I’ve been thinking about this recipe for some time, and I’ve been tinkering with it for just about as long. I wanted to create a whole wheat sourdough bread that wasn’t all the way 100% whole grain, but still enough to bring out that assertive wheat flavor, gentle yet complex sourness, and also one that packs a nutritious punch. I wanted it to be light in hand, soft of texture, and be the right starting place for those who might not have had much experience with bread boasting a majority of whole grains.
This recipe is a beginner’s sourdough recipe but with more whole grains than not. A fifty-fifty whole wheat sourdough bread to get you and your family on the whole-grain train without them missing the characteristics of white flour. Typically, bread with a significant amount of white flour is lighter, more open, and loftier.
As you might know, I always like to experiment. To tinker. To change. Even when things are already working well I seem to dig in and just have to adjust. My previous work with whole wheat almost always utilized a stiff levain (around 65% hydration) but here I opted for 100% hydration liquid levain. I made this change mostly to see if the result would be all that different, but also because I wanted to add flexibility to this bread—knowing that I, or you out there, could make it with a stiff or liquid levain just the same. I find there are advantages and disadvantages to both but when it comes down to it as long as you adjust the total water in your recipe you’ll get a great result no matter which type of starter you maintain or levain you use.
Instead of a long levain build period, this formula calls for a shorter time from levain mix to using it in the dough. This is a handy thing to be comfortable with, it means you can get a strong, reliable levain ready to go in a shorter time period (about 3-4 hours instead of 6-7). Nothing groundbreaking here, but I like to highlight it upfront as something to add to your baking toolbox. The ability to adjust your levain to suit your schedule is handy and it means baking can revolve around our busy schedules and hectic weekends.
And finally, I played with baking this bread at a much higher temperature for a shorter period overall—I baked these fast and hot (and you can see that in the image above, a little more color all around and especially on top). Instead of baking on thick baking stones, I opted for a Baking Steel as my “deck,” which gets incredibly hot. More on this later, and before we delve into these things any further, let’s talk about flour.
Flour Selection
My whole wheat selection here is pretty straightforward, just a good quality stoneground whole wheat (and it’s actually the whole wheat flour I use most often here in my kitchen). In experimenting between stoneground and roller milled whole wheat flour I’ve found the flavor of stoneground whole wheat to be more assertive, deep and much tastier overall. Due to the method of milling, stoneground whole wheat preserves more of the bran and germ and these particles are clearly evident when passing the raw flour through your fingers. If you don’t have stoneground whole wheat a roller milled whole wheat (this is typically what you’ll find at the market) will work just as well, perhaps with a slightly different flavor profile and less assertive whole wheat taste overall.
Generally, I prefer the texture of lower protein white flour like Giusto’s or Central Milling Artisan Baker’s Craft (both which are around 11-12% protein). To me, these generally have less of a gummy texture and perform very well for extended fermentation times. If you don’t have access to this flour any “all-purpose” flour would work well here, including King Arthur all-purpose.
Fifty-Fifty Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Formula
Vitals
| Total Dough Weight | 1,800 grams |
| Pre-fermented Flour | 5.00% |
| Hydration | 82.00% |
| Yield | 2 x 900g loaves |
Total Formula
Target final dough temperature (FDT) is 78°F (26°C).
This recipe is highly hydrated because there’s a high percentage of whole grains, which require more water in the mix (the bran and germ present in the flour can take on quite a bit more). If this is your first time trying this loaf, reserve 100g of the mixing water and only add it in if the dough feels like it can handle the addition.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 476g | Whole wheat flour (Giusto’s whole wheat) | 50.00% |
| 238g | Medium-protein bread flour or All-purpose flour (~11% protein, Giusto’s Artisan Bread Flour) | 25.00% |
| 238g | High protein flour (~12% protein, King Arthur Bread Flour) | 25.00% |
| 781g | Water | 82.00% |
| 18g | Salt | 1.90% |
| 48g | Sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 5.00% |
Method
1. Levain – 12:30 p.m.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 48g | Ripe starter | 100% |
| 24g | Giusto’s Stoneground Whole Wheat | 50% |
| 24g | Giusto’s Artisan Bread Flour | 50% |
| 48g | Water | 100% |
As mentioned earlier, I worked with a shorter levain build for this bread. To adjust for the reduced build time, we’ll increase our inoculation of ripe starter and the water temperature. This gets the whole process moving faster, and by the time you’re ready to use this levain, you’ll notice some significant activity. See my post on the importance of dough temperature for more information.
Build the liquid levain (everything listed in the Levain Build section above) in the morning or afternoon and store somewhere around 78°F (26°C) ambient for 3 hours.
2. Autolyse – 1:30 p.m.
Usually, with high percentages of whole wheat and/or bread flour, I lengthen the autolyse time, sometimes up to 5-6 hours. The two-hour autolyse in this recipe, while not as long as 5-6 hours, helps the high percentage of whole grains fully hydrate and starts the gluten development process without mixing. This will help reduce the total mix time required later in the process.
See my guide to the autolyse technique for more information on its benefits and why I used this technique in this recipe.
