Sourdough bread is the bread of bread. Crunchy crust, soft crumb with big holes, and lots of delicious taste. People normally think that it is not possible to make it at home, but it is possible. Here is my sourdough bread recipe for beginners.
I will guide you through making your first sourdough bread. The tools you need. The techniques you need to use to get the perfect bread and everything you need to be aware of throughout the process.
It is actually not very hard to do, but you need to be precise with weighing off the ingredients and following the techniques.
The recipe does not provide precise timings. Instead, I will explain what you need to look for to get bread that tastes fantastic and has a great oven spring.
If you are a sourdough newbie, I hope you will try to make this sourdough bread recipe. You will get off to a great start with this fantastic bread.
If you are just here for the recipe, you can elegantly skip the entire article by pressing this button:
To bake a sourdough bread, you need an active sourdough starter
To bake this bread, you need an active sourdough starter. A sourdough starter is a homemade form of yeast made by attracting wild yeast that is everywhere.
Sourdough starters are living organisms that need to be kept alive, but they are pretty simple to make. I have created a recipe and guide for making your own sourdough starter. If you don’t already have a starter, you should go there and make one before you proceed with this recipe.
Tools to make sourdough bread
Before you start following this sourdough bread recipe, you need to know what tools are essential
I have assembled a list of tools that you need when you bake sourdough bread.
Most of these links will earn me a commission if you purchase the product. If you are not interested in that, you can find the tools using your favorite search engine.
Important tools – need to have’s
As a minimum, you will need:
A good bowl – This bowl is incredibly beautiful, but whatever you have in your kitchen that is big enough to hold the dough
A bench scraper – This is used to move the sticky dough around and also to help shape it
A dutch oven – You need a dutch oven (basically a pot that can go into the oven) because then you won’t have to have to steam the oven because the bread will essentially be steaming itself
A lame – You need a super sharp knife to score the dough. This one uses a razor blade that can be replaced
A good oven – Preferably one that can get super hot. I have one that can go to 300°C/572°F and can also steam, which is quite basic in features because I want to do everything manually
Not-so-important tools – nice to have
Other things that are really nice to have, but you can get things done without them:
A baking steel – Helps keep the temperature in the oven, even when you open the door. It’s also a great help in transferring heat to the bottom of the bread when you don’t use a dutch oven. If you are serious about your bread baking, this is one of the first things you should consider investing in
Round proofing baskets – They can absolutely be replaced by bowls covered in a dishtowel
Flour shaker – Helps you put flour on the table or the dough easily.
Jars for your starter – Love these Weck jars for my starter. Straight sides and good visibility.
A spray bottle – Or buy a cheap plastic one at your local supermarket. This is just really sturdy and mists the water really good
A peel – It makes it a lot easier to get a sticky piece of dough into the oven in one piece
Silicone gloves – These gloves from Oxo are great. Great grip and can withstand a 260°C/500°F warm dutch oven for literally minutes
You can use the cheap flour from the supermarket, but to get spectacular results you should invest in quality flour
What wheat flour you are using to bake with determines how good of a result you will get. The most important factor is the protein content. You need to use bread flour with at least 12% protein in this recipe.
The protein in wheat flour is gluten, and it helps build the structure in the bread. The less protein the flower has, the harder it is for the bread to stay together, and it might spread into a puddle instead of rising up. Especially as you use higher hydrations. Also, less gluten gives a more uniform crumb with smaller holes.
What flours do you use?
I like Canadian Manitoba flour for bread, which has a high protein content and a delicious taste.
In this bread, I’ve used whole-wheat flour from Egeskov mølle, which I bought on my summer vacation to Funen. We visited Egeskov Slot. I’ve been looking forward to trying this flour.
I haven’t baked with these flours myself, but they come recommended on forums and in Facebook groups by people who post their delicious bread:
Good bread comes from having ingredients in the right proportions. I have created a recipe with high hydration but not so high that it would be very hard to handle for a beginner.
The first part of the recipe is a levain, which is essentially a young sourdough. We will use a levain so we can better use the yeast in the starter at the most opportune moment in its growth cycle.
After mixing the dough, the yeast in your sourdough starter starts eating all the food you’ve put in. When it has grown to double size, it’s ready to be used in the dough.
The formula of the levain
The hydration in the levain is 100%. There’s a total of 80 grams of flour and 80 grams of water. Since the sourdough starter is 100% hydrated as well, it does not change the hydration of the levain.
The proportions are as such:
Weight
Ingredient
Baker's Percentage
37g
bread flour
50.0%
37g
whole-wheat flour
50.0%
37g
sourdough starter (100% hydration)
50.0%
74g
water
100.0%
I’ve made the levain larger than what you need for the dough; that way, you don’t have to scrape the sides of your container to get enough.
The formula of the bread
The dough’s formula can be seen here. It contains a bit below 20% whole wheat flour, which brings taste and texture to the loaf. There is also enough bread flour in the dough to have lots of gluten, which will help the dough stay together.
There’s a good amount of salt in the dough. That helps bring out more taste. If you want to change it, I wouldn’t recommend you go below 1%.
Weight
Ingredient
Baker's Percentage
686g
bread flour
81.9%
152g
whole-wheat flour
18.1%
559g
water
66.7%
19g
salt
2.3%
If you want to change the dough’s hydration, you can use my Bread Calculator™️ here.
The secret behind fantastic sourdough bread
It is not difficult to make fantastic sourdough bread, but there are a few things you need to know
The most important things to making beautiful, tasteful sourdough bread can be summarized into these five rules:
To develop a fantastic taste, you need to proof and rest the bread for a long period of time. You do that by using autolyse (where only water and flour are mixed and rest for a while) and by letting the bread retard overnight in the refrigerator
You need to develop the gluten in the dough to get a crunchy crust and soft crumb. That is (also) done by using autolyse and by stretching, folding, and fermenting the dough.
To get a great oven spring where the bread opens up and out, you need to build a membrane of gluten on the outside of your shaped dough
You need to bake the bread very hot and with steam for the first 15-20 minutes so that the dough can expand greatly before the crust gets hard
Last but not least, you need to be courageous not to take the bread out of the oven too early. You don’t want it to get burned, but let it stay long enough to be nice and dark, super crispy and crunchy
Development of gluten in the dough
A strong gluten network is one of the key elements to getting a fantastic oven spring
After you’ve mixed the dough, you need to stretch and fold the dough. This aids the development of gluten but also helps incorporate air into the dough, which gives you those sought-after holes in the crumb. Normally three times is enough, but you must check if the gluten is properly developed.
When you’ve done the last three stretch and folds, you need to check the gluten development. If it is not strong enough, you must perform additional stretch and folds.
To test the gluten development in the dough, you should perform the windowpane test. The goal is to have a dough that is strong enough so you can pull a very thin membrane without the dough breaking:
Shaping of the dough
Another key element in the oven spring is the shaping of the dough. You need to move the dough around on your table using a special technique
When the dough has good gluten development, you need to stretch the top so it forms a tight ball.
To shape the dough, you use your bench scraper, as it helps prevent the dough from sticking to your hards. With the 70% hydration dough we are working with here, it’s not overly difficult, but as you go into the 80s, it gets harder and harder, so I really think you should learn to do this the right way.
As it can be difficult to figure out from a description, I’ve made a video so you can see how it is done:
The scoring of the dough
The scoring of the bread is important because then you get to be the one who decides where the bread expands during baking
When scoring bread, you need a super sharp knife. I use a lame that fits a razor blade, which I often replace.
It’s a good idea to know how you want to score the bread before you start doing it. You must score relatively fast and with conviction to get the best score.
I’ve made two different patterns in my two loaves:
A diamond-shaped pattern. You get this by scoring three parallel lines and then three other parallel lines that are turned about 30° from the first cuts
A long cut in the edge of the bread helps the bread open when it’s being baked. This cut is one that creates an ear. Although I find it looks more like an eye
You can see how I perform the long cut here:
Baking of the sourdough bread in this recipe
Here are a couple of tips to bake the perfect sourdough bread in your home oven
To bake beautiful sourdough bread, you will need steam. Professional ovens can inject steam into the oven chamber, but that is still pretty new for domestic ovens. You do not need a steam oven to follow this sourdough bread recipe.
The steam helps the crust stay moist so that the bread can expand more than it would otherwise. That means the bread will rise more before the crust sets, and all those beautiful holes can expand properly.
The dutch oven helps the bread steam itself
The bread in this recipe will be baked in a dutch oven (basically a pot that can go in the oven). When the bread is warmed up, the water in the dough evaporates and becomes steam. Because the dutch oven is a confined space, the steam stays directly around the bread and helps the bread rise during the beginning of the baking.
After about 15-20 minutes, the effect is over, and the wild yeast in your starter cannot help the bread expand further. Then you take off the lid of the dutch oven so the steam can dissipate, and the heat in the oven can dry out the crust and make it super crispy.
Cooling the bread is essential to the shelf life of the loaf
I think we’ve all tried cutting into a warm loaf of bread and eating it with copious amounts of melting butter. There are good reasons to wait until the bread has cooled completely, though
When you take your piping hot bread out of the oven and put it on the wire rack, it isn’t done yet.
While the bread’s temperature is declining, the texture is still developing because the starch molecules are releasing some of the water they’ve absorbed during fermentation.
Furthermore, the water that is still in the steam form in the bread will disappear from the bread if you cut a large hole in it while it is still cooling. The bread will then become dry faster, as there is less moisture in it.
What happens when I cut it too early?
If you cut the bread while it is still warm, you risk making the crumb rubbery. It can also be hard to cut without it falling apart.
When the bread has finished baking, it is important to store it correctly. It needs to cool at room temperature and not be covered by anything. If you trap steam from the bread, you risk making the crust soft.
What is the best way to store bread?
When you’ve baked the perfect sourdough bread, it will suck if the bread turns stale quickly because you haven’t stored it right.
Don’t put the bread in the refrigerator. Refrigerators are pretty dry environments, and bread becomes stale more quickly that way.
Don’t put your bread in a plastic bag, either. The crispy crust disappears because the bread’s water evaporates. This is the exact same principle that you use in the Dutch oven during baking but in reverse.
I have some bread bags that are made for storing bread, but you can just also wrap the bread in a clean dish towel for the same effect. Last year for my birthday, I got a retro bread box, which also has the same effect and looks much cooler.
Can you freeze the bread?
Sourdough bread is very well suited for freezing. They stay good for at least three months, but I’ve had some that were frozen for 6 months with no ill effect.
I usually cut it into pieces and put some parchment paper between them. Then, you can grab the number of slices you need without having to completely thaw the entire loaf.
I have this KitchenAid toaster, which does a great job defrosting and toasting—it’s absolutely the best I’ve owned. Using this method also allows you to put the toaster on the defrost function, and you get delicious bread in minutes.
To sum up, this sourdough bread recipe
This sourdough bread recipe is high hydration (anything above 65% relative water content) but absolutely at the low end of what is possible to make. The more water relative to flour, the larger the holes and the softer the texture.
When you add more water to the dough, it becomes harder to work with (think pancake dough), so this recipe is an excellent place to start. After mastering all the techniques, you can change to doughs with even higher hydration.
Here is a picture of the crumb in this bread:
The conclusion
The taste is fantastic. The overnight retarding helped develop a great taste. A bit of a sour note from the starter, but not overwhelming. The whole-wheat flour brings a nutty aroma, and this bread can be eaten just by itself, and it is a pleasure.
The crumb is nice and soft, with medium-sized holes. The crust crunches ideally and is super crispy. It is delicious bread.
Start making fantastic bread at home.
You should try this sourdough bread recipe even if you are a beginner baker. You now have all the knowledge that you need after you’ve read this article.
If you bake this bread and post it on Instagram, please tag me with @foodgeek.dk. So I can see what you’ve made. It would make me very happy.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Learn how to make fantastic sourdough bread at home. It's much easier than you think. The most significant investment is time and a couple of tools that you can use every time you bake.
The night before you make the levain, feed your sourdough starter. I usually take 50 grams of sourdough starter and mix it with 100 grams of bread flour and 100 grams of water and mix it well.
In the morning, you should mix the levain. Mix all ingredients and put it into a tall see-through glass. Put an elastic band around the glass to monitor the growth of the levain.
Cover the glass and put the levain somewhere warm. Preferably around 25°C/77°F.
When the levain has grown to around 175%, go to the next step.
