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
Firstly thanks for this amazing resource – it’s really made our sourdough journey much easier but we still have lots to learn. Which is what I love about making sourdough.
That leads me to my question: The autolyse and bulk fermentation goes quite well until about half-way through the set of stretches and folds. Initially the dough seems to develop well, hold its shape and I can just about lift it up as a single mass. But then, mysteriously, after about the half way mark it starts getting weak, slack, and starts becoming “soupy”; it can’t be stretched far without coming apart. It’s more liquid than it was at the beginning of the bulk.
By the end of the bulk it is really sloppy and won’t hold any shape. I have to scoop it into a banneton for overnight proving but the resultant loaf, while on the dense side, is not inedible. Makes for great avo + toast bread however I’d like to make a lighter loaf.
My initial thinking is that the starter might be too acidic and that means the levain is also too acidic which “eats away” at the gluten. Is that possible? The resultant loaf is more acidic (and dense) than a professional loaf but not so sharp we can’t enjoy it.
We’re using the 100% hydration liquid (ours is more a paste) starter and I usually feed it the night before then make the levain in the morning. I may experiment with feeding more frequently leading up to the bake (currently I feed it 2x per day for the 3 days leading up to the bake) and then giving it its final feed at 3am prior to making the levain at 9am. Our starter uses one third white flour and two thirds rye flour.
You bet, Fred, glad I could help! That’s very interesting, this hasn’t happened to me. A few questions: has this happened to you with different flours? I’m wondering if it’s a problem with a particular batch of flour you might be using.
An overly acidic starter could also be an issue and is something I thought of when I was reading your description of the dough. While I’ve not seen this happen firsthand, it’s possible the dough could undergo too much fermentation too fast with a starter like this — especially if the dough is excessively warm or there’s a very large percentage of levain used. Be sure to maintain your starter with frequent feedings to reduce the acid buildup! It sounds like you’re doing this, but I just wanted to reiterate it.
I’m leaning towards a flour issue, but this is just a guess on my part!
Hi Maurizo,
Just got into baking my own bread with my own starter and i must say that your blog really helped me. Also, i attempted this recipe after my 3rd time baking a sourdough bread ( did not realise high hydration= high level difficulty LOL) i added walnut in the secodn fold after referencing to your walnut bread recipe and all was looking the way it should until the shaping- i didnt read the part where is i need to use more flour and also to shape it into a batard instead of a boule( it did create quite a sloppy mess the next morning when i flip it out) that said, i think i know where i went wrong since i have very entry level baking home equipments. The bread didnt have a good crumb because i knocked out the air when i reshaped it to a batard the next day and baked it immediately, but the taste is phenomenal. A good medium tang, sweet aftertones and nice chew to it with 11.5% protein flour. Just what to say thanks and i will keep on baking! 🙂
Hey! Thanks for all the comments and I’m glad to hear you’re on your way to making some awesome sourdough at home. Yes, you definitely want to do that final shaping before you proof! That’s ok, though, that’s something you can easily fix the next go 🙂
Thanks again and happy baking!
Hi,
Just to update that I had success on a good loaf even though I’m baking in a halogen oven lol. I want to ask though, for steaming I read some spray and mist on the breadloaves and some mist on the walls of the oven. Which is better? Also, how do you avoid the oven light glass protector. Read a few accident and I want to know what actually causes it. A direct squirt on the glass or mist also might cause it to break? Thanks!
Glad to hear that, Em! I usually mist the entire inside of my oven and on the dough — it helps quite a bit to get a good misting throughout.
It’s definitely possible to crack any interior glass (such as a light cover) when cold water hits hot glass, whether it’s misted or directly sprayed. Use caution!
Hey Maurizio,
Thanks for the reply! I’m finding it a little hard to get a shattering crust on partial whole wheat/rye country loaf when it isn’t around 75% hydration above . Is there a way to get good crust? I have been steaming! Cheer!
