I’ve baked this loaf, or some variant of it, so many times I’ve lost count. This bread was born when I first got my hands dirty with flour and water. Its parent—if you could call it that—was originally Chad Robertson’s Tartine loaf with his liquid levain, brought to life, not with intensive kneading, but rather a series of folds during bulk fermentation.
My best sourdough recipe has grown since then. It has developed a personality of its own as I’ve expanded my baking repertoire and investigated the many facets of baking naturally leavened sourdough. It’s taken on and lost traits from many great bakers out there, borrowing from their inspiration and giving me a direction to raise this bread into something of my own. This bread is one that doesn’t entirely taste like anything else I’ve had, and yet, still employs many of the same processes and ingredients.
That’s one of the greatest things about bread: it can taste and look dramatically different just by changing the two hands that create it. Calling this post “my best sourdough recipe” is a lofty claim, but honestly, I do believe this is the best bread I’ve made thus far.
I sometimes revisit a discussion I had with a few readers of this site and their comments: “bread is just bread, it’s something to be eaten and is something life-giving, isn’t that enough?” I agree, but when something becomes a passion for you it’s important to set lofty goals and get excited when breakthroughs are made. Isn’t that the definition of a craft and the relentless honing required?
I’ve taken my best sourdough recipe from its most nascent form to its current stage and can trace through the years each change to its formula or process — and I’m sure I’ll be changing things well into the future as it continues to evolve — a work-in-progress.
Yes it’s excessive in some way, but there’s an excessiveness to ambition as well.
John Mayer
Maybe the actual recipe for this bread isn’t the most important part, but rather, the lessons and insights learned along the way as I continually hone my baking proficiency. I’m not claiming this recipe will yield the perfect loaf every single time, but I dare say it comes the closest for me—and that’s exciting.
This bread is the bread that I want to make the most often, the one my family asks for the most often, and the one I share most often. I have a special place for whole wheat bread, and taste-wise, it might make me want to call that my favorite one day, but the versatility of this bread is pretty hard to beat. In fact, I bake this so often that my freezer has an entire shelf lined with pre-sliced loaves wrapped and in bags labeled pane perfetto.
While the actual formula for my best sourdough recipe is simply a mix of flour, water, salt, and levain, there are many nuances here to pay close attention to; here are a few key things to successfully making this bread:
- An active starter
- An autolyse
- A high hydration
- Sufficient dough strength
- A warm and complete bulk fermentation
- A long, cold proof
Before writing this post, I pulled out my trusty notebook (or use my free baker’s note sheet!) and paged through the handwritten (and flour-ridden) pages to find any scribbled “ah-ha” moments or little notes jotted down in the margin, along with a few curse words peppered throughout, and have bundled them up into this entry (sans curse words to keep it clean). A compendium of sorts containing my insights, breakthroughs, and ah-ha moments.
My best sourdough recipe doesn’t require an exotic blend of hard-to-find flour, a complicated multi-step levain build, or the use of a mechanical mixer. It’s built around making this bread in your home kitchen.
My best sourdough recipe is very highly hydrated and can be challenging. When mixing, be watchful for the signs and adjust the dough hydration to suit your environment and flour. If you’re not used to working with high-hydration dough, please start with hydration somewhere in the middle and slowly work up.
Flour Selection
I’ve tried a lot of flour out there (and am an avid user of freshly milled flour), indeed not everything there is, but I’ve ordered enough now that the UPS guy thinks I might have a bakery in my backyard. I have baked some great bread with Hayden Flour Mills, Central Milling, and Giusto’s. I’ve also had great success with King Arthur Baking high-protein white flour.
I have consistently made incredible loaves with Giusto’s flour; I only wish it were organic. Nevertheless, I find myself ordering a box of it here and there and enjoying the results every time. Of course, as I mentioned before, try whatever is local first (sadly, my source for local, organic flour is no longer available) and whatever you like.
When trying new flour, remember to hold back more water than you might otherwise, and then slowly add it in at the end of mixing or throughout bulk fermentation. Now, on to my best sourdough recipe.
Watch Me Make This From Start To Finish
I absolutely love this bread and make it often, but it can be challenging for first-time bakers. Be sure to watch my YouTube video below for a look at how I handle the dough and every step of the process.
If you’re brand new to baking sourdough, check out my Beginner’s Sourdough Bread recipe; it has in-depth information on every step in the baking process. Then come back and bake this!
My Best Sourdough Recipe
Vitals
| Total Dough Weight | 1,800 grams |
| Pre-fermented Flour | 6.4% |
| Levain percentage in final dough | 17.1% |
| Hydration | 85.0% |
| Yield | Two 900g loaves |
Total Formula
The target final dough temperature (FDT) is 78°F (25°C). This dough loves a warm ambient environment. Try to keep the dough at the listed temperatures if possible; use your oven with its light on inside, your microwave with a bowl of steaming water, or a proofer. I use my instant-read thermometer to check the dough temperature periodically throughout bulk.
For more information on how to calculate DDT, monitor temperature, and maintain temperature have a look at my post on The Importance of Dough Temperature in Baking.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 852g | Medium-protein bread flour (~11.5% protein, Giusto’s Artisan Bread Flour) | 90.00% |
| 94g | Whole wheat flour (Giusto’s Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat) | 10.00% |
| 710g | Water 1 | 75.00% |
| 95g | Water 2 | 10.00% |
| 17g | Salt | 1.80% |
| 30g | Ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 3.20% |
As I mentioned above, my best sourdough recipe is an extremely high hydration. If this is your first time working with this recipe, reduce the total water or hold water back during mixing to ensure your dough can handle the addition. The amount of water your dough will handle will vary based on your particular flour and environment—play it safe the first few bakes and work the water up gradually once you get a feel for the dough.