Autolyse
To do the autolyse, we need to mix water and flour.
Measure out all the flour in a bowl and all the water except 50 grams that we reserve for mixing the levain and salt later. Mix it but don't knead; get all flour hydrated
Cover the flour and leave it until your levain has doubled in size. It took about 1 hour for my levain.
Mix the dough
Put 185 grams of levain on top of the dough. Spread the salt over the top and add the reserved 50 grams of water.
Mix it all very thoroughly. I usually use my fingers and push the levain through the dough and do some light stretch and folds. I keep repeating it until I feel like it's been mixed very well.
Cover the dough and leave it to rest 30 minutes somewhere warm.
Bulk fermentation
It's time for bulk fermentation. We develop the dough's gluten during the fermentation. With this dough, three stretch and folds are usually enough.
Wet your hands so that the dough doesn't stick to your fingers.
Grab the size of the dough furthest away from you with both hands. Grab hold and strech the dough upwards as long as it can go without breaking. Then fold the dough down towards yourself.
Turn the bowl 180° (a half turn).
Do another stretch and fold.
Turn the bowl 90° (a quarter turn).
Do another stretch and fold.
Lastly, you should turn the bowl 180° (a half turn).
Repeat the last stretch and fold.
You have now stretched and folded the dough from all four sides. Leave the dough to rest somewhere warm, covered, for another 30 minutes.
Repeat this process two times more.
After the third stretch and fold, I will do a windowpane test. Lift and edge of the dough and stretch it with your fingers. You should be able to make a thin membrane without the dough breaking. Look at the video in the article.
If the dough isn't strong enough to pass the test, I do a 4th stretch and fold and repeat the test. Do this up to the 5th and 6th stretch and fold.
After the last stretch and fold, you should leave the dough until it's grown by 20-50% (usually 1½ hours).
Preshaping
First, we are shaping the dough to build a gluten membrane on the outside of the dough. That will help the oven spring during baking.
Pour the dough unto an unfloured table and divide it in half. Put a sprinkle of flour on top of both.
Grab a lump of dough and flip it using your bench scraper so that the floured side is now on the table top.
Grab the part of the dough that is the furthest away from you. Stretch it and fold it down in front of you.
Repeat with the part that is right in front of you. Grab the dough with both hands, stretch it and fold it away from you. Repeat with the right and left sides of the dough.
In a swift motion, invert the dough so that the part you previously floured will be facing upwards.
Put your bench scraper behind the dough and pull it towards yourself. I hold the scraper in my right hand, guiding the dough with my left. The front of the dough should be pulled underneath, and the top of the dough should tighten.
Now put the scraper in front of the dough and push it forward while twisting so that the scraper ends up behind the dough. You can now repeat the process in the previous step.
Repeat until you have a nice round and tight ball. Pop any bubbles you see on the surface.
Repeat with the other lump of dough. Let the dough balls rest for 15 minutes under a cloth.
Prepare the bannetons
Make a mixture of half bread flour and half rice flour.
Put a dishtowel in the bannetons. If you don't have one, you can use a bowl.
Put some of the flour mixture in a strainer and flour the bannetons. It's better to use too much than too little.
Final shaping
We do the final shaping to make sure the dough is super strong.
Take a boule and sprinkle it very lightly with flour on the top.
Flip it using your bench scraper, so the floured side is against the table.
Repeat the process from the preshaping.
When you have finished the shaping, grab the boule with your scraper and invert it into the banneton. The bottom should be up.
Repeat with the other boule and place it in the banneton.
Sprinkle the dough with rice flour and put the bannetons into separate bags. Make sure you get some air in there so that the plastic does not touch the dough.
Place in the fridge overnight. Your fridge needs to be cold, so the dough doesn't continue fermenting. I have mine set to 2°C/35°F,
Heat the oven – next morning
Place a baking stone/baking steel in the oven and put your dutch oven on top. Turn the oven to 260°C/500°F. If it doesn't go that high, put it to the maximum.
Heat the oven for at least an hour. We want the steel/stone and dutch oven to be thoroughly warmed.
Bake the bread
Take a banneton out of the fridge.
Put a piece of baking paper on top of your peel and put it on top of the banneton.
Turn it over and carefully lift the banneton off the dough.
Slash the dough using a super sharp knife.
Open the oven and move the dough to the dutch oven.
Spray the top of your dough lightly with your spray bottle.
Put on the lid and close the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the lid so the bread can get some color. Turn the oven down to 230°C/450°F. I usually bake it for another 20-25 minutes for this bread. I love it when the crust gets dark and crunchy.
Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least one hour, but preferably until it is COMPLETELY cooled off.
Turn the oven back up to 260°C/500°F. When it is hot, repeat the procedure for the other bread.
All you have to do is wait until the bread are completely cooled off, and get yourself ready for the best bread you've ever baked.
Video
Noter
The hydration of the sourdough starter
I assume that your sourdough is 100% hydration. That means that when you feed it, you use the same amount of flour and water (by weight). If you use a lower or higher hydration, you need to recalculate the levain. It’s a bit over the level of what we are going through here, because this recipe is supposed to be for beginners.If you want play with the breads recipe, you can use my bread calculator here.
The hydration of the bread
The hydration of the bread is 70%. That means there is 70% water to 100% flour.You calculate it like this:
The levain is 100% hydration, which means there is 50% flour and 50% water
Total flour by weight = 686 grams bread flour + 152 grams whole-wheat flour + (185 grams flour / 2) from the levain = 930.5 gram
Total fluid by weight = 559 grams water + (185 grams water / 2) from the levain = 651.5 gram
Thank you SO much for your very detailed instructions. I posted my results on Pinterest . My screen name there is Newvillemom. The results were amazing, especially considering this was my first attempt. I had one small problem. The day after, I could barely cut the bread. I remedied this by popping it in the oven at 250 degrees, wrapped in a damp towel, for about 5 min. Is there anything i can do to insure that my crust stays crispy, but not so hard to cut the next day??
Brilliant explanations, am making my first sourdough today and tomorrow.
Best of luck 😀 Let me know how it goes 🙂
Amazing recipe. I made pretty good sourdough before but im trying to learn new techniques every time. When you take dough from the fridge do you first let it warm up a bit on room temperature of you basically put it in the oven straight away?
Thank you 🙂
Yes, I take it out, score it and put it straight into a piping hot oven 🙂
Hi, We would like to thank you very much for the great instructions for baking sourdough bread, the first attempt was eaten and now we bake twice a week, combine flour and enjoy fantastic bread, which unfortunately has not been sold in the shops long ago. It is very useful in this difficult time and we try to spread your recipe further, thanks again, we wish you good health, best regards Petr and Martina from Prague
Thank you and great that you can make fantastic bread at home.
I honestly think that you can make better bread than most bakeries, with a little bit of practice 🙂
Hi Sune,
What size bannetons should I use for this recipe? The Amazon link you included has various sizes, but my guess is that you used two 7.9 inch or 8.6 inch bannetons?
Thanks!
Ben
They are the 7.9 inch 🙂
Hvad er “bread flour” på dansk?
Hvis du læser artiklen på dansk kan du se at der står manitoba mel. Det er mel med en protein procent på mellem 12% og 13%.
Til dette brød har jeg brugt manitoba mel fra Valsemøllen (før Finax).
Been binging your sourdough stuff on YouTube and am finally doing my first loaf today! Thanks for the advice / help from afar. As it turns out I am from Manitoba and am wondering what type of Manitoba flour you use (I had sworn I had seen it in the background of one video, and this article confirmed it!). It is difficult to actually locate local products here, as most are generally stated as “Canadian”, so I was intrigued to know what else you know about it…
I honestly don’t know if the Manitoba flour I am using is Canadian, although that would be cool.
The site of the company doesn’t state it, they just state that it has a higher amount of gluten than regular flour, and that makes it good for making bread. Essentially it’s bread flour, which until recently, we didn’t have any flour like that in Denmark 🙂
I made this today and the flavor is there but my bread didn’t rise much and is quite dense. I’m wondering if it’s because i used AP flour instead of bread flour, which is difficult to find at stores currently. I’m curious, have you tried AP flour mixed with vital wheat gluten as a bread flour substitute?
It can absolutely be the AP flour.
Mixing in Vital Wheat Gluten is a very good way to strengthen your AP flour.
Also make sure you check gluten development with the windowpane test and add more sets of stretch and folds as needed 🙂
Takk Sune for this detailed recipe and video. However, while the it tastes great, my bread comes out of the oven flat (no oven spring). With the exception that my starter is 100% whole wheat, I followed your instructions to the “T”, including the levain – i.e. equal parts WW and BF. Any ideas what is going wrong?
After feeding your starter, how high does it grow?
Hi Sune, congrats on your fantastic channel. And thank you for your brilliant work and explanations.
I would like to ask you what the average temperature in your kitchen is. I’m not sure if you’ve said it at some point in any of your vids. I think it would be a useful bit of info. Perhaps you could add it to your vids? My average kitchen temperature where I do my bulk f. is about 21c. Maybe I should do this longer than you if I dunt have see through containers to see the dough double. I’m rather new at this great and your videos were the best find so far.
Thank you!
My kitchen is normally around 21C, but commonly I put the dough in my proofer set to 30C 🙂
I made the best sourdough bread yet by following your instructions and watching your super helpful video, thank you. The shaping is going to take some time to really learn, but I started to get the hang of it by loaf two.
Sourdough is not a destination, it’s a never-ending journey <3
Hi , is it possible to use 11% protein flour instead of 12% ? Is it just a matter of reducing the water slightly for a stiffer dough ?
You can use a flour with less protein. You do not need to change the hydration, but you may need to do more sets of stretch and folds to get a windowpane 🙂
Sune,
Great site! I love your empirical approach to bread baking. A math question for you in this recipe. You say let the levain grow to 175% before starting the autolyse and then once the autolyse is prepared to let it double. Does this mean doubling from the initial point, so another 25% increase, or doubling from the 175% point, i.e., a 350% increase. I did a simple doubling and ended up with great tasting but flat bread. I used an 85 parts high extraction bread flour from a local mill, which is described as working like a mix of bread flour and whole wheat flour. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to the letter as far as I could tell. I started the levain in the morning at about 06:30 The boules went into retard at about 11:30 and came out the next day for baking at about 08:00. Was this too long en retard?
Thanks again
I do things a lot less fussy these days. I just mix the autolyse as I mix the levain. When the levain peaks I mix it into the dough 🙂
As long as your fridge is cold enough (below 4C/39.2F) there’s a very long period where the bread stays good. It goes into hibernation, sort of 🙂
Wonderful article and recipe! Thanks for all the detail, great pictures and videos. I’m going to revisit this recipe many times.
Thank you <3
Thank you for the great detail! I’ve been baking sourdough bread for about 6 months. There’s so much conflicting information. I enjoy your scientific approach. I’ve been using a method where I’m leaving the dough on the counter overnight and the dough is not watery, but it spreads out and doesn’t hold a tight shape. Is it overproofed? Also, I would like to try your method, but I only want to make 1 loaf. Any issues with cutting the recipe in half? Last question….I like to bake my bread a little later in the day what is the maximum time I can keep the dough in the refrigerator? Thank again.
I have found that autolysing for longer, up to two or three hours helped to make the dough more pliable, less sticky, and better oven rise
Different flour will act differently. I always encourage experimentation! 😀
Hello Sune,
Thanks for your work. It’s really appreciated!
I’m making sourdough bread at home, but I’ve always wondered what kind of parchment paper you use. I’ve watch a lot of people on youtube using it to transfer the dough to the dutch oven and then place it in the oven, but parchment paper typically can’t go over 425 F and we’re using baking temperatures in the 450 – 500 F range.
Is there some kind of baking paper I don’t know about?
Thanks!
I am just using the regular kind. It does get a bit charred 🙂
Hello! I love your detailed instructions and video. Thank you so much. Quick question – can I proof my dough in the fridge in the same container I will use to bake in? Or must I proof it in a bowl, then transfer to the baking container?
You should proof in a banneton or a bowl lined with a dish towel and then turn it out, score it and then bake it free standing 🙂
Is it possible to bake the bread the same day without putting it into the fridge? If so, how long would I need to wait before baking?
It is possible. Leave it on the counter for 30-60 minutes and bake 🙂
Be wary that the second bread may over proof while the first is baking.
