I’ve baked this loaf, or some variant of it, so many times I’ve lost count. This bread was born when I first got my hands dirty with flour and water. Its parent—if you could call it that—was originally Chad Robertson’s Tartine loaf with his liquid levain, brought to life, not with intensive kneading, but rather a series of folds during bulk fermentation.
My best sourdough recipe has grown since then. It has developed a personality of its own as I’ve expanded my baking repertoire and investigated the many facets of baking naturally leavened sourdough. It’s taken on and lost traits from many great bakers out there, borrowing from their inspiration and giving me a direction to raise this bread into something of my own. This bread is one that doesn’t entirely taste like anything else I’ve had, and yet, still employs many of the same processes and ingredients.
That’s one of the greatest things about bread: it can taste and look dramatically different just by changing the two hands that create it. Calling this post “my best sourdough recipe” is a lofty claim, but honestly, I do believe this is the best bread I’ve made thus far.
I sometimes revisit a discussion I had with a few readers of this site and their comments: “bread is just bread, it’s something to be eaten and is something life-giving, isn’t that enough?” I agree, but when something becomes a passion for you it’s important to set lofty goals and get excited when breakthroughs are made. Isn’t that the definition of a craft and the relentless honing required?
I’ve taken my best sourdough recipe from its most nascent form to its current stage and can trace through the years each change to its formula or process — and I’m sure I’ll be changing things well into the future as it continues to evolve — a work-in-progress.
Yes it’s excessive in some way, but there’s an excessiveness to ambition as well.
John Mayer
Maybe the actual recipe for this bread isn’t the most important part, but rather, the lessons and insights learned along the way as I continually hone my baking proficiency. I’m not claiming this recipe will yield the perfect loaf every single time, but I dare say it comes the closest for me—and that’s exciting.
This bread is the bread that I want to make the most often, the one my family asks for the most often, and the one I share most often. I have a special place for whole wheat bread, and taste-wise, it might make me want to call that my favorite one day, but the versatility of this bread is pretty hard to beat. In fact, I bake this so often that my freezer has an entire shelf lined with pre-sliced loaves wrapped and in bags labeled pane perfetto.
While the actual formula for my best sourdough recipe is simply a mix of flour, water, salt, and levain, there are many nuances here to pay close attention to; here are a few key things to successfully making this bread:
- An active starter
- An autolyse
- A high hydration
- Sufficient dough strength
- A warm and complete bulk fermentation
- A long, cold proof
Before writing this post, I pulled out my trusty notebook (or use my free baker’s note sheet!) and paged through the handwritten (and flour-ridden) pages to find any scribbled “ah-ha” moments or little notes jotted down in the margin, along with a few curse words peppered throughout, and have bundled them up into this entry (sans curse words to keep it clean). A compendium of sorts containing my insights, breakthroughs, and ah-ha moments.
My best sourdough recipe doesn’t require an exotic blend of hard-to-find flour, a complicated multi-step levain build, or the use of a mechanical mixer. It’s built around making this bread in your home kitchen.
My best sourdough recipe is very highly hydrated and can be challenging. When mixing, be watchful for the signs and adjust the dough hydration to suit your environment and flour. If you’re not used to working with high-hydration dough, please start with hydration somewhere in the middle and slowly work up.
Flour Selection
I’ve tried a lot of flour out there (and am an avid user of freshly milled flour), indeed not everything there is, but I’ve ordered enough now that the UPS guy thinks I might have a bakery in my backyard. I have baked some great bread with Hayden Flour Mills, Central Milling, and Giusto’s. I’ve also had great success with King Arthur Baking high-protein white flour.
I have consistently made incredible loaves with Giusto’s flour; I only wish it were organic. Nevertheless, I find myself ordering a box of it here and there and enjoying the results every time. Of course, as I mentioned before, try whatever is local first (sadly, my source for local, organic flour is no longer available) and whatever you like.
When trying new flour, remember to hold back more water than you might otherwise, and then slowly add it in at the end of mixing or throughout bulk fermentation. Now, on to my best sourdough recipe.
Watch Me Make This From Start To Finish
I absolutely love this bread and make it often, but it can be challenging for first-time bakers. Be sure to watch my YouTube video below for a look at how I handle the dough and every step of the process.
If you’re brand new to baking sourdough, check out my Beginner’s Sourdough Bread recipe; it has in-depth information on every step in the baking process. Then come back and bake this!
