Simple sourdough

This is a super simple sourdough recipe adapted from resources online and in cookbooks. First you will need to develop your starter and make sure it’s fed and active, then the actual process of making delicious sourdough is fairly easy, even for beginner bakers!

Good

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Whisk starter, water, oil, and honey (if desired) in medium sized mixing bowl until fully incorporated

Step 2

Add 2 cups flour (and spices if using) overtop, sprinkle salt over flour

Step 3

Mix with hands or wooden spoon for cleaner hands until you have a rough looking dough. It should be a lot wetter than your regular bread dough

Step 4

You want to let this rest for a little while, say 30 minutes-1 hr. Don’t worry if it doesn’t look perfect at this point. We just want to give the dough time to fully hydrate

Step 5

Sprinkle flour over rough dough to make it easier to work with Form a ball, cover bowl with clean towel or saran wrap and let rise 1-2 hours or until the dough looks adequately spread out. Don’t be alarmed if it doesn’t get super tall and puffy. Sourdough doesn’t rise so much as it spreads outwards

Step 6

Now we are ready to pull and stretch the dough to develop the proper texture in our end product. Gently stretching the dough from the centre, pull four corners outward and fold them into the centre, doing a turn of the dough each time. That’s all you really need to do. Do this one rotation, flip dough into the seam side and reshape by gently kneading with fingers, cover, and let rise again for another 1-2 hours

Step 7

You want to repeat above stretching step one or two more times to give the dough more height when you bake it. After the last yoga session for the dough, let rise until slightly puffy and spread out.

Step 8

You can bake in a Dutch oven or on a metal baking tray. I’ve had similar results with both. If baking with a pan, do this step. If baking with a Dutch oven, skip this step Heat oven to 450 Place Dough on parchment paper on your pan, score with a bread knife across the loaf vertically or you can try an x pattern. Put dough in oven, lowering your temperature to 400 degrees Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown and sounds light when tapped

Step 9

If baking in Dutch oven, place a circular parchment paper on the bottom so the loaf doesn’t stick. Heat oven to 450 degrees, score your loaf vertically or in an x pattern with a bread knife. Place lid on your Dutch oven and put your loaf in. Turn temp down to 400 and bake for 20 minutes with the lid on Bake for an extra 30 minutes with the lid off until dough is golden brown and sounds light when tapped.