My Best Sourdough Recipe Method
1. Levain – 9:00 a.m.
Build the liquid levain in the morning and store somewhere warm around 77-80°F (25-26°C) ambient for 5 hours.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 30g | Ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 50% |
| 30g | Medium-protein bread flour (~11.5% protein, Giusto’s Artisan Bread Flour) | 50% |
| 30g | Whole wheat flour (Giusto’s Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat) | 50% |
| 60g | Water | 100% |
If you haven’t yet read through my post on my sourdough starter maintenance routine, check it out for some helpful hints on what to look for when your sourdough starter and levain are ripe and ready to use.
2. Autolyse – 12:00 p.m.
This highly hydrated dough can be mixed by hand or with a mechanical mixer (like a home spiral mixer). Either one will yield great results, but here, I’ll discuss mixing this dough by hand.
Mix the flour and water in a bowl until all the dry bits are incorporated, then cover. Ensure all the dry flour is hydrated—store near levain (we want the dough’s temperature to remain warm).
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 822g | Medium-protein bread flour |
| 64g | Whole wheat flour |
| 650g | Water 1 |
3. Mix – 2:00 p.m.
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 95g | Water 2 |
| 17g | Fine sea salt |
| 151g | Ripe liquid levain (see above) |
Add the ingredients to your dough in the mixing bowl that underwent an autolyse. Add the water slowly, in stages, while you’re mixing, and stop adding water if the dough feels excessively wet or soupy at any point.
Perform folds for about 2-3 minutes in the bowl. Grab under one side, pull up and over to the other side, then rotate the bowl a bit and repeat. I do this probably 30 times or so (it goes fast and easy). In the end, the dough should still be shaggy, but it will be more smooth and will start to hold itself together more in the bowl.
If you’re a fan of the slap & fold mixing technique I’ve described in the past, you can do this but be aware that it is difficult at this hydration. It’s best to first slap and fold the dough without adding all the reserved water to get the dough smooth and strong. Then, return the dough to the mixing bowl and slowly add the remaining water while folding the dough.
I find that the correct level of dough strength at this point is important. You want the dough to be smooth, elastic, and strong, but it doesn’t have to be fully developed, and it will still be shaggy. We will continue to strengthen the dough through stretch and folds in bulk fermentation.
Transfer dough to a tub or thick-walled bowl for bulk fermentation.
5. Bulk Fermentation – 2:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
At 78°F (25°C) ambient temperature, bulk fermentation should go for about 4 hours. Perform six sets of stretch and folds during the bulk. The first three are at 15-minute intervals, and the last three are at 30-minute intervals. After these folds (2 hours and 15 minutes have gone by), let the dough rest for the remainder of bulk fermentation.
I stretch and fold more vigorously at the beginning of bulk than usual since it is extraordinarily slack and extensible (due to this recipe’s high hydration and autolyse). Pick up one side of the dough with both hands and pull it up, just before tearing, and fold it over to the other side. Rotate your container and repeat 4 or 5 times. That is one set.
Above, you can see my best sourdough recipe dough halfway through bulk, after about 2 hours. There is no significant rise as of yet, but the edges are beginning to dome downward, and the dough’s texture is smoothing out slightly. We still have several more folds to do and more strength to build.
It is essential that the dough is kept near 78°F (25°C) as much as possible (minor fluctuations up and down are ok). If temperatures dip down too far, you might have to extend the bulk fermentation duration to compensate, and vice versa. Use your judgment, the signs described below, and be flexible.
At the end of bulk, your dough should look very gassy, with some bubbles here and there, and the edges where the dough meets the bowl should be slightly domed. You can see all these signs in the image above.
When you gently shake the bowl, the entire mass jiggles from side to side—very alive. You’ll also notice that compared with the photo at the beginning of bulk, the dough is smoother and holds its edges, folds, and creases more readily (most of the bumps and ridges you see are due to trapped gasses from fermentation).
6. Divide & Preshape – 6:15 p.m.
Divide the dough into two halves and gently preshape each piece of dough into a round. Then, let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered. Act quickly when handling this dough and rely heavily on your bench knife. I try to use my hands as little as possible when dealing with the dough at this point.
7. Shape – 6:45 p.m.
Lightly flour the top of your dough rounds and flour the work surface. With this recipe use a little more flour on the surface than normal, the dough will be extremely sticky and wet. Flip each round and shape into a batard (see notes below) or boule, whatever your preference.
Here’s a video of how I shape a bâtard. With this dough, be sure to use the “slack dough” shaping method since the dough is such high hydration.
I prefer to shape these as batards, and my shaping method is as follows:
- Flip pre-shaped round
- Fold the bottom up to about halfway
- Fold the left side over to about 3/4 to the right
- Fold the right side over to cover left
- Stretch top up & away from the center and fold down to about half (you’ll now have a “letter”)
- Grab a little of the dough at the sides near the top and stretch it over the center, so the dough crosses. Imagine lacing up a shoe where you first grab your laces and cross them over
- Repeat three times from top to bottom (the result will look like a laced up shoe)
- Take the bottom and gently roll the dough up to the top and try to seal it slightly when done rolling
Alternatively, if the dough feels pretty strong, you could shape it by “cinching” up the dough. For more instruction on how to shape this dough as an oblong loaf, see my post on how to shape a batard (with video!).
After shaping, let the dough rest on the bench for a few minutes and then place it into a banneton that is lightly dusted with white flour. You’ll see above my bannetons give the dough plenty of room to relax and expand in the fridge overnight. If your proofing container is on the smaller side, and you find your dough almost spilling over the edges, it might be time for a larger basket.
8. Proof – 7:25 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., the next day
Cover your banneton with plastic and place it in the refrigerator at 38°F (3°C) overnight.
