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
Maurizio,
Tried your basic sourdough last weekend and it was terrific. I’ve been baking bread and sourdough for years so it so pretty easy. So yesterday and today I tried this harder one. (cut recipe in half to make only one loaf). Not a complete success. It never really got the dough stiff enough; it kind of spread out too much on the hot stone losing it’s shape a bit then didn’t rise quite enough in the oven. I think I should have done more stretch and folds during the bulk??? Or try with less liquid??? But the ultimate irony… I take it out of the oven to let it cool and it looks pretty good, not great, but ok. Had to go outside to meet UPS guy & came back in the house to no loaf of bread! But find it in the living room with our 2 dogs are munching it down. They loved it! I now have less than half a loaf left. Guess I have to try again tomorrow…..
Thanks for the great site!
Right on, Ric! Ha ha, that’s just too funny, your dogs have a good sense for good food! Yes, sounds like the dough wasn’t strong enough and/or it was too high of a hydration. I’d suggest give it another try with 5% less water in the recipe, that’ll help quite a bit!
Hi – I’ve been experimenting with your sourdoughs but I am trying to figure out how to adjust these recipes to an inflexible 9-5 work schedule without getting (too) compromised results. I know it’s a tall order, but I’m trying to figure out how I could retard the levain, bulk, and proofs to be done over a few weeknights. Such as – evening 1, start levain, retard somehow; morning 2, start long autolyse (in fridge??); evening 2, mix, bulk, proof overnight; evening 3, bake. Any ideas? It would be amazing to come up with a Weeknight Baker plan that all of us could do…
I have managed to bake in two evenings – mix the levain in the morning, when just back from work started the autolysis, and finished shaping/proof around 11 PM. Then just baked next evening. If you are using a recipe that doesn’t have a too long autolysis+bulk this is quite manageable.
I am out of the house from about 8am – 6pm and I use pretty much the same schedule with pretty good results. I have even left the dough in the fridge for 40+hours (something came up the evening of the second day so had to bake on the 3rd evening) and the loaf still turned out pretty good.
I’ll work on a post exactly outlining this — thanks for the suggestion (it’s a common question/request).
What @disqus_5nC28gBeCN:disqus mentioned below will work out really well. Make a levain in the morning to ripen while you’re at work, when you get back start the autolyse, mix, bulk, and shape at night. Then, retard the dough (place in the fridge) overnight, covered, and bake either the next morning before work or first thing when you get home. That’ll work quite well!
Hi! I have been baking sourdough for a couple years now, varying a few things here and there. This recipe turned out fantastic. It was my first foray into a hydration over 80%. I don’t think I got my shaping right on one loaf, as soon as it came out of the banneton, it started spreading prior to chucking it in a dutch oven. The other was much better. One thing I would like to know is when it comes to scoring high hydration breads, mine always start spreading after cutting the skin and during baking I don’t get that nice split of the crust. Is my structure not quite strong enough? Bread still turns out fantastic, with perfevct crust and open crumb, but want those beautiful ‘ears’ on my loaf. Cheers
Hey, Zac! Yes, sounds like the dough isn’t quite strong enough. I’d suggest try reducing the hydration just a bit, maybe 5%, that’ll bring a lot of strength to the dough. You could also try kneading the dough (I like to do “slap and fold”, as you’ll see throughout my site) or give it another set or two of stretch and folds to give it even more strength. A combination of these two should make the dough feel stronger and you’ll notice it right away.
Hope that helps!
Hi! I just made my dough and will be baking it tomorrow. Can this be baked in a Dutch oven like your beginner sourdough?
Absolutely!
Maurizio!
I’ve just returned to your recipes after a bit of a hiatus. I’ve noticed that after your preshape you’ve gone to allowing the dough to rest uncovered. Is there a reason for the change? I’ve always thought that covering the dough kept it from getting too dried out….?
Thank you for being amazing. Your recipes are an inspiration.
