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
Hello! I am a pastry chef by profession. I have tried this recipe twice, and each time, I have had giant air pockets at the top,of my finished loaves. I first attributed that to not enough to gluten formation to hold the gas, however, the second batch had more gluten development, and even larger air pockets. (Like…the entire top of the loaf.). My next instinct is to decrease the water (therefore decreasing the steam),but I wanted to know what your thoughts were. ( it is almost like I have made a hybrid bread/cream puff dough when these loaves are baked) I am using King Arthur flour at the moment.
That’s very interesting, I’ve never seen anything like that happen. Are you performing your turns during bulk as described in the writeup above? I’m wondering if you’re dough might be sitting and developing large pockets that are never re-distributed. Another suggestion would be to try and degas your dough just a tiny, tiny bit at shape time to help squish some of those larger bubbles. Just lightly tap down on the dough from top to bottom when you’re shaping.
Other than that I’m kind of at a loss why you’d get these holes more than once in the same area…
Yes, I am doing everything according to the directions. To the point that I am setting alarms. (Obsessive, yes.) Haha. Especially the second time, because the first time did not produce the results that I was seeking. I have had success with many high hydration bulk stretch and fold doughs in the past. When I am shaping the dough, I am shaping in boules, so…I am degassing pretty much entirely, working it into a taught boule. The dough is quite slack, which was to be expected, but not unworkable. I will try again. Maybe I need to go less than the 15-16 hr. Final rest in the cooler. I will also take a look at the steam I am incorporating and perhaps use less, so that the crust sets sooner. (I have access to steam injected ovens with the push of a button.). Meh. I should take a picture, but the crust rises from the crumb on the top of the loaf like pita bread, and leaves a good two inches of crumb in the bottom. Kinda awesome for sandwiches. :). Always tastes amazing. Best tasting bread I have had, and as such will keep baking it until I find out what’s going wrong. Thank you for sharing the recipe, and thank you for responding.
Glad it tasted great, at least! Any chance the dough is overproofing? Were there any dense areas in the dough? I’ve seen some loaves that underproof with large pockets and other areas that are quite dense.
I suppose that it is possible that they are overproofing. I never checked the temp of the cooler, perhaps it’s running a little warm. The pockets in the rest of the crumb were nice, and a lot like what are in your photos, just with big holes above. I will start the dough again tomorrow, and make a couple of adjustments. (Only regarding shortening the final cold proof and the steam in baking). I will let you know, if you’re interested! Baking troubleshooting is fun for me anyway. (I once spent 6 months perfecting macarons, 3 months with croissants, and another four working on the perfect 80% hydration baguette.). And all that after baking all day at work. I have that kind of mind (the slightly crazy kind). Thanks again!
Definitely interested to hear how it works out! Trust me, I know what it’s like to work like crazy on a baking endeavor 🙂 While I’m not a professional I’m either planning my next bake or baking late at night! One of my next ventures is going to be croissants… It’ll be a challenge, just as bread as been, but I’m excited. Keep me posted on the next attempt!
Well, I figured out my problem. Too much steam in the oven. It allowed the crust to expand too long after the crumb inside started to set, giving all that air a big, open space to occupy. I have baked without the giant hole problem twice now. I also have been leaving out 55 grams of water, and find my current flour to be able to handle less liquid a tad better. (I have an artisan flour I plan to try, hopefully it can hold more water than King Arthur.)
Thank you for this awesome recipe!
-Casey
Wow that’s very interesting — I guess in a home oven it’s pretty hard to have too much steam, I feel like I’m constantly fighting the vents in my oven. Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate that!
You’re welcome and happy baking, Casey!
Hi again Maurizio! This has always puzzled me. How do you make starters by bulk? Like when you have a bakery or something? You have to have kilos of starter noh? But recipe for starters are maybe just 500g or less at the end. How can you make more? Let’s say 1500 g of starter?
I’ve never worked in a situation where I’ve needed that much levain, but it should be the same process as creating one in your home, just at a larger scale. If you needed 1500g levain for a bake you’d still use the same percentage of ingredients, just the quantity would be higher.