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 453g | Whole wheat flour |
| 214g | Medium-protein bread flour or all-purpose flour |
| 238g | High protein flour (“bread” flour) |
| 634g | Water (100g was held back until Mix) |
Mix the above ingredients in a bowl until all dry bits are hydrated. Cover the bowl and store somewhere warm for 2 hours.
3. Mix – 3:30 p.m.
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 143g | Ripe levain |
| 18g | Salt |
| 100g | Water (reserved from Autolyse step) |
Add the called for ripe levain to your autolysed dough and using about half of the reserved 100g of water mix thoroughly with your hands. You want the levain to be pretty well mixed through the dough and the added water absorbed.
Let’s mix/knead. I chose to do slap and fold for about 4 minutes, just until the dough started to show signs of a smooth surface and it was catching some air. If you aren’t comfortable with slap/fold method or don’t like it, you can do stretch and folds in the bowl until your dough tightens up and becomes slightly hard to stretch out and fold over. Medium development.
When finished mixing spread the salt on top of the dough and the remaining water to help dissolve. Pinch through the dough thoroughly and fold the dough over itself to help incorporate and absorb the remaining water. When finished transfer the dough to a tub or thick-walled bowl for our first rise, or bulk fermentation.
4. Bulk Fermentation – 3:40 p.m. to 7:10 p.m.
At 78-80°F (25-26°C) ambient temperature, bulk fermentation should go for about 3 hours and 30 minutes. Give the dough 5 sets of stretch and folds during this time, spaced out by 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the dough as it approaches the three-hour mark. It will rise a bit and be quite active! See my sequence of images below to get a feel for how the dough should look and feel during the 3.5-hour rise.
Above is a picture of my dough after mixing and right at the beginning of bulk. You can see how shaggy the dough is, how wet and lifeless—it’s just sitting there in a single flat layer. There’s no rounding between the edges of the dough and the bowl, no bubbles anywhere, and if you jiggled the bowl you wouldn’t see much movement.
Above is my dough after the fifth, and last, set of stretch and folds. Look how strong the dough has become compared to the picture above. It’s holding its shape in the bowl extremely well—this is a sign for me that the dough is now strong enough and no further strengthening is needed. I will now let the dough rest, relax and rise the remainder of the time specified for bulk fermentation.
I called bulk fermentation quits when I saw the dough reach the point seen in the picture above. You can see it’s risen significantly, there are plenty of bubbles on top and just below the surface, and most importantly, the edge where the dough meets the bowl is domed & convex.
If I were to wet my hand and tug on the dough a little I’d feel much more resistance and elasticity—the ability of an object or material to resume its normal shape after being stretched or compressed. It’s gained strength and can hold its shape much more than at the beginning of bulk. These are all good signs your dough is strong enough and ready to be divided.
5. Divide & Pre-shape – 7:10 p.m.
Gently dump out the dough from your bulk container onto an un-floured work surface. Divide in half and pre-shape the dough into two round boules. Let the rounds rest 20 minutes uncovered.
6. Shape – 7:30 p.m.
Prepare two baskets that will hold your dough during its long cold proof overnight. If you decide to shape the dough as two boules (rounds), find two round kitchen bowls, and if you decide to shape it as a batard (ovals), use two bread baskets. Line the baskets with cotton or canvas liners if you have them, clean kitchen towels if not, and dust them lightly with white rice flour to prevent the dough from sticking during the proof.
Moderately flour the top of the dough and flour the work surface. Flip one resting round over, so the floured side is down on the work surface. Fold the dough’s top up and over to the middle and repeat for the bottom (you’ll now have a long slender rectangle in front of you). Pickup the rectangle and rotate it 90º, so it’s now lengthwise facing you. Grab the dough at the very top and fold over a little way, press to seal with the dough’s central mass. Now grab this rolled over the top and gently continue to roll it down towards the bottom, tucking in the dough as you go (imagine rolling down a beach towel). At the end of this, you’ll have a tube that has essentially been rolled downward. Once shaped, transfer each to their floured shaping basket with the seam side facing up.
For an in-depth guide to shaping like this, see my batard shaping guide.
Repeat with the other round.
7. Rest & Proof – 7:35 p.m.
Cover your baskets with plastic and then place them in the refrigerator to proof at 39°F (4°C).
8. Bake – Next Morning: Preheat oven at 8:30 a.m., Bake at 9:00 a.m.
Place your Baking Steel in your oven and preheat for one hour at 450°F (230°C). Once preheated, take out both of the baskets from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap.
You’ll notice my dough has risen somewhat but not a significant amount. Instead, the dough has relaxed to fill my proofing baskets and is perhaps a little puffier (the loaf on the right was a slightly higher final dough weight and will result in a larger loaf).
Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit over the top, place it over the basket, and then place a pizza peel or small cutting board over the top. Quickly invert each basket onto the parchment and peel/board. Using a sharp razor blade fastened to a stick, scissors, or a very sharp knife, carefully score the top of each loaf at a shallow angle to the dough, just deep enough to cut below the top skin created at shape time. I like to score whole wheat loaves with my bread lame at a very shallow angle; this helps the loaf attain maximal rise when in the oven. If you score at a straight 90° angle with the dough, then as the dough rises, it sort of splits open instead of peeling back.
