Unfussy Sourdough
Have you ever felt intimidated over making sourdough? It does not have to be complicated. I will show you my very unfussy and forgiving sourdough recipe. Is it perfect and follow all the traditional sourdough rules? No, but it still offers a fantastic fermented loaf of bread to feed my family. I'm always learning and growing, sometimes I pay more attention and care to my bread, and other times I don't -- and that's okay! I hope this inspires you to get into the kitchen and make some sourdough.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup active fed sourdough starter
1.5 cups filtered water
2 teaspoons sea salt
4 cups organic all purpose flour
TOOLS NEEDED
bowl
bread lame or very sharp knife
silicone or wooden spatula (optional)
dutch oven
unbleached parchment paper
INSTRUCTIONS
I recommend starting this process first thing in the morning.
Add sourdough starter, water and salt to a large bowl and mix gently with a silicone or wooden spatula. Add flour and combine with wet hands. You want the flour to be completely saturated with the water, so add a little more water or flour as needed. It’ll be a shaggy mess and that’s okay, just don’t leave any dry floury spots.
Cover with a tea towel and let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Wet your hands again and stretch the dough out at all four sides, folding it over on itself as you turn the bowl all the way around. Cover with a tea towel and let sit for another hour. Do another set of stretching and folding, cover with a tea towel and let sit. Do another 2-3 stretch and fold rounds, waiting about an hour in between (longer is fine).
At the end of the night, do a final shaping by stretching and folding the bread over again then flip the bread seam side down. Gently cup the bread and pull it towards you to tighten the skin on the top of the bread. Wet the cloth of a banneton basket and line the basket, then turn your bread seam side UP into your basket. Cover with a wet tea towel and let it rise on the counter for another hour or so.
Place basket and bread still covered in the fridge to continue fermenting through the night.
The next morning, place a dutch oven inside your oven and preheat to 500 F. While the oven is preheating, take your bread and gently flip it onto a piece of parchment paper. Gently score the top or side of the bread with a bread lame (or very sharp knife) so you have an even cut. Once preheated, take the dutch oven out and place the bread inside using the parchment as a sling. Cover the dutch oven with the lid and place back into the oven for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid, turn heat down to 450 F and bake for an additional 25 minutes.
Wait until bread is completely cool and then slice, and enjoy!