My Best Sourdough Recipe
Vitals
| Total Dough Weight | 1,800 grams |
| Pre-fermented Flour | 6.4% |
| Levain percentage in final dough | 17.1% |
| Hydration | 85.0% |
| Yield | Two 900g loaves |
Total Formula
The target final dough temperature (FDT) is 78°F (25°C). This dough loves a warm ambient environment. Try to keep the dough at the listed temperatures if possible; use your oven with its light on inside, your microwave with a bowl of steaming water, or a proofer. I use my instant-read thermometer to check the dough temperature periodically throughout bulk.
For more information on how to calculate DDT, monitor temperature, and maintain temperature have a look at my post on The Importance of Dough Temperature in Baking.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 852g | Medium-protein bread flour (~11.5% protein, Giusto’s Artisan Bread Flour) | 90.00% |
| 94g | Whole wheat flour (Giusto’s Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat) | 10.00% |
| 710g | Water 1 | 75.00% |
| 95g | Water 2 | 10.00% |
| 17g | Salt | 1.80% |
| 30g | Ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 3.20% |
As I mentioned above, my best sourdough recipe is an extremely high hydration. If this is your first time working with this recipe, reduce the total water or hold water back during mixing to ensure your dough can handle the addition. The amount of water your dough will handle will vary based on your particular flour and environment—play it safe the first few bakes and work the water up gradually once you get a feel for the dough.
My Best Sourdough Recipe Method
1. Levain – 9:00 a.m.
Build the liquid levain in the morning and store somewhere warm around 77-80°F (25-26°C) ambient for 5 hours.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 30g | Ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 50% |
| 30g | Medium-protein bread flour (~11.5% protein, Giusto’s Artisan Bread Flour) | 50% |
| 30g | Whole wheat flour (Giusto’s Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat) | 50% |
| 60g | Water | 100% |
If you haven’t yet read through my post on my sourdough starter maintenance routine, check it out for some helpful hints on what to look for when your sourdough starter and levain are ripe and ready to use.
2. Autolyse – 12:00 p.m.
This highly hydrated dough can be mixed by hand or with a mechanical mixer (like a home spiral mixer). Either one will yield great results, but here, I’ll discuss mixing this dough by hand.
Mix the flour and water in a bowl until all the dry bits are incorporated, then cover. Ensure all the dry flour is hydrated—store near levain (we want the dough’s temperature to remain warm).
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 822g | Medium-protein bread flour |
| 64g | Whole wheat flour |
| 650g | Water 1 |
3. Mix – 2:00 p.m.
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 95g | Water 2 |
| 17g | Fine sea salt |
| 151g | Ripe liquid levain (see above) |
Add the ingredients to your dough in the mixing bowl that underwent an autolyse. Add the water slowly, in stages, while you’re mixing, and stop adding water if the dough feels excessively wet or soupy at any point.
Perform folds for about 2-3 minutes in the bowl. Grab under one side, pull up and over to the other side, then rotate the bowl a bit and repeat. I do this probably 30 times or so (it goes fast and easy). In the end, the dough should still be shaggy, but it will be more smooth and will start to hold itself together more in the bowl.
If you’re a fan of the slap & fold mixing technique I’ve described in the past, you can do this but be aware that it is difficult at this hydration. It’s best to first slap and fold the dough without adding all the reserved water to get the dough smooth and strong. Then, return the dough to the mixing bowl and slowly add the remaining water while folding the dough.
I find that the correct level of dough strength at this point is important. You want the dough to be smooth, elastic, and strong, but it doesn’t have to be fully developed, and it will still be shaggy. We will continue to strengthen the dough through stretch and folds in bulk fermentation.
Transfer dough to a tub or thick-walled bowl for bulk fermentation.
5. Bulk Fermentation – 2:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.
At 78°F (25°C) ambient temperature, bulk fermentation should go for about 4 hours. Perform six sets of stretch and folds during the bulk. The first three are at 15-minute intervals, and the last three are at 30-minute intervals. After these folds (2 hours and 15 minutes have gone by), let the dough rest for the remainder of bulk fermentation.
I stretch and fold more vigorously at the beginning of bulk than usual since it is extraordinarily slack and extensible (due to this recipe’s high hydration and autolyse). Pick up one side of the dough with both hands and pull it up, just before tearing, and fold it over to the other side. Rotate your container and repeat 4 or 5 times. That is one set.
Above, you can see my best sourdough recipe dough halfway through bulk, after about 2 hours. There is no significant rise as of yet, but the edges are beginning to dome downward, and the dough’s texture is smoothing out slightly. We still have several more folds to do and more strength to build.
It is essential that the dough is kept near 78°F (25°C) as much as possible (minor fluctuations up and down are ok). If temperatures dip down too far, you might have to extend the bulk fermentation duration to compensate, and vice versa. Use your judgment, the signs described below, and be flexible.