I steamed my oven in my usual way, described here in my post how to steam your home oven for baking. I baked these loaves hot and fast. The goal was to bake the exterior to a nice dark color, and also bake the interior, but take the loaves out before they completely dried out inside. I like my loaves with whole wheat to be much more tender and moist, and I found this baking schedule achieves that.
Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the steaming pans from inside the oven. Then, bake for an additional 30 minutes until the internal temperature registers around 206-210°F (96-98°C). Keep an eye on these from the middle of the bake all the way to the end as the prolonged high temperature can quickly scorch the outside of the loaves.
Note: these times and temperatures work well when baking here at a high altitude (about 5280 ft. above sea level) and in my environment. The first time you try this recipe, keep a close watch over the dough in the oven to adjust as necessary.
For an alternative to baking on a hot surface, check out the Challenger Bread Pan, which is a large cast-iron pan able to bake these batards with no problem.
Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. Be sure to store the bread properly to keep it fresh for a week or longer.
Conclusion
With this much whole wheat, it’s always a challenge to get a tall and airy loaf, but the addition of the bread flour, high hydration, and relatively tight shaping have helped achieve that. Along with the nice rise, the soft and tender interior and dark, crunchy crust play off each other to create a balanced bread that is flavorful and light in hand.
One modification I’d love to try is to use white wheat instead of red wheat for the 50% whole wheat portion. White wheat is one of my favorites to use, mainly because of its mild, laid-back flavor, but also I conveniently have a new 25-pound bag of raw white wheat berries sitting in my pantry ready to go (and nowadays it’s almost always used in my weekly sourdough sandwich bread). This change might reduce this bread’s overall assertiveness, but it would be exciting to see the flavor profile difference.
Crust
I love this dark crust, and because of the hot bake, the interior did not dry out in the slightest. Sometimes it can be hard to achieve this, but a minor tweak to the baking schedule really did the trick. I plan to try this in the future with my other recipes. The crust results speak for themselves!
I almost always prefer the batard shape over a boule, mainly because of how the bread slices up (not too wide and a little taller), and this bread is no exception. I enjoy how the crust peels back as the bread opens in the oven. It contributes to that tall loaf with a really pleasing aesthetic.
Crumb
For 50% whole wheat, I couldn’t be happier with the crumb. As you know, the higher you go in whole grains, usually, the denser your bread will be, but I think the relatively high hydration and a mix of flours have helped achieve a really light loaf that has uniform openness throughout.
Taste
This bread has an assertive wheat flavor but not so much that it’s overpowering; it really showcases the stoneground wheat and doesn’t let it play the second role here. There’s a tad more sourness peeking through, but it’s actually a very complimentary flavor to the wheat, adding a touch more complexity and depth. I’m not big on overly sour bread, and for me, this was just right.
If you’d like more sourness, try to proof a bit longer or add even more whole grains, and if you’d like less, do the opposite. Just be wary of the timetable I’ve laid out here when modifying the whole grain percentage. As you know, more whole grains means increased fermentation activity.
I like the idea that this recipe is a starting point for those who might not have a lot of experience working with whole grains (or even if you do!). With this gateway bread, you can adjust the whole wheat percentage up or down to suit you and your family’s tastes. It’s a good jumping-off point with a majority of whole grains and a base formula for our endless tweaking and testing in search of that perfect loaf.
Buon appetito!
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Fifty-Fifty Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Total Time: 24 hours
- Yield: Two 900g loaves
Description
A delicious loaf of sourdough bread with 50% whole grains. This bread is airy, light in hand, and it has a deep, complex flavor profile from the assertive wheat and fermentation flavor.
Ingredients
Levain
- 24g medium protein bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 24g whole wheat flour
- 48g water
- 48g ripe sourdough starter
Autolyse
- 453g whole wheat flour
- 214g medium-protein flour (or all-purpose flour)
- 238g high-protein bread flour
- 634g water
Main Dough
- 18g salt
- 143g ripe levain
- 100g water
Instructions
- Levain (12:30 p.m.)
In a small container, mix the Levain ingredients and keep it at a warm temperature for 3 hours. - Autolyse (1:30 p.m)
In a medium mixing bowl, add the autolyse ingredients and mix until no dry bits remain. Cover the bowl and let rest for 2 hours. - Mix (3:30 p.m.)
To the mixing bowl holding your dough, add the levain and a splash of water. Mix thoroughly and strengthen the dough for about 4-5 minutes. Add the salt, another splash of water, and mix until incorporated. Strengthen the dough further if necessary until it’s elastic and smooth. Transfer the dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover. - Bulk Fermentation (3:40 p.m. to 7:10 p.m.)
This dough will need 5 sets of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation, at 30-minute intervals. After the last set, let the dough rest for the remaining time in bulk fermentation. - Divide and Preshape (7:10 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 20 minutes, uncovered. - Shape (7:30 p.m.)
Shape each piece of dough into a round (boule) or oval (batard) and place the dough in proofing baskets. - Proof (7:35 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. the next day)
Cover proofing baskets with reusable plastic and seal shut. Then, place both baskets into the refrigerator and proof overnight. - Bake (The next day, bake at 9:00 a.m.)
