We all have our food weaknesses; those items we have a positive, visceral reaction to when we eat or even smell them. For me, it’s freshly baked bread. When I get a whiff of bread baking in the oven, I am overcome with warm fuzzies. My mother wasn’t a baker, yet the aroma of fresh bread makes me feel homesick. I long for the time when a hug from my mom made me feel safe and reassured that everything would turn out fine. Whatever your connection to bread, baking your own at home will fill you with such deep satisfaction that you’ll make it a regular part of your week, I guarantee it.

If you jumped ahead to see how long this recipe takes, don’t be discouraged, the hands-on time is around 3 hours and requires minimal effort. Sourdough bread needs ample fermentation time to achieve that delicious, tangy flavor we all love. If you start the process for this no-knead bread on a Friday night, just before you go to bed, you’ll be stuffing your gob with the crustiest, most flavorful sourdough loaf while you sip your Sunday morning coffee (or tea).

In refining this recipe over the last four years, I have found that I prefer to proof my dough in the refrigerator overnight. Cold dough is much easier to score and handle.

ingredients

ingredients

Levain

• 40 g sourdough starter
• 75 g all-purpose flour
• 75 g water, lukewarm

Note: It is good practice to always feed your starter one day before you make your levain. If you store your starter in the fridge, as I do, this is an especially important step to get that yeast activated.

Dough

• 700 g bread flour
• 500 g water, lukewarm
• 15 g kosher salt
• levain from above

equipment

• large bowl or container with a lid
• 2 bowls or bannetons for final proofing
• wooden spoon or dough whisk for mixing
• digital scale
• Dutch oven, bread cloche, pizza stone or half sheet pan for baking (if using a pizza stone or sheet pan, you will also need a large, cast iron pot to use as a makeshift lid)

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instructions

Make the levain:

It takes roughly 8-12 hours for your levain to be ready for use. Because it takes only a few minutes to mix the levain, I do it right before I go to bed, that way I am guaranteed to be ready to start making my dough anytime that suits me on the following day. Something no one will tell you about bread making is that it’s both science and art. Time and temperature are absolutely fundamental to your success, but once you understand what is happening and how your actions impact the outcome, you’ll find that there are myriad ways to get the same result. Hence, if your kitchen is warm enough and your starter is active, 12 hours should be the maximum amount of time it will need to get bubbly enough to put into your dough.

1. Combine the starter, flour, and water in a container, mix well and cover – leave it out on the counter for 8-12 hours. I am a big fan of the Cambro containers because I can do the levain, mixing, folding, and proofing all in one. If you don’t have a large enough container for this step, use whatever bowl or container you prefer.

You can test your levain for readiness by pinching off a tiny amount and dropping it into a glass of cold water. If it floats for a 30 seconds, you’re good to go. If it sinks immediately, your levain needs more time.

Make the dough:

1. In a large bowl or container, combine the ripe levain, flour, and 450 g of lukewarm water, mix just until the dough comes together and no dry bits are visible. The dough will look very shaggy at this point.
2. Cover the container and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to one hour. This is the autolyse stage where the flour is absorbing water.
3. Add the salt to the remaining 50 g of water, stir until it is dissolved, and set aside.
4. After 30 minutes, add your saltwater and pinch the dough all over to incorporate it.

Begin folding:

1. Fold #1 – Pull one “corner” of the dough over the center then rotate the container 1/4 turn. Repeat this process 3 more times, rotating after each fold.
2. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
3. Fold #2 – as before, pull one corner of the dough over itself, rotate the container 1/4 turn, and fold again. Do this a total of 4 times. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
4. Fold # 3 – 5 should occur every 30 minutes the same as the first two. When you are done, you will have completed the 4-turn folding process a total of 5 times over 2 1/2 hours.

Bulk fermentation

Now that you have completed the folding, your dough will need to bulk ferment. Cover the dough and let it rest on the counter for 1 1/2 up to 3 hours. Your goal is to allow the bread to double in size. If you have a very cold kitchen, it will take longer. Do not measure your success by how long it’s been out, alone. If the dough has been resting for 2 hours and it hasn’t budged much, it needs more time. This is another reason why I love the Cambro containers, they have great markings on the sides to let you see how much your dough has expanded. Another nifty trick is to cover your bowl with plastic wrap and carefully draw a circle around the circumference of the dough as you are looking down through the plastic. As it rises, you’ll see it grow well beyond that circle.

PRE-Shape the dough:

The key to getting the shaping right is to first start by knocking the air out of the dough. This is called, de-gassing.

1. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently press it flat.
2. Using a bench cutter or large knife, divide the dough into two, equal portions.
3. Pre-shape the rounds – think of this as priming your dough for its final form. You’re going to get it into a loose ball then let it rest. Press the dough into a square-ish shape then pull each of the four corners toward the center and pinch them together. Flip the dough over and gently give it a few quick counterclockwise turns on the table.
4. Repeat the pre-shaping for the second portion then cover both with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for 15-20 minutes.

FINAL SHAPING:

For final shaping, you will essentially repeat the pre-shaping process (de-gassing, pulling in, and pinching the corners) but instead of a few gentle turns, you will be performing a kind of turn and pull technique. The goal here is to seal the pinched area closed and get the surface of the dough ball nice and tight

1. Flip the ball over so that the pinched area is in contact with your floured bench. With both hands, simultaneously turn the dough counterclockwise and pull it toward you. Do this a few times and observe the surface of the dough as you do it. Be careful not to overdo it, the dough may split and you’ll need to let it rest for 15 minutes before trying again.

2. Repeat the final shaping for the second round and place both into well floured bowls or bannetons, dust the tops with additional flour.

3. Cover the bowls, tightly, and place the rounds into the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours. I have a collection of 2.5 gallon reusable freezer bags that I use to cover my rounds in the fridge. I like them because they are big enough to give the dough room to expand during fermentation and they can easily be washed and used again.

BAKE THE BREAD:

1. Place your Dutch oven or whatever covered container you plan to use for baking into the oven and preheat to 460 F.
2. Remove one of the rounds from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a lightly floured counter or piece of parchment paper while the oven is preheating. Just before placing it in its baking container, score the top to allow an exit point for steam.

3. Remove the preheated baking container from the oven and carefully place the dough inside and cover it with the lid.
4. Bake for 30 minutes then remove the lid to allow the crust to crisp and darken.
5. Bake for 8 minutes then check the temperature by inserting the probe an inch into the center. If your thermometer reads above 200 and the color is a deep caramel brown, you can stop baking. If the temp is around 200 but the color of the crust is still very light, continue baking for another 2 minutes or until the crust is the desired color.
6. Remove the bread from its container and allow it to cool on a wire rack. There is a process called gelatinization that is happening as the bread cools. If you cut into the bread too soon, you will disrupt this process and the interior will feel slightly gummy.
7. Repeat the scoring and baking process for the second round.

If you want to let the second round remain in the fridge for a little longer, you may do so, but don’t go longer than 24 hours. You may not get as much rise out of the second round if you retard the dough too long.

NOTE: If you are viewing this recipe on a mobile device and you are new to bread baking, scroll to the bottom to view the suggested timeline.