Very nice videos indeed! I do have a few questions that may apply to others : 1) if the ambient temperature is low in my kitchen (around 12-15C), how does that effect the bulk fermentation process? Could it possibly take 4-5 hours of stretch & folds every 30 mins until I see any bubbles or rising? (even if it passes window pane test earlier), or am I over – bulking? 2) I live at high altitude (1700 meters above sea level) so how does this affect my hydration (less or more H2O normally?) and what about fermentation and actual baking times (in Dutch oven) sorry for the detailed comments, but perhaps they will apply to others? Lastly, what’s your opinion about IODIZED SALT? Can it really ruin the entire loaf? I just cannot find non-iodized salt now, better to use nothing or use IODIZED BUT DISSOLVED in a bit of H2O before adding? Thank you in advance and wish you a great day!
Your fermentation isn’t over until you see a rise. I usually go for 25% for good oven spring later 🙂
I use iodized salt. It doesn’t ruin anything 🙂
For those of you who don’t have a proofing box, I came up with a solution with things I had on hand.
.1. card board box 2. heating pad. 3. Thermo Pro temperature probe 4. wool blanket.
Put the heating pad inside the box, place a hot pad on top of pad (just in case), place levain top of pad, lay the probe inside the box. Turn heating pad to high. Cover box with wool blanket.Monitor the temperature. Mine stayed at 82F. degrees
Even though I created a warm environment for my levain, it took almost 3 hrs for it grow to 175%.
That’s a great idea 🙂
Dear Sune,
Thanks for the recipe – it was indeed a great recipe for a beginner judging by the beautiful bread I produced from it. Can I substitute rye flour for the whole wheat flour?
Karin
Yes, rye is a wonderful addition to this bread 🙂
Hi Sune, thanks for your awesome videos and recipes and technique demonstrations.
In fact, I baked my first successful sourdough bread last weekend following your video. I just wanted to ask where did you get your transparent container for the bulk fermentation? Where can I find something with similar shape and size?
Thanks.
Those are made by a Danish company called Condi and are called Condibøtter (Condi containers). I don’t know if you can get them outside of Denmark.
Hi Sune! Thanks for your great recipes and technique explanations. Indeed, I baked my first successful sourdough loaf after 2 months of unsatisfying results by following your video. what I wanted to ask is, where can I get those kind of plastik containers for the bulk fermentation? And how big should it be to accomodate the dought without problems? 4L? 6L? 7L?
Thank You for the wonderful recipe and very detailed description. Today I baked my best loafs so far and yesterday’s work to get them was easy and breezy. Also, my starter is more active than ever before since I switched from 1:1:1 to 1:3:3. You are my guru now.
That’s great to hear. Thank you <3
Thanks Sune! Great recipe!
After a few failed attempts with some other online recipes, I followed this one and had the best results yet. Very well written recipe and I found the descriptions or the processes very helpful.
I don’t have a dutch oven , so I use an inverted Pyrex casserole dish as a kind of La Cloche baking dome. I dialed the temperature down to 210 C and baked 25mins with the ‘lid’ on and then 25mins with the lid off. Came out with a very very dark crust. Do you think I should reduce temperature slightly or reduce baking time for slighly lighter crust?
Also, I have had slight problems with my dough sticking to the pyrex at the base. Was wondering whether to try a little oil or maybe parchment paper.
Any thoughts?
Try to limit the time with the lid on, to say, 20 or 15 minutes and see what that does 🙂
Use parchment paper or sprinkle the bottom liberally with rice flour before turning out of the banneton to score
This is a great recipe! Thanks for being so thorough. 1 Question: I started my autolyse kind of late and my levain has started to fall. Is it better to let the autolyse get a full hour, or to short the autolyse and add the levain when it’s still expanding?
Thank you
Honestly, either is fine. Your starter will be fine if it’s fed in the last 12 hours 🙂
I’ve really enjoyed your YouTube videos and baked my first loaves today following this recipe (but with all purpose and rye flours). They turned out great. Still lots of room for improvement but that is part of the fun. I really appreciate your experiments as they give me confidence in adjusting my ingredients, timing and techniques to suit my taste. Thank you 🙂
That’s great to hear 😀
Happy baking 🙂
Hi Sune,
I’m accustomed to taking the final temp of bread I’m baking, but found no reference in your materials. Your Sourdough for Beginners provided excellent instructions that I followed and I watched the videos. The bread I just made (wish I could send a photo) was 209F, even though I usually pull bread at 190F. It is dense and chewy and seems a little underdone. (I followed your timings.) Do you have a final bread temperature recommendation?
Margo
I usually aim for 99C/210F, but honestly it’s been a long time since I tested.
I sounds like the dough might have been a bit over proofed. Was it hard to shape it?
Hi Sune,
Thank you for the detailed instructions on sourdough making. Wondering if I can leave the dough in the fridge for 2 days if I would like to bake one first and the other one the day after?
As long as your fridge is colder than 4C/39F 🙂
Hi Sune, I’ve been baking successful sourdough breads using your recipes for the past couple of weeks, so thanks for that!
I was wondering if I could leave the bulk fermented dough as it is and shape withought dividing it in two? And to bake one big bread instead of two smaller ones? I have a larger banneton lying around, so I would like to know what your opinion about that is?
I’m just staring to get into sour dough and this recipe worked best yet! One question, my loaf had a few very large holes in the middle, in vertical direction ? closer to bottom than the top. How can I get smaller and more even holes spread throughout the bread? Love experimenting so willing to try things out.
Hi again, Sune. The “reply” button doesn’t seem to work (it just returns me to the same post). So, in answer to your question about the dough being hard to work, not really. Although it didn’t stretch as far as yours do, t seemed fine given your excellent demonstrations! However, I retarded after the first stretch and fold (because I ran out of time that evening). I allowed it to rest outside the fridge for about an hour to let it warm a little before I continued the last two stretch and folds. Maybe that extra hour caused over-proofing. I did not try to “poke” test, but I agree it could have been over-proofed. I’ll consider that next time. Thanks!
Hi Sune,
I started my bread too late yesterday, and it got too late for me to follow your process exactly.
I completed all the stretch & folds(bulk fermentation) but then(because it was past midnight) I put the entire mass of dough in the fridge overnight.
What will be the implication of refrigerating the Mass of dough before pre- and final shaping?
Also, do I need to long proof the final dough(in bannetons) again if it has already been in the fridge overnight?
Thank you Sune. I made this recipe and they turned out beautiful. my first sourdough. I dont have banneton and only used bowls and they still came out beautiful
Hi Sune, I have been baking sourdough for about 2 years and fine you calculator amazing. However, I cannot work out how to down load it. Tried your recipe today for the first time and it came out great, but have also been following BakewithJack (Kack Sturgess in the UK on YouTube following a course I went on with him, but now I want to play more so can you send me the link as all I get is a spooling symbol.
Thanks for great series.
Peter
Fantastic bread recipe!! Instructions are top notch. My bread came out absolutely amazing. Boule #1 and #2 were baked about 12 hours apart. In the final cook for #1, went 25 minutes. Wifey said she likes a little softer crust, so I shortened the time by 5 minutes on #2 and the color shows a little lighter but still has good crisp and looks fine. We have to finishing eating #1 before enjoying #2. It remains uncut for now. That shouldn’t take long.
I did 4 streach and folds in bulk just because I was having fun feeling that lovely dough. I got the nice window in the third time. I noticed my finished crumb results in #1 had some areas that were a little less open (more smaller holes than larger). That’s ok with me better to keep the jelly from falling through the holes. So my question is, should a person be expecting an even distribution of big and small holes? Other than the things I brought up, I followed the recipe exactly. I was thinking my streach and folds technique needs a tweak. I did watch, I believe most of your videos.
Thanks for all your work on this recipe.
Thank you <3
I am happy your bread turned out that great 😀
Hi Sune! I´m about to make my very first sourdough loaf. I live in Chile, and in here in general isn’t an easy task to find a high protein flour at the grocery store. The flour i have at the moment has only 11% of protein, and I’m thinking to add some gluten to my flour to raise the protein %.
What’s the percentage of protein of the bread flour you’re using for this recipe? I’m planning to use your calculator to make the maths (thanks for that!!!)
Hi again!
I love this recipe and have had great success with it. I am keen to keep experimenting and was wondering if you could suggest where I should go from here?
Regards,
Steven
Tried this bread recipe for the first time this weekend, and the bread came out amazing! My favorite sourdough bread recipe so far (:
That’s wonderful to hear 🙂
Hi Sune, thanks so much for your videos and web page – they have been incredibly helpful. I have a question about pre-shaping. I am finding that sometimes when I pre-shape my bread, it holds its shape and does not relax. This results in me not being able to repeat the shaping process, as you describe. Is this normal or does it indicate that perhaps the bread needs to proof for longer? Thanks! Hugh.
It sounds like you are using a very thirsty flour and that you may want to increase the hydration a bit 🙂
You can use my Bread Calculator for that. Try in a 5% increments 🙂
Hello Sune,
Thanks so much for all the great stuff. I have learned a lot about my baking so far, from you and your recipes and experiments.
I tried this recipe, as I am trying to find my “go-to” sourdough recipe. I have an active starter (fed twice over two days, and more than doubled) that I have used to make many great loaves. However, when I attempt to make the levain from this recipe, it only rose about 10%. It has been cool in my house, but I left it overnight, and still, only about 10% rise. It doesn’t specify in your recipe how long you expect it to take, but this seems extreme… Should I let it go? Or should I just use it and bake away?
Thanks again!
Josh
I don’t give a time, because that’s misleading for people. If the levain doesn’t at least double, you won’t be able to make a successful bread with it.
If your starter rises enough, use that instead of the levain, but I would recommend that you find a warm spot for your starter and dough 🙂
In virus lockdown, a lot of friends and family have been following this great recipe, but finding that they can’t get it to work like Sune. You start before breakfast, wait all day and still your dough doesn’t rise enough. Bedtime has come, so you shape it and put it in the fridge regardless. What comes out of the oven the next day is rather dense and chewy. It might have some pretty large bubbles, a brilliant ear, and even a great taste. But it fails to delight.
The people suffering this have all just made their own new starter from scratch, their new pet. New made starter usually doesn’t have the lifting power to make Sune’s recipe work well. New starters usually need to go through lots of generations, when eventually, we hope, Darwinism will operate to give us an active starter. It can take quite a long time. Sune says you need to get your starter to double. But if it doubles in 6 hours (in a warm place), that isn’t active enough. It should be doubling (in a warm place) in about 2 hours, and could even triple if you left it a bit longer.
Here are three hacks to get a sufficiently active starter so that this recipe will make great bread for you. First, find a friend who has a long-established really active starter and get some from them. They can dry some (Sune has instructions in his starter maintenance video) and put it in an envelope in the post. My nephew (who will be going to college to learn bakery) tried this. A couple of days ago he sent me a picture of two identically-made loaves, one with his own new starter, the other with friend’s starter, and it was brick vs bread.
The second hack is to put just a quarter of a teaspoon of dry packet yeast (1g) in your levain build, as well as your own starter. A lot of really great bakers do this, so let’s not be too purist about it – it works. When I finally got some yeast from the shop, I tried it, and the difference was amazing. My levain took 90 mins instead of 6 hours to double. My bulk ferment doubled in 3 hours, instead of rising 30% in 8 hours. The bread no longer had a good ear, and the crumb wasn’t exactly Poilane. But it was great bread, with a real sourdough character, and my wife complained she’d get fat if I carried on making it like that. Just remember you can’t keep this yeast-augmented starter for next time, you have to feed your continuing starter separately.
And finally, if you can’t even get packet yeast, you can straightforwardly make a good substitute from wild fruit yeasts in just 4 days. All you need is a bit of sugar and an apple, or a few raisins, or something like that. Google “yeast water” and you’ll find a number of people offering to teach you this surprising but straightforward technique. You may have to do your levain build overnight, as the wild fruit yeasts are slower to get going than packet yeast. But once they are going, they will really lift your bread when you do the bulk ferment. A friend who had been labouring away with her own new starter tried this. Immediately she got great bread, again with a real sourdough character. Her 79% hydration version is amazing.
One last lockdown hack – if you haven’t got a dough-scraper, a plastic dust-pan is a great substitute. Just wash it well.
Hello Sune,
My first attempt at your sourdough bread was quite successful, so kudos for a very tastyand clear recipe!