9. Bake – Next Morning: Preheat oven at 8:00 a.m., Bake at 9:00 a.m.
Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C). Remove the dough from the fridge (there’s no need to let the dough come to room temperature) and uncover. I scored the dough with a single, long slash to get that dramatic opening when baked. I keep the blade at a reasonably shallow angle so the taut skin created during shaping will “peel” back as the loaf rises.
I steamed my oven in my usual way, described here in my post on how to steam your home oven for baking. But you can also bake in a pot or Dutch oven.
Bake for 20 minutes with steam, then remove your steaming pans if baking on a surface or Dutch oven/combo cooker lid. Then, bake for an additional 30 minutes until done to your liking. I like to bake rather dark, so I sometimes extend this second half of baking until I get the crust I’m looking for.
Once your loaf is done, remove and let cool on a wire rack for 1-2 hours. See my post on the best way to store the bread after it’s baked for a few tips on keeping it on the counter and freezing if you think you won’t get through both loaves in a week.
Conclusion
It’s hard to put into words just how much I enjoy this “my best sourdough recipe.” I bake it almost every week (sometimes multiple times if baking for friends and family), and yet every time I pull it from the oven, I smile. The crust color, the open and light interior, only the smallest perception of sour notes, and the way it crunches when toasted. I could go on and on.
The photos to follow are the results of scattered recent bakes that all followed this process exactly and have a slightly different outcome. You’ll notice some are a bit darker, some have more or less flour on them, some expand differently in the oven, and some are taller and some are shorter—that’s the nature of baking.
With baking, every single bake is different no matter how consistent you try to be. It’s the same with my Dad and his Italian restaurant, and the reason I’ll sometimes get a call in the middle of the afternoon: “hey, the pizza dough is incredible today, you should head over and grab some.”
Crust
As a kid, I was known to take slices of bread, cut out the center, and eat the crust. It used to anger my family because they’d reach into the breadbasket only to find slices of only the soft parts. That’s how much I love the crust! Can you blame me, though?
I enjoy bread with a chunky, chewy crust, but this bread with its delicate and cracker-like crust takes the top spot for me. Even though I bake these rather dark, the crust remains thin and brittle, crackling under the slightest pressure. I love using the “heel” (the very end) of this bread to eat soup or combined with hefty slices of cheese. It’s delicious.
Crumb
I think there’s a balance to be had with bread like this. It’s possible to let the crumb open up too much, but for me, this is just right. Scattered open areas with that translucent webbing spanning from wall-to-wall, a dynamic movement to these areas, almost show you how shaping was carried out.
Taste
This bread has an almost imperceptible hint of sour, and because of this, the wheat flavors from the flour come forward. It has an incredibly tender, soft crumb that almost dissolves in your mouth. It’s one of those rare foods whereupon taking that first bite your mouth begins to water.
In the end, bread is just bread. But it’s also the staff of life and has been for thousands of years. It’s is also more than the sum of the ingredients you add to the mixing bowl. It’s how it makes you feel when you give some to a friend, and they grin ear-to-ear as they take a big bite. It’s the knowledge that you created this thing over a few days that once was a lump on your counter and is now an incredibly delicious food meant to be shared. To me, this is real bread and my best sourdough recipe to date.
Buon appetito!
Print
My Best Sourdough Recipe
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 24 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves
- Category: Sourdough, Bread
- Cuisine: American
Description
This sourdough bread is one of my favorite recipes. It’s a highly hydrated dough that results in a loaf with an open and lacey interior contrasted by a thin, crispy crust.
Ingredients
Levain
- 30g medium-protein bread flour
- 30g whole wheat flour
- 60g water
- 30g ripe sourdough starter
Main Dough
- 822g medium-protein bread flour
- 64g whole wheat flour
- 745g water
- 17g salt
- 151g ripe levain
Instructions
- Levain (9:00 a.m.)
In a small container, mix the levain ingredients and keep at 78°F (25°C) for 5 hours. - Autolyse (12:00 p.m)
In a medium mixing bowl, add 822g medium-protein bread flour, 64g whole wheat flour, 650g water, and mix until no dry bits remain. Cover the bowl and let rest for 2 hours. - Mix (2:00 p.m.)
To the mixing bowl holding your dough, add 95g water (holding back any as necessary if the dough is too wet), 17g sea salt, and the ripe levain (from step 1). Pinch and mix all the ingredients together and do folds in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough smooths and is cohesive. Then, transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover. - Bulk Fermentation (2:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.)
Give the dough 6 sets of stretch and folds. The first three sets are at 15-minute intervals, and the last three sets are at 30-minute intervals. - Divide and Preshape (6:15 p.m.)
Lightly flour your work surface and scrape out your dough. Using your bench knife, divide the dough in half. Lightly shape each half into a round shape. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered. - Shape (6:45 p.m.)
Shape the dough into a round (boule) or oval (batard) and place it in proofing baskets. Cover the baskets with a reusable plastic bag. - Proof (7:25 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. the next day)
Cover proofing baskets with reusable plastic and seal them shut. Then, place both baskets into the refrigerator and proof overnight. - Bake (Preheat oven at 8:00 a.m., bake at 9:00 a.m.)
I steamed my oven in my usual way, described here in my post on how to steam your home oven for baking. But you can also bake in a pot or Dutch oven. Preheat your oven with a combo cooker or Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C). Remove your dough from the fridge, score it, and transfer it to the preheated combo cooker. Place the cooker in the oven, cover with the lid, and bake for 20 minutes. After this time, remove the lid (you can keep it in the oven or remove it) and continue to bake for 30 minutes longer. When done, the internal temperature should be around 208°F (97°C). Let the loaves cool for 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
This is a very highly hydrated dough. Don’t add in all the reserved water during mixing if it feels like the dough is becoming overly weak, slack, or soupy.
What’s Next?
