One of my dearest friends, Iesha is famous in our circle of friends for making some of the best homemade sour dough bread! It’s so good she’s invited all the ladies over for a day of bread baking lessons with pool floating and Pina Coladas made in her amazing industrial strength blender! Talk about a super fun way to spend a day. Baking bread with your besties, floating in the pool, working on your tan and going home after a fun day of laughter and fellowship with a freshly baked loaf of sour dough bread that you made all by yourself. That’s as near a perfect day as I can imagine! Got butter? You’re gonna want some when you bake up this tasty loaf!
Start by sifting the flour and vital wheat gluten together into a large mixing bowl.
GOOD TO KNOW: Adding Vital Wheat Gluten to all purpose flour will make it stronger by increasing the protein content. Increasing the protein content in the flour will produce airier loaves with a higher rise.
Add warm water (keep temperature below 100 degrees) and active bubbly starter to the bowl. Stir ingredients together until you have a sticky, shaggy dough. Dough will be very lumpy and bumpy.
Use a wooden spoon if you don’t have a fancy whisk.
If you know someone that bakes bread ask them if they will share some of their starter with you. If you can’t get your hands on some starter, I have good news! It’s really easy to make your own sourdough starter. Learn How To Make Sourdough Starter. All it takes is flour, water and a bit of patience. Before you know it, you will be baking your own sour dough bread with your very own starter.
Don’t toss out the sourdough starter that got pushed to the back of your fridge and you forgot about. Find out how to easily revive and bake with it again. Learn How To Revive & Strengthen A Sourdough Starter.
Back to our loaf…cover bowl with a dish towel and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
GOOD TO KNOW: During the colder winter months place the covered bowl in your oven and turn just the light on. It creates the perfect cozy environment for proofing the dough.
1st Stretch & Fold
Sprinkle the Kosher salt over the surface of the dough.
Wet your hands and grab the edge of the dough, stretching it and folding it over. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Continue turning the bowl a quarter turn until you have stretched and folded the dough 4 times.
Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
2nd Stretch & Fold
Wet hands and grab the edge of the dough, stretching it and folding it over. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Continue turning the bowl a quarter turn until you have stretched and folded the dough 4 times.
Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
3rd & 4th Stretch & Folds
Wet hands and grab the edge of the dough, stretching it and folding it over. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Continue turning the bowl a quarter turn until you have stretched and folded the dough 4 times.
Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
The dough will become smoother, more elastic, and easier to stretch with each stretch and fold you do. Notice how much smoother the dough is after the final stretch and fold in the photos below.
Form Loaf
Lightly flour work surface and turn dough out onto prepared surface.
Use your hands to form loaf into a round ball, gently shaping the loaf stretching the dough from the top center and out, down and underneath turning the dough in a circle to form a smooth ball.
Generously flour Banneton with flour.
GOOD TO KNOW: Use a well floured bowl if you do not have a Banneton.
Place dough, upside down in the basket. Pinch seam along the bottom together.
Cover with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 45 minutes.
For a more sour tasting loaf, place covered dough in the refrigerator overnight for a long cold proof, for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake the next day, remove dough from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature while the oven is preheating.
Bake Loaf
Place Dutch oven pot with lid in the oven and preheat to 450℉ for 45 minutes.
Place a sheet of parchment paper over Banneton basket and then a plate.
Turn loaf out onto parchment paper.
Dust loaf with additional flour if desired. Use a sharp knife to score the top of the loaf with a large “X”. Cuts should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep.
Carefully remove preheated Dutch oven pot and place bread into the extremely hot Dutch oven pot.
Cover pot with the lid and bake loaf covered for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and bake loaf uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the loaf has a rich golden brown crust.
GOOD TO KNOW: The longer you bake the loaf uncovered, the crunchier the crust will be.
Remove from oven and transfer loaf onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature before slicing into the loaf, at least one hour.
Serve with butter or a bread dipping sauce.
Flavorful herbs, spices & fresh garlic in olive oil, create the perfect, can’t stop eating it, Bread Dipping Oil for all your favorite loaves of freshly baked bread.
I hope you give this sourdough bread recipe a try. It produces consistently good loaves of delicious bread with a great sour flavor that all us sourdough lovers crave. It’s an easy to do technique that’s perfect for both beginner bread bakers and more experienced bread bakers alike. Give this easy method a try and you too will be pulling beautiful loaves of sourdough bread out of your oven.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Iesha for sharing your expertise and knowledge with us so we can all experience the joy of baking our own delicious loaves of bread! There’s something so wonderful about pulling a freshly baked loaf of bread that you made all by your self out of the oven. I encourage everyone to give it a try!
Iesha’s Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- Large Dutch oven with lid
- Banneton Bread Proofing Basket
Ingredients
- 650 grams all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 3 tbsp vital wheat gluten
- 400 grams warm water
- 200 grams active bubbly sourdough starter
- 17 grams Kosher salt
Instructions
- Sift flour and vital wheat gluten together into a large mixing bowl.
- Add warm water and active bubbly starter.
- Stir ingredients together until you have a sticky, shaggy dough.
- Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes.
1st Stretch & Fold
- Sprinkle the Kosher salt over the surface of the dough.
- Wet hands and grab the edge of the dough, stretching it and folding it over. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Continue turning the bowl a quarter turn until you have stretched and folded the dough 4 times.
- Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
2nd Stretch & Fold
- Wet hands and grab the edge of the dough, stretching it and folding it over. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Continue turning the bowl a quarter turn until you have stretched and folded the dough 4 times.
- Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
3rd Stretch & Fold
- Wet hands and grab the edge of the dough, stretching it and folding it over. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Continue turning the bowl a quarter turn until you have stretched and folded the dough 4 times.
- Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
4th & Final Stretch & Fold
- Wet hands and grab the edge of the dough, stretching it and folding it over. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Continue turning the bowl a quarter turn until you have stretched and folded the dough 4 times.
- Cover bowl with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
Form Loaf
- Lightly flour work surface and turn dough out onto prepared surface.
- Use your hands to form loaf into a round ball, gently shaping the loaf stretching the dough from the top center and out, down and underneath turning the dough in a circle to form a smooth ball.
- Generously flour Banneton with flour and place dough, upside down in the basket. Pinch seam along the bottom together.
- Cover with a dish towel and allow dough to rest for 45 minutes.
Bake Loaf
- Place Dutch oven pot with lid in the oven and preheat to 450℉ for 45 minutes.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper over Banneton basket and then a plate.
- Turn loaf out onto parchment paper.
- Dust loaf with additional flour if desired.
- Use a sharp knife to score the top of the loaf with a large "X".
- Carefully remove preheated Dutch oven pot and place bread into the pot.
- Cover pot with the lid and bake loaf covered for 30 minutes.
- Remove lid and bake loaf uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until the loaf has a rich golden brown crust.
- Remove from oven and transfer loaf onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature before slicing into the loaf, at least one hour.
- Serve with butter or a bread dipping sauce.
Did You Make This?
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