If you needed something like 1500g of levain for a bake you’d only need a small portion of mature starter to make that happen, for this recipe you’d only need like 300g mature starter to build a 1500g levain (I have spreadsheets to calculate all this out). So my point is you just make it the same but all the quantities are higher (percentages are the same). If you don’t have enough mature starter to make that levain then you might have to increase the amount of flour/water you give your starter the night before to ramp it up and ensure you’ll have enough.
I hope that makes sense!
Hello Maurizio,
First off all congratulations for your blog! I’m baking for a while some Tartine (Chad R. recipes) loaves with 70 to 75% Hydration, and didn’t getting too much holes or oven spring. Then I found your blog and I accepted the challenge of 86% hydration. I changed some steps to fit your recommendations like longer autolyse and mixing. Everything was doing well until the end of bulk fermentation. After mix #2 and S&F steps, as recommended, the dough was wet but I could work. After four hours by the end of bulk fermentation the dough was really soak, very wet and no strength at all. The temperature was stable at 79F and the Humidity around 50%. I am using a French Flour – Bagatelle T65 with 11,5% protein 90% and 10% with local whole wheat Flour.
Could you help me understand what happens? Maybe the flour can not holds as much hydration? Thank you!
Eduardo, thanks for the comments! Yes, it sounds like your flour is not able to go quite as high with hydration. You could try this same recipe again with perhaps 10% lower hydration and see how your flour handles it, if it does well slowly increase water each bake until you get to the taste/texture you are after. Each flour has its relative hydration level it can take on and adjustments are needed not only on a flour-by-flour basis but sometimes with each sack of the same flour! Constantly adjusting 🙂
Hope that helps — happy baking!
Great Thanks!
More protein more hydration? This is correct to say? Thank you!
You’re welcome! No that’s not necessarily true, protein isn’t an indicator for water absorption. However, higher hydration means you’ll need to strengthen your dough appropriately!
OK Thanks again!!
Do you ever do the second rise of 4 hours, not in the fridge?
You can certainly do that! I prefer the longer, colder proof overnight to develop complexity and the type of sourdough I’m after. A proof on the counter works really well, though!
Wow! Great pictures! Just wondering, have you experimented with a retarded bulk fermentation? I don’t have time to do a 4 hour bulk, can I do it in the fridge? Thanks!
Thanks, Brandon! I have done a retarded bulk with pizza dough but have yet to do it with my sourdough loaves. I do plan on experimenting with it more. You should be able to retard your bulk with no problem, just watch the dough after 10 hours or so and see how it’s developing. You can take it out of the fridge after that time, preshape and shape with a final proof in baskets. Once the dough is then ready, bake it. I hope that helps!
Hello Mauriziu. I am very happy to have discovered your beautiful blog. Thank you for it. As I read through it, I ran to the kitchen to start the process of making yout perfect loaf. I am so very happy with the results. It is the first time i have been baking 2 loaves at a time (at home) and without covering the loaves. I would like to post the fotos of the loaves, but I dont know how..The only odd thing that happened is that one of the loaves came out unbelivably beautiful, but the other, which was made from the exact same batch, didnt come up so nice:) maybe its my cutting, my oven.. Did you ever had this kind of an experience? Thank you very much. I will keep baking your recipes one by one!!
Thanks Lilach, I appreciate the comments! There are definitely many factors that could lead to the difference between the two loaves: different shaping, rising baskets, and of course the score in the morning. I definitely have had that experience, each loaf seems to take on a life of its own at the end — it’s beautiful and expected 🙂 Consistency is one of the hardest things in baking, takes a lot of practice!
Happy baking 🙂
@ThePerfectLoaf – thank you SO MUCH for sharing your knowledge!! Absolutely LOVE your site and just took 2 beautiful loaves out of the oven after following your advice! Thank you Thank you Thank you!