Carmel
Hey, Carmel! Great to have you back. Yes, I’ve slightly changed many things in my process over the years and that’s one of those changes. I’ve found that leaving the dough exposed to air during the 30-45 min preshape actually dries the dough out just enough to make shaping even easier — the dough is less sticky. I almost always do this except for certain types of dough formulas, specifically if I expect that the dough will be resting longer than 45 minutes in preshape or I notice it start to dry out on the counter faster than expected (this can happen if there’s an air conditioner running or door open). Another case I’d cover the dough is if the formula was a very low hydration one where the dough is already pretty dry to begin with (for me this is anytime below about 78% hydration).
So in the end I’ve really taken a liking to leaving my dough uncovered during this step to each shaping and dry things out just enough. Hope that helps and thank you for the kind words!
Hi Maurizio,
First of all, thank you so much again for sharing all your recipes! I tried this recipe for the first time this week and for the most part, the bread is awesome: friends loved my bread picture (very important), it has a nice dark brown color, nice oven spring, smells great, and there are many many tiny air bubbles on the crust (which weird me out a little, but the pictures of your bread also have them, so I think it is fine). The only issue is the crust is not very crispy. I followed your beginner sourdough and fifty-fifty whole wheat recipes, and they all came out very crispy (I used the same dutch oven). Do you know what might have caused this issue with the limited information I gave you here? I was a bit concerned that the dough was really wet during bulk fermentation.
Anyways, many thanks for your recipes and taking the time to response our comments/questions! This is fun and I’m definitely going to try this recipe again.
Cheers,
Stefanie
You’re very welcome, Stefanie! Sounds like your bake went really well! Yes, those blisters are normal if things line up just right for them to form (sufficient fermentation, tight shaping, ample steam in the oven) — I actually really like them to some degree, they add a bit more texture and crunch to the outside.
My guess is the much higher hydration of this recipe, coupled with the mostly-white flour base, might have resulting in a wetter dough than your other bakes. Next time you bake this, try to bake it out a little longer at the end, don’t burn the bread but make it nice and dark. You can reduce the temp of your oven by 25°F to extend the bake time and help dry it out some more. Additionally, a trick I used to use is to crack the oven door for the last few minutes of the bake with the bread still in the oven, this helps dry out the interior and also causes the oven to turn the heating elements on — this should help get an even more crunchy crust.
Let me know if these suggestions help and thanks for the update!
Hi Maurizio,
I wanted to report back that I tried your suggestion and it worked like a charm. My (very supportive) friend commented on my Instagram that it is the most beautiful thing they have seen all week 😀
Thank you again for your recipes and responding to my question!
Cheers and happy baking!
Stefanie
Super glad to hear that, Stefanie! Enjoy 😀
Maurizio,
Love how detailed your recipies are, but I am missing one detail here – how do you actually bake it? On a pizza stone? In a dutch oven? You mention steaming, so I am guessing the first?
Any more information would be much appreciated!
Thanks
Thank you, Filip! I typically do most of my bakes straight on a baking stone or a baking steel following my home oven steaming method — it works very well!
My first attempt with this recipe, baked this morning: https://imgur.com/nfpn38x
I found the timing quite easy to work with, and the dough had plenty of strength for shaping! The shaped dough was kinda floppy upon removal from the fridge before baking, so that made it a little hard (for me) to score, but otherwise came out great. I used KA flour.
I use this batard shaping method. I think the oblong air pockets are due to that.
Your loaf looks great! Yes, the long interior ovals are likely due to shaping and really not a bad thing. When I’m shaping I try to be as even and consistent with the dough as possible to produce an evenly open interior. It definitely takes a bit of practice! Thanks for sharing your baking success, really looks great.
It’s hard to pinpoint the exact cause of that but it could be that your starter and/or levain wasn’t used at the right point. Be sure to use each when they are mature (have a look at my guide to Maintaining a Sourdough Starter for tips on this) — a mature starter to build the levain, and a mature levain to mix into the dough. From there, give your bulk fermentation time to develop enough activity in the dough. If your dough is cold it might take significantly longer than the times I have listed above. Give the dough the time it needs.
Let me know how the next attempt goes!
My sourdough keeps coming out burnt and stuck to the pan. I can’t figure out if it’s my oven, the old tin pan I’m using, or my dough. Is 500 degrees too hot for some ovens? Is my 7×10 inch pan causing something to go awry? What’s the right oven rack level (top, middle, bottom)? I always have to pry the loaf from all sides using a metal spatula. Not pleasant – inevitably the bottom of the bread rips off in the process, and I can’t let it rest before the insides are exposed to air.