I have one question though. When I pre-shaped the dough it was by no means as tight as yours in your video. The ball sagged much more and I also had the impression that it was wetter/stickier. The flour contained only 11% protein, was that the reason, or is there something else I should change?
Peter
Somewhere between the preshaping and final shaping, the boules seemed to lose their oomph…..I refrigerated overnight but they felt very heavy and inactive in the morning. The first loaf I baked had a bit of oven spring but I won’t be surprised to find it dense when I cut into it. I spritzed the top of the second loaf before I put the lid on the dutch oven….that one rose more with a semi-decent “ear” but it still feels pretty dense. What went wrong??
I’d like to make 2 boules, using 7″ bannetons to shape. What percentage of your recipe should I shoot for? Also, does this recipe make 800 grams, 1600 grams, or something else. The yield in the recipe is confusing.
Hi Sune!! Thanks for your time and effort!
I was wondering what temperature your fridge is at.
Hello Sune!! Thanks for your time and effort!
I was wondering what temperature your fridge is set at.
Is it possible to cut this recipe in half and only make one loaf?
I made this bread but I made so many mistakes and I’ve been baking sourdough for ages! Covid brain I guess. Anyway, I added an extra 75g of water by accident, then missed the last two stretch and folds (had to run out for 2 hours). So when I came home I checked it, it passed the windowpane test. It was hard to shape, kept spreading out but I figured that was the extra water. Let it sit overnight in bannetons in fridge. Took it out this morning, it spread again when I took them out but plopped them into my ready Dutch ovens, scored and put them in. They actually turned out not too bad at all. I’m sure if I was more experienced I would have known what to do about the extra hydration. I’ll try it again but next time I’ll follow the recipe and timing more carefully. Thanks!
I found the strong bread flour from Molino Caputo to give great results.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiments. This recipe is fantastic, very easy to follow and I’ve found that after a few false starts (usually using the wrong flours or not adjusting for ambient temperature), this recipe is extremely reliable and produces wonderful bread.
I was wondering, if we are to swap the wholemeal for rye flour, should we also slightly increase the hydration? Or perhaps lower he amount to say only 100 grams of the non BF since rye has much lower protein? Interested to know your suggestion.
Thank you for your very helpful info and video. Do you have any tips for baking in a small oven? Mine is a delonghi multioven which is a little bigger than a toaster oven. It only reaches 220 Celsius however the pot is very close to the elements. Should I bake for longer or at a lower heat or both? Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated. I have a small dutch oven (2 litre) and a small baking stone.
Question
When you autolyse do you put the dough in the proofer
Nope, just on the counter if less than 5 hours, in the fridge if longer.
Thanks for the great info. I’ve made this twice with perfect results. I was wondering if it would be ok to retard the dough in the fridge at the bulk fermentation stage for 24 hours? Should I let it rise a bit first before putting it in the fridge at that stage? Thank you
Hello Sune. Just so love all your videos & such clear instructions. Best I have seen. Please keep the experiments rolling in!
I am a brand new beginner on Sourdough baking & could not believe how much there is to learn & master. You have truly helped me from throwing in the (wet) towel!
I don’t have a dutch oven but I do have a steam oven which I can use at 25% steam with a very high temperature. Can I use this facility or do I still need to cover the dough to prevent browning too quickly?
Thanks Amita
Sune, just to confirm: you get the dough from the fridge and (almost) immediately you bake it; that means you put it into the oven when it’s still quite cold. now in my experience it hasn’t proofed yet completely and the finger press check (to understand if it’s completely proofed) won’t be that fine (the dough when extremely cold doesn’t behave the same way than when it’s at room temperature). I’m not questioning, it’s just to understand
Hi Sune, thank you for sharing your Basic Sourdough Bread recipe. I like it better than some of the other methods around and I have great results using it. I just wanted to clarify your method of making the levain. You said the night before you make the levain, make sure you feed the sourdough. Does that mean you don’t refer to feeding the sourdough as “making the levain”? You then went on to say “In the morning you should mix the levain. Mix all ingredients and put it into a tall see-through glass.” Do you mean we should feed the sourdough that you’ve already fed from the night before again in the morning? And this is the levain we should use? If that’s the case, why do you need to feed it twice? Is it for “activeness”? And if your starter already give you the “doubling” within a few hours at 25 degrees Celcius, must you still do the two feedings? It could just be my mis-reading of your instructions, but would love for some clarifications. Thank you
Sune, your levain is 1:2:2. I’m assuming you use this ratio in order to have it ready to use by so many hours. The day before you plan to make the levain do you feed your starter with the same ratio? Should I feed it the night before at 1:3:3 or 1:4:4 so it will have plenty of food to make it through the long night hours? Is it ok to use fallen starter for a levain? Will stirring the fed starter reactive the gasses that had been produced before it fell?
Thank you so much
Thanks for the great recipe. I have made it three times now, twice it worked well and once was a failure (entirely my own fault for mixing up quantities). The times that it has worked well the only fault I find with the bread is that the centre of the loaf is still a bit moist. Not sure how to rectify this, my thoughts are either a bit hotter oven (using 260C currently), less hydration or maybe something else.
@Janette T you were reading my mind!
Trying to determine a time line to make my dough and shape after work. Bake the next day. Need to have everything ready by the time I get home. So trying to manage starter feedings and when to make levain.
Typically how long will it take for levain to be ready? I see with a good starter it will double in only 90 minutes! Not sure mine is quite that potent.
You asked about different ratios of feeding for your starter…
is that the way to extend the rise of that feeding? What about temperature control?
If I feed it the 1:2:2 standard ratio and put starter in the frig – will it delay the rise until I get home to make the levain? Maybe extend it too much? Then I will have to wait for my levain, and as mentioned, that can take several hours to get to 175%.
I am actually taking my starter to work with me, will keep it in the fridge and monitor it. Try to time the peak for my home arrival! This is crazy but I want to bake during the week, and Sometimes my work day is long.
Sune, you seem to have this down to s science! You must know how much time it takes for starter and levain to peak.
I guess I want to know what is the best method of managing timing? Feeding ratios or temperature.
I just completed baking 6 loaves of sourdough bread using your recipe using 3 different starters i keep. I have 2 dutch ovens (both Le Creuset, both oval, both yellow!, both heated in the same oven at the same time, just but different sizes: one 4.2L & one 6.7L). I baked with both of them in the same oven using the same batch of dough (2 loaves/ batch). It was very interesting to note the results! In the same oven, so… same temp, same batch of dough for each bake and they look entirely different. The shape of all 3 loaves baked in the larger dutch oven was much flatter than the 3 loaves baked in the smaller dutch oven. Completely different oven spring due to the size of the baking vessel – i guess it produced more steam inside the smaller vessel??? but they look sooo much better. wish i could send you a picture.
Hi Sune,
do you have any recommendations for flour in Germany? Most common types 405, 550 and 1050 don’t have enough protein content, also whole wheat is around 10%. I tried some 00 pizza flour which is at 12.6% protein once an actually liked the texture of the crumb. Would you say it’s ok to use 50% pizza flour, 30% type 405 and 20% whole wheat?
Hi Sune! Since starting to use your recipe and ideas, I have been successful making sourdough! (You don’t want to see the first few attempts using a recipe from a book.) thank you so much for your clear explanations, demonstrations, and enthusiasm! My question is about the step in the video, misting the loaf before sealing it in the heated Dutch oven. If I do that, the finished bread loaf loses that wonderful contrast of floured/unfloured surface where the scoring is. Is there another way to get that extra bit of steam into the Dutch oven? Thank you!
Levain #4 “When the levain has grown to around 175% go to the next step” (what is 175%?)
Autolyse #3. “Cover the flour and leave it until your levain has doubled in size. It took about 1 hour for my levain.”
These directions confuse me. Are you speaking about the “Dej” in Autolyse#3?
Hi Sune, thanks so much for all the awesome resources you have been putting together and sharing! It’s great.
I have a question: in your video for this beginners recipe, you mentioned that after the last stretch and fold during then bulk rise, you leave the dough to rest for 2,5 hrs. But in the recipe written here says 1,5 hrs (Andy then do the pre shape). So which one would be more accurate?
Also: as I read in previous comments, it is possible to bake without the tears overnight rest in the fridge, is that correct? WHen you say “be aware the second loaf my get overproof while baking loaf #1”. Could you explain what is overproof and how to identify this on the loaf, how does it look like?
Gracias! From Aotearoa New Zealand
Dani
Hi, I love your instructional vids and experiments. I’ve followed your simple sourdough recipe with a variety of outcomes. I have yet to develop a good oven rise with a good ear. This last time after retarding in the fridge, it had actually nearly doubled in size and was very wobbly, still I put it in the oven, first loaf stuck to the bananas on horribly and went everywhere, barely keeping any shape at all. Second loaf again, very wobbly, and loose, delayed as soon as i scored it, baked anyway. Came out very lopsided. Any idea what happened my fridge is around 7 degrees c.
just finished snacking on my first loaves EVER! both came out perfect! thank you so much for your guidance & tips! my whole family thoroughly enjoyed the bread, and it is just so beautiful! so happy ❤️
Thank you for all the information you provided it helped me a lot, I have a question, between French style flours T55 and T65, which one would you prefer for using with sourdough bread?
I imagine that to bake just one loaf you cut all the amounts in half?
Just found your site — Great info!
This question was asked earlier, but I haven’t seen an answer: Is the “doubling” threshold for the levain to be added to the autolyse twice the original height or twice the 175% height (at which you begin the autolyse)? I noticed in the video that as you are explaining to let the levain rise to 175% you’re showing the levain at a rise of about 125%. Just want to be sure I’m following the correct instructions.
BTW, there is a terrific stone ground mill about 15 minutes from my house in Eugene, Oregon. For followers in the area or mail order:
Camas Country Mill https://www.camascountrymill.com/
Hello Sune, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching a good portion of your videos that have answered many of the questions I’ve have about baking sourdough bread. What are your thoughts on baking bread in a clay baker or the Romertopf? Also, what about baking one large loaf instead of two with your recipe?
Hi Sune, I don’t have the banneton so I tried flouring a cotton cloth with lots of flour and the dough stuck terribly so I used parchment paper to line the bowl while proofing and just transferred it with the parchment into the hot baking dish. Would not sprinkling the dough with flour cause it from expanding/moving well? Depending on your answer I may end up getting a banneton 🙂
One more question. How long do you recommend letting a baked loaf sit out after it has cooled before storing it in a bag. And what is the best storage bag/wrap? Plastic or linen or cotton?
Your recipe calculator doesnt change the quantity of levain when one has to add it to the dough. It mentions “Put 185 grams of the levain on top of the dough.” for any number of breads. Also for one loaf, levain is 100 gms.
After a few tries, was finally able to get decent proofing in the refrigerator overnight. I wasn’t getting good oven spring, and the dough didn’t rise very much overnight. Turns out my refrigerator was very cold, 3.3 C, and the yeast went dormant. With my daughter graduation college, I took over her small dorm refrigerator, set it to 14.4 C, with great results. Also, did not allow the dough to warm up, went from the refrigerator directly into the warmed up oven and dutch oven. Great results. Thanks for helping get started with Sourdough!
Autolyse – How mixed should it be? Should it be an even consistency, although a bit dry? Or are some dry spots allowed? You said not to knead it, but it feels like I almost have to a bit in order for the autolyse to be uniform. Thanks Sune
I made the beginner’s sourdough recipe. I slid the bar all the way to the left so I had measurements to just make one loaf. When it came time to add the Levain, the instructions said to add185 g of Levain. Since I had use the reduced ingredient amounts and I had added 20 g bread flour +20 g Whole wheat +20 g Starter +40 g of water, I didn’t have 185 g. So I added everything I had and the Instructed 50 g of reserved water. Immediately to do seemed way too wet. I tried to work it all in with my hands and then transferred to a clean bowl leaving some of the wet behind. Did three stretching falls over an hour and a half and then put the bread in the fridge. I just took it out and then bringing it up to room temperature to shape. Can this be salvaged? I will bake it anyway but I will be so sad to see it come out as a frisbee. Any help or advice you give would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
BTW I made your sandwich bread the day before and it turned out beautifully. Magnificent golden crust, and soft, and tasty inside.