Typically bread with a higher percentage of whole grains I like to bake it very hot, and very fast. You could try cranking up the heat a bit more and see if that helps!
Quick question. How long do you knead this dough or in other words how much strength do you try and build. My dough when I use this formula down to every gram of water tends to be very extensible but not very elastic. I am assuming that my 3 minutes of stretch and folds in the bowl during the Mix 2 step is not producing enough strength. I am of course using different flour from you, I am using KA bread flour but it tricky getting the dough strength correct. Have you played around with machine mixing?
I’m chatting with you on Instagram right now about this but yes, it sounds like you definitely need to either reduce hydration or mix more/longer. I typically do a slap and fold upfront when the hydration is super high, you could try an intensive mixing process like this. Hold back some of the water at the beginning so the mixing isn’t too messy, then add it back in slowly through the end of mixing and mix until the dough comes back together.
Hope that helps!
Hello, thank you for your amazing work. I would like to hear your opinion on bulk fermentation int the fridge overnight vs proofing in the fridge overnight. I heared that longer slower fermentation builds more taste vs proofing that just basically develops air in the dough. Could also this recipe be adjusted for bulk fermentation in the fridge than shaping + final proofing at roomp temp? thank you very much
You bet, Matej! Thanks for the comments. Yes, you could definitely do a “cold bulk” with this recipe. Just be sure to let the dough ferment enough on the counter after mixing before placing it into the fridge — the exact time will depend on the dough temp when you finish mixing but when I do this I typically do 1.5-2 hours at room temp before placing in the fridge.
Have a look at my recently posted Kamut baguette recipe for an example timeline on how I do a cold bulk.
Hope this helps and happy baking!
Hello Maurizio,
Absolutely love this recipe. Have tried it a couple of times and having a little bit of difficulty with the oven temp. I make one loaf (i halve the recipe) and i bake it on a pizza stone as i don’t yet have a dutch oven. What would you suggest for oven temp and baking duration? I have tried baking it at 475 degrees for 15 minutes then reducing to 450 and doing a further 20 mins and it came out under baked. This morning i tried baking at 475 degrees for 40 mins and it came out with a burnt crust and under baked crumb.
Thank you!
That’s interesting! Even when I halve my recipes I still tend to use the same starting preheat time and high temp. I would suggest trying 475°F for 20 minutes, vent, turn down to 450°F and just go until the crust looks done. If you find the crust coloring too fast, then go down to 430 or 440 on the second half and see if that helps. It can be hard dialing in these temps sometimes and it totally depends on the environment and oven!
At step 9, how long is the dough out of the refrigerator before going into the over? Thanks.
I believe Maurizio puts it straight into the oven from the fridge 🙂 it also makes it easier to score by doing it this way
That’s pretty much what I did, it sat out for a few minutes. Although I didn’t use the exact same flours (50% KA bread; 40% Bronze Chief WW, 10% Barley) It kind of flattened out especially after I cut it, (it was pretty flacid with such hydration!) so I’m guessing I’m not getting the gluten strength up enough. Tasted pretty good though, looked ok.
i’m still learning and have been experimenting with this recipe myself, little things can make the biggest difference hey! Maybe it needs to be shaped more tightly, i’m finding that because the dough is such a high hydration it can be a little difficult to get a great tight shape, i’ve had a few times when i’ve failed in this area and the dough has spread. i’ve also found that a 16 hour bulk ferment helps with that too, amazing what just one more hour in the fridge can do.
You’re right about that, Bonnie: small things make a huge difference when baking! This super high hydration dough can be challenging but once you get the feel for it things become a lot easier 🙂
Straight from fridge to oven!
Hi Maurizio,
I’ve been baking sour dough for a couple of years and never managed to get the open crumb texture of your loaves. I tried your recipe out and got the beautiful open crumb. The only trouble I had was with the hydration of the dough. It was very tough to get out of the banatone, and my second loaf stuck so much it was ruined. The other issue with the hydration was as soon as it was on the peel it lost its shape and began to spread out. Is there anything I can do to avoid this?
mine flattened too.