Preheat your oven with a baking surface or combo cooker/Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C).When the oven is preheated, remove your dough from the fridge, score it, and transfer it to the preheated baking surface or combo cooker. Bake for 20 minutes with steam. After this time, vent the steam in the oven or 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 206°F (96°C).
Let the loaves cool for 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.
If you use this recipe, tag @maurizio on Instagram so I can take a look!
646 Comments
Hi Maurizio – I’ve been baking your breads for a couple of years now, with great results, but reading the green box on this recipe about altitude is the first time it really clicked for me that you’re up quite high and that there can be significant differences in baking processes. I’m near sea level and I usually have better success when I don’t put in quite as much water as you (maybe 30-50g less). I am also going to try upping the inoculation a bit, since other baking websites like KAF have some general recommendations that higher altitudes need more water and less yeast for baking. Do you have any other general tips for sea-level baking that you’ve discovered through conversations with other folks, or maybe some good references? Did you modify your recipes from Tartine #3 or did things translate pretty seamlessly at the higher altitudes?
Hey, William! Generally I’ve found high altitude affects fermentation, bake times/temps, and to some degree, hydration.
With fermentation I do tend to have a much lower percentage of levain mixed into my dough to achieve proper fermentation. However, it’s hard for me to say this is due to elevation, my particular starter and it’s maintenance, or some combination of both. It’s true that typically it’s recommended to reduce the leavening percentage of baked goods when baking at elevation (I believe due to the lower air pressure). My feeling here, though, is no matter what percentage of levain you use, adjustments will be needed — if you use a low percentage and the dough is slowly rising, give it more time.
With bake times/temps I find I have to usually bake hotter, longer. Some readers report when they use my times and temps their bread is sometimes comes out a bit too dark. This is why in my “Bake” sections on my recipes I usually say to adjust for your environment and oven — bake until done to your liking.
As far as hydration I’m not sure if it’s my elevation causing issues or simply that it’s just so, so dry here in Albuquerque, NM. The dry weather here definitely requires me to add a bit more water than usual.
I’ve always had to tweak recipes I test out, even from Tartine. Usually it’s just the bake times/temps and hydration, though. However, those things, in my opinion, always need attention and modification!
After almost a year of experimenting with The Perfect Loaf’s beginner recipes and some of KAF’s sourdough recipes, I’m finally starting get a handle on things–thank you, Maurizio! This 50-50 whole wheat recipe is so flavorful, I do prefer it to the other beginner’s recipe on your site. I initially kept having issues with a persistent unpleasant gumminess of the crumb, and decided to substitute about 200g of the bread flour called for with AP. Not sure if that’s blasphemous, or was the actual problem (?) but it seemed to help. The last few rounds with the AP sub are definitely more tender, not gummy, seems to get better with every try. Thanks again for the detailed site, it’s really nice to share these sweet loaves with friends and family.
That’s great, Bets! These recipes do take a little time and practice, but I feel they’re definitely work it — the flavor and nutrition is hard to beat. Yes, sometimes with “bread flour,” which is high in protein, the result can be an interior that’s slightly gummy in texture. It really depends on the flour but this is the reason why I typically use as little high protein flour as I can while still meeting my goals for the end bake. High protein flour can bring a lot of strength and structure to a loaf for a high rise and open interior, but ultimately taste and texture is more important than everything else.
Thanks for the update and happy baking!
Yes, I do like the open crumb with the higher protein bread flour, will keep experimenting! Baking another round of this today, aaaand going to attempt your lovely Ciabatta Bread recipe tomorrow, too. At some point I’ll have to bite the bullet and start ordering the fancier flours, heh… We’ll see what happens 🙂 Thanks again Maurizio!
I made this last week and I recommend stone ground whole wheat vs plain whole wheat. After the 5 initial folds I bulk fermented for 24 hours at 44F. After shaping I cooked one loaf after 12 hours ferment at low temp, and the second loaf after 24 hours. The 24 hour one was definitely tastier and had better crumb. I did raise the temp to 85F for the last 3 hours since the dough still seemed a bit heavy. But I’m going to have to experiment a lot with recipe.
Sounds like you made some really great adjustments to your dough and conditions. Yes, stoneground whole wheat sure is tasty — when I have access to it I use it also. Thanks for the update and keep at it — enjoy!
This continues to be my favorite recipe for everyday bread, plus it’s always a crowd pleaser. I think I finally figured out how to control temperature better because my dough matched your photos!
Awesome to hear that, Aaron! It’s one of my favs as well, I make it almost every week — enjoy and happy baking 🙂
Hi Mauricio,
I just baked my very first sourdough bread. I followed your recipe to the letter for both the started and the beginners sourdough bread and everything turned out almost perfect! I found the bottom was a little too brown and hard for my taste, but I’m sure I can fix this with a few modifications in the cooking process. I also used your recipe to make pancakes and waffles using leftover starter. All agreed in my camp that both were the best we’ve ever eaten! Your attention to details and your instructions were without a doubt the reason for my early success. This weekend I plan on trying your recipe for hamburger buns and baguettes. You got this newbie to baking bread hooked on sourdough! Thanks!!
Excellent, so, so happy to hear that — thanks for the feedback! And yes, those pancakes and waffles… just fantastic. You’ll be hooked for sure. Happy baking!