There were two doubles inside that were a little bigger than I would have liked, but now I will know to degass a little more carefully. Thank you for that recipe
In Indonesia:
HIME from Sriboga 13-14% proteins or T80 french
DOUBLE ZERO from Sriboga 12-13% proteins or T65 french
Hi Sune, I love your blog every time I read it I read something new. Question for your beginners recipe for Sourdough Bread, I was looking at buying a couple of benneton baskets what size are you using in this video to make the two loaves of bread?
Many thanks
Kathie
Hi, I’ve been trying different recipes for about a year. I finally nailed the Levin, using your method. HOWEVER, I have made 2 batches of the autolyse, and they are sooo dry. The 2 nd batch I added more water, but still dry clumps? Dough is not shaggy, just hard in spots? Any suggestions?
I appreciate any input?
thank you for your clear explanations, and sharing your experience! My bread turned out very well and tastes great! God bless you, Sune!
Hello from Quebec, Canada. When you say to feed the sourdough the night before doing the bread, do you leave it in the fridge after feeding it until the morning, then you take it out and let it rise up to 175% ? This is what i think it is but i am not sure. I am a newbie of few months and i have problem with my dough being all the time too wet and hard to work, it is fine to start but in the bulk fermentation gluten does not form even if i stretch and fold. I really think i let my sourdough too long on the counter after feeding it. This will be the first time i try your recipe, wish me success ! ;). Have a good day
Your videos have helped me dive into the world of sourdough effortlessly, and I thank you!! There are so many differences in how people go about baking sourdough bread, but your experiments show where you can cut corners, and where you really shouldn’t. Love your channel!!!
Water temperatures please!
I don’t measure them 🙂
Hi! I’ve used your recipe a lot and i really like it. I usually bake using a cast Iron pot with a lid, or a pizza stone with the pod on top as a lid. However, I’m getting a new oven with steamer function – how can I utilize this to make the best bread possible?
In my oven I use the steam without fan. I start steaming about 10 minutes, before adding the bread. Steaming for 20 minutes, then I vent the oven, turn down the temperature and bake until the bread is finished 🙂
Can we use only all purpose flour instead of all purpose and whole wheat flour mix?
Yes, but you way want to lower the hydration, because of less protein in the flour 🙂
Hi Sune!
Congratulations on your website, it’s fantastic!
I’d like to try making sourdoughbread but I have a small oven at home that can only reach 230ºC, do you think it’s worth a try nonetheless?
Hi there,
Super easy to follow recipe. However, I halved it to only make one loaf and my dough (currently in the bulk fermentation stage) is looking very dense…. should I start over or continue folding and let it rest overnight? The dough is not seeing a lot of lift.
Thanks!
Cristina
Hello Sune, my name is Teo, I gotta question for you. Why my bread gets cracks in the bottom of the boule?
How can I be sure that the items I order give you a credit. I’ve ordered several items and never really sure you get any credit (Brod &Taylor, multiple weck jars, bowls, dutch oven, lame and more.
is my autolyse supposed to be super dry?
I can’t thank you enough for your website and YouTube channel which has helped me to make the most delicious sourdough bread for the first time! I have had many failed attempts in the past but your process and explanation is so straightforward that it gave me the confidence to try again and I am so impressed with the results! It’s getting cold in the UK now and this is affecting how my dough develops and tastes but using the benefit of your knowledge, I have been able to adapt my process, judge the dough and still produce delicious bread.
I am trying your olive sourdough recipe today and I have used your bread calculator A LOT to create my own recipes. This is such a valuable resource to me and I wanted to say thank you very much!
In the UK I have had great results with Shipton Mill white bread flour (12.6% protein) and stoneground wholemeal flour (14%). I’ve taken these up to about 80% hydration with no difficulties.
Thanks! It’s good for other people to know 🙂
My first attempt, my husband said it’s the best bread he had ever had. Great flavor and crust!
Wish I could’ve posted a pic.
Thanks so much. I’ve been making low hydration sourdough for a year or so now, but have been wanting to get that nice crispy crust and airy crumb. I’ve used this recipe 3 times now, and every time I’ve gotten a better loaf. The third was finally great, though I’m still hoping to get better ears. Thanks again for sharing such a thorough tutorial and recipe!
Love this recipe and your videos. Thanks for the clear instructions and explanations. I’ve made it three times now and every time it gets better (though I fear this fourth batch that’s in the fridge now might have overproofed). I just bought a large (10″ diametre) banneton. If I do not split the dough into two loafs, could I use this to make one big loaf, or do you think it would be too huge?
Hello, If I don’t have whole wheat flour, can I use rye or spelt instead? If so, how do the measurements change?
Yes, basically any flour will do for the 20% part 🙂
Hi thanks for the recipe. Do you know how to figure out the carb count of the bread?
My son is diabetic thank you very much Colleen
The carb count is listed in the recipe for one bread.
Just weigh the bread before you cut it, and then you can weigh a slice and calculate the carb count this way:
W_carbs = (W_slice / W_bread) * 344
wow! This was super helpful…thank you!
You are welcome! 🙂
Hi Sune can you help me? I’m following your beginners recipe and made my levain 40gms bread flour, 40gms wholegrain wheat flour, 40gms sourdough starter, 80gms water. Once it’s ready to use I measure it into my Autolyse flour but it is never enough only 175gms instead of 185gms and I shoud have 15gms left over. Everything is weighed and mixed throughly. Where am I going wrong?
Many thanks
Kathie
Hi Sune — I’ve really enjoyed your videos and found them very helpful! My question is…can I feed the starter in the morning and then, a few hours later when it’s peaked, take some of that starter to make my levain right away and then continue with the rest of the process? Or do I have to feed the starter the night before and then use it after it’s peaked and fallen overnight? Thanks!!
You can do it whenever you want. Feeding it in the morning is the same as making a levain. Nowadays I won’t bother with levains. I just feed my starter and bake when it’s at its peak 🙂
I can’t seem to reply to your comment on my question, so thank you for the answer regarding when it’s okay to use the starter for levain. Based upon your answer I just checked your updated/simpler sourdough bread recipe and see that you are indeed skipping the levain step. I’ll give that one a try soon 🙂 Thanks again!
Hi Sune,
I like the way you explain stuff. You helped me a lot. One thing still bothers me: how cold is your fridge?
I ruin all my doughs with overnight proofing at 7 degrees C.
Thanks. I have mine set really cold 2C/35F 🙂
I’ll add it to the recipe 🙂
Hi. I would like to know if i make one bigger bread it would be ok? Or better to make 2 ? Thanks
Absolutely, Just scale the bread up. You may want to bake a bit longer. I usually bake 25 minutes covered, 25 minutes uncovered these days anyway 🙂
I would appreciate it if you could give the time for your bulk fermentation at 30°C. I know it varies all over the possible range of values, but if you could give the time, it would give me something to compare my own results with. Might vary for different flours, starters, and all other factors. I have been watching on YouTube since before the pandemic and have learned a lot from you. I am in U.S., but use metric measures.
Thank you for watching and following 🙂
It usually takes me about 2½-3 hours after I put the dough in the proofer 🙂
Thanks for info.
Great recipe but the words on the right side of the page, I can’t see what it says. Re post or send directly to me please
Hi Sune,
I have been a fan of your videos since I started making bread in April of 2020. I fell for the sourdough craze hook, line, and sinker! I am in the process of remodeling my kitchen. It’s not done yet, but my in wall steam oven is in place. It’s nothing fancy like the professional type that actually injects steam, but I can fill the basin up with water before I preheat and it steams while it cooks. My previous oven was on the fritz for a long time, so I haven’t made any bread for a while. I wanted to get back into it using your beginner recipe. With my new oven, I assume that I should be able to bake without a Dutch oven. I was planning on trying to bake directly on a pizza stone that I preheat with the oven. Would you make any adjustments to the cooking time or anything else if this is the situation?
Thanks in advance for the advice, and thanks for all the awesome content!
Russell
There’s really no difference in timing. Bake for 20-30 minutes with steam, 20-30 minutes without, and you should be golden (brown) 😉
Hello! If I don’t want to wait until the next morning to bake after final shaping, how long should I leave the bread in the bannetons on the counter before baking? Is there any negative affect not refrigerating and waiting will have? Are we expecting a certain level of rise in the bannetons at this stage? Thank you!
Pingback: Broa de Milho recipe - Portuguese corn bread - Foodgeek
Pingback: The easiest sourdough bread - awesome bread the easy way - Foodgeek
Pingback: Sourdough bread oven spring - learn the secrets - Foodgeek
Pingback: Blueberry Lemon Sourdough Bread Recipe - it's wonderful - Foodgeek
Pingback: Sourdough olive bread recipe - Meddeterranean inspired bread - Foodgeek
Thank you SO much for your very detailed instructions. I posted my results on Pinterest . My screen name there is Newvillemom. The results were amazing, especially considering this was my first attempt. I had one small problem. The day after, I could barely cut the bread. I remedied this by popping it in the oven at 250 degrees, wrapped in a damp towel, for about 5 min. Is there anything i can do to insure that my crust stays crispy, but not so hard to cut the next day??
Pingback: High hydration sourdough bread recipe with tangzhong -Foodgeek
Pingback: Sandwichbrød med surdej opskrift - det blødeste brød - Foodgeek
Pingback: Sourdough Sandwich Bread recipe - the softest pain de mie - Foodgeek
Pingback: Danish rye bread recipe - The classic dark rye bread - Foodgeek
Pingback: Sourdough starter recipe and guide - get an easy start - Foodgeek
Brilliant explanations, am making my first sourdough today and tomorrow.
Best of luck 😀 Let me know how it goes 🙂
Amazing recipe. I made pretty good sourdough before but im trying to learn new techniques every time. When you take dough from the fridge do you first let it warm up a bit on room temperature of you basically put it in the oven straight away?
Thank you 🙂
Yes, I take it out, score it and put it straight into a piping hot oven 🙂
Hi, We would like to thank you very much for the great instructions for baking sourdough bread, the first attempt was eaten and now we bake twice a week, combine flour and enjoy fantastic bread, which unfortunately has not been sold in the shops long ago. It is very useful in this difficult time and we try to spread your recipe further, thanks again, we wish you good health, best regards Petr and Martina from Prague
Thank you and great that you can make fantastic bread at home.
I honestly think that you can make better bread than most bakeries, with a little bit of practice 🙂
Hi Sune,
What size bannetons should I use for this recipe? The Amazon link you included has various sizes, but my guess is that you used two 7.9 inch or 8.6 inch bannetons?
Thanks!
Ben
They are the 7.9 inch 🙂
Hvad er “bread flour” på dansk?
Hvis du læser artiklen på dansk kan du se at der står manitoba mel. Det er mel med en protein procent på mellem 12% og 13%.
Til dette brød har jeg brugt manitoba mel fra Valsemøllen (før Finax).
Been binging your sourdough stuff on YouTube and am finally doing my first loaf today! Thanks for the advice / help from afar. As it turns out I am from Manitoba and am wondering what type of Manitoba flour you use (I had sworn I had seen it in the background of one video, and this article confirmed it!). It is difficult to actually locate local products here, as most are generally stated as “Canadian”, so I was intrigued to know what else you know about it…
I honestly don’t know if the Manitoba flour I am using is Canadian, although that would be cool.
The site of the company doesn’t state it, they just state that it has a higher amount of gluten than regular flour, and that makes it good for making bread. Essentially it’s bread flour, which until recently, we didn’t have any flour like that in Denmark 🙂
I made this today and the flavor is there but my bread didn’t rise much and is quite dense. I’m wondering if it’s because i used AP flour instead of bread flour, which is difficult to find at stores currently. I’m curious, have you tried AP flour mixed with vital wheat gluten as a bread flour substitute?
It can absolutely be the AP flour.
Mixing in Vital Wheat Gluten is a very good way to strengthen your AP flour.
Use my calculator to figure out how much to add: https://foodgeek.dk/en/vital-wheat-gluten-calculator/
Also make sure you check gluten development with the windowpane test and add more sets of stretch and folds as needed 🙂
Takk Sune for this detailed recipe and video. However, while the it tastes great, my bread comes out of the oven flat (no oven spring). With the exception that my starter is 100% whole wheat, I followed your instructions to the “T”, including the levain – i.e. equal parts WW and BF. Any ideas what is going wrong?
After feeding your starter, how high does it grow?
Hi Sune, congrats on your fantastic channel. And thank you for your brilliant work and explanations.
