Sourdough Bread

Autolyse: In a large mixing bowl, stir together flours and water with your hands until well combined. Cover and set aside in a warm part of your kitchen, ideally 78°, for at least 1 hour, up to 3 hours.

Mix: Using your hands, add salt and starter to your dough and mix until well combined. Continue to work the dough by hand, using a shoveling motion to lift dough from the bottom up and let fall over itself until it becomes less sticky and can be picked up in one droopy piece, 3 to 4 minutes. (If dough still feels too slack, let rest for at least 10 minutes then continue to work the dough for 2 to 3 more minutes.)

Bulk fermentation: This process will take 4 to 6 hours. Cover dough and set aside in a warm part of your kitchen for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, perform your first set of stretch and folds: with wet hands, gently scoop up half of the dough from one side and lift up away from the bowl, then fold it over the remaining dough on the opposite side. Be firm but gentle: you want to lift until you feel tension from the dough but not until it tears. Turn the bowl a few degrees and repeat, working your way to stretch and fold around all 4 sides of the dough. It should now hold better shape than when you began. Gently flip the dough upside down so seams can rest underneath. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.

Repeat stretching and folding every 30 to 60 minutes. As gluten develops, the dough will become tighter. Be gentle, do not force a fold if the dough is too tight. Instead, let it rest for a longer amount of time, up to 1 hour, before the next fold. Repeat the stretch and fold process until your dough feels like it can hold its shape, at least 4 sets. 

After the last set of stretch and folds, cover and let dough rest for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours. At the end of this bulk fermentation process, the dough should have risen between 20% and 50% in volume.

Preshape: Gently loosen your dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Flip the dough so that the smooth side is up. Dust dough lightly with flour. Using one floured hand and a bench scraper, pull dough towards you while rotating dough against the surface so that tension is developed across the top of the dough. Repeat this motion several times until your dough is smooth, plump, and round. Let rest uncovered for 10 minutes.

Shape: Gently flip dough over so that the smooth side is facing down. With floured hands, you will fold the dough as if wrapping a package: lift the bottom side of the dough, stretch it a couple of inches toward you, and fold over most of the way towards the top side of the dough. Lift the left side of the dough and cross it over most of the way to the right, then lift the right side and cross it over to the left. Finally, lift the top side of the dough and fold it over all the way to the bottom, sealing the “package.” Flip the whole dough package over so that seams are facing down, pull dough towards you and rotate a few times to develop more tension across the loaf, then let rest uncovered for 2 minutes.

Cold Proof: Heavily flour your banneton basket or a colander lined with a clean, lint-free tea towel. (Use more flour than you think you might need here to ensure the dough releases! You can always brush off excess before baking.) Using your bench scraper, gently reach under the dough and flip the smooth side into your free hand and transfer dough into the floured basket, smooth side down. Lightly flour the top of the dough, then place basket in a plastic bag and seal tightly. Let rest at room temperature for 15 minutes, then transfer to the fridge for 12 to 16 hours.

Bake: Place a Dutch oven into the center of your oven and preheat oven to 500°. Once preheated, using long oven mitts, remove pot from oven and sprinkle bottom of pot with a generous layer of cornmeal or sesame seeds. 

Flip your dough upside down into the pot so that the smooth side is facing up. Use a pastry brush to brush off excess flour. Using a razor, sharp knife, or a pair of scissors, make one or more cuts across your dough to allow for expansion during the bake. 

Cover Dutch oven with a well-fitting oven-safe lid and bake for 20 minutes. Lower oven to 475° and bake covered for 10 minutes more. Uncover Dutch oven and continue baking until loaf is a dark caramel color, about 25 minutes. (Internal temperature of loaf should reach 208°.)

Cool: Let cool inside pot for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let loaf rest for at least 1 hour (preferably 2 hours) before slicing.