Hello Maurizio, after perfecting the Beginner’s SD, I’ve moved on to the 50/50 WW loaf but having some challenges. At the end of bulk ferment, I rarely see the large bubbles I see in your illustration. There’s a few emerging just under the skin but nothing significant. The loaves rise fine but the crumb doesn’t exhibit the larger holes I see in your bread. The other issue is aesthetics. I use Rice flour and brush off excess before baking but the end result looks unattractive giving the crust the appearance of 60 grit sandpaper. The saving grace is the nice, healthy fissure opening along the side. In spite of the rough look, the bread is absoluting gorgeous! I really love the earthiness of the wheat and makes for ideal open-face (German Style) sandwiches! It’s my new go-to bread – Thanks!!
Glad to hear things are going mostly well, Billy! I do also love this bread dearly, the flavor is incredible. It’s ok if you don’t see lots of bubbles, but I do find they’re a good indicator of healthy, and strong, fermentation in the dough. The key is by the end of bulk your dough should be smoother, more elastic (strong), and readily holding an edge near the side of the bowl. Perhaps your dough needs a little more time in bulk?
As far as the crust color, you could try steaming a bit more in your oven. Give it a few more sprays of a handheld mister, or open the oven and mist it a bit more after 5-10 minutes of baking. There’s a lot that goes into the coloration of the crust and diastatic malt powder does help in low percentages as well.
I’d say if the flavor and texture is spot on for your liking you’re winning 99% of the battle here! I hope that helps in some way and thanks for the feedback 🙂
Hi Maurizio, I’ve been thinking about trying to use the same flours so see how that affects results, but shipping from Guisto’s and Central Milling seems to be pretty expensive! The flour will be $40 and the shipping $50 for ground. — i don’t know where you get it or if you order online, but do you think that’s worth it… ?
vs. getting a brand that sells via Amazon (evil, i know!) prime – honeyville / bob’s / etc… What do you think? 🙂 Thanks!
Hey! Yes, shipping can be pricey. I usually order in large quantities to try to mitigate that to some degree, but it’s still a little on the high end vs. other flour. I’d say definitely try out other sources and see what you like! If you haven’t looked in your area I’d suggest starting there as well. Sometimes we have access to local flour and we might not even know about it until we do a little digging (unfortunately this is not the case for me). So yeah, try looking local, then various other sources — whatever works for you and your budget 🙂
trying this recipe for the first time! When i mixed my autolyze it was pretty dry- shaggy for sure but not wet or very loose. Is it supposed to be? I am also at 5280 ft in elevation, dry climate. Also, i am using a Lodge combo cooker and definitely had some serious scorching on the loaves after just the initial 20 minutes covered at 500 and 10 minutes uncovered at 500- before even the last final 18 mins of baking. Thoughts on that as well?
I also live at 5280ft and it’s very dry here (in Albuquerque) but it’s also heavily dependent on your batch of flour. You’ll be adding your liquid levain a little later in the process as well as some more water so assess the dough then. If it still feels very stiff add a splash more water to loosen it up. Little adjustments like these are usually necessary, each batch of flour can have different absorbency!
Hope the bake goes well, have fun!
Hey Maurizio, can you discuss what a liquid levain is in more detail please? My starter is a 50/50 flour to water ratio, will this work?
I’ve just finished my third stab at this recipe! The loaves always taste great but the desired crumb/texture remains elusive. On my last attempt, the interior was slightly gummy with a tighter, more uneven crumb than yours (sorry, it’s hard to describe without pictures). There were lots of bubbles at the top of the crust, and the loaf was a bit flat (not domed as you might expect from a boule). I’m struggling to figure out what this means (overproofing? underproofing?) and what to adjust for next time. I should add that I adjusted temperatures/times a bit to accommodate my kitchen, not sure if you need to know those to answer… Thanks again!
Hey, Roshni! It sounds to me like your loaves were either under or over proofed, as you indicated.
There are a few indicators your dough could be going over: sluggish rise in the oven, the score on top of the dough might not open with a nice “ear” and instead just kind of fuse together, the interior will have lots of small holes and perhaps one or two large ones near the top (but no dense areas of unfermented flour), and finally the loaf could be a little on the sour side.
There are a few indicators your dough could be under: explosive rise in the oven, dense interior with potentially scattered large holes, and gummy texture to the interior. Finally, it’s possible the bottom of the loaf might be slightly bowed upward (like the letter “U” — the top will kind of dome).
The best way to diagnose this is to try and fix one at a time. If you feel your loaves are over proofed (based on the description above), try dialing back a little on the bulk and a few hours in final proof in the fridge. If things improve then keep heading in that direction. If not, your dough might be under proofed, in that case head in the other direction.
It can be hard to diagnose and fix issues like this but remain observant and see how single changes to the process change the outcome and make your future decisions based on that. Hope this helps!
Thanks so much! This blog is such an incredible resource – I’ve learned so much since stumbling across it and have completely fallen in love with bread baking.
I am making delicious bread thanks to your recipes, thank you! A couple of questions:
1) I have noticed with all my attempts, when I pre-shape my dough balls, they do not hold their shape well. Is this a sign of under or over proofing? I generally bulk until I see some bubbles and round edges, basically like your pictures but with one or two bubbles only (which usually ends up being 30m or so longer than your suggested time).