I would like to ask you what the average temperature in your kitchen is. I’m not sure if you’ve said it at some point in any of your vids. I think it would be a useful bit of info. Perhaps you could add it to your vids? My average kitchen temperature where I do my bulk f. is about 21c. Maybe I should do this longer than you if I dunt have see through containers to see the dough double. I’m rather new at this great and your videos were the best find so far.
Thank you!
My kitchen is normally around 21C, but commonly I put the dough in my proofer set to 30C 🙂
I made the best sourdough bread yet by following your instructions and watching your super helpful video, thank you. The shaping is going to take some time to really learn, but I started to get the hang of it by loaf two.
Sourdough is not a destination, it’s a never-ending journey <3
Hi , is it possible to use 11% protein flour instead of 12% ? Is it just a matter of reducing the water slightly for a stiffer dough ?
You can use a flour with less protein. You do not need to change the hydration, but you may need to do more sets of stretch and folds to get a windowpane 🙂
Sune,
Great site! I love your empirical approach to bread baking. A math question for you in this recipe. You say let the levain grow to 175% before starting the autolyse and then once the autolyse is prepared to let it double. Does this mean doubling from the initial point, so another 25% increase, or doubling from the 175% point, i.e., a 350% increase. I did a simple doubling and ended up with great tasting but flat bread. I used an 85 parts high extraction bread flour from a local mill, which is described as working like a mix of bread flour and whole wheat flour. Otherwise, I followed the recipe to the letter as far as I could tell. I started the levain in the morning at about 06:30 The boules went into retard at about 11:30 and came out the next day for baking at about 08:00. Was this too long en retard?
Thanks again
I do things a lot less fussy these days. I just mix the autolyse as I mix the levain. When the levain peaks I mix it into the dough 🙂
As long as your fridge is cold enough (below 4C/39.2F) there’s a very long period where the bread stays good. It goes into hibernation, sort of 🙂
Wonderful article and recipe! Thanks for all the detail, great pictures and videos. I’m going to revisit this recipe many times.
Thank you <3
Thank you for the great detail! I’ve been baking sourdough bread for about 6 months. There’s so much conflicting information. I enjoy your scientific approach. I’ve been using a method where I’m leaving the dough on the counter overnight and the dough is not watery, but it spreads out and doesn’t hold a tight shape. Is it overproofed? Also, I would like to try your method, but I only want to make 1 loaf. Any issues with cutting the recipe in half? Last question….I like to bake my bread a little later in the day what is the maximum time I can keep the dough in the refrigerator? Thank again.
I have found that autolysing for longer, up to two or three hours helped to make the dough more pliable, less sticky, and better oven rise
Different flour will act differently. I always encourage experimentation! 😀
Hello Sune,
Thanks for your work. It’s really appreciated!
I’m making sourdough bread at home, but I’ve always wondered what kind of parchment paper you use. I’ve watch a lot of people on youtube using it to transfer the dough to the dutch oven and then place it in the oven, but parchment paper typically can’t go over 425 F and we’re using baking temperatures in the 450 – 500 F range.
Is there some kind of baking paper I don’t know about?
Thanks!
I am just using the regular kind. It does get a bit charred 🙂
Hello! I love your detailed instructions and video. Thank you so much. Quick question – can I proof my dough in the fridge in the same container I will use to bake in? Or must I proof it in a bowl, then transfer to the baking container?
You should proof in a banneton or a bowl lined with a dish towel and then turn it out, score it and then bake it free standing 🙂
Is it possible to bake the bread the same day without putting it into the fridge? If so, how long would I need to wait before baking?
It is possible. Leave it on the counter for 30-60 minutes and bake 🙂
Be wary that the second bread may over proof while the first is baking.
Very nice videos indeed! I do have a few questions that may apply to others : 1) if the ambient temperature is low in my kitchen (around 12-15C), how does that effect the bulk fermentation process? Could it possibly take 4-5 hours of stretch & folds every 30 mins until I see any bubbles or rising? (even if it passes window pane test earlier), or am I over – bulking? 2) I live at high altitude (1700 meters above sea level) so how does this affect my hydration (less or more H2O normally?) and what about fermentation and actual baking times (in Dutch oven) sorry for the detailed comments, but perhaps they will apply to others? Lastly, what’s your opinion about IODIZED SALT? Can it really ruin the entire loaf? I just cannot find non-iodized salt now, better to use nothing or use IODIZED BUT DISSOLVED in a bit of H2O before adding? Thank you in advance and wish you a great day!
Your fermentation isn’t over until you see a rise. I usually go for 25% for good oven spring later 🙂
I use iodized salt. It doesn’t ruin anything 🙂
For those of you who don’t have a proofing box, I came up with a solution with things I had on hand.
.1. card board box 2. heating pad. 3. Thermo Pro temperature probe 4. wool blanket.
Put the heating pad inside the box, place a hot pad on top of pad (just in case), place levain top of pad, lay the probe inside the box. Turn heating pad to high. Cover box with wool blanket.Monitor the temperature. Mine stayed at 82F. degrees
Even though I created a warm environment for my levain, it took almost 3 hrs for it grow to 175%.
That’s a great idea 🙂
Dear Sune,
Thanks for the recipe – it was indeed a great recipe for a beginner judging by the beautiful bread I produced from it. Can I substitute rye flour for the whole wheat flour?
Karin
Yes, rye is a wonderful addition to this bread 🙂
Hi Sune, thanks for your awesome videos and recipes and technique demonstrations.
In fact, I baked my first successful sourdough bread last weekend following your video. I just wanted to ask where did you get your transparent container for the bulk fermentation? Where can I find something with similar shape and size?
Thanks.
Those are made by a Danish company called Condi and are called Condibøtter (Condi containers). I don’t know if you can get them outside of Denmark.
Write them an email at
in**@co***.dk
and hear what the possibilities are 🙂
Hi Sune! Thanks for your great recipes and technique explanations. Indeed, I baked my first successful sourdough loaf after 2 months of unsatisfying results by following your video. what I wanted to ask is, where can I get those kind of plastik containers for the bulk fermentation? And how big should it be to accomodate the dought without problems? 4L? 6L? 7L?
Thank You for the wonderful recipe and very detailed description. Today I baked my best loafs so far and yesterday’s work to get them was easy and breezy. Also, my starter is more active than ever before since I switched from 1:1:1 to 1:3:3. You are my guru now.
That’s great to hear. Thank you <3
Thanks Sune! Great recipe!
After a few failed attempts with some other online recipes, I followed this one and had the best results yet. Very well written recipe and I found the descriptions or the processes very helpful.
I don’t have a dutch oven , so I use an inverted Pyrex casserole dish as a kind of La Cloche baking dome. I dialed the temperature down to 210 C and baked 25mins with the ‘lid’ on and then 25mins with the lid off. Came out with a very very dark crust. Do you think I should reduce temperature slightly or reduce baking time for slighly lighter crust?
Also, I have had slight problems with my dough sticking to the pyrex at the base. Was wondering whether to try a little oil or maybe parchment paper.
Any thoughts?
Try to limit the time with the lid on, to say, 20 or 15 minutes and see what that does 🙂
Use parchment paper or sprinkle the bottom liberally with rice flour before turning out of the banneton to score
Pingback: Sourdough Bread From A Learner: Resources – Don Tai (Canada) Blog
This is a great recipe! Thanks for being so thorough. 1 Question: I started my autolyse kind of late and my levain has started to fall. Is it better to let the autolyse get a full hour, or to short the autolyse and add the levain when it’s still expanding?
Thank you
Honestly, either is fine. Your starter will be fine if it’s fed in the last 12 hours 🙂
I’ve really enjoyed your YouTube videos and baked my first loaves today following this recipe (but with all purpose and rye flours). They turned out great. Still lots of room for improvement but that is part of the fun. I really appreciate your experiments as they give me confidence in adjusting my ingredients, timing and techniques to suit my taste. Thank you 🙂
That’s great to hear 😀
Happy baking 🙂
Hi Sune,
I’m accustomed to taking the final temp of bread I’m baking, but found no reference in your materials. Your Sourdough for Beginners provided excellent instructions that I followed and I watched the videos. The bread I just made (wish I could send a photo) was 209F, even though I usually pull bread at 190F. It is dense and chewy and seems a little underdone. (I followed your timings.) Do you have a final bread temperature recommendation?
Margo
I usually aim for 99C/210F, but honestly it’s been a long time since I tested.
I sounds like the dough might have been a bit over proofed. Was it hard to shape it?
Hi Sune,
Thank you for the detailed instructions on sourdough making. Wondering if I can leave the dough in the fridge for 2 days if I would like to bake one first and the other one the day after?
As long as your fridge is colder than 4C/39F 🙂
Hi Sune, I’ve been baking successful sourdough breads using your recipes for the past couple of weeks, so thanks for that!
I was wondering if I could leave the bulk fermented dough as it is and shape withought dividing it in two? And to bake one big bread instead of two smaller ones? I have a larger banneton lying around, so I would like to know what your opinion about that is?
I’m just staring to get into sour dough and this recipe worked best yet! One question, my loaf had a few very large holes in the middle, in vertical direction ? closer to bottom than the top. How can I get smaller and more even holes spread throughout the bread? Love experimenting so willing to try things out.
Hi again, Sune. The “reply” button doesn’t seem to work (it just returns me to the same post). So, in answer to your question about the dough being hard to work, not really. Although it didn’t stretch as far as yours do, t seemed fine given your excellent demonstrations! However, I retarded after the first stretch and fold (because I ran out of time that evening). I allowed it to rest outside the fridge for about an hour to let it warm a little before I continued the last two stretch and folds. Maybe that extra hour caused over-proofing. I did not try to “poke” test, but I agree it could have been over-proofed. I’ll consider that next time. Thanks!
Hi Sune,
I started my bread too late yesterday, and it got too late for me to follow your process exactly.
I completed all the stretch & folds(bulk fermentation) but then(because it was past midnight) I put the entire mass of dough in the fridge overnight.
What will be the implication of refrigerating the Mass of dough before pre- and final shaping?
Also, do I need to long proof the final dough(in bannetons) again if it has already been in the fridge overnight?
Pingback: Basic Sourdough Bread ⋆ Baking In Bucks
Thank you Sune. I made this recipe and they turned out beautiful. my first sourdough. I dont have banneton and only used bowls and they still came out beautiful
Hi Sune, I have been baking sourdough for about 2 years and fine you calculator amazing. However, I cannot work out how to down load it. Tried your recipe today for the first time and it came out great, but have also been following BakewithJack (Kack Sturgess in the UK on YouTube following a course I went on with him, but now I want to play more so can you send me the link as all I get is a spooling symbol.
Thanks for great series.
Peter
Fantastic bread recipe!! Instructions are top notch. My bread came out absolutely amazing. Boule #1 and #2 were baked about 12 hours apart. In the final cook for #1, went 25 minutes. Wifey said she likes a little softer crust, so I shortened the time by 5 minutes on #2 and the color shows a little lighter but still has good crisp and looks fine. We have to finishing eating #1 before enjoying #2. It remains uncut for now. That shouldn’t take long.
I did 4 streach and folds in bulk just because I was having fun feeling that lovely dough. I got the nice window in the third time. I noticed my finished crumb results in #1 had some areas that were a little less open (more smaller holes than larger). That’s ok with me better to keep the jelly from falling through the holes. So my question is, should a person be expecting an even distribution of big and small holes? Other than the things I brought up, I followed the recipe exactly. I was thinking my streach and folds technique needs a tweak. I did watch, I believe most of your videos.
Thanks for all your work on this recipe.
Thank you <3
I am happy your bread turned out that great 😀
Hi Sune! I´m about to make my very first sourdough loaf. I live in Chile, and in here in general isn’t an easy task to find a high protein flour at the grocery store. The flour i have at the moment has only 11% of protein, and I’m thinking to add some gluten to my flour to raise the protein %.
What’s the percentage of protein of the bread flour you’re using for this recipe? I’m planning to use your calculator to make the maths (thanks for that!!!)
Hi again!
I love this recipe and have had great success with it. I am keen to keep experimenting and was wondering if you could suggest where I should go from here?