It sounds like you might not be using a combo cooker? If that’s the case, I’d recommend purchasing one.
Hi Harry, Hucho23 and Maurizio,
I’m on my third attempt, as I typt the loaf is in the oven baking. Each time so far I have had the same flattening result until today. What I have done each time is gradually adjust the hydration by adding a little less water and a little more flour at the stretch and fold stage so that it didn’t continually stick to my fingers. I’m pretty sure it’s down to the variation in the flour that is used along with other factors. Today the loaf started to flatten but once in the oven held it’s shape and has now risen perfectly. Looking forward to taking it out and seeing what the crumb is like. I hope that helps a little.
Stewart
Glad to hear that Stewart and thanks for helping out with the comment!
@disqus_j8dLOoQsAB:disqus has the perfect suggestion: I would reduce the hydration in your dough (perhaps by 5%) and see how it bakes up. It’s highly likely the flour you’re using, and your environment, isn’t suitable for the same hydration I have listed in my formula above — and this is ok! Each flour is different and will require adjustment, it’s not a bad thing it’s just something we have to be aware of. Since you’ve been baking for so long I know you’ve see hydration variance from bake-to-bake, especially if you’re using different flour.
I have a feeling reducing hydration will drastically alleviate most of the problems you’ve described. Keep me posted!
Hi Maurizio,
What size bannetons do you use?
Saskia, I use bannetons of all sizes depending on the dough weight. The ones listed here are 14″ long baskets (shown in the pictures above) and can be found on My Baking Tools page!
Hi Maurizio,
I’ve made this specific recipe over a dozen times now, and though the temperature of my apartment is typically cooler than what you recommend (it isn’t something I can adjust) and my starter takes longer after its morning feeding to be ready to go into the autolysed dough (by a few hours, so I feed it around 6 or 7am), I find that if I come anywhere near pushing my proof for 15 hours, my bread comes out with little oven spring. I’ve been using the poke test and getting good results with great oven spring (my main goal), but my proof at those times has been around 10 hours. I’d like to know what you think.
I forgot to mention that I also don’t end up using the extra 50g of water anymore as I found that it made my dough too slack by the following morning post-proof. I used to just use all white bread flour when I made this recipe, then recently added in rye flour in the amount you indicated that you use whole wheat flour and it has definitely given my bread some life that it didn’t quite have before, but I’m still hesitant to push my proof to 15 hours
It sounds like your modifications are exactly on point, great job with that. If your flour can’t handle the added 50g water that’s not a problem, just omit it.
The longer you proof your dough, even in the fridge, the closer and closer you come to over proofing. Of course there is a perfect point in there where your dough will be proofed just enough to be fully fermented but right before the structure (gluten) built up through the entire process begins to break down. What I typically do is when I notice the rise in my dough starts to get compromised, I’ll back off on the proof an hour or two until things are right where I want them to be.
As is true with most things in baking, there is a balance to be had with proofing!
I hope this helps — happy baking!
Hey! Been having some great fun with this recipe recently, it’s amazing therapy to bake. My problem is that I’m finding that my batards tend to go into a more round shape when baking, not fully getting that upward bloom that’s so sought after. Is this mostly depending on shaping and proofing times or are there other causes as well?
I also want to thank you again for a great blog and super inspiration! I would love to read more about flour and how to judge its quality in the future, if you want to mix it up!
Glad to hear you’re enjoying it! You’re totally right about that, baking is a fantastic form of therapy — it just feels great to get your hands engaged in making something so delicious. It sounds like your issue is most likely related to shaping. Make sure you shape your dough tight enough to form a batard and keep that shape all the way through proof. The shape of your proofing basket also make a very big deal: use batard (oval) baskets to ensure the dough stays in that shape (seems obvious but those baskets make a huge difference!).
I hope this helps! I do have some posts planned on flour types, fresh milled flour, and more, coming soon.
