Easy Crusty Sourdough Bread Recipe
Sourdough bread is a time-honored delight, crafted through the alchemy of flour, water, and wild yeast. Characterized by a tangy flavor and a chewy texture, this artisanal bread boasts a golden-brown crust and an airy, hole-studded crumb.
Jump to RecipeWhat sets sourdough apart is its reliance on a natural fermentation process, where a live culture of wild yeast and lactobacilli transforms the dough. From the satisfying crackle of its crust to the nuanced aroma that fills the kitchen, each loaf tells a tale of patience, craftsmanship, and the artistry of traditional breadmaking.
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How to Make Sourdough Bread:
There are 5 simple steps to making sourdough bread.
Step 1, mix the Dough: This is simply mixing your water, sourdough starter, salt and flour in bowl, mixing into a shaggy dough.
Step 2, stretch and folds and bulk fermentation: You will complete 4 sets of stretch and folds during your bulk fermentation period. Each stretch and fold will be 30 minutes apart. With each set of stretch and folds, you work the gluten to strengthen the bread dough.
Step 3, final rise: After your stretch and folds are complete, you will cover your bowl and let the dough rest in a warm spot. It shouldn’t double in size, but it should rise by about 75%. Then you can shape it.
Step 4, cold ferment the dough: With this recipe you’ll cold ferment the dough in the fridge, ideally for 24 to 48 hours. This slows the fermentation down, and creates the wonderful sour tase.
Step 5, scoring & baking: After the dough has cold fermented, you’ll turn it out onto a piece of parchment paper, dust with flour, deeply score it; then transfer it to a COLD Dutch oven.
Ingredients:
- Flour
- Water
- Salt
- Optional: You can add anything you would like! Garlic, herbs, cinnamon, raisins, cheese, jalapenos.
The best part about making bread yourself? It’s 100% natural. There are no chemicals or nasty preservatives in homemade sourdough sandwich bread.
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Sourdough Benefits
Why is sourdough bread good for you? Sourdough breads are fermented breads made with wild yeast. The fermentation process helps digestibility and nutrients absorption more than regular bread can.
Sourdough Lowers blood sugar levels: One of the benefits of sourdough bread is that it helps keep blood sugar levels more stable than your basic white bread. The bacteria in the sourdough starter alter the structure of the bread molecules, making the body absorb them slower and lowering the bread’s glycemic index. This means that insulin levels will not spike as high after eating sourdough bread.
Crusty Sourdough Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Dutch Oven or oven safe pot with lid
- Kitchen scale
- Scoring blade
Ingredients
- 100 g Active sourdough starter Fed within the last 12 hours
- 325 g Water
- 475 g Bread Flour
- 10 g Salt
Instructions
- Add the water and starter to a large bowl, mix until combined.
- Add the flour and salt, mix until you have shaggy dough.Let rest 30 minutes. Dont worry if it looks dry.
- Complete 4 sets of stretch and folds, 1 round every 30 minutes. With slightly wet finger tips, grab a portion of the dough and stretch it upward. Fold the dough over toward the center of the bowl. Give the bowl a 1/4 turn and repeat, continue until you have come full circle to complete your first round of folds.
- After your final set of stretch and folds, let rest final 1-2 hours in a warm spot.It shouldn't double in size, but it should rise at least 75%.
- Shape your loaf; at this point you can add inclusions.
- Start by gently stretching your dough out into a rectangle, and folding it back into its self like a book. This will help create tension in the dough and give it a good oven spring when baking. Finish by forming into a nice round loaf, pinching the bottom together.
- Set your shaped loaf into a floured banneton or towel lined bowl dusted with flour.
- Making sure to keep the seam side up. Cover and set into the fridge for 24-48 hours to cold ferment.
Baking
- When ready to bake, take your dough out of the fridge, flip over onto a piece of parchment, and dust the top of your loaf with flour. Score your loaf deeply, be creative with this,
- Place your loaf with parchment into a COLD Dutch oven, set a few ice cubes in your Dutch oven, to help create steam.
- Set your Dutch with lid on into your cold oven, set the temperature to 450f Set a your timer for 50 minutes.
- After 50 minutes remove your lid, bake for another 5-10 minutes to brown the crust
- .This time will be oven dependent, so keep an eye on it and brown to your liking.
- Your bread is done baking when its reached an internal temperature of 200f or above.
- Let cool fully before slicing, and enjoy!