2) My oven goes to 550. Should I decrease all the way to 450 for the second half of baking, or just to 500?
Thanks again 🙂
Glad to hear that, Jono!
1) It could be either, unfortunately. But it could also be that your dough is over hydrated and/or just not strengthened enough. Have you tried giving the dough a few more sets of stretch and folds to see if that helps? Then preshape it rather tight if necessary — it might be that you need a few more movements to really develop that skin on the outside. You could also try reducing the water in the dough just a bit, perhaps 5%, and see if that helps bring more strength to the dough.
2) I’d still go down to 450°F.
Hope that helps, let me know how it goes!
Maurizio, thanks for the advice! I did some reading up on the purpose of pre-shaping and realised I was really not doing this part correctly at all. Getting a tighter pre-shape has really helped with the pancaking. Thanks again 🙂
I tried this recipe with a Dutch oven (preheat for an hour at 475, bake covered 20 min, reduce heat to 450 and bake covered 35 min). I found that it didn’t haven’t as much of a delightfully crunchy, caramelized crust as the beginner sourdough recipe. Do you have any thoughts on how to modify the bake temperature/time? Thanks.
It might not be the Dutch oven, it might just be the flour used and this recipe. Typically with recipes that have a higher percentage of whole grain flour you’ll notice a thicker, more substantial crust — much different than the thin crust you’ll achieve on a mostly-white flour bread recipe. I get really great results with the bake times listed here (even in a DO)!
Can you do this recipe with a 100% whole wheat starter? I only have the whole wheat starter and an ischia starter. Which would you go with?
Absolutely! Either would work, just adjust the timeline to suit your starter. For example, your 100% ww starter might ripen faster — just use them at the right time. That starter might also lead to a slightly more sour result, depending on how you manage the rest of the bake.
Hi there! Thanks for this recipe, it strikes a really good balance between informative and approachable. I’ve been getting into sourdough lately, and have been trying out a lot of different recipes and techniques as a way of exploring the possibilities, and I’ve noticed something I’m wondering about. Some of the recipes I’ve tried don’t involve a levain–you simple include your starter in the dough. What is the difference between a sourdough made with a levain, and one made without? What is the thinking behind this? Thanks!
You’re very welcome, Kori! Essentially your starter and levain are the same thing. A levain, however, is a single build (mixture) that ceases to exist when the bread is baked in the oven. Conversely, your starter continues to be fed indefinitely. You don’t have to make a separate levain at all, you could use your starter in a mix directly. One of the reasons we make a levain is to help scale up our starter to cover the requirements of a recipe — if you have enough starter then that also works.
Check out my sourdough starter FAQ for more info on this question (scroll down a bit and you’ll find it)!
I really enjoy this great blog, thank you. I tried making this 50/50 bread for the first time and I’m not sure what I did wrong but the dough was super loose when I put it in the fridge for the night, and when I put it in the oven, it kind of spread out into a low thin loaf. I cut the hydration by 100 grams but still couldn’t get it to have any structure. What do you recommend? Did it need to ferment longer with a few more turns to build more strength? Or should I cut back on the water even more? Thanks!
It sounds like the dough could benefit from either reduced water, more mixing/kneading/stretch and folds, or a combination of the two. I’d suggest dropping the water a little more, perhaps 50g-100g, and then add in another set or two of stretch and folds at the beginning of bulk. See if that helps bring it together to get a stronger dough!
Thanks Maurizio! I actually only use a pan, no DO. I made “My Best Sourdough” recipe and it was unbelievably good! I started at 475 and reduced to 425 and that seemed to help a lot. I may try the DO though and/or cornmeal. If I plan on baking 1-2 x per week, would you recommend I invest in a baking stone?
If you plan to mostly bake in the DO then you won’t really need one. I’d say pick one up (I have a few good ones listed on my tools page) if, at all, you want to try making batards (longer oval shapes), pizza, etc!
Awesome, I’ll do that!
My breads have been awesome! I’m so excited to see how much better they’re getting. One issue I’m having is that my bottom is always very dark, almost burnt looking (not tasting though) and very hard to cut. Just the bottom. Any ideas? I’m going to try “My Best Sourdough” recipe this weekend for the first time.
Right on, that’s great! Progress can be slow sometimes, but we always learn something from every bake.
If you’re using a Dutch oven this is pretty common. Try preheating the oven with the Dutch oven (DO) at a lower temperature to help reduce the bottom from burning too much. Perhaps preheat at 475ºF. If you still get a slightly burned bottom you could sprinkle in some coarse wheat germ or cornmeal into the DO before placing the dough inside, this will help insulate the dough just a bit.
I would also recommend you not place the DO directly on a baking stone. Try placing the stone on the bottom rack and then a few rungs up use another wire rack to hold the DO. This way you won’t get so much direct bottom heat from the heating element. The stone on the bottom will also act as a buffer and prevent too much immediate, direct heat from the element — it should radiate out more consistently through the bake.
In general, I notice when I use a DO to bake I tend to get a slightly more baked bottom than sides and top — this is just the nature of using the DO, in my experience.