Regards,
Steven
Tried this bread recipe for the first time this weekend, and the bread came out amazing! My favorite sourdough bread recipe so far (:
That’s wonderful to hear 🙂
Hi Sune, thanks so much for your videos and web page – they have been incredibly helpful. I have a question about pre-shaping. I am finding that sometimes when I pre-shape my bread, it holds its shape and does not relax. This results in me not being able to repeat the shaping process, as you describe. Is this normal or does it indicate that perhaps the bread needs to proof for longer? Thanks! Hugh.
It sounds like you are using a very thirsty flour and that you may want to increase the hydration a bit 🙂
You can use my Bread Calculator for that. Try in a 5% increments 🙂
Hello Sune,
Thanks so much for all the great stuff. I have learned a lot about my baking so far, from you and your recipes and experiments.
I tried this recipe, as I am trying to find my “go-to” sourdough recipe. I have an active starter (fed twice over two days, and more than doubled) that I have used to make many great loaves. However, when I attempt to make the levain from this recipe, it only rose about 10%. It has been cool in my house, but I left it overnight, and still, only about 10% rise. It doesn’t specify in your recipe how long you expect it to take, but this seems extreme… Should I let it go? Or should I just use it and bake away?
Thanks again!
Josh
I don’t give a time, because that’s misleading for people. If the levain doesn’t at least double, you won’t be able to make a successful bread with it.
If your starter rises enough, use that instead of the levain, but I would recommend that you find a warm spot for your starter and dough 🙂
In virus lockdown, a lot of friends and family have been following this great recipe, but finding that they can’t get it to work like Sune. You start before breakfast, wait all day and still your dough doesn’t rise enough. Bedtime has come, so you shape it and put it in the fridge regardless. What comes out of the oven the next day is rather dense and chewy. It might have some pretty large bubbles, a brilliant ear, and even a great taste. But it fails to delight.
The people suffering this have all just made their own new starter from scratch, their new pet. New made starter usually doesn’t have the lifting power to make Sune’s recipe work well. New starters usually need to go through lots of generations, when eventually, we hope, Darwinism will operate to give us an active starter. It can take quite a long time. Sune says you need to get your starter to double. But if it doubles in 6 hours (in a warm place), that isn’t active enough. It should be doubling (in a warm place) in about 2 hours, and could even triple if you left it a bit longer.
Here are three hacks to get a sufficiently active starter so that this recipe will make great bread for you. First, find a friend who has a long-established really active starter and get some from them. They can dry some (Sune has instructions in his starter maintenance video) and put it in an envelope in the post. My nephew (who will be going to college to learn bakery) tried this. A couple of days ago he sent me a picture of two identically-made loaves, one with his own new starter, the other with friend’s starter, and it was brick vs bread.
The second hack is to put just a quarter of a teaspoon of dry packet yeast (1g) in your levain build, as well as your own starter. A lot of really great bakers do this, so let’s not be too purist about it – it works. When I finally got some yeast from the shop, I tried it, and the difference was amazing. My levain took 90 mins instead of 6 hours to double. My bulk ferment doubled in 3 hours, instead of rising 30% in 8 hours. The bread no longer had a good ear, and the crumb wasn’t exactly Poilane. But it was great bread, with a real sourdough character, and my wife complained she’d get fat if I carried on making it like that. Just remember you can’t keep this yeast-augmented starter for next time, you have to feed your continuing starter separately.
And finally, if you can’t even get packet yeast, you can straightforwardly make a good substitute from wild fruit yeasts in just 4 days. All you need is a bit of sugar and an apple, or a few raisins, or something like that. Google “yeast water” and you’ll find a number of people offering to teach you this surprising but straightforward technique. You may have to do your levain build overnight, as the wild fruit yeasts are slower to get going than packet yeast. But once they are going, they will really lift your bread when you do the bulk ferment. A friend who had been labouring away with her own new starter tried this. Immediately she got great bread, again with a real sourdough character. Her 79% hydration version is amazing.
One last lockdown hack – if you haven’t got a dough-scraper, a plastic dust-pan is a great substitute. Just wash it well.
Hello Sune,
My first attempt at your sourdough bread was quite successful, so kudos for a very tastyand clear recipe!
I have one question though. When I pre-shaped the dough it was by no means as tight as yours in your video. The ball sagged much more and I also had the impression that it was wetter/stickier. The flour contained only 11% protein, was that the reason, or is there something else I should change?
Peter
Somewhere between the preshaping and final shaping, the boules seemed to lose their oomph…..I refrigerated overnight but they felt very heavy and inactive in the morning. The first loaf I baked had a bit of oven spring but I won’t be surprised to find it dense when I cut into it. I spritzed the top of the second loaf before I put the lid on the dutch oven….that one rose more with a semi-decent “ear” but it still feels pretty dense. What went wrong??
I’d like to make 2 boules, using 7″ bannetons to shape. What percentage of your recipe should I shoot for? Also, does this recipe make 800 grams, 1600 grams, or something else. The yield in the recipe is confusing.
Hi Sune!! Thanks for your time and effort!
I was wondering what temperature your fridge is at.
Hello Sune!! Thanks for your time and effort!
I was wondering what temperature your fridge is set at.
Is it possible to cut this recipe in half and only make one loaf?
I made this bread but I made so many mistakes and I’ve been baking sourdough for ages! Covid brain I guess. Anyway, I added an extra 75g of water by accident, then missed the last two stretch and folds (had to run out for 2 hours). So when I came home I checked it, it passed the windowpane test. It was hard to shape, kept spreading out but I figured that was the extra water. Let it sit overnight in bannetons in fridge. Took it out this morning, it spread again when I took them out but plopped them into my ready Dutch ovens, scored and put them in. They actually turned out not too bad at all. I’m sure if I was more experienced I would have known what to do about the extra hydration. I’ll try it again but next time I’ll follow the recipe and timing more carefully. Thanks!
I found the strong bread flour from Molino Caputo to give great results.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiments. This recipe is fantastic, very easy to follow and I’ve found that after a few false starts (usually using the wrong flours or not adjusting for ambient temperature), this recipe is extremely reliable and produces wonderful bread.
I was wondering, if we are to swap the wholemeal for rye flour, should we also slightly increase the hydration? Or perhaps lower he amount to say only 100 grams of the non BF since rye has much lower protein? Interested to know your suggestion.
Thank you for your very helpful info and video. Do you have any tips for baking in a small oven? Mine is a delonghi multioven which is a little bigger than a toaster oven. It only reaches 220 Celsius however the pot is very close to the elements. Should I bake for longer or at a lower heat or both? Any advice you can give me would be much appreciated. I have a small dutch oven (2 litre) and a small baking stone.
Question
When you autolyse do you put the dough in the proofer
Nope, just on the counter if less than 5 hours, in the fridge if longer.
Pingback: Sourdough Bread – P&E Food Blog
Thanks for the great info. I’ve made this twice with perfect results. I was wondering if it would be ok to retard the dough in the fridge at the bulk fermentation stage for 24 hours? Should I let it rise a bit first before putting it in the fridge at that stage? Thank you
Hello Sune. Just so love all your videos & such clear instructions. Best I have seen. Please keep the experiments rolling in!
I am a brand new beginner on Sourdough baking & could not believe how much there is to learn & master. You have truly helped me from throwing in the (wet) towel!
I don’t have a dutch oven but I do have a steam oven which I can use at 25% steam with a very high temperature. Can I use this facility or do I still need to cover the dough to prevent browning too quickly?
Thanks Amita
Sune, just to confirm: you get the dough from the fridge and (almost) immediately you bake it; that means you put it into the oven when it’s still quite cold. now in my experience it hasn’t proofed yet completely and the finger press check (to understand if it’s completely proofed) won’t be that fine (the dough when extremely cold doesn’t behave the same way than when it’s at room temperature). I’m not questioning, it’s just to understand
Hi Sune, thank you for sharing your Basic Sourdough Bread recipe. I like it better than some of the other methods around and I have great results using it. I just wanted to clarify your method of making the levain. You said the night before you make the levain, make sure you feed the sourdough. Does that mean you don’t refer to feeding the sourdough as “making the levain”? You then went on to say “In the morning you should mix the levain. Mix all ingredients and put it into a tall see-through glass.” Do you mean we should feed the sourdough that you’ve already fed from the night before again in the morning? And this is the levain we should use? If that’s the case, why do you need to feed it twice? Is it for “activeness”? And if your starter already give you the “doubling” within a few hours at 25 degrees Celcius, must you still do the two feedings? It could just be my mis-reading of your instructions, but would love for some clarifications. Thank you
Sune, your levain is 1:2:2. I’m assuming you use this ratio in order to have it ready to use by so many hours. The day before you plan to make the levain do you feed your starter with the same ratio? Should I feed it the night before at 1:3:3 or 1:4:4 so it will have plenty of food to make it through the long night hours? Is it ok to use fallen starter for a levain? Will stirring the fed starter reactive the gasses that had been produced before it fell?
Thank you so much
Thanks for the great recipe. I have made it three times now, twice it worked well and once was a failure (entirely my own fault for mixing up quantities). The times that it has worked well the only fault I find with the bread is that the centre of the loaf is still a bit moist. Not sure how to rectify this, my thoughts are either a bit hotter oven (using 260C currently), less hydration or maybe something else.
@Janette T you were reading my mind!
Trying to determine a time line to make my dough and shape after work. Bake the next day. Need to have everything ready by the time I get home. So trying to manage starter feedings and when to make levain.
Typically how long will it take for levain to be ready? I see with a good starter it will double in only 90 minutes! Not sure mine is quite that potent.
You asked about different ratios of feeding for your starter…
is that the way to extend the rise of that feeding? What about temperature control?
If I feed it the 1:2:2 standard ratio and put starter in the frig – will it delay the rise until I get home to make the levain? Maybe extend it too much? Then I will have to wait for my levain, and as mentioned, that can take several hours to get to 175%.
I am actually taking my starter to work with me, will keep it in the fridge and monitor it. Try to time the peak for my home arrival! This is crazy but I want to bake during the week, and Sometimes my work day is long.
Sune, you seem to have this down to s science! You must know how much time it takes for starter and levain to peak.
I guess I want to know what is the best method of managing timing? Feeding ratios or temperature.
I just completed baking 6 loaves of sourdough bread using your recipe using 3 different starters i keep. I have 2 dutch ovens (both Le Creuset, both oval, both yellow!, both heated in the same oven at the same time, just but different sizes: one 4.2L & one 6.7L). I baked with both of them in the same oven using the same batch of dough (2 loaves/ batch). It was very interesting to note the results! In the same oven, so… same temp, same batch of dough for each bake and they look entirely different. The shape of all 3 loaves baked in the larger dutch oven was much flatter than the 3 loaves baked in the smaller dutch oven. Completely different oven spring due to the size of the baking vessel – i guess it produced more steam inside the smaller vessel??? but they look sooo much better. wish i could send you a picture.
Hi Sune,
do you have any recommendations for flour in Germany? Most common types 405, 550 and 1050 don’t have enough protein content, also whole wheat is around 10%. I tried some 00 pizza flour which is at 12.6% protein once an actually liked the texture of the crumb. Would you say it’s ok to use 50% pizza flour, 30% type 405 and 20% whole wheat?
Hi Sune! Since starting to use your recipe and ideas, I have been successful making sourdough! (You don’t want to see the first few attempts using a recipe from a book.) thank you so much for your clear explanations, demonstrations, and enthusiasm! My question is about the step in the video, misting the loaf before sealing it in the heated Dutch oven. If I do that, the finished bread loaf loses that wonderful contrast of floured/unfloured surface where the scoring is. Is there another way to get that extra bit of steam into the Dutch oven? Thank you!
Levain #4 “When the levain has grown to around 175% go to the next step” (what is 175%?)
Autolyse #3. “Cover the flour and leave it until your levain has doubled in size. It took about 1 hour for my levain.”
These directions confuse me. Are you speaking about the “Dej” in Autolyse#3?
Hi Sune, thanks so much for all the awesome resources you have been putting together and sharing! It’s great.
I have a question: in your video for this beginners recipe, you mentioned that after the last stretch and fold during then bulk rise, you leave the dough to rest for 2,5 hrs. But in the recipe written here says 1,5 hrs (Andy then do the pre shape). So which one would be more accurate?
Also: as I read in previous comments, it is possible to bake without the tears overnight rest in the fridge, is that correct? WHen you say “be aware the second loaf my get overproof while baking loaf #1”. Could you explain what is overproof and how to identify this on the loaf, how does it look like?