It’s very possible 500°F is too hot — try going down to 475°F or lower in the initial stage of this bake. Additionally, when you’re using a bread tin you typically want to bake at a lower temp. Have a look at one of my pan loaf recipes, you can see my recommended baking times and temps therein.
You might find some more ideas on preventing your dough from burning on my post Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven — even if you’re not baking in one, there’s some great ideas there!
Bacon grease works best for me. I don’t use parchment paper.
Hey friend,
I’ve been enjoying your beginner guide so thought i’d take the jump and try this “best” recipe. One thing I noticed is that your baking temps and times are a little different. On the beginner guide, the “lid on” baking temp (combo cooker) was 475. On this one, the “lid on” baking temp is 500. Both go down to 450 once the lid is off, for the 2nd part of the bake. Is that significant at all? If so, is it because of the higher hydration of the “best” version’s dough? I’m baking with a gas oven so i’m already reducing some of my baking times, but wondering if you learned that dough hydration was a factor in baking temp.
With the “beginners” guide I had success with about 18 minutes lidded @ 475, and then about 22 lid off @ 450. Wondering how to adjust with the new dough.
Thanks!
For this dough I do like to preheat a bit higher. The extra heat helps “set” the dough a bit quicker, and given the high hydration of this dough, it means a little less spreading in the oven. However, if you stick with 475°F your loaves will likely turn out just fine. More and more lately I’ve been preheating to 500°F instead of 475°F, and I think this recipe was when I started that transition.
I hope it turned out well and sorry for the delayed reply!
Thanks for the guide. How would the ingredient measurements and baking time be affected if I wanted to create a single loaf, rather than two?
To make a single loaf, just halve all the ingredients. The baking time would be exactly the same since the dough mass for a single loaf would be the same as with this recipe (in other words, the actual loaf itself is the same dough weight when making one or two). Happy baking!
Hey Maurizio,
Starting a new thread because I have a little bit of a different question 😉
Although I’ve seen it pop up a few times here before, I can’t really nail down an answer. My “problem” is that my nicely shaped dough, after spending between 11-13 hours in the fridge (at 5 deg C), never manages to rise one bit. I’m starting to be pretty happy overall with my end results, but i always end with a slightly flatter bread, with several big holes, but then the rest of them are rather small, instead of medium. I’ve been adjusting bulk fermentation time to be slightly less than yours, with better results (as I think I started off overproofing my dough). I know as always that there are many many variables, but I’ve been chalking this one up to the fact that I live at sea level, and the rise is just not as pronounced as yours. I noticed this after my starter, although nice and active and predictive (and always at least doubling in size), never got many medium sized bubbles, only small ones. I even took it with me to france for the holidays, and at 700m altitude the same starter starts looking a bit more like yours, with many medium sized bubbles.
Anyway, back to the issue. I was thinking this was why my dough never really rose much in the fridge, simply because of the higher atmospheric pressure. But I just received the Tartine book for Christmas, and I noticed, even though San Fran is a sea level, Chad definitely shows in his photos that there is an at least noticeable rise during retard.
Long post, but I hope you have some insight! 🙂 And happy holidays!
Sorry for the delay, Sebastian! It’s pretty typical to see little rise in the dough overnight in the fridge — it’s cold in there! What you could try is to leave the dough out for 15 minutes – 30 minutes after you shape and cover your dough. This extra time should offset the cold temps in the fridge and bring more fermentation to the dough before it cools completely. Also, if you’re not covering your dough in total before you place it in the fridge, please do so. I use plastic bags that are sealed shut.
Another idea is to increase the percentage of levain in my recipe to compensate for the altitude different. Typically this is not necessary, but if you feel there’s just not enough activity in the dough give this a try. You could adjust the levain up 2.5-5% and see if that helps. Let me know if you need help with that adjustment and keep me posted on how it’s going!
Hi Maurizio,
No worries at all! I know you’re busy.
Good to know that rise in the fridge is not a must, since it’s been bothering me for awhile. I have been following your tips though, i.e. rest at 80deg for 20 min after shape, and covering the bowl tightly in the fridge.