At the end of bulk, your dough should look very gassy, with some bubbles here and there, and the edges where the dough meets the bowl should be slightly domed. You can see all these signs in the image above.
When you gently shake the bowl, the entire mass jiggles from side to side—very alive. You’ll also notice that compared with the photo at the beginning of bulk, the dough is smoother and holds its edges, folds, and creases more readily (most of the bumps and ridges you see are due to trapped gasses from fermentation).
6. Divide & Preshape – 6:15 p.m.
Divide the dough into two halves and gently preshape each piece of dough into a round. Then, let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered. Act quickly when handling this dough and rely heavily on your bench knife. I try to use my hands as little as possible when dealing with the dough at this point.
7. Shape – 6:45 p.m.
Lightly flour the top of your dough rounds and flour the work surface. With this recipe use a little more flour on the surface than normal, the dough will be extremely sticky and wet. Flip each round and shape into a batard (see notes below) or boule, whatever your preference.
Here’s a video of how I shape a bâtard. With this dough, be sure to use the “slack dough” shaping method since the dough is such high hydration.
I prefer to shape these as batards, and my shaping method is as follows:
- Flip pre-shaped round
- Fold the bottom up to about halfway
- Fold the left side over to about 3/4 to the right
- Fold the right side over to cover left
- Stretch top up & away from the center and fold down to about half (you’ll now have a “letter”)
- Grab a little of the dough at the sides near the top and stretch it over the center, so the dough crosses. Imagine lacing up a shoe where you first grab your laces and cross them over
- Repeat three times from top to bottom (the result will look like a laced up shoe)
- Take the bottom and gently roll the dough up to the top and try to seal it slightly when done rolling
Alternatively, if the dough feels pretty strong, you could shape it by “cinching” up the dough. For more instruction on how to shape this dough as an oblong loaf, see my post on how to shape a batard (with video!).
After shaping, let the dough rest on the bench for a few minutes and then place it into a banneton that is lightly dusted with white flour. You’ll see above my bannetons give the dough plenty of room to relax and expand in the fridge overnight. If your proofing container is on the smaller side, and you find your dough almost spilling over the edges, it might be time for a larger basket.
8. Proof – 7:25 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., the next day
Cover your banneton with plastic and place it in the refrigerator at 38°F (3°C) overnight.
9. Bake – Next Morning: Preheat oven at 8:00 a.m., Bake at 9:00 a.m.
Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C). Remove the dough from the fridge (there’s no need to let the dough come to room temperature) and uncover. I scored the dough with a single, long slash to get that dramatic opening when baked. I keep the blade at a reasonably shallow angle so the taut skin created during shaping will “peel” back as the loaf rises.
I steamed my oven in my usual way, described here in my post on how to steam your home oven for baking. But you can also bake in a pot or Dutch oven.
Bake for 20 minutes with steam, then remove your steaming pans if baking on a surface or Dutch oven/combo cooker lid. Then, bake for an additional 30 minutes until done to your liking. I like to bake rather dark, so I sometimes extend this second half of baking until I get the crust I’m looking for.
Once your loaf is done, remove and let cool on a wire rack for 1-2 hours. See my post on the best way to store the bread after it’s baked for a few tips on keeping it on the counter and freezing if you think you won’t get through both loaves in a week.
Conclusion
It’s hard to put into words just how much I enjoy this “my best sourdough recipe.” I bake it almost every week (sometimes multiple times if baking for friends and family), and yet every time I pull it from the oven, I smile. The crust color, the open and light interior, only the smallest perception of sour notes, and the way it crunches when toasted. I could go on and on.
The photos to follow are the results of scattered recent bakes that all followed this process exactly and have a slightly different outcome. You’ll notice some are a bit darker, some have more or less flour on them, some expand differently in the oven, and some are taller and some are shorter—that’s the nature of baking.
With baking, every single bake is different no matter how consistent you try to be. It’s the same with my Dad and his Italian restaurant, and the reason I’ll sometimes get a call in the middle of the afternoon: “hey, the pizza dough is incredible today, you should head over and grab some.”
Crust
As a kid, I was known to take slices of bread, cut out the center, and eat the crust. It used to anger my family because they’d reach into the breadbasket only to find slices of only the soft parts. That’s how much I love the crust! Can you blame me, though?
I enjoy bread with a chunky, chewy crust, but this bread with its delicate and cracker-like crust takes the top spot for me. Even though I bake these rather dark, the crust remains thin and brittle, crackling under the slightest pressure. I love using the “heel” (the very end) of this bread to eat soup or combined with hefty slices of cheese. It’s delicious.