I replied below but thank you for the kind words! You’re very welcome, glad my site and recipes have been helping you make awesome bread at home 🙂
With the exception of implementing a few techniques acquired from Ken Forkish’s book (like working the dough from start to finish in a 12qt. tub) and using locally available flours, I baked this recipe(today) as instructed. The results were Amazing. Crunchy crust, chewy crumb, great flavor, and giant, glorious air pockets. I had half a dozen people, who are accustomed to sampling my “bread experiments” say this was the best yet. Up until now I’ve only baked from a poolish. This was my first natural levain bread and I couldn’t be happier!
One thing to note to other first time natural levain bakers… Having used instant yeast for every bake up until this point, I’m use to seeing my dough double or somtimes triple in size during bulk fermentation. This was not the case today and I was worried I had messed it up. After bulk fermentation and retarding for 16 hours at 40 degrees, my dough rose only slightly. However, after 20 minutes at 500 degrees, the dough doubled in height and when cut into later, many 1/2″-3/4″ diameter air pockets were scattered throughout the slice.
As Iv’e said, this loaf was fun to bake, delicious to eat and I can’t wait to do it again. I only wish I could figure out how to bake it on a work day.
Couldn’t agree more! This was my 2nd attempt making bread without commercial yeast and ditto to everything that you wrote! I was super nervous that the dough didn’t rise like I was used to, but just took out gorgeous, puffy loaves from the oven! Cooling now!
Awesome! Really happy to hear that 🙂
Thanks so much for the feedback, sounds like your baking some awesome bread at home! I have little experience with commercial yeast but yes, I’d expect there to be quite a number of differences. I’m glad the recipe turned out well for you, this really is the bread I go to time and time again — it’s just delicious!
For baking on a work day I typically do most things at night. I build my levain in the morning and then mix right when I get home, bulk in the evening and then retard somewhat late. If you do this on a Friday then you can bake Saturday morning/afternoon after the dough has proofed. Just a thought!
Thanks again for the comments and happy baking!
Tania — I live at 5280 ft above sea level so everything you see posted here on my site is baked at that altitude. I really don’t believe you’ll need to modify anything!
Thanks, I really appreciate that! Sounds like you’re definitely on your way to making some awesome sourdough 🙂
Hi!
I would like to know what changes there would be to the recipe if I was to bake this as one loaf instead two.
thank you
Hi, Kim! Just halve the entire recipe (take all the weights in the mix and divide by 2). I would suggest, though, that you keep the “Levain Build” at the same quantities (so still make 175g total levain, but only use 150/2 = 75g in your mix). It’s useful to have a levain build that has a little extra than what you end up using, just in case you’re not able to use your levain at the right time, it’ll still have food to consume before it becomes too acidic.
Happy baking!
Getting ready to make a batch of this dough. I came across your recipe a few weeks ago, tried it out, and my family loved it. Going to try for double the recipe and hold the dough in the fridge while pulling out enough for a loaf every other day. It worked out well in my cast iron loaf pan, nice crust all around.
Sounds like a great idea. Glad my recipe has worked out so well for you guys! I love hearing that. Happy baking!
I made a terrible mistake! I mixed the salt before adding the levain. Is there anything I can do?
Not a problem: just add the levain in at the same time and go forward with it! Hope this isn’t too late…
Thanks so much Maurizio! You are helping me alot. Im already selling my stuff here where I live. It’s amazing they love artisan bread! I never thought it would be such a hit here. I owe you this one
You’re welcome — that’s really great to hear! I think once people have “real bread” they can’t ever go back!
Hay man your pics and process are fantastic!
Just 2 question…
1) when u leave the dough rising for 4 hours, during this period u do stretch and fold? Every stretch and fold is made of 2 actions ( i mean s&f on one side then turn the dough and s&f to the other side)?
2) When u cook the bread, do you do it from fridge directly to the oven? Or do u leave it at r.t. any minutes?
Thx have a good day!
Marco
Thanks I appreciate that!
1) Yes, for this bread perform 6 sets of stretch and folds during bulk. The first three are at 15 minute intervals, and the last 3 are at 30 minute intervals.
2) I bake the bread directly from the fridge. I don’t let it rest at all, just straight from fridge to oven!