Happy baking!
Hey Maurizio, I just got into making sourdough after several years of making yeast breads. I’ve been making your Beginner’s Sourdough for five weeks now, and I’d like to try this one next to see if I can make it even better. However, as I read this article, it seems like I may have been not letting my levain build enough, since it looks like in these pictures that it has risen to its maximum and begun to fall slightly. My kitchen has gotten colder with the onset of fall, and I don’t currently have any reliable way to keep my levain around 80°. I would like to try building it overnight as you suggest, but I’m not sure how long that would take, and I would basically be playing it by ear.
Basically, my question is would anything bad happen if I let the dough autolyse longer than 1.5 hours? I plan on experimenting with levain build, bulk fermentation, and proofing times over the next few weeks, but I’m wondering how flexible the other parts of the process are.
Thanks!
Hey! You’d probably be fine going longer than 1.5 hrs on the auto, but I don’t like to push it too long, especially when hydration is really high. As an alternative, I’d much rather cut out the autolyse completely, or do a shorter one (say, 30 mins). When the water is pushed really high, and a very long auto is also done, the dough gets extremely slack and hard to strengthen back up (especially without a mixer). It’s possible to do, of course, but you’d have to test it out.
My recommendation would be to cut out the autolyse, and instead, mix your flour and water with the levain, then let it sit for 30 minutes. After this time add the salt and any remaining water (hold some back to ensure your dough can handle it) and continue with the process.
Hope this helps!
Hi Maurizio! I have the brod&taylor folding proofer (love it!) but find that when using it on the humidity setting, my dough seems to gradually get “wetter” as bulk fermentation progresses. It’s not unmanageable but also feel it’s not quite right and the dough doesn’t look as strong as yours as a result. Would you suggest maybe switching to the dry setting and then covering my bowl with a reusable plastic cover? Thank in advance for your help!
Hey, Meghan! Yes, if your dough is wet enough I’d say go without the humidity option. I usually just keep my bowl covered when in the B&T and it retains plenty of moisture through bulk.
Happy baking!
Hi Maurizio!
I’ve had great success with this recipe and your beginner’s sourdough, and I was wondering if I could shape these to bake as smaller, individual rolls (then obviously decreasing their time in the oven)?
Yes, you could absolutely do that! Glad to hear you had such success — happy baking!
When I got to the divide & preshape, I was closer to 650-700g per half (vs 900 per half). Did I screw something up along the way? Typo? Something else?
Sometimes the ending amount of dough can be slightly less (dough will stick to the bowl, hands, and other things and never make it to the end). 200g is quite a lot, though!
Why this step? “Transfer dough to a tub or thick-walled bowl for bulk fermentation” and not continue in the bowl you are already using for the mix?
You can certainly leave it in the same bowl. For me my baker’s mixing bowls are rather large so I can get my hands and arms into the dough to thoroughly mix it. For bulk, I prefer a smaller vessel that’s insulated to prevent too much heat loss.
Do you cover mix 1 while waiting to proceed with mix 2?
Glad you pointed that out: yes I do cover the dough at all times!
Hello
Is it possible, if I make more than a couple of loaves, to cook some of them “early”, does anyone have experience of baking after day 6 hours refrigeration?
Many thanks
Nic
Hi Maurizio!
I have a “problem” and I’m wondering if you can help me… I really like the taste of a dark baked crust, but I always find it a bit too hard to eat. I’m relatively new to bread baking and I know for sure that I make mistakes, but I suspect that a crust a little chewy is typical of this kind of bread.
The crust I’d like to obtain should be almost like a biscuit, very crisp but not chewy at all. Is there a way to obtain that in a sourdough loaf?
Thank you very much
Hey, Bob! It’s definitely possible to achieve a thin, crunchy crust (this is my favorite as well). It’s challenging in a home oven, but totally possible. I find I get the best results when I bake my dough using my home oven steaming method instead of a Dutch oven or other closed vessel. Because I’m able to add lots, and lots of steam in the oven the crust usually colors beautifully and turns out quite thin.