First off–thanks for creating such great content and sharing your knowledge on this site! As a relatively new sourdough baker, it’s been an invaluable resource!!
My question is regarding kneading/slap & fold during the mixing vs. stretch & folds during bulk fermentation, specifically if there’s a correlation between more of one or the other in the final bread rise and crumb. In this recipe, you say to stop slap and folds with medium development, and from your 1st bulk ferment photo, the dough looks pretty loose and spreads itself flat in the bowl. Is this method gentler and therefor helping create more air/open crumb in the final product, or what (if any) would be the drawbacks of building more gluten development at the start?
I ask because I’ve tried this recipe a few times, and keep finding that (in comparison to your photos) I’ve over-kneaded a bit… I’ve adjusted the number of stretch and folds accordingly to get to what I think the final dough should be before shaping, but my final loaves are not quite getting the rise and crumb that I’d like. (That could be due to my less than stellar shaping, but that’s another story!!) Thanks for your help in troubleshooting! 🙂
You bet, I’m glad I can help!
The end goal with strengthening the dough is to have it strong enough to provide sufficient structure (to trap gas and rise in the oven) but not so much strength that it inhibits rise. Think about it as a balloon: you want the balloon relaxed and extensible enough to expand out as it fills with gases (from fermentation), but strong enough so it doesn’t expand out too far (and turn into a “pancake”) and eventually deflate. Strength comes from kneading up front (e.g. slap/fold), strength and folds during bulk, and organically through fermentation itself (acid byproducts condition gluten).
I like to do some slap/fold upfront to give the dough strength out of the gate. This way, I don’t have to do as many stretch and fold sets during bulk fermentation. You can change that up, though, and do no slap/fold and instead add sets of stretch and folds during bulk. However, regardless of how you do it, you should stop strengthening the dough when it feels “good enough.” It’s a nebulous term because it’s very hard to articulate through text and even photos — you’ll gain the feel for this as you get experience in baking.
If you feel like the dough is too strong, just adjust as you’d like: reduce slap/fold time or eliminate it, or reduce number of stretch and folds in bulk.
Hope that helps!
Hi Maurizio
I’m an extremely beginner baker, and wanted to move on from the Beginners Sourdough recipe to a recipe with more whole wheat percentage. I’m doing this recipe at a much lower hydration, about 76%, mainly because I don’t own a bench scraper (yet) and I don’t quite have the skilled hands of a pro yet. Would a lower hydration affect the oven-baking or even the fermenting/proofing time? Thanks so much!
Yes, I’ve found reducing the water in a recipe can decrease the fermentation activity in the dough. The key is to really just watch the dough through the whole process and give it the time it needs. It’s likely your dough might need a little extra time in bulk fermentation depending on what your final dough temperature is. Just be ready to lengthen bulk if necessary and it’ll turn out just fine.
Hope that helps!
Hi Maurizio
I tried the 50-50 recipe as above, being a novice sourdough baker I kept to the lower hydration, 78.2 % in my case. The dough only developed gluten after 25 minutes working vigorously on the worktop. After that I bulk fermented it at 82F with gentle stretch and folds at 30 min intervals as described, with minimal rise. The dough became terrible sticky, though, not just a little tacky but proper stick-to-everything-in-sight kinda stick. I wasn’t really able to get anywhere near shaping it, tried for more than 20 mins, but it remained too sticky to release from worktop, fingers, bench knife etc. In desperation, I added a good bit of flour (I would say as much as 100g) and I managed to fling it into my banetons in a more or less round shape. I’ll know the final outcome after baking, but my question is, where did I go wrong: overkneading, underkneading, overproofing, underproofing? Thank you for your insight.
Update after baking: I regret having to report disaster… after retarding at around 70F for 10 hours, loaves rose very well (a bit too well and bubbled over the edges of the smaller banneton), but due to softness and slackness I wasn’t able to get them out into my Dutch oven without loosing a lot of height and airyness. Result: near enough no oven spring and a flat, solid loaf that would be best suited in masonry work… Ah, well, the chickens will love it anyhow. As for me…. upwards and onwards!
Bummer to hear that, Marijn! I’d say try reducing the hydration of the dough next time, that’s my best guess. I might have also said the dough over proofed on you, especially at 82F, but if it rose well enough overnight that might not have been the case. Reduce the hydro down by 5% or so and see if that helps.
Also, 25 minutes is quite a long time to mix/knead the dough, depending on how you’re doing it and your effectiveness. Just mix the dough until it starts to sort of smooth out and hold its shape on the countertop. If it starts to tear excessively all over (a few places is fine) then it’s strong enough. It’s very hard to over mix the dough by hand, but I’m trying to save you a bit of energy 🙂
In the end I’d say the hydration is likely the cause for excessive stickiness. Reducing that will also bring more strength to the dough. Let me know how it goes!