If you want more help getting an open crumb with this bread, I’ve created a 100+ page book with step-by-step instructions. Learn the best flour to use, the right fermentation schedule, and all my tips in my Bread Baker’s Handbook.
Are you a TPL Member? If so, the handbook is free for you!
2,142 Comments
Hi, will attempt this next. Do you put the loaf in the oven straight from the fridge? Thanks for sharing.
Hi! Yes, I bake these straight from the fridge. Happy baking 🙂
Hello, I baked this bread today..used king arthur bread flour and king arthur white whole wheat…lots of holes i the soft crumb yet the holes are not as big..I wish I could load a picture..I mean the bread is excellent yet not sure why I did not achieve your holes…
Achieving an open crumb is a challenge, everything in the process has to be just right: strong fermentation from your starter, sufficient dough strength, a full and complete bulk, gentle handling and a full proof. These all play into it! Keep at it, you’ll notice over time your bread will get better and better — all the while totally delicious and incredibly healthy.
I’ve been making this recipe for at least 6 months. It is so good! I like making it as cheese bread, adding around 4 ounces of finely chopped sharp cheese (cheddar or gruyere) to the dough around the second fold.
This week my brother was over to sample a freshly baked loaf. He had eaten at a restaurant that serves Tartine bread the night before, and said (objectively!) that my bread is better! Now that was affirming! 🙂
Thanks again for this nourishing and delicious recipe.
PS I use King Arthur bread flour and Community Grains Red Winter Wheat, both of which are readily available in the SF Bay Area.
Wow that’s AWESOME! Can’t get a better compliment than that 🙂 Those are great flour choices! I’ve not tried Community Grains yet (I have had their whole wheat pasta which is amazing) but will have to get some. Thanks for the update and it sounds like you’re rockin’!
Thank you!
Wow Maurizio! This is an awesome recipe!! Thank you so much! I love the blog, keep up the good work!
Thanks so much Shawn, I really appreciate that!
Hello, can you give me the link to where you have bought that big orange bowl😯
Second attempt at a natural sourdough recipe…… no dice folks! I followed all the steps carefully, I am normally a good baker. I looked for the signs the dough was active during the bulk fermentation and it looked promising…. but I STILL ended up with the same limp dough that sags on the counter into a pancake. I have bubbles and a bit of rise but not enough structure to keep its shape. I’m just going to get a hyrgrometer now cause I am pretty sure Canadian winter has screwed any chance of me getting this right. This site shows such nice bread, too bad I can’t get it right.
Hi Katharine! If I can chime in.. I’m thinking that if you’re following the method, then either of 2 things or both are happening. 1. Starter is not quite active enough or 2. Temp is too low. Seeing you’re in Canada, my guess would be the latter. If you have an ambient thermometer take a reading during bulk… it should be very close to 80F – 26C for 4 hours
Thanks for the reply. Ya I had a therma pen that I kept inserting into the dough when it wasnt sitting inside a warm oven (light on). It was reading around the 80 degree mark. Mabe the starter just isn’t active enough like you suggested. Anyway, I will keep trying, spring is coming. Thanks again,
Katie
Hi Katharine! How old is your starter? Did you just make the starter culture? I tried making bread with mine and it was too weak, and I could not get a rise. After about a month it was way stronger. You should be able to see the starter grow at least, and over double its original size when you make the levain. This is easiest in a tall glass jar, and I actually tape the outside of the jar for the starting point.
My starter was around 15 days old. It had plenty of good bacteria ( nice sour smell) but not alot of rise and fall after feeding. It was definitely not doubling though.
Also- I find that when starting out using a lower hydration level, around 75% is much easier to manage at first! My attempts at over 75% have been good and bad.
do you mean 75% hydration in the starter? or the completed bread recipe?
Bummed to hear that, Katharine! @kimi_anderson:disqus has a great suggestion, lowering the hydration to around 75% is a good thing to do at first. Hydration is definitely related to the flour and the environment you’re in, I’d dial the water back and see if that helps the next go — then you can slowly work it up (if you want).
And as @disqus_NE9wXIsmJd:disqus suggested: temperature is super, super important! It sounds like your dough was @ 80ºF so that is a good thing, that’s where I try to keep my dough most days.
I’d focus on that starter and make sure it’s in tip top order and then give this another try with lower water, I’m confident if you have strong fermentation in the dough you’ll get a nice loaf. Keep us posted!
Am I understanding this correctly, that you’re baking the dough cold straight out of the refrigerator, after the proof?
That’s correct: straight from fridge to oven.
Thanks for this recipe. I’ve been baking Sourdough for about 4 months now but recently struggled to get a good loaf with the usual recipe. Your post renewed my passion!
Super glad to hear that!
Hi!
I have been trying this recipe on my last 4 bakes. (i bake once a week) but i have been getting some problem, i have been looking around the internet for advice with no help. hope you have some 🙂
so i have no problems until after the bulk fermantation. During bulk the dough rises very well, get elastic and just amazing every time. When i get to the shaping i have a really hard time shaping the dough, the dough is very sticky and hard to manage (may be too wet)? When i finally some sort of shape on the dough i put in in a bowl cover with a kitchen towel that has been flowerd. The next morning after retarding the dough has risen, no problems there. but when i come to turn it out the towel is always stuck on the dough. After that i manege to get the towel of the dough it just does not hod itself together that good. I use a pan in the button of the oven with about a cup of water fo steam.
The result is a really amazing tasting pretty flat loaf of bread.
shoud a try the recipe with less water? would be great if you had some ideas 🙂
Yes, I’d reduce water on the next try, perhaps 5-10%. It sounds like your dough is a little over hydrated and/or it does not have enough strength to it. Reducing water will help with both. Make sure your dough feels and looks smooth by the end of bulk and add in more stretch and folds if necessary. You want the dough to be strong enough to holds its shape in the oven but extensible enough for it to open up and rise. A balance between the two!