It’s left me with the same underlying problem though, which is that the dough just completely flattens out in the shaping basket while retarding. It doesn’t look anything at all like your dough from “Beginners sourdough” (i’m shaping as a boule). As I think my shaping skills are pretty good by now, I keep thinking it’s because there’s not enough strength in the dough. However, I’ve tried it all – more stretch and folds in the first mix, more during bulk ferment, and also the opposite (as I thought maybe i was making it too elastic). But I’m stumped! You can see my final results in the dropbox folder here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ge0adpp5r0b0s72/AAC4I-VjsA2NUn07d7JIodFoa?dl=0
Like I said, I’m happy with taste etc., but the dough just doesn’t seem to want to hold it’s outer shape so I’m not getting that good round spring. What could be going on?
Lastly, since my hydration is down to 73% now, should bulk maybe go a bit longer? Since more less water generally means less activity?
Sebastian,
Your bread looks really wonderful from here! It looks nicely fermented, nice ear, nice color, nice rise. The dough does look a little “wet” and perhaps a little “loose,” but not bad at all. I’d suggest try reducing hydration down to 70% and see how that goes. To me the dough could use just a bit more strength do it, a little more smoothness.
Generally, yes, a lower hydration dough might need a longer bulk (assuming all else is equal), but the interior of your loaf looks spot on to me — I would not adjust.
Hope this helps, sorry again for the delay.
Hey again!
No worries (again), I know you’re busy 🙂
Luckily I’ve been making considerable progress since I last wrote. I’m down to a mere 65% hydration, but getting incredible results. This is of course because of everything I’ve learned from your wonderful site, and also some new tricks and knowledge I’ve gathered from Trevor Wilson and his really awesome book “Open Crumb Mastery”.
Take a look at my latest loaf, when you have the time! https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ge0adpp5r0b0s72/AAC4I-VjsA2NUn07d7JIodFoa?dl=0
Next step is to even out my crumb a bit, as I actually lean more towards liking an even (but open!) structure.
That’s a really, really nice bake, Sebastian. Your modifications are right on and you’re heading down the right direction! Glad I could help, and yes, Trevor’s work is fantastic as well!
Hi Maurizio — I’m going on about 6 months with the starter made per your guide (including Weck jars). Her name is Eva and she’s been wonderful, producing the best pizza, bagels and, of course, sourdough loaves I’ve ever made (and some say the best they’ve ever had!). For loaves, I stick pretty close to your “Perfect Sourdough Recipe,” although back off the water just a bit, but mostly so it stays up better when I score it. To go with Christmas dinner this year, I added roasted garlic cloves from 2 heads of garlic and about 10g of chopped rosemary when I added my salt, and the result was just stunning. Dipped in a high quality EV olive oil, it was really something. Thank you for all you do, and happy/healthy 2019!!
That’s fantastic, Peter! Glad Eva is working so hard for you — a sourdough starter is an incredible thing! It’s funny, I’ve never tried adding roasted garlic, I need to get on this. Thanks for that suggestion and a Happy New Year to you and family!
Hi today i made this recipe second time with paying attention to dough temperature and i got very good oven spring. what still have to improve is the flattening of the dough on bench rest and when taking out of the proofing basket what i assume is on 86% hydration it need to be high % protein flour or lowering the hydration or better shaping can change this? i did my best with shaping . what do you think? i used 11% protein flour
I’d say try this recipe with reduced water, perhaps 5%, and see if that helps further. In addition to this, try adding in another set of stretch and folds during bulk to give the dough even more strength. It sounds like the dough is still a little too slack by the time you go to preshape/shape. Reducing water and adding in that set should help bring more strength to the dough, which will allow it to hold shape better coming out of bulk. Hope that helps, Guy!
Hi Maurizio. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. How would you modify it if the temperature in my apartment is around 23.5-24C? (74.5F)
The process will likely just take a little longer. I’d say another 30 minutes in bulk (assuming the final dough temperature is lower than what I list above). You could also leave the dough an extra 5-10 minutes on the bench after preshaping before you shape. Hope that helps!