Crumb
I think there’s a balance to be had with bread like this. It’s possible to let the crumb open up too much, but for me, this is just right. Scattered open areas with that translucent webbing spanning from wall-to-wall, a dynamic movement to these areas, almost show you how shaping was carried out.
Taste
This bread has an almost imperceptible hint of sour, and because of this, the wheat flavors from the flour come forward. It has an incredibly tender, soft crumb that almost dissolves in your mouth. It’s one of those rare foods whereupon taking that first bite your mouth begins to water.
In the end, bread is just bread. But it’s also the staff of life and has been for thousands of years. It’s is also more than the sum of the ingredients you add to the mixing bowl. It’s how it makes you feel when you give some to a friend, and they grin ear-to-ear as they take a big bite. It’s the knowledge that you created this thing over a few days that once was a lump on your counter and is now an incredibly delicious food meant to be shared. To me, this is real bread and my best sourdough recipe to date.
Buon appetito!
Print
My Best Sourdough Recipe
- Prep Time: 24 hours
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 24 hours 55 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves
- Category: Sourdough, Bread
- Cuisine: American
Description
This sourdough bread is one of my favorite recipes. It’s a highly hydrated dough that results in a loaf with an open and lacey interior contrasted by a thin, crispy crust.
Ingredients
Levain
- 30g medium-protein bread flour
- 30g whole wheat flour
- 60g water
- 30g ripe sourdough starter
Main Dough
- 822g medium-protein bread flour
- 64g whole wheat flour
- 745g water
- 17g salt
- 151g ripe levain
Instructions
- Levain (9:00 a.m.)
In a small container, mix the levain ingredients and keep at 78°F (25°C) for 5 hours. - Autolyse (12:00 p.m)
In a medium mixing bowl, add 822g medium-protein bread flour, 64g whole wheat flour, 650g water, and mix until no dry bits remain. Cover the bowl and let rest for 2 hours. - Mix (2:00 p.m.)
To the mixing bowl holding your dough, add 95g water (holding back any as necessary if the dough is too wet), 17g sea salt, and the ripe levain (from step 1). Pinch and mix all the ingredients together and do folds in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough smooths and is cohesive. Then, transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover. - Bulk Fermentation (2:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.)
Give the dough 6 sets of stretch and folds. The first three sets are at 15-minute intervals, and the last three sets are at 30-minute intervals. - Divide and Preshape (6:15 p.m.)
Lightly flour your work surface and scrape out your dough. Using your bench knife, divide the dough in half. Lightly shape each half into a round shape. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered. - Shape (6:45 p.m.)
Shape the dough into a round (boule) or oval (batard) and place it in proofing baskets. Cover the baskets with a reusable plastic bag. - Proof (7:25 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. the next day)
Cover proofing baskets with reusable plastic and seal them shut. Then, place both baskets into the refrigerator and proof overnight. - Bake (Preheat oven at 8:00 a.m., bake at 9:00 a.m.)
I steamed my oven in my usual way, described here in my post on how to steam your home oven for baking. But you can also bake in a pot or Dutch oven. Preheat your oven with a combo cooker or Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C). Remove your dough from the fridge, score it, and transfer it to the preheated combo cooker. Place the cooker in the oven, cover with the lid, and bake for 20 minutes. After this time, remove the lid (you can keep it in the oven or remove it) and continue to bake for 30 minutes longer. When done, the internal temperature should be around 208°F (97°C). Let the loaves cool for 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
This is a very highly hydrated dough. Don’t add in all the reserved water during mixing if it feels like the dough is becoming overly weak, slack, or soupy.
What’s Next?
If you want more help getting an open crumb with this bread, I’ve created a 100+ page book with step-by-step instructions. Learn the best flour to use, the right fermentation schedule, and all my tips in my Bread Baker’s Handbook.
Are you a TPL Member? If so, the handbook is free for you!
2,142 Comments
I have another question, I made this recipe and mine turned out really sticky. Im in the Philippines and it’s a bit warmer here. Do i need to adjust something?
Was the crumb inside sticky? If this is the case it might be a sign that you have not fully baked the loaf. You can always test for doneness with your bread by inserting a thermometer in your bread and make sure it’s around 210ºF. The interior should not be gummy or sticky. It should be nice and tender with moistness to it. Additionally, make sure you let the loaves sit for a bit (1-2 hours is perfect) before cutting into them!
Okay i think i should go buy a thermometer. Hmm another thing, when do I start the folding? 1st hour or anytime during the four hours?
Yes you can bake straight from the fridge — this is what I always do. You definitely should get a thermometer. Start thinking about temperature of the dough as an ingredient in the recipe, take note of temperatures, and see how your dough reacts. It is very, very important!
