Sourdough bread is the perfect bread - crispy crust, soft crumb with lots of holes - but it takes a long time to make. Here is a recipe where it goes as fast as possible without compromising the quality.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time50 minutesmins
Fermentation8 hourshrs
Total Time9 hourshrs10 minutesmins
Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: All
Keyword: sourdough, sourdough bread, the easiest sourdough bread
Feed your starter, so it is ready to be used in the evening.
You need enough starter to use 100 grams and something to continue your sourdough starter.
I usually take 50 grams of unfed starter, 100 grams of bread flour, and 100 grams of water.
Make the dough - in the evening - about 21:00/9 p.m.
Put 100 grams of starter and 700 grams of water in a big bowl. Mix until the starter is dissolved.
Add 760 grams of bread flour, 190 grams of whole-grain whole-grain wheat flour, and 22 grams of table salt
Mix the dough with your fingers until it is well mixed.
Put a wet dishcloth over the top and leave it until the following day.
Note that the recipe assumes your kitchen to be about 21°C/70°F. If it is a lot warmer, the dough may be ready sooner, and if it's a lot cooler, it might take much longer.
The dough should be about doubled in size and jiggle slightly when wiggling the bowl.
Divide and preshape - next morning - between 6:00/6 a.m. and 8:00/8 a.m.
Pour the dough onto an unfloured table and divide it in two using your scraper.
Grab a piece of dough and push your scraper under the front of the dough. Lift it and fold it over the dough away from yourself.
Repeat from the top, from the left, and the right. That creates tension on the dough that is facing the table.
Using your scraper, in one swift motion, push the scraper underneath, lift the dough and turn it upside down.
Put your scraper behind the dough and drag it towards yourself. Use your other hand to guide the dough so that the front of the dough is pushed underneath the ball, thus creating tension on the top of the dough. To release the scraper, pull it backward quickly.
Now put the scraper in front of the dough and push forward and turn it around until the scraper is behind the dough again. Repeat these two steps until you have a suitable ball.
Repeat with the other piece of dough and let the dough balls rest on the kitchen table for 15 to 20 minutes.
While waiting, mist your bannetons and sprinkle with rice flour.
Shape the dough and refrigerate
Shape the dough as described above, making sure the surface is very tight.
Using the scraper, flip the dough into the banneton. Seal it using a plastic bag and put it in the fridge.
Repeat with the other dough ball.
Bake the bread
Put a dutch oven in your oven and turn the oven on to 260°C/500°F.
Let the oven heat for at least one hour.
Cut two pieces of parchment paper that should be big enough to fit over your bannetons. If you use a regular dutch oven, you may want to make much longer pieces as a sling to lower the dough into the pot.
Take a banneton from the fridge.
Put the parchment paper over the banneton, put your peel on top and flip it
Lift the banneton off the dough carefully. Score the bread using a lame or a very sharp knife.
Open the oven and place the dough inside the dutch oven. Put the lid on and close the oven.
Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on top of the dutch oven.
Open the oven and take the lid off. Close the oven.
Lower the temperature to 230°C/450°F and bake another 25 to 30 minutes until the crust is dark and crunchy. Don't be afraid of the edges getting a bit dark
Take the bread out of the oven and place it on a wire rack.
Turn the oven up to 260°C/500°F and repeat with the other bread once the oven is warm again.
Let the bread cool to room temperature before you cut into them.