Hello,
I would like to make this recipe using all white bakers / AP flour. Should the water be reduced? Would this severly impact the crumb? If anyone experimented with this, helpful insight is greatly appreciated
I would say yes, to be safe reduce water by 5% and see how the dough feels. During mixing, remember to hold back some of the water as well, only add it in if the dough feels like it’s holding together. Even at 5% reduction it really depends on your flour and whether it can take on higher hydration or not. If it can’t, that’s just fine! Each flour is different.
You’ll likely have to extend bulk fermentation a bit longer with no whole wheat flour, just try to follow the signs and description I have above for when to stop bulk fermentation and divide the dough. Depending on the temperature in your kitchen, it’ll likely be around 3.5-4.5 hours if kept around 76-82°F.
Hope this helps!
Hello ,
First of all i would like to thank you for that beautiful recipe I have a question . I bake my breads this morning and the bread came out like a balloon the crust doesn’t crack. Btw the crumb was nice and bubbly but I didn’t have this beautiful oven spring did I over proof it my dough temp for 30minutes went to 90 F When I bulk ferment the dough that was the problem? Thanks a lot.
It’s really hard to say without more details and/or some photos of the result. If you think the dough went over, which I might have at that hot of a temp, try to keep it cooler next time during bulk. Ideally, 80F would be the sweet spot. I never like to let my dough get up past 85F.
Hi Maurizio
This isn’t a question, just another thank you 🙂 I’ve baked bread using your best sourdough recipe dozens of times now and in my opinion it is THE BEST SOURDOUGH RECIPE. EVER. I’m not hugely experienced but I followed the recipe’s high hydration from the first time and have always had amazing, consistent results. As long as I use good, strong organic flour (I live in NZ – after months of producing slop that would not be shaped I discovered our flour is very low protein so I buy imported organic flour) a proofer and my Lodge dutch oven I am guaranteed to produce the best sourdough. I do use other recipes with higher wholewheat and rye when I fancy something more wholesome, but this is the most irresistible bread I’ve ever baked and everyone loves it. I now use this method for all my sourdough baking regardless of the recipe, as I feel it makes a real difference to the crumb and oven spring. Thank you again for your wonderful inspiration and for supporting amateurs like me to be impressive bakers!
Donna, thanks so much for the kid words and feedback, really happy to hear all that! If you’re looking for more whole grain recipes, check out my recipes page under the whole wheat section — lots more to explore there, too! In any case, thanks again and happy baking!
Hi Maurizio,
I’ve noticed that many people like yourself like a sourdough with just a light touch of sourness. I’ve been baking for over a year now expecting my palate to refine itself, but I’m still hopelessly attached to bread with more robust sourness. It seems like many bakers tend to praise the subtlety of a breads sour qualities while gently deriding bread with pronounced sourness. Am I a barbarian?
Also, why do you think flavors from dough fermentation are held to a narrower standard than the flavors from the cultures of cheese which can be as stinky as they want to be? Do you ever find yourself liking a bread with a more pronounced sourness (sometimes I like milder) or are you pretty loyal to a certain level of sour?
Hah! You’re definitely not a barbarian — each person has their preference and their desired flavor in a loaf of bread, there’s nothing wrong with that at all!
That’s a great comparison with the world of cheese and I’m not sure I have an answer to that. My preference is for a more subtle sour flavor, mostly because I want it to help elevate the flavor of the grain and other fermentation flavors but not overpower everything. To me the sourness is welcome, but it’s kind of like using acidity in cooking: it helps brighten all the other flavors and senses.
However, there are many bakeries where I’ve had bread much more sour than mine and I do find them enjoyable. I think it’s all up to what you’re after, what you might also be eating the bread with, and what your customers/family push you into baking 🙂
I’ve tried more than a few sourdough recipes. and I am THRILLED to say – I finally got a springy airy loaf. wow. worlds away from the rubbery bricks I’ve been baking until now. thank you!
Awesome, Esther! Really glad to hear that. Happy baking!
Hello Maurizo,
I’ve been using your recipes for 6 months or so and think they are great and the blog is very helpful in general. I made this recipe this weekend and got a loaf with good oven spring but no ear as the spring seems to overtake the slice: https://i.imgur.com/FLeMoKG.jpg. Why is this? Is it underproofed? My thinking is that when baked, there is “too much” expansion left in the dough. This expansion should’ve happened before putting it in the oven. Is this correct?