When I make ciabatta at 80% hydration the dough is quite slack and sticks tenaciously to anything it comes in contact with; the bowl, my hands, the counter, etc. While stretching and folding I use a light coating of oil to manage the dough. Your dough is at 87% hydration and I notice in the photos of the dough in the bowls that there doesn’t seem to be any issues with it sticking to the bowl. Is there some trick to that or can I expect to struggle with it? I’m going to try this formula this weekend with a starter I have perc-ing away as we speak. Thank you for the excellent articles and helpful tutorials.
Hydration is ultimately always relative to the flour you’re using and your environment. It could be that your flour is not able to handle as much water as the flour I use here. This is a very wet dough though, no denying that! I don’t use anything to prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl, I have a large ceramic bowl I perform my bulk fermentation in and the dough hardly sticks to it. At times I’ll also use plastic tubs when doing larger batches of dough and do have trouble with the dough sticking but I get around that by using a little water to coat the tub.
I would suggest starting with a hydration that might be more suited to your flour and then work up from there. If you do ciabatta at 80% I’d suggest you starter there, or even lower. You definitely want to try and avoid the “soup” scenario!
Hope this helps, let me know how it goes!
Thank you for the tips and advice. So, I went with the recipe as written using King Arthur bread flour. Definitely borderline soupy dough! Wet as the dough was, however, I was pleasantly surprised that it did not stick to the bowl as a did the stretch and folds.
The shaped dough would not hold its shape, even for the few seconds between unmolding from the baneton, slashing and into the oven. The result was poor oven spring (although it did have the nice open crumb I was looking for).
On the plus side, the flavor is good and I can quite see why you rave over the crust! The whole exercise was not a complete waste because now I know the limits of the flour. I have high hopes for the next batch.
Ah! Yeah sounds like over hydration. You’re right though, now you know the ceiling, back off from there on the water and you can dial it in over time 🙂
You’re not the only one who raided the crust and left the soft inside for the rest of the family as a kid! I’m normally pretty unselfish; but when there’s great crust involved, well …
Ha ha, we sound like the same kid growing up! I like to say when it comes to good crust, all pleasantries are put aside 🙂
So I have been using this recipe pretty regularly the past few months and have had great results
My only consistent challenge is how sticky the dough is when pre-shaping/shaping. I can manage it OK and I know it should be somewhat sticky with the hydration level but from watching a few different videos on pre-shaping, the dough looks so much more uniform and taut when it is being shaped compared to mine at home.
My concern is that I am not getting enough tension, so my oven spring is good but somewhat delayed, like the dough out of the fridge can’t hold its shape as it initially warms up. Like I said, I still get decent oven spring but not like I have seen on so many other loaves…any thoughts? Could those be connected?
PS – I am using your steam technique, which I love…baking two loaves on pizza stone each week!
The other thing is my plastic wrap sticks pretty significantly when waiting to shape…thanks again!
Glad to hear that! Yes, this dough can be very sticky and depending on the flour you’re using it can be extremely challenging. Since hydration is a very relative number (relative to flour and environment) I’d suggest you try reducing hydration a few percentage points to see if that helps. Sometimes even 1-2% makes a huge difference, resulting in bread that not only rises higher but has better structure overall.
I’d start with 5% and see how that goes!
Maurizio, where did you get these particular baskets? I’m interesting in many trying to make some batards and I like the size you have here…. Looks like the ones you have recommended in your “my tools” section were smaller.
Best,
Scott
I picked these up at Breadtopia.com, they are the longer wood pulp bannetons. I’ll have to add them to my tools page!
Same question here, how did you get this total pre-fermented flour: 6.4%?
What calculation are you using?
Please see my answer to this at your other question posted on Beginner’s Sourdough Bread!
My first sourdough loaf! I followed your instructions to the letter (including making the starter), reading and rereading them (and every other page of this site), each time with greater understanding, watching the videos you recommend multiple times, again each time with greater understanding. Feeling, smelling, touching, finally tasting… The results? Fantastic texture and perfectly balanced flavour! No, my bread doesn’t have as many great air holes as yours (but then, I never got my starter looking as vigorous as yours either- I suspect because it was simply never warm enough) but it is still very decent bread. (I know of what I speak; I live in Quebec City, where top-notch bread abounds!) Thank you so much for your pursuit of excellence, your devotion to simple but thorough explanation and your generosity in sharing both (along with a whole heap of invaluable and inspiring photos)!
Karen — really happy to hear this! I’m glad your bread turned out well, it sure sounds like you spent the time to research and prepare, I think this is half the battle most times. With time I’m positive your bread will only improve, and as the weather warms up you’ll also notice quite a bit more activity not only in your starter but also in your dough.
Thanks so much for the kind words, I’m really happy to hear you’re enjoying my take on sourdough and my website! Happy baking 🙂
Ooh, second try today not so good! Yesterday the dough was a sticky, runny mess! :(( It’s not a brick and still tastes great but the results are nothing like last week. Could it be because I didn’t feed my starter properly before building my levain? I took it out of the fridge Friday morning for a Saturday build but decided to monitor it instead of feeding it. It went crazy bubbly and rose far beyond my expectations but became pretty liquid (no vinegar smell however). It seemed to make an OK levain and the dough looked great but it had no strength at all and I could barely shape it.
Very discouraging!
My starter’s back in the fridge and this time I’ll be taking it out Thursday morning for another Saturday build. Should I feed it as soon as it comes out of the fridge or let it warm up and ferment for a while first? Then feed it again Thursday night and maybe three times Friday? Any help would be appreciated!