I like to start the first fold 15 to 30 mins after mixing. You can really do it any time, but you want to leave the dough for at least 1 hour at the end to ferment untouched.
I’m having the same issue with the crumb being sticky, but I get a dark brown color on the outside. I also have the issue of the bottom of the loaf having holes after it’s baked. Any thoughts?
At high hydrations like this your crumb will be more moist inside, for sure. Definitely make sure you do a full and complete bake to ensure all the water is baked out of your loaf (bread temperature on the inside should be around 210-212ºF when finished).
If the exterior of your loaf is baking too fast you could lower the temperature of your oven at the second half of the bake, say to 435, and try baking it for a longer time.
I’ve seen little holes on the bottom before, and it’s just the nature of how the dough is shaped and the gas pockets that form. For me it’s never been too excessive, though. You could try to make sure when you shape the bottom of your loaf has a nice seal to it (meaning when you fold the dough over the sides touch and form a single piece).
Can i bake it right after taking out the fridge?
Yes, that’s how I do it!
Hi! Im currently using a sourdough starter recipe that i got from red star yeast website. Can i use that one for the levain?
I’m not familiar with that website but yes, that will work just fine I’m sure! As long as it’s active (rising and falling predictably) you’re good to go.
Thanks so much Maurizio! I will try it again today. We are having a bread overdose here at home hahah
This is a good problem to have 🙂 You’re welcome!
Ok…One more thing to share…I used a seedling mat under my bowl with dough or my sourdough/levain if the kitchen is cold…while it doesn’t heat it up a lot, it does offer some gentle heat to keep things going. I have also lifted the sides of the mat to envelop the bowl as well…😊
That’s a great idea. Funny you should say that, I actually built a pretty “rugged” proof box with a Coleman cooler that has a seedling mat at the bottom, it works really well! I’ve since moved on to the Brod & Taylor proofer (highly recommended), but that cooler works pretty darn well! I should post my construction steps on that actually… Thanks for the tips!
Just also wanted to share that I used my mockmill to grind some rice for my own rice flour for bannetons and flouring wood peels. With the Mockmill at its finest setting, I noticed it a bit more grainy than the purchased rice flour..but still did a good job keeping things non stick…and on another topic I would like to ask you,when you use the hard white wheat that you milled for bread if you sifted that at all, or do you use the whole shabang?
That’s a great idea, I don’t know why I’ve never thought to do that. I use very little rice flour, but why not mill my own?
It depends on what I’m after. If I want a proper whole wheat loaf then I won’t sift at all. If I want to have a lighter, more white loaf then I will sift using one of my screens to get the desired extraction. I’ve done both in the past, either way works really great. I like the taste of fresh milled whole wheat (no sifting, the whole thing), it’s fantastic.
Revisited this post again after rereading tartine no 3 and Now its time to test my learning 😊 Thanks a bunch over on Instagram for all your guidance. You have The perfect loaf and I dream for one after each bake for the next ☺️
Sometimes a re-read of an old book can bring insight! You’re very welcome, let me know how it goes!
Thank you, Maurizio, by following your suggestions I have finally created the sourdough loaf that reminds me of the San Francisco sourdough I grew up with. Each time I make it now I do one variation to see how the bread changes… last loaf was my rye starter and whole rye flour in place of the whole wheat. 🙂
Just curious if you sift your fresh milled flour? I am playing with sifting vs non sifted…I just bought a stainless size 50/55 stainless sifter from bread topia. It produced almost white flour. I have various other sifters so I can vary how I want my flour.
I do, sometimes. It depends on what type of bread I’m after. I bought a set from Korin.com a while ago, #35, #50 and #65 screens — really nice set. It can be quite a bit of work to do the sifting but it’s worth it for the flavor of the fresh flour!
Hi Maurizio, love this technique. I am currently playing with my new Mockmill stone grinder that is an attatchment to Kitchenaid/Hobart. I will try your method on my next batch of bread with freshly ground wheat. I noticed you have the wood pulp baskets for proofing..how do you like those? Also..I have the same Shun serrated knife..it is kept seperate from all my other knives and used ONLY for bread. It is one sharp mother! Thank you for this lovely informative site! Cathy
Awesome, thanks for the comments! Fresh milled flour… what a revelation that is, don’t you think? Just incredible.
I really like the wood pulp bannetons, they are very nice. My dough has yet to stick to the sides of one of these, they’re magic.
And yes, NO ONE touches my Shun knife, except me 🙂 Not only because I love it so much but also because you could easily lop a finger off without even noticing!