Hey, Phil. It’s hard to say for sure but yes, I’d say the loaf is on the under proofed side based on the picture and your description. If you’re seeing overly dramatic rise in the dough it typically means the dough could use more time in bulk and/or proof. I’d try to leave the dough out of the fridge after you shape it for 45 mins to one hour before placing it in the fridge. This will give it more time to ferment at room temp and speed things along.
I hope that helps and sorry for the delay!
I got the gumminess too! I thought it might have been because I didn’t bake it long enough–my crust was closer to “golden” than “brown”. I’m trying again today, hopefully it turns out better.
Thought I would chime in with my first experience with the “Best” recipe. I’ve made the Beginners a dozen times or so, all in a Dutch oven, and almost all turned out quite well. Biggest issue was my family didn’t like the hard crust, but overall a very positive experience.
The high hydration in this recipe was not a big issue……at first. Dough mixed well, even easier than the Begginners because of the extra water. Folding and shaping went fine also, no issues. I did note that I was not quite getting the doming of the dough at the end, which should have been a flag.
Into the fridge it went for overnight proofing. I don’t have proper proofing baskets, so I put them in Le Creuset bread baking dishes, with parchment paper. The intention was to transfer them to a pizza peel then into the oven in the morning. However…..that was not to be. The dough was sticking to the parchment like glue, so they stayed as they were and were baked in the baking dishes.
Steam was provide by 5 towels rolled up in a stainless baking pan and a spritzer and worked really well. In the future I will use the stainless pan and Grillpro ceramic briquettes. I switched to these in my grill, and they are a much cleaner solution than lava rocks, I recommend them. I preheated to 475 with a baking steel, lowered to 450 for the initial bake and then 425 for the post-steaming bake. This gave a little softer crust which keeps the family happy.
So, how did it turn out? Better than expected, I’m happy to report. Nice rise on both loaves. The steaming worked really well. The loaves released quite nicely from the parchment, which I was somewhat worried about. Baked to an internal temp of 205F. Got a little blowout on one side because the dough would not hold a score very well. All in all, an excellent result for a first attempt! Thanks!
Right on Kevin, sounds like overall a good result. I might suggest next go reducing the water a bit, perhaps just 5%, and see if that helps. Alternatively, you could do more mixing/kneading upfront, or more sets of stretch and folds during bulk, to give the dough more strength. It should be rather strong by the time you shape the dough so it cleanly removes from the baskets when you go to bake.
Regardless, great job and happy baking!
Interesting! It could be several things causing that gummy interior, including under proofed dough (this is typically the issue) or it’s over hydrated. Feel free to shoot me over an email through the Contact link up top and I’ll see if I can help diagnose further.
Hello Maurizio!
A huge fan here. I’ve been reading and researching sourdough for the last month, and have just pulled out my 4th loaf out of the oven! It’s not remotely close to your beautiful loaves, but it’s getting better each time. I am a “weekly” baker, so I have found your baking and starter feeding schedules super helpful.
As I continue to follow your advice, hints and tricks, I hope each loaf that comes out is better than the last – or at least supplies me with helpful information to improve. There is one question that I haven’t found on your website:
What is the best way to store a loaf that should last for 4-5 days? I have read paper bags or cotton cloths, at cool temperatures preserve well. But what do you do, or would you recommend, to keep that crust crackly (is that a word?), and preventing the inside from hardening? All the best, and a thousand thanks for your advice!
Hey, Jalen! Glad to hear my website has been a source of useful information. I usually use a bread box to store my bread after it’s been cut. If I’m using a bread box I won’t place the bread in anything — just straight into the box. The purpose of the box is to keep just enough humidity in there to keep the bread soft but not too soft. If I’m not using my bread box then I’ll either be sure to keep the crumb side of the loaf down on the cutting board so the crust naturally surrounds the entire loaf. Imagine cutting a loaf directly in half and then turning those halves down.
Happy baking!
