sourdough bread

If you love fresh sourdough bread with a golden, crisp crust and a light, airy crumb, this recipe is for you. It’s one of the simplest homemade sourdough bread recipes, and one of the best, too. Below you will find guidance for every step of the way.

INGRIDIENTS

100 grams active sourdough starter (you can buy it or make it from scratch)

394 grams of organic bread flour

250 grams water

8 grams kosher salt

2 tablespoons rice flour, or as needed

DIRECTIONS

Place the starter into a bowl. Add bread flour, water, and salt, and mix until well blended and sticky. Cover with aluminum foil and let stand for 4 hours at 70 to 75 degrees F. Uncover dough and use wet hands to fold it over onto itself three to four times. Cover again with foil and let ferment for 2 more hours. Generously dust a proofing basket (banneton) with rice flour. Scrape dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Shape into a ball with a smooth, unbroken surface, using just enough flour on the surface to keep it from sticking. Place dough into the prepared basket with the smooth side down. Pinch the rougher edges on the surface together toward the center to smooth them while maintaining a round ball shape. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours to slow the fermentation process. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Let sit in a warm spot until dough springs back slowly and retains a slight indentation when poked gently with a finger, about 3 to 5 hours. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Use your dutch oven or baking sheet with parchment paper. Dust surface of dough with flour. Gently invert the banneton over the center of the dutch oven

and flip dough out onto the parchment paper. Gently brush off excess rice flour. Score top of dough about 1/8-inch deep with a sharp knife to create a shallow slit running across the center. Mist the entire surface lightly with water. Bake in the center of the preheated oven until beautifully browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Once is done and a bit cooler slice to your liking and enjoy.

NOTE

I prefer to make the sourdough starter, but it is a commitment because it will take about 5 days to get it done (I will publish a recipe on how to soon). However, if you are a beginner, I highly recommend you buy it online or locally.