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
I’m excited to work with a higher hydration dough. My starter matures every 24 hours – at about 20:00 each evening, when I do my daily feeding and build any levains for dough making the next morning. Accordingly, I’d appreciate advice from anyone who has successfully converted a 5-hour same day levain as in this recipe to a 12-hour overnight levain? Thanks for any suggestions.
15 g starter, 35 g wheat, 35 g white, 70 g water will work fine
my dough always seems too wet and sticky so it's not possible to shape. What am I doing wrong? The end result is great flavour but lacks height.
I just took this loaf out of the oven, and it’s a thing of beauty. Wish I could post a photo. All I did was follow your instructions more or less — I baked it at 500 instead of 450 for the first 20 minutes mainly because I forgot to lower the temp before putting the bread in the oven. It has remarkable height. Thanks for walking us through it.
Hi,
I woke up early and started the bread,
if I want to bake tonight how long should
I let the loaves proof after shaping at 25c?
Thank you,
Ida
I adore your teaching methods and recipes and all you do. I don’t understand why someone as detail oriented as you are writes a recipe that says Medium protein bread flour – it’s setting up newer bakers for failure. Why can’t you just state the % of protein in parenthesis? Is my tried and trusted King Arthur Bread Flour medium protein flour? This is not a negative comment just a baffled one.
Thanks, Robin! Oh I do state the protein percentage (if it’s listed somewhere then it’s an error). In the ingredients I always say Medium Protein Bread Flour (about 11.5% protein).
I should not doubt you! Thanks for the response and I’ll look harder for it.
Hi. I’m curious about your proofing process. Other recipes I’ve uses proof then shape then proof again before baking. . You shape and proof and bake. Any difference in the outcome? I haven’t tried your recipe yet. Thanks!!
Pascale, the proofing process you're describing is called "bulk fermentation" followed by "final proof." In my recipes, I do the bulk fermentation (first rise/proof) before shaping, then shape and refrigerate overnight – this cold proof is actually our final proof. The cold dough can go straight into the oven since the fermentation has already developed during that long, cold rest.
For more details on proofing, check out my guide.
The main difference between approaches comes down to dough handling and convenience. This cold-proof method lets you bake first thing in the morning without waiting for a room temperature final proof. The cold dough is also easier to score, and the contrast between cold dough and hot oven promotes better oven spring.
Let me know if you give this method a try!
hi there Maurizio. Thanks so much for your wonderful videos and expertise in making sourdough. 2 questions….would you suggest using an oven for bulk fermenting during cold winter weather and what temperature would you like the oven/dough to be and also, can this recipe be halved? Many thanks as always !
Janis, for bulk fermentation in cold weather, you can definitely use your oven with just the light on – this usually maintains around 75-80°F (24-27°C), which is perfect for dough development. If your oven light runs hot, prop the door open slightly. You can also turn the oven on briefly (30 seconds), then shut it off before putting the dough in.
And yes, this recipe can absolutely be halved! Just divide all ingredients by two, keeping the same process and timing. The dough characteristics and fermentation signs will remain the same, just with a smaller final loaf.
For more on dough temperature management: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/the-importance-of-dough-temperature/
Can you put this into a sandwich pan and bake it just the same?
Yea, this would actually make a great sandwich loaf given the high hydration. Be sure to still steam the oven when you bake.
Hi Maurizio, you say this recipe would make a good sandwich pan loaf. Can you clarify the amount of ingredients if using a pan? The recipe is for 1800 grams for 2 loafs. If I can use a 9x5x2.75 pan or a 10x5x3 pan. I would appreciate your advice on how to scale your recipe for either of these pans. FYI, I am a member of your website. I appreciate your help. Many Thanks
How do we find your discount code with pleasant hill for the oven?
I have all the info about the RackMaster including links at the guide page !
Thanks for getting my cookbook, and I'm so glad you're enjoying it! If your kitchen is cold right now, that's likely the culprit for the slow fermentation, even with a healthy starter and bubbly levain. Temperature plays such a huge role in fermentation – the slap and fold method itself shouldn't prevent proper rising. I'd recommend checking out my winter baking guide on the blog for some helpful strategies to maintain good dough temperature. Keep baking, and don't let one tricky bake discourage you!
Hi,
Need a good advice, all seems to be ok until very poor overnight proof at about 48F.
should I try an hour or two before putting the loafs in the fridge?
Thanks
Thanks for asking! Yes, giving your shaped loaves about an hour at room temperature before refrigerating is a good approach. This gives the dough a chance to continue fermenting before the cold slows things down. Then you can pop them in the fridge overnight for that slow, flavor-building cold proof. Happy baking!
Thank you Maurizio,
The bread eventually came flat, the taste however was great.
2nd proto coming in.
Fabulous results from this recipe, and I am a beginner sourdough baker! I tell my friends you don’t need to read any other information on sourdough if you just follow Maurizio! You’re the best! Thank you for generously posting all the information backed by science and logic! Getting your book “The Perfect Loaf.” Best wishes!
Gosh, thanks so much Lina, really means a lot to read that. Hope you love my book, let me know what you think once you've read through!
I have a stiff starter (50% hydration). I think I should use 30 grams of it and compensate by adding another 5 grams of water to the levain.Or 25 grams of it since it's a more concentrated starter. Anyone else use a stiff starter and have tips?
Use the same weight of starter regardless of it's hydration. But you might need to add a bit more water if you're going by a recipe that's expecting a 100% hydration starter/levain.