Thanks for your thoughts on that, Maurizio. Today is my day off again, so I’m trying a lower hydration recipe for this time, and if successful I might gradually build up to something more sloppy 😉
I am a pretty new sourdough breadmaker and was so happy to find this blog! I’ve been to a couple classes and have made about 10 breads. The second class I went to was taught by a pretty well-known baker in the bay area but my breads are not turning out. His starter is 2oz starter, 2.5oz water, and 2oz flour, so VERY soupy. The breadmaking process is 3 days long and I think my breads are always overproved because they rise a ton and then collapse to a fairly flat bread. Taste great, but not the shape and feel I want. Over the past few days I’ve been using your directions for my starter and tomorrow I’m going to build my levain and bake on Sunday. I have a few questions and apologies if you’ve answered them in another post:
1) Do I feed my starter tomorrow morning if I’m going to build my levain at 11am or noon?
2) Where do you store your flour? I’ve read that some people store it in the fridge or even the freezer.
3) What should I substitute for rye if I don’t have it?
I’m sure I’ll be asking a ton more as I bake more. Thanks for the blog and for your help!!
It sounds like your dough is over proofing. Cutting back that long proof time should help rein the dough in. Answers:
1) You want to use your starter when it’s mature/ripe (that is, before feeding) to build the levain.
2) I use my flour rather quickly but if I am not, I usually keep it in my fridge. Freezer also works!
3) If you don’t have rye I’d go with whole wheat flour. It won’t be the same flavor but it’ll still be totally delicious.
Hope the bake turns (or turned!) out well — happy baking!
Thank you so much for the response. I ended up making bread on Sunday using your recipe and it was the best bread I’ve made so far! The dough was a bit sticky and the slap and fold was very difficult. I’m making bread today I’ve reduced the hydration to 80% and will see how it goes.
Super awesome to hear that, Daniele!
I made this recipe over this past weekend, Saturday to Sunday. I did a little experiment (this was my first time making whole wheat sourdough), in which I proved one of the loaves for 10 hours per the recipe, and due to my schedule, the other loaf proved for approximately 18 hours. Even with the note about being careful not to overprove this bread, I saw no real difference between the 10 hour proof and 18 hour proof loaves. The loaf that was proved longer was slightly heavier (about 70 grams), but otherwise, essentially nothing was done differently. Both crumbs were fairly open and both loaves rose beautifully! The only place where I’d look to improve is scoring. My scores spread more than they did create an ear, but I attribute that to my skill level in scoring (especially with a high hydration dough). I used only KAF bread flour and KAF whole wheat flour, and actually forgot the diastatic malt. Oops! Haha. Overall, I’m very pleased with it! I even (sort of accidentally) did it at 86% hydration. I didn’t really encounter that much trouble shaping it.
Overall, thanks for the recipe, Maurizio! And do you have any insight into the proving? I’m not a very experienced sourdough baker (this was only my third overall naturally leavened bake, the first two being your beginner’s loaf).
Very interesting experiment! It’s possible the cool temperature in your home fridge really slowed things down for that second loaf. I’d expect a slightly more sour or complex flavor profile, but perhaps not. It’s ok if you didn’t add the malt, KAF BF does already contain some so I’m sure that helped! Glad they both turned out well 🙂
I’ve made countless different sourdough recipes as I’ve been learning and improving my technique. I thought “My Best Sourdough Recipe” was perfect but after finishing this recipe I have found my new favorite. It’s not too heavy with whole wheat taste and my crumb still was open.
I omitted the malt but I’m going to have to order some to try.
Yes, this bread definitely is a tasty one! I love the higher percentage of whole grains and it’s actually a recipe I continue to go back to time and time again.
Thanks for the feedback, Aaron, and happy baking!
Hey Maurizio – last week i had INSANE success with this recipe!
just wondering about the levain – why did you choose those amounts to build the levain? and then why/how did you arrive at 132g levain as the correct amount to add to the mix? what’s the relationship between the levain weight and final dough weight? like…is there a fixed ratio you shoot for?
i hope this makes sense…i’m thinking about this because the levain in the Tartine basic recipe is 20%, while for this recipe it’s 13%. what’s the cause or intent of that difference? thanks!!
Right on, Colin! There’s no fixed ratio for the levain, but I generally like to keep it between 10-20%. When developing a recipe I’ll assess the flours I’ve decided to use for the recipe and take an initial stab at the levain percentage, just based on intuition. Then, I’ll start testing the formula and I’ll adjust the percentage of the levain up or down depending on how the dough is developing and if the dough meets the timetable I’m after (e.g. if the dough takes longer than 4 hours in bulk I’ll increase the levain percentage next time).
Overall I reduced the levain percentage in this formula because there’s a significantly higher percentage of whole grains which speeds up the timetable for a dough.
Hope that helps!
It might not be the steaming method that’s causing the issues with height and interior — it could be caused by the flour or at many parts of the process! There’s no way to attach a photo here but if you’d like to email me one send me a message through the Contact link up top!
I don’t get any smokey smell from the lava rocks. Are you using the ones I linked to on my Baking Tools page? They should be the ones designated for culinary use.
Hi Maurizio, I have made this recipe a few times now using your method of steam in a home oven but my boules are not getting enough height and the crumb is not as open as your pictures. I am following your recipe to a T but I am using Arrow head mills stone groud whole wheat and all purpose. What can I do to achieve more height and more open crumb? Is it possible to attach a photo without it being a link? Edited to add: Using your method of steam with the lava rocks is wonderful for having up to four loafs but the Smokey smell is very instense and bothers me. I had to open all the windows. How do you combat this?