Thanks again and happy baking, Marco!
Hi Maurizio and thx for your kind reply!
I’m not sure I correctly understood point n.1…
If u do 4 hours rising how do u plan the s&f?
(15 rest time) 1st s&f + (15 rest time) 2nd s&f + (15 rest time) 3rd s&f +(30 rest time) 4th s&f +(30 rest time) 5th s&f +(30 rest time) 6th s&f
but the total is = 2hrs and 15min…
Thx again.
M.
Yes, that’s exactly correct! The rest of the time (about 1 hour and 45 minutes) you just let the dough rest in bulk — no more stretch and folds.
I’m in the middle of following this recipe and so far I love how this dough feels! I was confused about the bulk ferment time also…wouldn’t hurt to update the recipe and add that last 1 hr 45min rest bulk. Anyways, just discovered your blog and l really love it.
Great to hear! Ok, I’ll update the post with those details — thanks guys for the feedback!
My loafs are out of the oven and I have to say this recipe is a game changer for me. I’ve been struggling through the Tartine recipe for the last two years producing mediocre loafs that tasted great but didn’t have the soft texture and open crumb that I yearned for and on my first try with your recipe I finally achieved that! The crumb is open with large irregular holes and the texture is silky and almost creamy soft. Flavor is also fantastic. This has just become my go-to bread recipe! Thanks so much for posting this!
That’s really great to hear, glad it’s working out so well for ya! What you describe is exactly what I’m after with this recipe, perfect! Thanks for the comments and happy baking, Danny!
Hi Maurizio-
Looking at the pictures here, I can’t quite tell what type of bannetons you use. Are they cane with linen liners, or are they something else that mimics a lined cane banneton? In the photos, it appears that they are lined because the cane is not distinctly visible, yet the rim appears to be flat and uniform in appearance, which would not indicate that a liner is wrapped over it. Perhaps you could link me to the exact item you use. The reason I ask is that I have started to used unlined cane bannetons in order to achieve a “striped” loaf appearance, but even when dusting with a fine rice flour, I still sometimes get some dough sticking. When I use the liners, I don’t get any sticking, but I of course sacrifice the desired stripes.
By the way, you might remember that I was previously living in London, but I have now moved back to the US, which means that I have been able to try the Giustos flours. They have greatly improved the quality of my loaves.
Regards-
Scott Schmidt
Bainbridge Island, WA
Scott — The bannetons I used here, and find myself using more and more, are these wood pulp bannetons. I don’t use a liner, just a light dusting of white rice flour. I find that even my highly hydrated loaves have yet to stick to the sides of these.
Glad you’re enjoying Giusto’s flour, and welcome back to the US! I really love their product, not only the taste but the performance is really great.
Happy baking!
Hi Maurizio, Great stuff. Thanks! Question on these oval wood pulp bannetons. The link goes to some pretty small baskets (9″x4″). Is this what you meant? Seems to small for 900g of dough each. I want to try these, but looking to be sure to get the right size. Thanks again.
Paul, yup those are the bannetons! They are quite long and easily fit 800-900g of dough for me. The pictures in this post are using those bannetons with about that same amount of dough!
Awesome writeup and pictures! Desperately trying to mimic :). I’m on my second try and could use any input – first one fell flat for possibly many reasons, flavor good but I think overhydrated and just ended up with ultra dense crumb but flavor was amazing. I’m at the end of the bulk phase but my dough still doesn’t look like yours. I’m using AP flour (reduced water by 30g this time) and temperature here is probably closer to 70 than 80. The post-bulk dough has some big bubbles but still seems too wet compared to yours. Am I possibly still using too much water or do you think I might still need more time in the bulk phase due to temperature?
Should add that it doesn’t seem like the dough has really risen much during the bulk phase. Just shows some gas bubbles.
Thanks! Definitely possible you’re over-hydrating your dough. I would suggest cutting back to 75% hydration, see how the dough feels then, and work up from there. If you over-hydrate the dough will not be able to hold on to gasses and will just look like soup.