Do know that with more whole grain loaves the crust will be thicker, but this might not be a bad thing — it just depends on what you’re after.
Hopefully that helps!
Thanks a lot for your answer! I’ve tried and… it was a total disaster 😀
I must have done something wrong in the mixing/fermenting/shaping process, the dough was really lacking strenght. Anyway, I’ll keep trying and hopefully I’ll obtain something!
Stick to it! Baking directly on the hearth like this requires a bit of practice, but I do find the results to be much better.
I have the same question, and have been using a baking stone with steam but get a thick tough crust. What temp and time do you recommend to address this?
There’s a lot that goes into the thickness of the crust (flour type, fermentation, shaping) but I find when I bake at a high temp in the beginning, 500°F for 20mins, with plenty of steam, and then turn the temp down to 450°F for 35-30 mins, I get the thinnest crust.
This is now my go-to recipe! Turned out beautifully.
Right on Brooke — thank you and enjoy!
Hi Maurizio,
Still really enjoy your site! Thanks so much for your insight and patience.
I have been trying several of your methods and recipes and have been experiencing ongoing problems including but not limited to hydration levels causing my products to be overly moist and physically flat (little to no bounce).
I realized some time ago that your processes and recipes were created in a higher altitude environment (Albuquerque) than the one in which I live (SoCali near sea level). I have done some research, applied some experimentation, and found a good measure of success utilizing information that I would like to share regarding baking leavened goods at lower altitudes with the hope that it might be helpful. These tidbits could need to be extrapolated based on the altitude of the particular baker and my experiences are based on baking near sea level.
1. H2O reduction by 10~15%. This was a game changer as everything dries out easier at higher altitudes and SoCal by the ocean is just wetter than Albuquerque. So I suppose relative humidity is a factor as well.
2. Increase starter in the recipe mix by 20~30%. Of course this is a matter of taste but yeasts are less active at lower altitudes.
3. Longer build/ proofing times at increased temperatures. I generally have success at ~90 degrees for 10~20% additional time. Again, yeasts are less active at lower altitudes. I built a proofing box from a 25 gallon cooler, a 25 watt bulb/ fixture and a cheap temperature controller from Amazon to facilitate this. It is best to watch the progress just to be certain.
4. Baking temperature reduction by 5~10%. I found that this is very important and generally lean towards 450 degrees when the recipe calls for 500.
5. Extended baking times by ~10 minutes per hour but I am especially careful here.
A note: gases expand faster and easier in low pressure environments so an exaggerated oven bounce is more difficult (not impossible) to acquire when baking at low altitudes. At least that’s what I tell myself when my loaf doesn’t “measure up!”.
One more thing; this regarding tools. I find that a drip-less baster is very handy when controlling the H2O measuring process especially for the starter. A full baster holds just about 40 grams of water.
Thomas
Thomas — one of the best comments to my site, ever. Thanks so much for all the details.
Pretty much every single thing you posted is what I’ll recommend to those living at lower altitude than me (and potentially more humid, as well). Because I have limited baking experience at sea level it’s hard for me to write a post outlining the differences but with your confirmation on just about every point, it sounds like I could at least give some general advice. I’ll have to work on this soon.
One point, though, #5: I usually find that I have to bake hotter and longer than others because of my altitude. Of course there are so, so many factors at play with this and this is why I usually say “bake until done to your liking.” Not only is each environment different, but each oven is as well!
Thanks again Thomas, super helpful post!
Thanks so much Maurizio.
I am just trying to be helpful to my fellow students in the “wanna be” baker arena.
BTW Your #5 comment is so true. We are moving soon and I am so looking forward to a better oven.
I live in San Diego and baked this recipe as published……it never did get strong enough to hold any shape. I started with a slap and fold, and worked it more than suggested each time. I ended up sorta pushing it into a bastard shape, put in on parchment paper and into the the fridge using a couche, instead of a basket. After the proof I lifted them onto my pizza peel and onto a baking steel in my preheated oven. Results were about a B- pretty good volume, great taste, good appearance.