Thanks again for the kind words, happy baking Cathy!
Hi Maurizio,
Been following your techniques for a while now, and I’m glad to see you’ve perfected your Sourdough Recipe. I’m in my bulk build right now as I write this lol. Cold proof has always been a challenge for me, perhaps because I don’t let it go long enough? I usually cold proof in an AC’d room a bit higher temp than 40 deg F. I want to make the fridge thing work today though as I need to slow the process down a bit due to schedule conflicts. My question (finally) is this, do you bring the dough out and let it come to temp on the counter while the oven warms up, or do you pull the loaves cold from the fridge and put them straight into the pre-warmed oven? Oh and greetings from an English teacher in the UAE (near Dubai).
Justin – thanks! I’ve noticed that my fridge is a bit cold at 38ºF, and that’s why I let the dough rest out a bit before placing in there overnight. If you’re doing a little over 40ºF then it might be ok, it all really depends on how much activity you’re seeing before you place into the fridge. If it doesn’t look super active, bubbly, jiggly, then let it sit out for 20-40 minutes before you toss into the fridge. Try to push fermentation as far as you can, just before the dough looks “weak” and super bubbly. Over time you’ll be able to kind of tell when you’re going too far in the fridge or on the counter. Try to keep as many things consistent while doing this as possible! This way you can really focus on fermentation.
I do not take the dough out to rest before baking, I bake straight from the fridge. You can take the dough out if you’d like and let it ferment a bit farther before baking, but I find it harder to score the dough when it’s warm (the dough gets softer).
I hope that helps, let me know if you have any more questions! Cheers from the US!
Hi Maurizio, congratulations on your magnificent blog. Just tried the recipe, but unfortunately it takes more than words to tell about the smell and taste! Greetings from far away Poland!
Ha, true words! Thanks for the comments and I’m glad the recipe has worked out so well for you. Cheers from across the globe 🙂
Well, just blew the whole day of working your perfect bread recipe….blew a blast of heat in the oven and walked off, then heard the beep that the oven reached temp….350 thank you very much. Start again tomorrow….
Ah darn! Well think of it as a learning exercise 😉 Let me know how it goes!
Ola Maurizio!! Thank you so much for your reply! I just had to antecipate the dough for an hour in the refrigerator due to hot weather in Sao Paulo. It is about 30 degrees here. I really loved your recipe since the quality of flour is pour and the maximum hidratation we can get here is about 60% but on your technics I got 75%. Cheers!! Again, I’m grateful for your help. Best wishes for the coming year! Happy Baking in 2016 :))
You’re quite welcome Marcelo! That IS hot, whew. Glad it turned out so well and I hope to hear from you again soon — Happy New year!
Hello Maurizio!! First of all, thank you for sharing this amazing post with us! I’m just started my proccess but please note that I’m sligtly confused on the step 5 – Bulk Fermentation – If we perform 6 sets of stretch and folds starting on 15 minutes the first three steps we got a total of 45 minutes. Them the final three steps on 30 minutes intervals each one is about 90 minutes total. It means that we have 45 + 90 minutes the 6 sets – total 2 hours and 25 minutes. You mention about 4 hours. Does it mean that I have to let the dough rest the remaining time? Can you please clarify? Thank you very much from Brazil!
Marcelo, you’re very welcome! You are correct, after your last set of stretch & fold you let the dough rest, untouched, for the remainder of bulk fermentation. You are essentially strengthening your dough in the beginning, until is is “strong enough”, and then you let it rest and build up gases inside to aerate your dough. It’s important to give the dough at least 1 full hour untouched at the end of bulk fermentation.
Happy baking!
Thank you, Karen!
Hey Maurizio – How much do you expect your levain to grow before it’s ready?
Hard to say an exact height, really. It definitely more than doubles, but I pay attention to other signs just as much: the smell, whether there are streaks on the sides indicating it’s started to fall, and if you jiggle just a bit the feedback you get when it jiggles. When fermentation is starting to go quite far you’ll notice a more acidic smell and you’ll get quite a bit more “jiggle” in the container as things begin to breakdown. Hope that helps!
Woo-hoo! Thank you Maurizio! I just made my best bread ever! I’ve been following your posts for at least 6 or more months as well as working with what works in my kitchen (with the fluctuating temperatures of British Columbia). So I used a 50% fresh milled flour with some of your tweeks from this post ( different times for each step and the equal levain ratios), plus a much longer preheat of my oven – and I was happy to have my best bread ever to share with my whole family for Christmas Eve! …. off now to replicate another batch for tomorrow 😉 –
Natalka
Natalka – excellent! Really awesome to hear this. I’m glad you kept with it for a long while, it sounds like your practice (and some of these tips) have paid off 🙂 Fluctuating temperatures can be tricky to deal with, I’ll typically use my oven as an insulating chamber to try and keep the dough at a somewhat consistent temperature. Just keep it in there (with it off!) and maybe a light on inside, I’ll also keep my ambient temperature thermometer in there just to keep an eye on things.
