How to Bake Sourdough Bread (New & Improved Recipe)
About this recipe
Sourdough bread is a classic favorite, known for its tangy flavor and chewy texture. This recipe from Chef John at Food Wishes promises a new and improved take on the traditional loaf, featuring a lovely open crumb and a crisp crust. After a year of development, this method incorporates unique folding techniques that enhance the bread's structure and flavor, making it a must-try for any home baker.
Ingredient notes
- If you don't have sourdough starter, you can ask friends or family for some, or check out Food Wishes' previous video on making it from scratch.
Tips from Food Wishes’s video
- The 'old flop and turn' technique is crucial for building gluten structure; perform this three times with 15-minute rests in between.
- For the autolyse step, mixing the flour and water ahead of time allows the flour to hydrate, making the dough easier to work with and improving the final texture.
Good to know
- How long does it take to make this sourdough bread?
- The total time for this recipe is 12 hours.
- What is the yield of this recipe?
- This recipe yields 1 loaf of sourdough bread.
No life story here — the video and the recipe are the whole point. All credit to Food Wishes: watch the original on YouTube.
The recipe
Ingredients
Steps
- 1
Prepare the leavon by mixing 100g of sourdough starter with 15g of bread flour, 15g of whole wheat flour, and 5g of rye flour. Add 35g of cold fresh water and mix well. Cover loosely and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 hours until it doubles in size and is bubbly.
- 2
About 2 hours before the leavon is ready, prepare the autolyse by mixing 135g of wheat flour and 365g of bread flour in a bowl. Make a well in the center and add 425g of cold fresh water. Mix until combined and let it sit for 2 hours.
- 3
After 2 hours, check the autolyse. It should have slumped down in the bowl. Add 70g of the prepared leavon to the autolyse. Add 11g of kosher salt around the outside of the mixture. Wet your fingers and mix everything together until well combined.
- 4
Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, uncover and perform the 'old flop and turn' technique by grabbing the edge of the dough and folding it over the top. Turn the bowl a couple of inches and repeat until the dough resists the folding.
- 5
Cover the dough again and let it rest for another 15 minutes. Repeat the 'old flop and turn' technique two more times, resting for 15 minutes between each set.
- 6
After the last set of folds, let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Then, scrape the dough onto a lightly wet counter and perform the 'old stretch and fold' technique. Stretch the dough into a square, fold the corners into the center, and then fold the dough in half towards you. Roll it up into a ball shape.
Heads up — we had to guess a little:
- The total time for the recipe is inferred based on typical sourdough bread making processes, including fermentation and resting times.
Credit where it’s due: this recipe was transcribed from Food Wishes’s original video on YouTube. Follow them there — it’s their dish.
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