Your dough should definitely rise during bulk, 30% at least, with lots of bubbles on top and around the sides. If this isn’t happening, even at 75% hydration, then it could be that your starter isn’t strong enough or stable enough. First try dialing back hydration and then see how it behaves. Let me know how it goes!
Quick update for future viewers, I worked on a few things all at the same time: stronger starter, more aggressive S&H for gluten development early in bulk, and cut hydration back to 75% (I’m using a weaker AP flour). Made one loaf that night after a ‘warm’ proof (gf wanted some that night) and baked the other after a nice cold proof. Both turned out Amazing with a great crust and soft/chewey/open crumb. Thanks for the photos and writeups!
Thanks for the update, really appreciate that! Sounds like you’re dialing things in just right for your flour — perfect! I’m constantly adjusting the hydration depending on what flour I source, an important step for sure.
Happy baking, Alan!
I have another question, I made this recipe and mine turned out really sticky. Im in the Philippines and it’s a bit warmer here. Do i need to adjust something?
Was the crumb inside sticky? If this is the case it might be a sign that you have not fully baked the loaf. You can always test for doneness with your bread by inserting a thermometer in your bread and make sure it’s around 210ºF. The interior should not be gummy or sticky. It should be nice and tender with moistness to it. Additionally, make sure you let the loaves sit for a bit (1-2 hours is perfect) before cutting into them!
Okay i think i should go buy a thermometer. Hmm another thing, when do I start the folding? 1st hour or anytime during the four hours?
Yes you can bake straight from the fridge — this is what I always do. You definitely should get a thermometer. Start thinking about temperature of the dough as an ingredient in the recipe, take note of temperatures, and see how your dough reacts. It is very, very important!
I like to start the first fold 15 to 30 mins after mixing. You can really do it any time, but you want to leave the dough for at least 1 hour at the end to ferment untouched.
I’m having the same issue with the crumb being sticky, but I get a dark brown color on the outside. I also have the issue of the bottom of the loaf having holes after it’s baked. Any thoughts?
At high hydrations like this your crumb will be more moist inside, for sure. Definitely make sure you do a full and complete bake to ensure all the water is baked out of your loaf (bread temperature on the inside should be around 210-212ºF when finished).
If the exterior of your loaf is baking too fast you could lower the temperature of your oven at the second half of the bake, say to 435, and try baking it for a longer time.
I’ve seen little holes on the bottom before, and it’s just the nature of how the dough is shaped and the gas pockets that form. For me it’s never been too excessive, though. You could try to make sure when you shape the bottom of your loaf has a nice seal to it (meaning when you fold the dough over the sides touch and form a single piece).
Can i bake it right after taking out the fridge?
Yes, that’s how I do it!
Hi! Im currently using a sourdough starter recipe that i got from red star yeast website. Can i use that one for the levain?
I’m not familiar with that website but yes, that will work just fine I’m sure! As long as it’s active (rising and falling predictably) you’re good to go.
Thanks so much Maurizio! I will try it again today. We are having a bread overdose here at home hahah
This is a good problem to have 🙂 You’re welcome!
Ok…One more thing to share…I used a seedling mat under my bowl with dough or my sourdough/levain if the kitchen is cold…while it doesn’t heat it up a lot, it does offer some gentle heat to keep things going. I have also lifted the sides of the mat to envelop the bowl as well…😊
That’s a great idea. Funny you should say that, I actually built a pretty “rugged” proof box with a Coleman cooler that has a seedling mat at the bottom, it works really well! I’ve since moved on to the Brod & Taylor proofer (highly recommended), but that cooler works pretty darn well! I should post my construction steps on that actually… Thanks for the tips!
Just also wanted to share that I used my mockmill to grind some rice for my own rice flour for bannetons and flouring wood peels. With the Mockmill at its finest setting, I noticed it a bit more grainy than the purchased rice flour..but still did a good job keeping things non stick…and on another topic I would like to ask you,when you use the hard white wheat that you milled for bread if you sifted that at all, or do you use the whole shabang?