Thanks for the comments and happy holidays!
Maurizio, nice write-up. I have a couple of loaves going in tomorrow morning. Do you preheat the dutch ovens?
Tom, thank you! Yes preheat the Dutch ovens for the full time as your normal oven. Happy baking!
Sue — yes I keep the dough covered during the entire bulk fermentation. I use plastic bowl covers with elastic to cover my bulk container (these things are amazing) — they are kind of like shower caps, really easy to take on and off.
Yes, those Lodge combo cookers are awesome! Happy baking 🙂
Just took them out of the oven and they look and smell great. I’m going to save these for Christmas dinner since I won’t have time to bake again this week. I’m surprised they came out as good as they did. I’m new to bread baking and the high hydration was a challenge. I expected the bread to be flat with little to no rise. They really didn’t look that good going into the fridge last night. I baked them in my Dutch oven for about 45 minute total bake time.
Hopefully they taste as good as they look. I wish I could post a couple of photos. Thanks for the step by step instructions.
Jerry
Excellent! Looks can definitely be deceiving with this loaf, especially before they go into the oven. Glad your bake was successful, I’m sure they are going to taste great. You’re welcome and have a great holiday!
I love seeing your posts, am about to try my first ever sourdough loaf tomorrow. Have been having fun with my starter. May I ask- what size Bannetons do you use for your loaves? thanks for your fantastic site.
Thanks and good luck! Once your starter is up and running it really becomes like a part of the family. I have some listed on my baking tools page, but the ones listed here are 9″ long by 4″ wide. Hope that helps and thanks for the comments!
Beautiful cumb. I strive for a crumb like that. I don’t think I read in your post, do you allow the dough to come to room temperature before baking or just go straight from the refrigerator to the oven?
Thank you, Steven! I bake all my sourdough straight from the fridge.
Right on!! Answer to my question!
Thank you for the amazing blog Maurizio!
You’re very welcome, happy baking!
I have the two loafs in the fridge and will bake them tomorrow. I have to say it was a lot of work to get this far. I followed your directions the best I could. Hopefully I didn’t screw anything up and the bread comes out good. The high hydration was a challenge. I used the only flour I had in the house which is King Arthur bread and whole wheat. I’m hoping they can handle the hydration. I like a long overnight ferment. It adds so much flavor, Hoping for the best. Merry Christmas
Sounds like you’re well on your way! King Arthur flour should be able to handle it, if not just reduce some next time and see how it goes. This bread is a bit of extra work but I believe it’s worth it! Good luck, let me know how it turns out!
Great loafs, when you score you go deep? Is better a flour not very strong?
I do score fairly deep, about 1/2″ or so, but the blade rather shallow to the dough. Imagine cutting under a thick piece of paper. The Giusto’s flour I used for this bake is not overly strong, probably 11-12% protein. Thanks!
This is a beautiful bread! My favorite artisan bread recipes are always naturally leavened, have a long fermentation time, and lots and lots of hydration. I can tell the amount of folds in bulk fermentation really help to strengthen this levain without having to mix it much. I haven’t been able to make much bread since my son was born, but this recipe makes me want to bet back to baking!!
Thank you for the comments! Yes, instead of heavy mixing I find it much easier to do stretch and folds, and the crumb will open up a bit more as a result. Taking time off for your son is a valid excuse 🙂 Thanks again for the comments and have a great holiday!
‘Excessive”!?! That can not be! Such attention and passion is the mark of an artist…of one born to do his/her work. I came to this passion late in life, already in a wheelchair but before my arms became disabled as well. Not being able to to do these wonderful steps is definitely mediated by reading about and seeing your bread. Thank you…thank you!
Wow, very heartfelt words, thank you so much. I do feel a calling towards bread, I’m lucky I have the time to heed it! Thanks again for the comments and I hope you and your family have a great Christmas holiday!
What can I say! – Fantastic as always. I will be sure to try your variations soon! Merry Christmas to you and yours – I look forward to sharing Seasonal baking endeavours! Best Regards,
Jon
Thank you so much Jon, much appreciated! Merry Christmas to you and your family 🙂 Ciao!
