The Southern Sourdough Co.
Original Sourdough Bread Recipe
Get ready to bake some of the best bread you’ve ever tasted!
Gather YourSupplies
Large Mixing Bowl (glass, stone or stainless steel)
Wooden Spoon or Bread Wisk
Measuring Cups/Spoons or Food Scale
Flour Sack Towel/Tea Towel
9" Banneton (proofing basket) or a tea towel lined collinder
Dutch Oven or Bread Oven
Parchment Paper
Oven Mits
Wire Cooling Rack
Bread lame or serrated knife
Shop Supplies CLICK HERE
Ingredients
1/2 cup (100grams) of active, bubbly sourdough starter (make sure to use your
starter that is at peak rise after feeding)
3 cups (500grams) of unbleached bread flour (King Arthur brand is my favorite)
1 1/2 cups (350 grams) room temperature water
2 teaspoons (10 grams) of salt
Time for a Pep Talk
Before we get started making your crispy, delicious sourdough bread, I wanted to give you
a couple words of encouragement. This recipe is going to give you all you need to make
your first yummy loaf, BUT I want you to give yourself grace as you start your sourdough
journey. Learning the art of sourdough takes practice, patience and messing up a time or 5.
I wish you could see my first loaf. It looked like a frisby. Literally. BUT after some trial
and error, persistence and practice I learned what worked for me and eventually was
baking beautiful artisan sourdough loaves. I’m in your corner and here for you as your
sourdough mentor. Follow along on TikTok to learn different tips and tricks and always
feel free to message me there with your questions. YOU GOT THIS!
Instructions
1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the water and sourdough starter (don’t
forget to name your starter!). Once combined it’ll look very milky.
2. Add the flour & salt directly to the mixing bowl with your water/starter mixture.
3. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon or dough wisk until a shaggy dough
forms. Sometimes I like to get my freshly washed hands in there to fully combine and
make sure there are no hidden pockets of flour hiding in the dough. It’s ok to get
your hands a little dirty on this step.
4. Once the dough is formed, cover the bowl with a damp flour sack or tea towel and
let it rest for about 1 hour. This is the intermission, where our dough takes a
breather before the next step.
5. After the intermission, it's time for the fun part, stretch and folds. While keeping
your dough in the bowl you are going to dampen your hands and get them in there
again. Grab part of the dough at the edge and stretch it upward (without tearing)
and fold it into it’s center. Give the bowl a 1/4 turn and repeat this 3 more times
until all sides of the dough have been stretched and folded into the center, creating a
ball-ish looking dough ball. Cover your dough with your damp towel and repeat this
step every 30 minutes for a total of 3-4 sets of stretch and folds. Each set your
dough will get more elastic and easy to manage.
6. After your final set of stretch and folds you’re going to cover your dough again
with your damp towel and let sit at room temperature for approximately 4-8 hours
(this part will vary depending on the temperature in your home, time of year,
humidity etc.) This step is called the bulk fermentation. Some key indicators that
your dough is done bulk fermenting: your dough has some bubbles forming on the top
and sides in the mixing bowl, the dough jiggles when you shake the bowl slightly and
it has doubled its original size.
7. Now that bulk rise/fermentation is complete it’s time to shape your dough. We
are going to start with a boule (pronounced “bool”), This is a ball shaped dough.
Turn your dough out onto a clean/lightly floured surface (tilt your bowl and let
gravity slide your dough out rather than pulling it out of the bowl as this can
cause is to deflate). Gently pat your dough down into a rough square/rectangular
shape. From here you’re going to pick up one side of the dough and fold it to the
middle, repeat with the other side. You’re going for a long burrito like shape here.
After, you will start at one end of your burrito shaped dough and roll the dough up
to the other side. It’ll look a little like a big cinnamon roll from the side. Now, cup
your hands around the dough and gently rotate it on the countertop while tucking
the edges underneath. Think of a push and pull motion. (I have some examples on
my TikTok page if you need help with this step). Continue this process until you
have a nicely shaped, smooth, round ball of dough.
8. Flour the top of your dough ball and transfer seam side up (smooth side down)
into a well floured banneton (proofing basket) or floured tea towel lined bowl or
collindar. Cover with a damp towel and let sit on the counter for 2 hours. After 2
hours move into the fridge over night keeping it covered. (If you have a plastic
grocery bag, you can put your dough inside and tie up the end to help retain the
moisture in your dough while it’s in the fridge. A clean shower cap also does the
trick.
9. It’s MORNING! Finally time to bake your sourdough! Let’s preheat your oven
to 450°F (230°C) with your dutch oven or bread oven inside while it’s heating
up. Let your oven preheat for 30-60 minutes.
10. Grab your parchment paper and tear off a piece big enough for your dough
ball. Probably about 12" piece or so. Take your dough out of the fridge. Gently flip
your dough out of the proofing basket onto your parchment paper. Dusty lightly
with all purpose flour and smooth the flour out with your hand.
11. Time to score your dough! This is when you can create a design with your
bread lame (razor tool) making shallow cuts or if you prefer just cut a 1/2" deep
slit across your dough ball. If you don’t have a bread lame you can use a serrated
steak knife to make your large score (cut).
12. With oven mits, takes your dutch oven or bread oven out of the oven. Place
your dough ball along with the parchment paper inside and cover with the lid.
Bake at 450°F (230°C) for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and
bake for another 15 minutes until your bread has a nice even golden brown color.
If you find that you’d like your bread to have a little crispier crust & darker color,
bake with the lid off for an additional 5-10 minutes. Just make sure to keep your
eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
13. When the bake time is over. Remove from the oven and carefully take your
bread out of the dutch or bread oven. These things are SCREAMING hot so be
careful. Place your bread on your wire cooling rack to cool for at least 1 hour
before cutting into your beautiful loaf. Waiting for it to cool before cutting will
ensure the inside of your bread doesn’t get gummy.
THAT’S IT! YOU DID IT!
Remember, this recipe is just a starting point. Every sourdough baker starts
somewhere and the journey is just as beautiful as the destination. Feel free to
experiment with different flours, add-ins, or even shape your bread into fun
designs. Baking is an art, so let your creativity shine through! Enjoy your freshly
baked sourdough bread and may your kitchen always be filled with the yummy
smell of homemade goodness! I’m proud of you!