Questions….if I used my Kitchen Aid with a spiral dough attachment, could I get more strength or is it more a function of hydration as opposed to more or less working the dough ? What are the risks, consequences of overworking the dough in the mixer? Should I err on the side of too little or too much working?
Once I have completed the 3rd turn and relialize the hydration may be too high or too low, is their any correcting it with more flour or water or are you stuck at that point and just have to make the best of it…..
I will take the suggestion to lower the water next time….
Thanks……will try again in a week…..still seeking the perfect loaf!…
PS – I am going to buy some baskets!!!
It does sound like your dough was either over hydrated or undermixed (maybe even both). Give it a shot with lower water and I bet you’ll be surprised at how strong the dough can be with less water.
You could try your KA mixer with spiral, but still, I’d hold back the water and add it in stages as the dough mixes and comes back together. You live in a much more humid environment than I do and will probably necessitate less water in your mix — this is normal and ok!
Good luck on the next go and have fun!
Quick question, what bannetons are those? If you wouldn’t mind sharing the size and brand, those look different from the ones on your tools page.
Those are wood pulp bannetons I picked up at Breadtopia.com — they’re pretty nice! I believe they are 14″ long.
The largest one I could find on Breadtopia is with these inside dimensions 11 1/2″ x 5 1/4″ x 2 1/4. Does that sound right? I think the bannetons I am using are too small.
That’s the one!
Fantastic looking loaves! I’m working my way through the recipe, and am anticipating salivously (is that even a word?!) Three hours to completion of 15 hours in fridge. I’m wondering how long, before putting into the very preheated oven and (pizza) stones, how long do you take the loaves out of the fridge for before cooking? 😊
Hello Maurizio, and thank you for this outstanding resource!
I am new to bread making, and have had great success with your beginners Sourdough recipe.
Yesterday I tried the BestSourdough recipe with interesting results…
The dough was very wet, but with a little extra proof time (including 2.5 hours in the fridge @40f while we went to mass)
The dough was manageable. After shaping, then another 15 hours in fridge at 40.
Two batards from the same dough…
one slightly smaller than the other-( cooked weight 550g and 777g)
in same oven, at same time, scored identically, using your steaming method…
One rose nicely and opened up, but the smaller one did not rise. I am baffled.
Also- when I close the oven, steam comes out of the vent.
Thermador wall oven. I am not using the convection, but it seems to escape through the vents.
Why such a difference?
(I’m on an iPad, and cont figure out how to add pictures here!)
Hey there! That’s interesting. It could have been a shaping difference between the two loaves. Even minor differences when shaping can have dramatically different results in the end baked product. Another thought I have is that the smaller loaf would cool down faster when you first place it into the fridge for the proof. By cooling down faster perhaps it did not have the same amount of fermentation in the dough that the larger one had.
I also have a Thermador wall oven, the double oven with convection on top. I choose to use the bottom oven that does not have convection but steam does still escape from my oven — not much we can do there. What I do is kind of over steam my oven just to make sure the dough stays moist enough even though steam is being vented continuously.
Very interesting results with the two loaves, hopefully one of my suggestions above clicks!
Mario,
You have to be getting tired of me. I feel like I’m getting closer, but not sure why.
My remaining challenge seems to be to get the shaped loaf to hold some shape. When I take it out of the fridge from overnight, it slumps to no more than an inch-and-a-half thick. (If it helps, I find it VERY difficult to score; the knife drags no matter if I coat it with flour or water and the cut closes up.) I’m getting a decent oven spring, but the loaf just does not seem to sit up as well as yours. Also hard to cut without the crumb collapsing (and I am using a good, serrated knife).
My starter and levain were teeming with bubbles and aroma.