After years of baking hit or miss sourdough, wherein I always let the dough warm up and finish proofing on the counter in the morning, I finally bit the bullet, made this recipe and popped the loaves in straight out of the refrigerator. Oven spring is amazing. Beautiful delicious loaves. Total breakthrough. Never looking back, thank you. 🙂
Super glad to hear that, Mary. Yeah, that extra proofing time is usually not necessary (unless your loaves are a bit underproofed!). Enjoy 🙂
Can I substitute a high protein bread flour like Cairnsprings Trailblazer bread flour for the medium protein bread flour this recipe calls for and what are the implications?
I used a strong high protein flour and the loaves looked great but were very dense. I also played with the flour water ratio assuming that a higher protein flour would absorb more water. Next time I will try with the exact ratios above and see if the crumb is airier.
Yes you can, that's great flour for this recipe!
Can you share any tips on avoiding very dark/hard to cut bottoms of loaves? Bread is great, however, bottom is always extremely hard to cut (or is that just normal)?? thank you!
I just wrote a guide to this, check out how to get a thinner crust 🙂
If I only want to bake one loaf do I just use half of each ingredient? Thank you.
Yes, exactly Ginny!
I'm having trouble with the bulk fermentation. My kitchen runs really cold right now so in addition to using the signs of proper fermentation, I use the volume increase to tell me when its done.
I've tried this recipe twice and starting shaping after doubling in volume, but should i be aiming for 30-50% volume increase?
My kitchen is cold as well. I started putting my dough in the oven with the light on. Just enough heat to keep your dough happily rising
I also put the dough in the oven with light on.
How much volume increase should I be aiming for?
I love this recipe and have made it many times! I’d appreciate advice on making it more sour as some folks prefer that. I know increasing the levain prep temperature can help, but could you share specific temps or other detailed tweaks? I have both the Sourdough Home and Brod & Taylor proofers for precise temp control. Thanks!
For a sourer flavor profile in your sourdough bread, try these ideas:
– Use more whole grains in your dough mix (whole wheat and whole rye)
– Use your starter when it’s very ripe (it should have a pungent sour aroma), perhaps let it ferment longer than you might otherwise
– Keep your dough warm, 78°F (25°C) or warmer
– Cold fermentation really helps, you can do a cold bulk fermentation (like I do here in this recipe), and then also do a cold proof (retard)
– Use less levain in your dough. It’s counterintuitive, but using less levain (which many of the recipes at my site actually do!) will allow for more total acidity to build up in the dough
– One or a combination of the above will help get you there! Let me know how it goes.
In this recipe you do cold proof not a cold fermentation? So you are suggesting a cold fermentation in the fridge instead of at 78 degrees for the full 4 hours?
Happy new year!!! I only have a high quality strong high protein flour. Any adjustments to the process to accommodate high protein vs medium protein flour? Guessing it won’t be as loose as the flour pulls in more of the moisture?
Happy New Year, sorry for the delay, Daniel! This recipe will work well with high protein flour because it's such a high hydration.
Generally, though, check out my tips to working with stronger flour, here .
Happy New Year! I’ve made sourdough with this recipe half a dozen times or more with varying results (some pretty darned good, while earlier attempts were down right abysmal-think dense pancake loaves). The last few bakes were good, but I can’t quite achieve that level of open, airy crumb! My starter is lively and strong. Temps of water and dough are spot on. I even bought a proofer to ensure optimal temperatures. How can I take it to the next level for that elusive open, airy crumb? Does adding a higher percentage of levain help?
Thanks in advance!
Hey Jenny. I would try first to add in another set or two of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation (or you can knead the dough a bit before bulk begins, check out my guide to the slap and fold kneading technique ). Usually it's a strength issue with the dough! I hope this helps!
I have had excellent success with this recipe. Have baked for years and never used this process. I can hardly believe how wonderful the results are. I typically divided into three loaves being a plain, a cinnamon raisin and an olive herb. I use my leftover starter to make sourdough cinnamon rolls, which are big hit as well.
Amazing, thank you!
Maurizio makes it look SO easy…sigh. I could volunteer a side-by-side video of what the dough and process should NOT look like.
So sorry to hear about the struggle, Sharona! Yes, this is a challenging dough (I tried to state that early on!), but please don't give up on it. It took me a while to get here! I would say reduce the water some to make it more firm and easier to handle, that'll give you a good spot to get confident with the dough and the process, and from there, you can bump it up slowly through testing.
Fantastic recipe. Have made it several times. Would love to not have to wait the five hours in the morning to build the levain. Any ideas? I was wondering if there’s a slow rise overnight levain.
Perhaps a lower inoculation and just have it go overnight.
Just make a levain at 8 or 9 pm with a 1:7:7 ratio and it will be ready in the morning.
Does this mean I would make the levain with 45 gr of starter, but change the total flour to 315gr bread flour, 315gr whole wheat flour, 630gr of water for the Levain? It seems like a lot. Would I then subtract the 630gr of flour from the total flour called in the recipe? Sorry, the response doesn't have context and I'm not experienced enough to figure it out. Thank you!
You can do an overnight levain like Nancy and Whitney suggest below!
I see the suggestion by Nancy of a 1:7:7 levain. If this recipe calls for 45 grams break flour, 45 grams whole wheat flour, 90 gr water and 45 gr sourdough. What would the grams for each ingredient be in a 1:7:7 scenario?
I’d like to substitute semolina flour for the whole wheat, and add sun dried tomatoes (not the oil cured type). Do you think it can take the high hydration? And my go-to bread flour is ABC+ from Central Milling.
That's a great question. I would probably reduce the hydration a bit, maybe leave out Water 2 and see how the dough does. The add ins will stress thing a bit more, too!