know if I did that last time, and then I read something that made me think I should not have done that… something about “This dough does not require intensive mechanical mixing, we want to under-develop at mix time and build strength during bulk through fermentation…” I guess I’m not sure what that means?
Thanks for all of your guidance!
Hi Maurizio, thanks for making this wonderful resource freely available. After two years I finally baked a couple of loaves which I’d have been happy to have bought in an artisan bakery: surprisingly light when held (never achieved that before), with a crackly crust and a wonderfully tender crumb.
I think my last two stumbling blocks were in the pre-shape & final shaping – I’d been far too heavy handed (your videos put me right) – and the fridge (previously I’d fermented in the fridge and proofed on the worktop, switching to worktop ferment and fridge proof improved the spring and gave me an amazing crust). My next challenge is to achieve this consistently. Many many thanks.
Love this bread! I have made this recipe twice now, using some different flours this 2nd time, but I’m wondering how to prevent the parchment paper from “denting” in the sides of loaves, as this is a very soft dough? Mine come out with dents all around from the parchment paper! I can’t show you a photo, but it makes odd looking loaves!
I had similar issues and I was using too much parchment. Once I started trimming the parchment to fit the size of the dutch I havent had anymore “dents” during bake. Hope this helps!
Cut the parchment to fit more closely to your pot as @disqus_3xv1sStjWb:disqus mentioned below.
Hi there Mauriziothank you for your fantastic blog!
I just have a couple questions. First of all you say:
‘Below you can see my dough halfway through bulk, after about 2 hours. No
significant rise as of yet, but the edges are beginning to dome
downward, and the texture of the dough is smoothing out slightly. We
still have several more folds to do and more strength to build.’
I thought after 2hrs you only have one more fold (2.15) and the the final shape? Is that all that is needed to build the extra strength you mention?
My second question would be: can i use my machine to mix on low speed the same amount of time as you do by hand ie; 3 min?
Many thanks, Matt
Aloha Maurizio, I made this recipe last week for my first time and found my crust to be tough and chewy. I’m not incredibly experienced with different flours, etc. I’m wondering what I might do differently next time so the crust is less chewy, and more crunchy?
It’s possible it was a little too highly hydrated — you could try reducing the hydration of the dough by 5% and see if that helps. Also be sure to bake the dough hot and sufficiently long to reach around 208F at the interior. With a dough that has high hydration as this one, it’s very important to ensure all the water is baked out of the interior.
Hi Maurizio, thanks for such a lovely recipe! I tried it once and came out beautiful. I wanted to ask you. Is it possible to extend the cold fermentation longer than 15 hours from 5 pm to 10 pm next nigh.
You can, but it really depends on the dough at hand. My guess is it’ll be just fine, but expect a slightly reduced rise in the oven with potentially a touch more sourness (will still be great!).
Hi Maurizio, Thank you for all of this great info! I’m treasuring it and trying it all out. If I wanted to cut this recipe in half and just make one loaf is there some adjustment I need to make beyond just cutting the ingredient amounts in half?
Thank you again!
No, just do exactly what the recipe says and half the ingredient amounts.
Lynn — nope just divide everything in half!
Or bake 2 loaves and freeze one, it freezes well. Be sure it’s entirely cooled before you place in a freezer bag in the freezer. It’s so much time and a little energy to bake, might as well do both.
My bread came out with a really nice, open crumb but the interior was a little gummy. Any suggestions?
I have the same problem. I baked several time with this recipe. The center of loaf doesn’t have open crumb and a little gummy, but other parts of loaf have open crumb. I really wonder why and how fix it.
Hey Jeremy – how long did you let the loaf sit for before cutting into it? With gummy loafs I’ve heard people suggesting to let the loaf cool to room temp before slicing as slicing to early doesn’t allow the gluten inside to set correctly.
Well, I cut into the first one 10 minutes out of the oven(I know thats very bad) because I couldn’t wait. Next time I will wait much longer. Thank you for the advice!
Hi Maurizio, If I wanted to include add ins(Nuts, seeds, olives, dried fruit, etc.) how much should I add in bakers percentage?
Have you ever tried with 100% all purpose flour if hydration is reduced by 10-15%?
He has a 100% all purpose flour sourdough recipe, I would try that one.
Thank you for all the great directions. I am wondering if I can keep my dough in the fridge for 24-48 hours after the final shaping. If so, how will the time change effect the dough/bread?
I really would not recommend this because your dough will probably overproof and then collapse or not rise in the oven.
Hey Linzey – I would definitely play around with a longer cold ferment but just make sure you take it out every so often (once it’s past 14 hours I take it out every couple of hours to test) and do a dent test. That in reality should be your gauge of when to back rather than a specific time period.
Hi! I have a question about why my scoring never gets that dramatic peel like in your photos. It seems like the cuts I make always end up smooth, the dough just expands by stretching out the part that got cut.
(this is the 2nd time I’ve made this recipe!)
edit: I just saw that someone else asked this question earlier and you answered. Nevermind! 🙂
Such a beautiful written and very informative. I’ll try your best sourdough recipe tomorrow! Wish me luck!!!
Hope it turned out well!
It turned out ok, but I need to pay more attention on time and temperature, also shaping. I have a question about bulk fermentation. What percentage of a rise at the end of bulk fermentation? is it supposed to rise about 30-50% before pre-shaping?
Thanks for your help!
Hello Maurizio,
Have only been baking at home now for 2 months. Could you clarify the difference between the starter and the leaven? I read in your blog that the leaven
is the offshoot, and it seams like the leaven is “fed” or started with the actual flours to be used in the final dough correct? Prior to reading your blog I was using
the starter at its peak height as the leaven in the dough recipe… and not starting a new “leaven feeding” (making up my own terms here !!
George, check out Maurizio’s Levain Build section of the article, it requires a mature starter. My starter is white flour, once that is mature I make Maurizio’s leaven (which is 1:1 malted flour and wholemeal), using a piece off my starter. Then I refresh my starter (more white flour) for next time.
Very excited to try this loaf, have had great success so far with your weekday and basic recipe. So far (touch wood) everything looks like it’s gone ok. I was just wondering about the cold proof time. It’s gone into the fridge at 1900/7PM. I normally bake my bread at 7AM the next day. Is that cool with this recipe or does it need those extra hours in the fridge?
Many thanks.
I would take your bread out a couple of hours before you bake and let it finish proofing at room temp. Maybe 2 hours but you should experiment.
Thanks Maurizio- I’ve been searching and testing for the perfect dough recipe. I tried this recipe and technique a couple days ago with truly the best results I’ve had in a long while- great consistent crumb and texture. Baking another 4 loaves today. Appreciate your diligence and for sharing your results in detail.