As well, I can never get that caramelized brown on the crust that you get. Mine is a light brown before it needs to come out of the oven without getting overcooked. The crumb has great texture but it does have some large holes.
The ONLY thing different might be my flour. Your blog suggests a stronger protein flour, which I took to mean something like a bread flour instead of an AP flour, but I see later you answering a question by suggesting AP flour. I have gone to four grocery stores in my area, including Whole Foods, and none of them stock or have even heard of something called malted flour. I am using King Arthur Bread Flour and Whole Wheat White Flour.
If I am having trouble with a bread recipe, I usually start out with a higher protein bread flour, and once I am successful and know how the dough feels and acts, I try lower protein flours. This is not a “beginner-without-practice” recipe, for sure. You’ll get it though! YOu will, and it will be incredible! If it helps you at all…I am a pastry chef and had a little trouble getting used to this sublime recipe. Once I got it down pat, I’ve been able to expand it to include all sorts of fun ingredients. Sweet potato, mushrooms, Kimchi, tomatoes, garlic, butternut squash, rye flour, sprouted flour, herbs…the possibilities are literally endless. But ONLY after you’ve successfully recreated the recipe at LEAST four times as it is written. This is a standout recipe (it’s my favorite out of the many, many sourdough recipes I’ve tried. Thanks, Maurizio!) but, for me, it required a lot of “feel”. Knowing what the dough needed to “feel” like and “behave” like at any given point. A.k.a, practice makes perfect. Don’t give up! I am sure Maurizio did a lot of trials and countless hours to come up with this! I’ve no doubt that you can master this recipe!…(and if I am being honest…mine still does not look as perfect as Maurizio’s but pretty darn close…). 😃😂👌🏻 OH, and don’t be afraid to leave a loaf in the oven until it is very dark…its crust is so good that way, and it’ll ensure your interior is baked completely! (If I am extra making sure breads are done, though, I usually make sure they are at least 195-210 degrees Fahrenheit in the center.) OH! Lol. Andddd…if I don’t have a bread scoring tool available, I find that a razorblade or X-acto knife works very well on the cheap! Any knife in my house would be too dull to score these loaves.
Thanks so much for all these suggestions and comments! Super, super helpful Dahlia. Happy baking!
I find that I love this recipe so much that I really do not want to see anyone ever give up on it. Like, ever. Haha 🤣 Everyone deserves to make and eat this bread, so I am glad to be of any help! Such a fan of your work, thank you!
I’m not getting tired, I hope you aren’t either! It sounds like to me your dough either doesn’t have enough strength, it’s over hydrated, or it’s over proofed. In your other post you said you strengthened the dough up pretty well by the end of shaping, so perhaps we’re over proofing the dough in the fridge. Have you tried cutting back the proof time in the fridge by, say, 5 hours? This should help them spring up and avoid over proofing.
You might also want to consider reducing the hydration of this dough, it might be too much for your flour and/or environment. Drop down to something low to get things under control, perhaps 75% hydration, and see if that helps. Your dough should be much stronger and it should really hold its shape after you place it in proofing baskets. Then, make sure you’re cutting the proof at the right time, we don’t want to over proof.
@dahliaolive:disqus has some really, really great suggestions below as well!
Also, King Arthur Bread Flour does have malt it in (it’s malted). Look at the ingredient list on the bag and you’ll see “malted barley flour” listed. Almost all “Bread” flour in the USA is malted.
I hope this helps. Keep at it, I’m confident one of these suggestions will get you right on track!
I gave up on this process a few weeks ago, but have come crawling back on my knees because I am so drawn to the aesthetics of doing this Mario’s way.
My remaining struggle is that my loaves just don’t seem to hold much shape, even after overnight proofing. Yes, I have throughly stretched and folded the dough, I do a great job creating surface tension on the bench — basically my shaped, uncooked loaves should have been body doubles for the ones Mario shows in his photos. But if i cook them on a stone, they flatten to the shape of field stones.
Help?
I’ll answer your comment up above!