This bread looks amazing! However, I’ve been struggling with my sourdough recently (particularly with oven spring), and so would want to reduce the hydration of the recipe the first time I try it. Can I just check how that works? If I reduce the hydration what is the formula to working out all the other ingredients amounts? Can I keep all the other ingredient amounts the same and just reduce hydration amount, or have to change everything?
Also, when you specify that you use ‘whole wheat flour’, is this a wholewheat bread flour, or just normal wholewheat flour? I can get hold of both at my local organic health food store (my go to for flour normally), but I’m not sure which one would be better to go for? Thank you!
Thank you. Yes, just reduce the amount of water in the recipe to what you feel your flour can handle — this is definitely a very high hydration, so I’d shoot for something around 75% to start. You can calculate the hydration percentage by taking the amount of water and divide it by the total amount of flour (e.g. 700g water / 1000g flour = 70% hydration). See my Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Recipe for more — and this might be a great recipe for you to try as well!
Either would work, I’m sure. I don’t typically see whole wheat labeled as “bread flour” so it must be that particular brand you’re buying.
Hope that helps and happy baking!
Delicious recipe! A note to those who don’t want to carry multiple kinds of flour. I used all purpose flour (APF) and vital wheat gluten (VWG). For half the recipe, I used 428 g of APF (conventional) and 11g VWG. It came out more flat, but still airy and delicious. I only have a round dutch oven, so I maybe my round shaping skills could use some work. I probably didn’t develop enough surface tension to make it go up instead of out.
Thanks for those suggestions! I’ve not used VWG, but another suggestion would be to mix in some higher protein flour, such as “bread flour” here in the USA, to add some support to the dough. Alternatively, reducing the hydration will also bring quite a bit of strength to those struggling with loose, slack dough.
Happy baking!
Hi again
Ive tried this recipe twice. Both times i get a great tasting loaf with good crumb and chewy crunchy crust. Everything is perfect except the shape. Its always a little flat because the dough is so high hydration. Ive tried working the dough more but it didnt help much. Ive shaped them really well but after the overnight proof they lose their taught shape. Also when i cut them right before placing them in the dutch oven it causes them to lose shape. I dont know if its that it needs more proofing time or more stretch and fold or better shaping (i think i do a good job). Any suggestions? And thanks in advance.
Yes, this dough is super high hydration. I’d recommend you drop the hydration of the recipe down by 5% and see if that helps. Then, you can drop it further if you notice an improvement and want a stronger dough (which should rise up higher), or slowly bring it back up (if desired).
I hope that helps!
Hi Maurizio,
I was wondering which size bannetons you tend to use. At the moment I’m using an old ricotta colander (round) lined with muslin, but I can only bake one at a time this way. I’d like to purchase some oblong bannetons but I’m confused which size to buy! Which size do you have here? I’m still making your beginner’s sourdough after a not so great attempt at this recipe here but would love to graduate to it eventually (and others on your site!). Thank you so much and thanks for improving my sourdough attempts 100x!
All the bannetons I use regularly are listed on my baking tools page, head over there to take a look! The ones here are 14″ long, which is quite long but I like to let the dough relax out fully (this assumes the dough has sufficient dough strength to not spread too readily).
I hope that helps and happy baking, Megan!
Thank you Maurizio- finally, after a year and a half of practicing different recipes, this is one for which I can be truly proud of the result! I have one question to help make it perfect next time… I cooked my loaf in the Dutch oven. I did 20 minutes with the lid on then 25 with it off. The inside is still a little sticky (I waited 4 hours to cut) and the crust a little doughy, like it’s all just a little bit undercooked? Is there a better timing for when using the Dutch oven?
Wow, super glad to hear that, Danika! Fantastic.
It’s very possible it’s not baked out fully. If you have an instant read thermometer use that to test the interior of the loaf before removing it — the temp should read 210°F or higher to ensure it’s fully baked!
Thank you Maurizio- I have baked a few more times now for longer and it has been fantastic 🙂 now, thanks to your answers to some of the questions above, the next job is to get it to rise a bit higher… I will try slightly less water. Appreciate you answering everyone and taking the time to help us x
You bet, happy to help. Happy baking, Danika!
Great information and beautiful bread!!