Yes, that could definitely be the cause. Maintaining your starter and making a strong levain is incredibly important! Keep an eye on it and feed it predictably when it needs it. I let it warm up a bit after it comes out of the fridge, then feed it to get it back on schedule. You only need to feed it three times a day if it looks like it needs it. You want it to show very strong fermentation, rise up to a high level and just about when it’s going to fall back down give it a refreshment.
Thank you Maurizio. Food and warmth from Thursday on!
It was ok, nothing great!
That’s totally fine! This recipe is a good springboard for you to take this dough in your own direction, wherever your bread preference may be. Happy baking, Lisa!
My wife saw some program on healthy bread and asked me to bake some for her. Little did I know there was so much to it! Did some research, started a starter and baked a couple of loaves from some other recipe. 2 bricks, lightly dusted. Same thing the next week. Got a new starter and found your recipe. Last week much better but not quite there. Very little oven spring so I revved the starter up this week and baked two today. Finally!! My wife just made sandwiches and the bread was perfect. Thanks for the great blog…
The only thing I need to perfect is the scoring. The cuts seem to “heal” over before it springs. I’m not using the same flower as you and slightly less water. This is the last thing I need to solve so I can post pretty pictures too.
Right on, glad to hear your latest attempts have gone pretty well! It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the baking process at first but I think after you do it a few times you really get the hang of it.
The score can kind of heal back up for a few reasons: over proofed dough (reduce your proof time and see if it helps), not enough tension in the dough from shaping (make sure there’s a nice taut skin on the dough after shaping) and finally you might not be scoring deep enough with your blade (make sure the cut goes in and slightly below the tight skin created during shaping).
Hope this helps and keep at it! Baking always gets better and better as you gain experience. Have fun 🙂
Hi Maurizio, quick question. Does the dough go directly from the refrigerator to the oven or do you let the dough come to room temp at all?
Straight from fridge to oven (after scoring)!
Hey what size bannetons are those?
Also if I want to do the same day bake, how many hours of proofing would you recommend? I did 3 hours and it was too much for the temperature that day, the dough was flowing out of the banneton. The temperature was no more than 75 degrees.
These bannetons are 14″ long.
It’s hard to say exactly how long of a room temp ferment you need to fully proof the dough — like you said it depends on the temperature of your kitchen. At around 75-78ºF I’d say 3-4 hours, but there are a lot of factors at play. When I do room temp ferments like this I use the “poke test” (if you are unfamiliar with this there are videos on YouTube) to determine if the dough is done and ready to be baked!
Thank you for the advice ! Moe Mathy
Maurizio, followed your recipe pretty close but baked the loaves in a cloche and romertopf clay pot. Ended up with way too big holes and one round loaf with one big cavity. What causes these big holes? Moe Mathy
Usually when I see bakes that have a few scattered huge holes with other parts of the dough much more dense it’s due to underproofing. Make sure your bulk fermentation goes far enough so the dough is developed and looks similar to the photos I have in the post above. 4 hours is a good benchmark at 75ºF – 80ºF but it may take longer depending on the temperature in your kitchen. Keep an eye on the dough and its temperature and adjust the time as necessary (cooler temps will take longer). You really want that dough to look alive in the bulk container when you divide.
Hope that helps, Moe!
Maurizio, your blog is the bomb! I stumbled on it nearly three weeks into nursing a rye starter, when I was searching for a good first sourdough recipe. A couple of days before Christmas I decided to make a Russian pan loaf of rye bread I’d made a number of times several years ago, but back then I’d been provided a starter along with the recipe. Lacking a starter this time, I turned to the internet to figure out how to make my own. It’s now been a little over three weeks, and I have a healthy starter with a voracious appetite! (No Brutus here; I should name mine Homer Simpson or some other food loving character.) By pure luck, it’s a rye starter because I had originally intended only to make that Russian rye loaf (which, by the way, I did when my starter was only a week old, and that turned out well!). Of course, in the process of reading about sourdough starters, I discovered the new (for me) sourdough/artisan/tartine world, and I knew I’d be trying more breads beyond the rye loaf that quite serendipitously launched me on this journey.
Part of the reason for the delay in making my first sourdough was Maurizio’s insistence (like that of every other experienced baker I’ve read, albeit all my reading has been in just the last couple of weeks!) that baking a good loaf requires precise measurements of ingredients by weight, not volume. So I patiently awaited the arrival of my new digital scale from Amazon. I also picked up a bench knife for pre-shaping and some new utility knife blades (that I’d be able to use on other projects even if my bread making doesn’t last). Other than that, I made do with the tools I already have in my kitchen. In my case, however, that included a dutch oven and a thermapen instant read thermometer. Thermapens aren’t cheap, but I have one I use for BBQ. It wasn’t absolutely necessary, but I did use it to confirm the temperature of my turned-off-oven-with-light-on and the temperature of my water. I’m sure you could use an inexpensive thermometer to get your water around 90F.
For the better part of this week, I debated whether to start with the beginner loaf (my better judgment) or Maurizio’s best sourdough (what I really wanted to do). I decided to go with the best, promising myself if it didn’t turn out well that I wouldn’t be discouraged, and I’d give the beginner recipe a few tries before trying this one again.
Results? Presto! As Maurizio’s written, it’s truly like modern day alchemy. I have little doubt that it’s not the best loaf I’ll ever make, but I still can’t believe that THIS loaf came out of MY oven (I wish I could post my pictures here for you to see what success can come from when your work-in-progress doesn’t look as perfect as Maurizio’s). The crust is awesome, and I (im)patiently waited two hours to cut into it. When I did, I discovered a creamy, open crumb. My six year old devoured a heel, and even at his young age, he’s something of a snob about bread, so I had independent confirmation of success!