Gracias! From Aotearoa New Zealand
Dani
Hi, I love your instructional vids and experiments. I’ve followed your simple sourdough recipe with a variety of outcomes. I have yet to develop a good oven rise with a good ear. This last time after retarding in the fridge, it had actually nearly doubled in size and was very wobbly, still I put it in the oven, first loaf stuck to the bananas on horribly and went everywhere, barely keeping any shape at all. Second loaf again, very wobbly, and loose, delayed as soon as i scored it, baked anyway. Came out very lopsided. Any idea what happened my fridge is around 7 degrees c.
just finished snacking on my first loaves EVER! both came out perfect! thank you so much for your guidance & tips! my whole family thoroughly enjoyed the bread, and it is just so beautiful! so happy ❤️
Thank you for all the information you provided it helped me a lot, I have a question, between French style flours T55 and T65, which one would you prefer for using with sourdough bread?
I imagine that to bake just one loaf you cut all the amounts in half?
Just found your site — Great info!
This question was asked earlier, but I haven’t seen an answer: Is the “doubling” threshold for the levain to be added to the autolyse twice the original height or twice the 175% height (at which you begin the autolyse)? I noticed in the video that as you are explaining to let the levain rise to 175% you’re showing the levain at a rise of about 125%. Just want to be sure I’m following the correct instructions.
BTW, there is a terrific stone ground mill about 15 minutes from my house in Eugene, Oregon. For followers in the area or mail order:
Camas Country Mill
https://www.camascountrymill.com/
Hello Sune, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching a good portion of your videos that have answered many of the questions I’ve have about baking sourdough bread. What are your thoughts on baking bread in a clay baker or the Romertopf? Also, what about baking one large loaf instead of two with your recipe?
Hi Sune, I don’t have the banneton so I tried flouring a cotton cloth with lots of flour and the dough stuck terribly so I used parchment paper to line the bowl while proofing and just transferred it with the parchment into the hot baking dish. Would not sprinkling the dough with flour cause it from expanding/moving well? Depending on your answer I may end up getting a banneton 🙂
One more question. How long do you recommend letting a baked loaf sit out after it has cooled before storing it in a bag. And what is the best storage bag/wrap? Plastic or linen or cotton?
Your recipe calculator doesnt change the quantity of levain when one has to add it to the dough. It mentions “Put 185 grams of the levain on top of the dough.” for any number of breads. Also for one loaf, levain is 100 gms.
After a few tries, was finally able to get decent proofing in the refrigerator overnight. I wasn’t getting good oven spring, and the dough didn’t rise very much overnight. Turns out my refrigerator was very cold, 3.3 C, and the yeast went dormant. With my daughter graduation college, I took over her small dorm refrigerator, set it to 14.4 C, with great results. Also, did not allow the dough to warm up, went from the refrigerator directly into the warmed up oven and dutch oven. Great results. Thanks for helping get started with Sourdough!
Pingback: Sourdough Bread – LICKRISH VILLAGE
Autolyse – How mixed should it be? Should it be an even consistency, although a bit dry? Or are some dry spots allowed? You said not to knead it, but it feels like I almost have to a bit in order for the autolyse to be uniform. Thanks Sune
I made the beginner’s sourdough recipe. I slid the bar all the way to the left so I had measurements to just make one loaf. When it came time to add the Levain, the instructions said to add185 g of Levain. Since I had use the reduced ingredient amounts and I had added 20 g bread flour +20 g Whole wheat +20 g Starter +40 g of water, I didn’t have 185 g. So I added everything I had and the Instructed 50 g of reserved water. Immediately to do seemed way too wet. I tried to work it all in with my hands and then transferred to a clean bowl leaving some of the wet behind. Did three stretching falls over an hour and a half and then put the bread in the fridge. I just took it out and then bringing it up to room temperature to shape. Can this be salvaged? I will bake it anyway but I will be so sad to see it come out as a frisbee. Any help or advice you give would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
BTW I made your sandwich bread the day before and it turned out beautifully. Magnificent golden crust, and soft, and tasty inside.
There were two doubles inside that were a little bigger than I would have liked, but now I will know to degass a little more carefully. Thank you for that recipe
In Indonesia:
HIME from Sriboga 13-14% proteins or T80 french
DOUBLE ZERO from Sriboga 12-13% proteins or T65 french
Hi Sune, I love your blog every time I read it I read something new. Question for your beginners recipe for Sourdough Bread, I was looking at buying a couple of benneton baskets what size are you using in this video to make the two loaves of bread?
Many thanks
Kathie
Hi, I’ve been trying different recipes for about a year. I finally nailed the Levin, using your method. HOWEVER, I have made 2 batches of the autolyse, and they are sooo dry. The 2 nd batch I added more water, but still dry clumps? Dough is not shaggy, just hard in spots? Any suggestions?
I appreciate any input?
thank you for your clear explanations, and sharing your experience! My bread turned out very well and tastes great! God bless you, Sune!
Hello from Quebec, Canada. When you say to feed the sourdough the night before doing the bread, do you leave it in the fridge after feeding it until the morning, then you take it out and let it rise up to 175% ? This is what i think it is but i am not sure. I am a newbie of few months and i have problem with my dough being all the time too wet and hard to work, it is fine to start but in the bulk fermentation gluten does not form even if i stretch and fold. I really think i let my sourdough too long on the counter after feeding it. This will be the first time i try your recipe, wish me success ! ;). Have a good day
Your videos have helped me dive into the world of sourdough effortlessly, and I thank you!! There are so many differences in how people go about baking sourdough bread, but your experiments show where you can cut corners, and where you really shouldn’t. Love your channel!!!
Water temperatures please!
I don’t measure them 🙂
Hi! I’ve used your recipe a lot and i really like it. I usually bake using a cast Iron pot with a lid, or a pizza stone with the pod on top as a lid. However, I’m getting a new oven with steamer function – how can I utilize this to make the best bread possible?
In my oven I use the steam without fan. I start steaming about 10 minutes, before adding the bread. Steaming for 20 minutes, then I vent the oven, turn down the temperature and bake until the bread is finished 🙂
Can we use only all purpose flour instead of all purpose and whole wheat flour mix?
Yes, but you way want to lower the hydration, because of less protein in the flour 🙂
Pingback: Artisan Sourdough Bread - An easy recipe for crispy bread - Foodgeek
Hi Sune!
Congratulations on your website, it’s fantastic!
I’d like to try making sourdoughbread but I have a small oven at home that can only reach 230ºC, do you think it’s worth a try nonetheless?
Hi there,
Super easy to follow recipe. However, I halved it to only make one loaf and my dough (currently in the bulk fermentation stage) is looking very dense…. should I start over or continue folding and let it rest overnight? The dough is not seeing a lot of lift.
Thanks!
Cristina
Hello Sune, my name is Teo, I gotta question for you. Why my bread gets cracks in the bottom of the boule?
How can I be sure that the items I order give you a credit. I’ve ordered several items and never really sure you get any credit (Brod &Taylor, multiple weck jars, bowls, dutch oven, lame and more.
is my autolyse supposed to be super dry?
I can’t thank you enough for your website and YouTube channel which has helped me to make the most delicious sourdough bread for the first time! I have had many failed attempts in the past but your process and explanation is so straightforward that it gave me the confidence to try again and I am so impressed with the results! It’s getting cold in the UK now and this is affecting how my dough develops and tastes but using the benefit of your knowledge, I have been able to adapt my process, judge the dough and still produce delicious bread.
I am trying your olive sourdough recipe today and I have used your bread calculator A LOT to create my own recipes. This is such a valuable resource to me and I wanted to say thank you very much!
In the UK I have had great results with Shipton Mill white bread flour (12.6% protein) and stoneground wholemeal flour (14%). I’ve taken these up to about 80% hydration with no difficulties.
Thanks! It’s good for other people to know 🙂
My first attempt, my husband said it’s the best bread he had ever had. Great flavor and crust!
Wish I could’ve posted a pic.
Thanks so much. I’ve been making low hydration sourdough for a year or so now, but have been wanting to get that nice crispy crust and airy crumb. I’ve used this recipe 3 times now, and every time I’ve gotten a better loaf. The third was finally great, though I’m still hoping to get better ears. Thanks again for sharing such a thorough tutorial and recipe!
Love this recipe and your videos. Thanks for the clear instructions and explanations. I’ve made it three times now and every time it gets better (though I fear this fourth batch that’s in the fridge now might have overproofed). I just bought a large (10″ diametre) banneton. If I do not split the dough into two loafs, could I use this to make one big loaf, or do you think it would be too huge?
Hello, If I don’t have whole wheat flour, can I use rye or spelt instead? If so, how do the measurements change?
Yes, basically any flour will do for the 20% part 🙂
Hi thanks for the recipe. Do you know how to figure out the carb count of the bread?
My son is diabetic thank you very much Colleen
The carb count is listed in the recipe for one bread.
Just weigh the bread before you cut it, and then you can weigh a slice and calculate the carb count this way:
W_carbs = (W_slice / W_bread) * 344
wow! This was super helpful…thank you!
You are welcome! 🙂
Hi Sune can you help me? I’m following your beginners recipe and made my levain 40gms bread flour, 40gms wholegrain wheat flour, 40gms sourdough starter, 80gms water. Once it’s ready to use I measure it into my Autolyse flour but it is never enough only 175gms instead of 185gms and I shoud have 15gms left over. Everything is weighed and mixed throughly. Where am I going wrong?
Many thanks
Kathie
Hi Sune — I’ve really enjoyed your videos and found them very helpful! My question is…can I feed the starter in the morning and then, a few hours later when it’s peaked, take some of that starter to make my levain right away and then continue with the rest of the process? Or do I have to feed the starter the night before and then use it after it’s peaked and fallen overnight? Thanks!!
You can do it whenever you want. Feeding it in the morning is the same as making a levain. Nowadays I won’t bother with levains. I just feed my starter and bake when it’s at its peak 🙂
I can’t seem to reply to your comment on my question, so thank you for the answer regarding when it’s okay to use the starter for levain. Based upon your answer I just checked your updated/simpler sourdough bread recipe and see that you are indeed skipping the levain step. I’ll give that one a try soon 🙂 Thanks again!
Hi Sune,
I like the way you explain stuff. You helped me a lot. One thing still bothers me: how cold is your fridge?
I ruin all my doughs with overnight proofing at 7 degrees C.
Thanks. I have mine set really cold 2C/35F 🙂
I’ll add it to the recipe 🙂
Hi. I would like to know if i make one bigger bread it would be ok? Or better to make 2 ? Thanks
Absolutely, Just scale the bread up. You may want to bake a bit longer. I usually bake 25 minutes covered, 25 minutes uncovered these days anyway 🙂
I would appreciate it if you could give the time for your bulk fermentation at 30°C. I know it varies all over the possible range of values, but if you could give the time, it would give me something to compare my own results with. Might vary for different flours, starters, and all other factors. I have been watching on YouTube since before the pandemic and have learned a lot from you. I am in U.S., but use metric measures.
Thank you for watching and following 🙂
It usually takes me about 2½-3 hours after I put the dough in the proofer 🙂
Thanks for info.
Great recipe but the words on the right side of the page, I can’t see what it says. Re post or send directly to me please
Hi Sune,
I have been a fan of your videos since I started making bread in April of 2020. I fell for the sourdough craze hook, line, and sinker! I am in the process of remodeling my kitchen. It’s not done yet, but my in wall steam oven is in place. It’s nothing fancy like the professional type that actually injects steam, but I can fill the basin up with water before I preheat and it steams while it cooks. My previous oven was on the fritz for a long time, so I haven’t made any bread for a while. I wanted to get back into it using your beginner recipe. With my new oven, I assume that I should be able to bake without a Dutch oven. I was planning on trying to bake directly on a pizza stone that I preheat with the oven. Would you make any adjustments to the cooking time or anything else if this is the situation?
Thanks in advance for the advice, and thanks for all the awesome content!
Russell
There’s really no difference in timing. Bake for 20-30 minutes with steam, 20-30 minutes without, and you should be golden (brown) 😉
Hello! If I don’t want to wait until the next morning to bake after final shaping, how long should I leave the bread in the bannetons on the counter before baking? Is there any negative affect not refrigerating and waiting will have? Are we expecting a certain level of rise in the bannetons at this stage? Thank you!
I’d only wait an hour or so before baking.