That’s a great idea, I don’t know why I’ve never thought to do that. I use very little rice flour, but why not mill my own?
It depends on what I’m after. If I want a proper whole wheat loaf then I won’t sift at all. If I want to have a lighter, more white loaf then I will sift using one of my screens to get the desired extraction. I’ve done both in the past, either way works really great. I like the taste of fresh milled whole wheat (no sifting, the whole thing), it’s fantastic.
Revisited this post again after rereading tartine no 3 and Now its time to test my learning 😊 Thanks a bunch over on Instagram for all your guidance. You have The perfect loaf and I dream for one after each bake for the next ☺️
Sometimes a re-read of an old book can bring insight! You’re very welcome, let me know how it goes!
Thank you, Maurizio, by following your suggestions I have finally created the sourdough loaf that reminds me of the San Francisco sourdough I grew up with. Each time I make it now I do one variation to see how the bread changes… last loaf was my rye starter and whole rye flour in place of the whole wheat. 🙂
Just curious if you sift your fresh milled flour? I am playing with sifting vs non sifted…I just bought a stainless size 50/55 stainless sifter from bread topia. It produced almost white flour. I have various other sifters so I can vary how I want my flour.
I do, sometimes. It depends on what type of bread I’m after. I bought a set from Korin.com a while ago, #35, #50 and #65 screens — really nice set. It can be quite a bit of work to do the sifting but it’s worth it for the flavor of the fresh flour!
Hi Maurizio, love this technique. I am currently playing with my new Mockmill stone grinder that is an attatchment to Kitchenaid/Hobart. I will try your method on my next batch of bread with freshly ground wheat. I noticed you have the wood pulp baskets for proofing..how do you like those? Also..I have the same Shun serrated knife..it is kept seperate from all my other knives and used ONLY for bread. It is one sharp mother! Thank you for this lovely informative site! Cathy
Awesome, thanks for the comments! Fresh milled flour… what a revelation that is, don’t you think? Just incredible.
I really like the wood pulp bannetons, they are very nice. My dough has yet to stick to the sides of one of these, they’re magic.
And yes, NO ONE touches my Shun knife, except me 🙂 Not only because I love it so much but also because you could easily lop a finger off without even noticing!
Thanks again for the kind words, happy baking Cathy!
Hi Maurizio,
Been following your techniques for a while now, and I’m glad to see you’ve perfected your Sourdough Recipe. I’m in my bulk build right now as I write this lol. Cold proof has always been a challenge for me, perhaps because I don’t let it go long enough? I usually cold proof in an AC’d room a bit higher temp than 40 deg F. I want to make the fridge thing work today though as I need to slow the process down a bit due to schedule conflicts. My question (finally) is this, do you bring the dough out and let it come to temp on the counter while the oven warms up, or do you pull the loaves cold from the fridge and put them straight into the pre-warmed oven? Oh and greetings from an English teacher in the UAE (near Dubai).
Justin – thanks! I’ve noticed that my fridge is a bit cold at 38ºF, and that’s why I let the dough rest out a bit before placing in there overnight. If you’re doing a little over 40ºF then it might be ok, it all really depends on how much activity you’re seeing before you place into the fridge. If it doesn’t look super active, bubbly, jiggly, then let it sit out for 20-40 minutes before you toss into the fridge. Try to push fermentation as far as you can, just before the dough looks “weak” and super bubbly. Over time you’ll be able to kind of tell when you’re going too far in the fridge or on the counter. Try to keep as many things consistent while doing this as possible! This way you can really focus on fermentation.
I do not take the dough out to rest before baking, I bake straight from the fridge. You can take the dough out if you’d like and let it ferment a bit farther before baking, but I find it harder to score the dough when it’s warm (the dough gets softer).
I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions! Cheers from the US!
Hi Maurizio, congratulations on your magnificent blog. Just tried the recipe, but unfortunately it takes more than words to tell about the smell and taste! Greetings from far away Poland!
Ha, true words! Thanks for the comments and I’m glad the recipe has worked out so well for you. Cheers from across the globe 🙂