I write not to brag, at least not to brag about MY efforts. I will, however, brag on MAURIZIO’s recipe and detailed instructions. I’m sure the key to my success was sticking extremely close to his instructions, especially with respect to timing, temperature and measurements. If you’re having troubles, my first question is: are you following Maurizio’s instructions to a tee? I didn’t start the process at the time his instructions do, so I wrote down revised times for the entire process based on the time I had started. A couple of times I was a little slow, so I revised my times from those points on as well.
I made sure my starter was ready for use (per Maurizio’s starter maintenance post), and after I mixed the levain, I put it in my oven with the light on, which maintained a temperature of around 80-82F. That was itself something of a surprise when I tested it earlier in the week. Believe it or not, turning on that little oven light will very likely take your oven to the perfect temperature for your levain and autolyse, too. If you’re having troubles and NOT doing those first two steps in your oven with the light on (or some other technique that maintains a near-80F temperature), try again, and this time, DO IT.
Not everything went perfectly, mind you. I was prepared for problems and even failure based on so many of the questions and comments I’ve read here. So I was pleasantly surprised how right the dough seemed to be by the time I started folding during the bulk fermentation phase. But by the end of my bulk fermentation, my dough was not as blistery as Maurizio’s. It looked more like the end of the bulk fermentation in Maurizio’s sourdough beginner’s recipe. I didn’t know what I could do about that, so I hoped it was close enough not to be a complete flop. When I preshaped, the dough didn’t ball up quite the way it does in Maurizio’s Instagram video, but I chalk this up to my lack of experience handling dough. And when I shaped it, the dough ball seemed flatter than Maurizio’s upright dough balls (or Chad Robertson’s). Lacking a banneton, I improvised with a bowl and tea towel, lightly dusted with rice flour — not just ANY flour, but RICE flour like Maurizio instructs. Into the fridge it went (I was making only a half recipe for one loaf), where it stayed for the next 15 hours. It had been an interesting day, but I didn’t let my hopes rise (yeah, a rimshot for a lame pun).
When I took out my dough today, it didn’t look like it had risen much, so I was preparing myself mentally for a disappointing first try — but my fault, right? I had to try the black diamond course first, hard headed me. Then when I scored the dough, it didn’t open quite like it does in some of the videos I’ve watched online, although within just a few more seconds the slits did expand and looked a lot like those pics and videos. Then I popped the dough into my preheated dutch oven and 500 degree oven. At the twenty minute mark when the dutch oven lid came off, I knew that I wasn’t going to be completely disappointed with my efforts. Another twenty five minutes at 450F and out came a loaf of bread that despite all the time I had invested, I still couldn’t believe came out of MY oven.
So for those of you who haven’t had success yet, I encourage you to stick with it, and most importantly, to adhere to Maurizio’s instructions just as closely as you possibly can. I was quite anal about doing things down to the minute, the gram and the degree that Maurizio prescribes (and that includes your ingredients, too). I read and reread three of his posts: maintaining your starter, beginner’s sourdough and the page you’re on right now. I made notes to outline exactly what I was doing and when, plus I had my iPad open to this page (and the beginner’s page), and reread each step one more time right before I did that step.
Maurizio, I halfheartedly apologize for the length of this comment because I realize it’s more like a guest blog post, which I would totally turn this into (with pics), if I could — as a complement to your picture perfect pics and instructions. It’s incredibly helpful to see what things SHOULD look like throughout the process, but I think it could also be encouraging to see what less-than-perfect can turn into in your oven. Honestly, by the end of my bulk fermentation it crossed my mind to pitch the dough and start over again today. But I had invested the better part of a day making it, so I figured I might as well see it through, and I’m glad I did.
I doubt I’ll turn into a pathological sourdough baker. And I’m definitely not self-taught; I’m internet-taught, but I’m mostly Maurizio-taught, and thank you for that, Maurizio. Of course, I’m still a fledgling student, but I’m an enthusiastic, new sourdough baker who is very appreciative of this site. You know, you could pack this all up in a book and go commercial, don’t you, dude? AWESOME site. Congratulations on your Saveur award! Richly deserved!
Rob — WOW what a post, thanks so much for the feedback and all the comments! I’m super glad to hear your bake has gone well. Like you said in your post, baking really comes down to making a series of small adjustments, and listening to the dough, through the entire process. These small little steps all add up to something larger and, in the end, are what help make an awesome loaf of sourdough bread.
I agree, sometimes it would be nice to see failures and missteps along the way so you can see the contrast between what works and what doesn’t work. I’ve done this previously on my Oat Porridge Sourdough but I probably should start doing this a bit more as I experiment and develop new recipes — thanks for that suggestion!
Yes, perhaps one day I’ll package all this up into a single, concise book but for now I’m happy to write here and just bake as much as possible. Plus, I love interacting with all the bakers who send messages and ask questions — it’s awesome!
Thanks again and here’s to many more bakes in the future!
You flatter! You say that I said “listen to the dough, making small adjustments.” For better or worse, I say listen to Maurizio! I experiment with recipes from the internet all the time and usually my final recipe is some amalgam of two or three of the best recipes I’ve read, most likely with my own tweaks. But this is baking, man! And I suspect there are a lot of folks like me who don’t know what to “listen for” from the dough, and we don’t know what “small adjustments” to make or in what direction (although 10% less hydration seems like a consistent tweak here). I’ll get there, where I can listen and adjust. But for my first loaf, I followed your instructions to the tee like I was making my first nuclear bomb. No deviations. Like I tell my six year old, follow instructions exactly and immediately! For the failed outcomes, I’m sure it makes it easier for you to diagnose via the internet if your instructions have been adhered to closely. So at the risk of contradicting my Sourdough Master (we just saw the new Star Wars last night), I say to your readers FIRST follow Maurizio’s instructions exactly and immediately. I look forward to many more Maurizio-moderated bakes.