I will be trying this one in the AM. Hey isn’t Giusto and Central milling the same company? Also thinking about Pandoro, instead of Pannetone. Any suggestions on making 50 grams of sour starter sweet? I am going to wing it from there, using your methods, with some Carol Fields inspiration. Your the best!
Thanks, John! Yes, there is some connection there between Giusto and CM, I think one of them started the other, not sure which way went where. Either way, amazing flour from both! To make the starter sweet, I’d say you need to feed often, keep it liquid, and when feeding carryover as little as possible mature starter. Make sure you let it ferment enough to fully colonize the new food/water, but you want to feed before high levels of acidity build up. Pandoro, THAT is my favorite. Next year… next year. I already have too many baking “projects” for this next week 🙂 Cheers John & happy holidays to you and your family.
All I have to say…perfect loaf and beautiful write up! I always look forward to reading your posts and thank you for all your hard work you put into this blog!!
You’re very welcome, glad to have you along! Thanks for the kind words and have a happy holidays!
This is a great recipe. When you heat the oven in the morning, do you take the dough out of the fridge? Or does it go straight from fridge to oven?
Thanks! The dough goes straight from the fridge, to my peel for scoring (as shown in the picture) and then right into the oven — I bake them from cold.
Wow! Okay, I’ll do the same 🙂 Just worried they’d be a bit ‘sleepy’ yeast-wise…
Love it, love it! Best bread and best blog. Your details are enlightening, as well as stunning. I love that you are able to incorporate so many of the things we come across, and make them work for you. Hope your Dad reads your blog, and maybe spends a day with you in your “bakery”. Thanks so much.
Thank you so much Margie 🙂 I really appreciate the comments! I think it’s those little things we discover along the way that sometimes lead to great breakthroughs (that and our conversations and endless testing!). I just gave a loaf to my Dad just a few minutes ago, he had a big grin on his face 🙂
Maurizo, what happened to the fresh milled flour? Not in this recipe?
Lee — still working quite a bit with fresh flour! None used in this recipe, there were enough variables to track and experiment let alone throwing in fresh flour. I’m back to the milling game starting this weekend! I’ll definitely try this recipe out with part fresh flour very soon.
Oh Maurizio, you’ve done it again! I just love seeing the photos of your bread and reading your descriptions and the story behind them. You have a new shaped starter jar? I would dare not show you my journal, it is an absolute mess! I might try your recipe, my favourite is also based on a Chad one which I tend to stick to and will continue to do so until I get a real oven. Thank you for such lovely posts, wishing you and your family a safe and happy Festive season. Cheers, Maree.
Thanks so much Maree! I actually bought a box of these “tulip” shaped Weck jars to do preserving of vegetables, they are very nice. I didn’t have any clean jars so I had to use it! It’s a great shape, actually, as the top is even more open and the rounded bottom makes stirring even easier. Not sure if I’ll stick with them, I guess it depends on what’s clean 😉
You’re welcome and I hope you and your family have a great holiday!
Wonderful post and pics are beautiful! Really enjoyed reading it. Your love of bread making shines throughout the entire piece.
I feel like I’m going back to Chad Robertsons style too. Having success with doing everything at higher temps. I’m going to try Babetteartisan’s levain build next.
Thanks, Noah! I get so enthusiastic when I start to really dial in on a great process & recipe, I can’t help but convey that here 🙂
Babbette’s method is partly what inspired my experimentation with warmer conditions — it only makes sense, yeast/bacteria really get moving as it gets warmer. Looking forward to seeing your results!
Wow! Thanks for taking the time to post all this great information. I’ve yet to attempt a loaf with this level of hydration, but this makes me want to try.
Susan — you’re very welcome, thanks so much for the comments! The hydration level here is challenging to work with, I’m not going to sugar coat it. Definitely start out a bit lower and work up as you get comfortable (also your flour will only support a hydration at a certain level, so if the dough becomes absolutely unmanageable you might have reached the limit). Have a wonderful holiday!
Oh my goodness. Your perfect loaf is a marvelous Christmas gift. I don’t think I have ever seen such an absolutely gorgeous loaf of bread, and I am eager to try the recipe. Will order the necessary ingredients and get busy.
I just finished baking some old world pumpernickel, and a Russian black bread—all in my freezer. Now, hopefully they will be joined by your perfect loaf, once I get it baked. thank you so much for the detailed explanation, and sharing the pictures of that heavenly loaf—so holy—(pun intended).
Best wishes.
Thank you, Alma 🙂 I’m going to be experimenting more with rye here very soon, it’s especially fitting giving the really cold weather we’ve been having out here in the Southwest. Russian black bread sounds very, very hearty!
Thanks again I appreciate it — have a happy holiday!