Sourdough Bread at HOME

Cristina Chiperi
Aug 26, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Aug 31, 2024

IF YOU TOLD ME A FEW YEARS AGO, THAT I WOULD'VE BEEN BAKING SOURDOUGH BREAD,I WOULD'VE NOT BELIEVED YOU.

The idea of starting a sourdough starter by myself has always sounded daunting. It takes 7 days of daily feeding and discarding until "the starter" is mature enough to be used for baking. I am happy to have seized the opportunity to ask a friend for starter off Instagram. Thank you social media!

After reading and watching a few articles and videos multiple times I realized I was complicating something that shouldn't be rocket science. I got in the routine of feeding my started late at night before I went to bed at 10PM. In the morning I noticed my starter was double in size and still active, which is perfect for starting a loaf. Experts write to feed your starter 4 to 5h hours before starting a loaf but the overnight technique seemed to work without the extra feeding. Yay! Also, the internet will tell you to fold the dough every 30min to an hour for 4h before shaping the bread for the last rise. The 4h rule sounded too restrictive so by trial and error I found it to be easier if I just left the dough to rise all day, folding it several times a day between clients upon returning home. The reason for folding the dough is to created the gluten. The folds are absolutely necessary to create the consistency you get from the store bought bread. I tried skipping the folds, it didn't work. Let's keep it simple and gather your ingredients but first find a friend to gift you some starter..

I use:

Unbleached King Arthur All Purpose Flour

Rye Flour

Trader Joe's SEA SALT

Filtered Water

Lets find a routine that would make it easy to maintain your starter alive. Let's say you only have time to bake in the weekend, then I would keep the starter in the refrigerator Monday through Friday. Take the starter out on Friday evening, feed it, place it in a draft free corner on your countertop. The next morning, discard half of it to feed again. If you have per say 80 gr. of starter, feed it equal parts of flour and water, 80 gr. of flour and 80 gr. of filtered water. Mix it well ensuring there aren't any clumps left. After it has doubled in size, around midday you will be ready to start your bread.

INGRIEDIENTS:

500gr. of unbleached King Arthur bread flour or unbleached all purpose white flour

12gr. of sea salt

330gr. of filtered water

120gr. of sourdough starter

I sometimes go with 450gr. of white flour plus 50gr. of rye flour, the bread becomes heartier and it has a chewier bite.

Mix the ingredients together to form the dough.
Leave the dough to rise for several hours, until it has almost doubled in volume.
Once it has doubled, fold the dough every hour, several times throughout the day, for at least 4 folds.
After the final fold, shape the dough for its final rise.
Allow the dough to rise for about an hour. You can then either bake it or place it in the refrigerator for extra fermentation, which will give the bread a slightly saltier taste.
Preheat the oven to 500°F, placing the Dutch oven inside to heat up as well.
Place your shaped loaf into the preheated Dutch oven, cover it, and bake for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
Voila! Simple and fresh sourdough bread made at home. Let me know if you give it a try!