Artisan Sourdough Loaf
Are you ready to try the trendy artisan loaf for yourself? Great! It’s one of my most favorite breads! I know the recipe may feel overwhelming at first, but it’s such a beautiful loaf and once you get the hang of it, it becomes muscle memory! Soon you’ll be doing it from memory and adding all types of fixin’s to make this recipe yours! We prefer to use grams over cups because it is a lot more accurate of a recipe this way, and more likely to set your baking up for success! When it comes to baking, a food scale is worth every penny.
Just some words of encouragement - it took me 3 months to get an edible loaf. I’m being dead serious. For three months I made oversized hockey pucks that would’ve broken a tooth had anyone dared to bite into it. It was hard enough it could’ve become a certified weapon. But I stuck to it, and I learned how to make this bread. When I did, I never looked back! I believe the same will happen for you!
My advice would be to not get too hung up in the routine of it all. If your stretch and folds are only done 2 times instead of 4, or you go over the 30 minutes marks, its more than okay. Though it doesn’t seem to be so, this bread is very forgiving! IF you find yourself needing extra help, shoot a comment below and I’ll do my best to trouble shoot with you!
Ingredients:
200g active sourdough starter (100% hydration)
500g bread flour (you can use all purpose flour as well)
10g salt
350g lukewarm water
Instructions:
Day 1: Refreshing your sourdough starter
In the morning or the night before baking, refresh your sourdough starter by feeding it equal parts (by weight) of flour and water. For example, feed it with 50g of water and 50g of flour, then let it sit at room temperature until it becomes active and bubbly.
Day 2: Mixing and fermenting the dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine 200g of active sourdough starter with 350g of lukewarm water. Mix together until the starter is mostly dissolved in the water.
Add 500g of bread flour and 10g of salt to the bowl. Mix everything together with your hands or a dough whisk until all the flour is hydrated and a rough dough forms.
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rest for 30-60 minutes. This resting period is called autolyse and helps the dough develop gluten and become easier to handle.
After the autolyse, perform a series of stretch and folds. To do this, wet your hands slightly and grab one side of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over the rest of the dough. Rotate the bowl and repeat this fold from all four "sides" of the dough. This helps strengthen the dough.
Let the dough rest for another 30 minutes to 1 hour, then perform another round of stretch and folds.
Repeat step 4 about 2-4 times, spaced out by 30 minutes to 1 hour each time, until the dough feels smooth and elastic. (Remember, this is not fully necessary and not a rigid routine!)
After the final stretch and fold, shape the dough into a round loaf. You can do this by gently pulling the sides of the dough towards the center to create tension on the surface.
Place the shaped dough into a proofing basket or banneton lined with a cloth dusted generously with flour. Cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it proof at room temperature for 3-4 hours, or until it has visibly increased in size and passes the poke test (when you poke it lightly with a finger, the indentation should spring back slowly). Depending on the warmth of your kitchen, it could take 10-12 hours. The main thing is making sure it gets a good proof/rise!
Baking the loaf:
About 30 minutes before baking, preheat your oven to 420°F (230°C). If you have a baking stone, place it on the middle rack of the oven during preheating.
Place a piece of parchment paper over the proofed dough, then place a baking peel or an upside-down baking sheet over the dough. Flip the dough onto the peel or sheet so that the parchment paper is now on the bottom and the round part of the dough is on top.
Score the top of the dough with a sharp knife or lame to allow for expansion during baking. This is when you can make a traditional design, or make it your own!
If you're using a baking stone, carefully slide the parchment paper with the dough onto the hot stone. If using a Dutch oven, carefully place the dough into the preheated Dutch oven using the parchment paper as a sling.
For steam, you can pour a cup of hot water into a preheated steam pan or a cast iron skillet placed on the bottom rack of the oven to create steam, which helps the bread develop a crispy crust.
Bake the loaf covered for 20 minutes, then remove the lid or cover and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the loaf is deep golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
Once baked, remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. I know it’s difficult to do this, because it smells delicious and you’re ready to reward yourself for all the hard work! But, this cooling period allows the inside of the bread to set properly. Make sure to put it on a wire rack, or your bread will get a soggy bottom (said in my Paul Hollywood voice - if you know, you know).
Voila - As always, get a GOOOD healthy slab of butter and enjoy your homemade artisan sourdough loaf!
This recipe uses less sourdough starter while still maintaining the sourdough characteristics. Adjusting the amount of starter affects fermentation time and flavor intensity, so feel free to experiment to find what suits your taste best. Happy baking!
