Deb’s Tried & True Sourdough Bread

I have dabbled with sourdough for many years, but I was never thrilled with my results. While we were all on lockdown during the Pandemic, I started watching videos on how to perfect my sourdough bread, and I experimented (a LOT) with different recipes and tips and tricks.

I finally found my favorite recipe from King Arthur Flour, and I made many, many loaves of sourdough over the next few months. In fact, I made so many loaves of warm, fragrant bread that my husband begged me to stop because he can’t resist my bread and was eating too many slices every day.

This recipe is very adaptable, and I have used several different flour and flour combinations depending on what we have on hand or what my mood dictates. Since finding this recipe, I have only had excellent results, and I now make at least one loaf of sourdough bread every week.

To use this recipe, it is best if you weigh all of your ingredients. I won’t go into detail on how to make a sourdough starter because it is rather involved, and there are many great tutorials and videos online on how to do this. I bought my sourdough starter about six years ago from King Arthur and have used it since feeding it as needed and putting it to rest in my freezer when I know I will not use it for a month or more.

Some tips I learned this past year that have helped to perfect my sourdough are;

*  The day before you make your bread, feed your starter twice, once in the morning and once in the evening.
*  Ensure your starter is very fragrant and bubbly before using.
*  An overnight cold rise helps to improve both the texture and flavor of your bread.
*  Use a folding method to keep turning your bread as it rises. (See instructions in recipe)
*  Always use a scale to weigh ingredients to ensure proper ratios when experimenting with different types of flour.
*  Use a ceramic Dutch oven to bake your bread.
*  Take the internal temperature of your bread once baked. It should read at least 190 degrees F.
*  After baking with and without the lid on, once your bread has completed baking, turn the oven off, and then leave the bread in the oven with the door ajar for 20 minutes. This ensures you end up with a very chewy crust.

Deb's Tried & True Sourdough Bread

Deb's Tried & True Sourdough Bread

Yield: Makes 1 Large Loaf
Prep Time: 4 hours
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 50 minutes

This is my favorite recipe to make a perfect loaf of sourdough bread.

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup (227 Grams) Ripe, Bubbly Sourdough Starter
  • 1 3/4 Cup (397 Grams) Lukewarm Water
  • 5 Cups (602 Grams) Bread Flour, Hard Wheat Flour, Rye, Or Any Combination
  • 1 Tablespoon Salt

Instructions

    1. Weigh your ingredients and place them all in a large bowl.
    2. Mix ingredients with a wooden spoon until you have a sticky, rough dough.Cover your bowl, and let rise for 1 hour.
    3. Use your hands or a dough scraper and fold the dough over onto itself several times from the outside in.
    4. Wait 30 minutes and turn the dough again, then rest and turn every hour two more times.
    5. Cover dough and let rest in the refrigerator for 24 to 48 hours.
    6. When you want to bake your bread, shape into a ball, and place it into a room temperature bowl.
    7. Cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. ( I put my bread in my oven on the Proof setting for 90 minutes)
    8. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
    9. Place ceramic Dutch oven with lid in the oven and let heat for 30 minutes.
    10. Carefully remove Dutch oven from the oven, and reduce heat to 400 degrees F.
    11. Shape your bread to fit into the Dutch oven on a sheet of parchment, lightly dust top with flour and cut slits into the top of the dough with a sharp knife or bread lame.
    12. Use the parchment sheet to place dough into the hot Dutch Oven.
    13. Return the baker to the oven and with lid on, bake 30 minutes.
    14. Remove lid and bake 20 minutes or until bread is a deep golden brown.
    15. Turn oven off and with door ajar, leave bread in oven for 20 minutes to develop crust. (optional)
    16. Remove bread from the Dutch oven to a wire rack and cool 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour N0-Knead Sourdough Bread

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 324Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 658mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 3gSugar: 0gProtein: 9g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

2 Comments

  1. You say to set oven t0 450 degrees with dutch oven in and then reduce to 450 when you put the bread in?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.