Have you experimented or worked with sourdough and adding olive oil or butter? I have a recepie I’ve developed on my own with research and experiment but my crumb is closed and the bread dries out with two days but the flavor is good and people buy it but I always feel it could be better. I’m making bread for a local health food store and have been experimenting using dofferent methods and was wondering if you had any suggestions! Just reading your information on this loaf has added to my knowledge!
Thanks, Kaitlin! I have several recipes here where I use butter (check out my brioche hamburger buns) but none that use olive oil — yet. I’m working on a new recipe as we speak that does include a small percentage of olive oil (should be out soon).
There could be many reasons for a closed crumb — so many in fact it’s hard to provide any general recommendations! I’d need more information on flour, fermentation times, temps, etc. If you have photos and need some additional help, send me an email through the Contact link up top and I’ll try to help!
Hi Maurizio, I’ve read some articles on your website, great source of information!!
A question: If I only keep 20g of my starter and feed with 100g water + 100g flour twice a day, I have to discard A LOT of starter, if I don’t bake a couple of breads every day. What’s your suggested formula for people who bake, like, two breads a week maybe? Would you keep a bigger portion of the starter?
I usually keep my starter in the fridge for a few days, feed it 2-5 times after taking it out / before baking. When feeding, I used to keep all of my starter (only discard very little parts of it every now and then) and add 50g of water + 50g of flour. I’m looking to improve my feeding without wasting/discarding a whole lot of my starter every time I feed.
Fabian
Keeping your starter in the fridge is a great approach, and in fact, this is typically what I recommend for those who just want to bake once or twice a week. You can always reduce the amount of starter you keep on hand, too. Keep your percentages of flour, water, mature starter the same just reduce the amount of each.
If you haven’t yet, check out my guide on maintaining a weekend baking schedule, it has all my advice on this exact topic!
Hi Maurizio,
Sorry for answering that late and thanks for your response! I have actually reduced the amount of starter I keep and I usually do something like 10-15g of starter with 50-75g of water+flour. But when I take my starter out of the fridge, feed it, say, 3 times before baking with 10g/50g/50g, I end up with 110g after 1st feeding and if I wouldn’t discard anything, I’d have about 7 kgs after 3rd feeding, whereas the amount I need for a loaf is maybe 30-70g.
I’ve read your guide, which is very helpful and I like the pancake recipe. I guess I just have to make pancakes more often then.
I always discard a large portion of my starter at each feeding, usually I carry over 10-20% depending on the season. If I didn’t discard, yes, I’d end up with quite a bit!
Making copious amounts of pancakes is always a good option 😉
HI does it matter alot to use organic flour ?
There’s really no way for me to answer that question! Choosing organic flour is really up to you and what you’re looking for in the end. I’d say it’s similar to asking someone if they want organic tomatoes or conventional tomatoes — it really depends on your stance on organic vs. not. Hope that helps 🙂
Ok thats a good answer. I was just wondering if its any texture difference, are u gonna feel alot difference to a sourdough bread with a conventional flour or a organic flour in the end result, and we would be talking about the same formula.
But btw I really like your website keep on the good work.
Thanks, Jon!
Hi Maurizio – I want to thank you for this formula. I’ve made many of your breads before, but this one is going to be my new favorite for when I want a simple loaf. Great rise, and looked perfect. I would say that my crumb was about 80% open compared to yours, but otherwise, just beautiful with exactly the flavor I wanted. I used 100g less water, which I think made it still wet (and sticky), but just on that edge so that I could shape it and get some tension. I also made your fig & fennel this week, but it needed some more stretch & folds and so I didn’t build up enough gluten (my flours were not exactly as you recommended, so that may have added to the problem). After the bake, I salvaged it by slicing it very thinly and toasting it just enough to make delicious crackers! Wonderful with some goat cheese and a slight drizzle of honey, so it’s not a total loss (kind of an unexpected treat, really). Will try to post photos on Instagram of the sourdough.
Glad to hear that, Tracey! I still make this loaf, or a variant of it, almost every week. Depending on the flour I also have to adjust the hydration as needed — sometimes even quite a bit lower than my recipe prescribes. It all depends.
That fig loaf sure is tasty. I have not thought about using it as a sort of cracker but what a great idea! I’ll have to give that unexpected recipe a try 🙂