Over time that ability to listen to the dough does increase 🙂 You start to notice the small things, the finer details, and you’re also building up a compendium of past bakes from which you can draw comparisons to — a valuable tool. Sometimes these tweaks and changes are subconscious even (“that dough doesn’t look strong enough, ok one more fold”).
Thanks again for the comments and glad to have you along — happy baking!
Hi Maurizio — love your blog! I’ve made your beginner sourdough a couple of times and was pleased with the results. I’ve just made your “best sourdough” recipe as I was hoping for an even airier and more open crumb. I took your advice and used a bit less water (720g total — 82% hydration). I’m in Canada and using Robin Hood AP Unbleached flour (about 11.5% protein, similar to your artisan flour). Everything was great until I poured my dough onto the board after the bulk fermentation (very active starter and levain, dough rose more than 50% during bulk in predicted time frame and temperature, with bubbles as in the photo) — I think it might be over-hydrated. It’s still pretty rough and shaggy looking, and extremely slack, won’t hold a shape at all. Just sort of sat in a puddle on the board. (I have photos and a video, but don’t seem to be able to attach them here…) I poured it into floured bowls and it’s in the fridge now for the night, but I don’t have very high hopes for it… My question is — aside from protein content, are there other factors that influence the amount of water a flour can take? Maybe the Robin Hood flour just can’t go much beyond the 78% hydration of your beginner sourdough recipe. If that’s the case, is there another way to get a more open crumb? More slap and folds, maybe? Thanks! Nicole
Thank you! It sounds like your flour probably wasn’t able to take on the amount of water used — not a problem, we can lower the hydration to suit. Each flour (and each batch of flour for that matter) has a different water absorption level and we have to adjust the recipe to suit. I usually recommend starting at a lower hydration than this recipe, as you did, but then also withhold another 100-200g water from the initial mix and add it in gradually as you handmix the dough. This way you can feel how the dough is developing and whether it can take more water or not. If it starts to get too soupy and feels overly weak stop there (ideally just before there).
I’d say go down another 10% on hydration and see how your flour responds. If the bake turns out great then you can stick to that level or slowly work up a little at a time if desired. Hydration is definitely a tricky thing and it does take experimentation, especially when working with a new flour.
Almost all steps of the baking process are involved in attaining a more light and open loaf. You have to have strong fermentation in your starter, sufficient protein in your flour (11.5% or more is sufficient), a full and complete bulk step, gentle shaping and full proof — these are all necessary! I wish I could single out a specific thing, like adding more strength to the dough, that would help but unfortunately that is not the case. You will see as you keep baking and you really begin to read the dough and what it needs you’ll see your bread will keep improving more and more.
I hope this helps!
Thanks, this is very helpful! I made another batch with less water and it turned out much better! I also used the slap and fold technique for about 10 minutes to build strength. Is it still necessary to perform stretch and folds during bulk fermentation if you do the slap and folds beforehand? And, is there such a thing as too much slap and fold? Can you work the dough too much (by hand)? What happens to it? Thanks so much for your help, Maurizio!
Awesome, glad to hear that! There’s a balance with strengthening the dough: you want to end bulk with enough strength in the dough to trap gasses but not so much that it can’t expand in the oven. Slap/fold and stretch/fold both do the same thing but I like to do slap/fold for a bit in the beginning so I handle the dough less during bulk (to avoid knocking gasses out during interaction). You can do more slap/fold at the beginning, so much that you wouldn’t need a single stretch and fold, but I find doing at least one during bulk helps redistribute the dough and keep the temperature in there equal among the entire mass.
It’s very hard to over mix the dough by hand, I would not worry about it at all. If you over mix (usually in a mixer) the dough will become very strong and eventually over oxidize to the point that the crumb on the resulting bread will be slightly white in color and lose flavor. I’ve never personally done this but I’ve read about this in multiple sources.
Hope that helps!
I have a technique question. What do you think the impact is by adding the levain at the beginning, with the water, at the start of autolyse. I hate mixing a liquid into a partially mixed dough.
Once you add the levain in with the final dough ingredients fermentation begins. If you do a long autolyse with this levain your dough will likely have undergone too much fermentation by the time bulk completes. During autolyse you don’t want fermentation to happen but you do want other the other processes to occur (enzymatic activity that helps strengthen gluten, the breakdown of starches, etc.). Hope that makes sense!
Yes, thanks.
Trying this recipe this week. It looks perfect!
I’m wondering what’s the reasoning behind autolyse without levain as opposed to the Tartine method of including it? Seems like maybe adding levain to the autolyse shortens proofing time?
Thanks 🙂
Thank you! If you’re doing a short autolyse, like 30m or so, adding the levain is fine but for a long autolyse you don’t wait to add the levain because right once you add the levain to the rest of your dough fermentation on that dough begins. When you mix just water and flour together other chemical/biological processes are taking place but fermentation won’t happen. Adding your levain to a really long autolyse could cause the dough to over proof, depending on other conditions.
I hope that makes sense!
Thanks! It totally does. But I’m confused because I think I keep coming across conflicting info from different sources.
I recently read the Tartine #3 book and it seems like those recipes call for autolyse of 1-4 hours but still add the levain to the initial mix? I have to go back and re-read it, but I think I remember a bit about higher whole grain doughs benefiting from extra long autolyse and I don’t remember the book specifying to add the levain later in those cases.
Am I missing something? Thanks again 🙂
I think in T3 he does not add the levain to the autolyse. In the first book it was a little ambiguous but I believe he also intended for the levain to not be added, although it was never 100% clear to me. Yes, I find that a longer autolyse does help whole grains and also flour that has a high protein percentage.
Ahhhh okay. I need to be better about taking notes 🙂 Thanks for being so responsive, it’s super helpful.
No worries, sometimes I’m guilty myself! Happy baking, Kat!