Simple Artisan Sourdough Loaf

This artisan sourdough loaf is one of the first items I truly feel like I’ve mastered as an at-home sourdough baker. The outer crust is crispy and flaky while the inside is light and fluffy. This loaf has quickly become a family favorite at our dinner table. I hope it becomes one at your home as well!

What You’ll Need:

Items to make this artisan Sourdough loaf:

A few items are absolutely necessary for getting a perfect artisan sourdough loaf every time. 

• First and foremost, you will need a Dutch oven. I started baking sourdough in my 5 quart enamel Dutch oven, and since graduated to a cast iron covered bread pan, but either will work. See note #2 below for mor info on why a dutch oven is preferred.
• Medium to large mixing bowl
• Cling wrap or beeswax wraps
• A breathable bowl such as a banneton, wicker basket, or colander for proving.  This will also need to be lined with a tight weave kitchen towel that is heavily floured to prevent sticking.
• Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
• A knife or razor blade for scoring your bread.

Other helpful tools:

• Kitchen scale – you will hands down get more accurate and consistent results with any baking if you use a kitchen scale.  I have my recipe listed below using weights and cups, but if you plan to do much baking at all, do yourself a favor and invest in a cheap kitchen scale!
• Bowl scraper – helpful for scraping your dough out of the bowl, especially if your are working with a wetter/stickier dough.
• Bench scraper – helpful for shaping your loaf, and cleaning your surface after working your dough.

Ingredients for this Artisan Sourdough Loaf:

It’s amazing what you can create with just a handful of simple ingredients! To make this artisan sourdough loaf you will need the following:

• active sourdough starter meaning that it’s been fed in the last 8 to 12 hours
• Bread flour
• Filtered water
• Salt – I prefer Redman’s sea salt, but any salt will work

Why I like this Recipe:

One of the things that I like the most about this artisan sourdough loaf recipe is the flexibility. I will outline the way I prefer to prepare this loaf, but it doesn’t have to be a perfect science.  Don’t be afraid to experiment a little.  For example, I prefer to allow it to prove in the refrigerator overnight, which gives it a more sour taste. If you want your loaf to taste les sour,  you can bake it the same day and reduce the fermentation time.

I find this artisan sourdough loaf also doesn’t require as much hands-on time as other recipes I’ve used in the past and fits better into my busy schedule. The thing I try to reiterate, as much as possible is how forgiving sourdough truly is. There have been times when I have forgotten to do my first set of stretch and folds for 3 to 4 hours after my initial bulk fermentation.  Guess what? My bread has turned out perfectly fine! I’m also not a commercial baker, so I am more tolerant of any slight imperfections that are essentially unnoticeable. 

How to make this Simple Artisan Sourdough Loaf:

The night before you make your dough:

Feed your starter.  You can just feed your entire starter with a 50/50 mix of water and flour, or pull a little out and feed separately.  Personally, I like to pull a little of my starter out and feed it in a separate container using the following ratio: 10g of starter to 25g water and 25g flour.  When you feed a little bit of starter separately, in the morning, you will have just enough active bubbly starter to go into your dough.

Make the Dough:

This might seem like a lot of steps, but I’ve tried to break them down to very simple instructions that are easy to follow!

Mix The Dough

1. Add active starter, water, and flour to a medium to large mixing bowl. 
2. Mix with a spatula until you can no longer get the flour to incorporate into the water, and continue to mix by hand until there are no more dry spots of flour in the dough. I use more of a squishing motion than a needing because I’m really just trying to saturate the flour with the water. I don’t want any overly wet or dry spots in my dough. Once everything is fully incorporated, you’ll be left with a shaggy dough.

Bulk Ferment

1. Cover the bowl with an airtight wrap like cling wrap or beeswax wrap, and let the dough rest for an hour.  This is resting period allows the water to fully saturate the flour and give the starter a chance to get going before adding salt which will retard the yeast in the starter. 
2. Begin the first set of stretch and folds. *see note 3 below on how to complete 1 full set of stretch and folds.*  Every 30 minutes for the next 2 hours, you will perform a set of stretch and folds, for a total of 4 sets. 
3. After the last set of stretch and folds is completed, cover the dough and let rest for about 4 hours. 

Shape the Dough

1. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin the shaping process.  Pick up the right side of your dough and fold it to center, then do the same thing with the left side of your dough.  Next do the same thing with the top and bottom until all four sides of your dough have met in the center.  You will do this again using each of the corners you just created.
2. Turn dough over so the seams are on the bottom.  Add more flour to your work surface as needed to prevent sticking.
3. Shape the dough into a ball by cupping the dough with your hands and pulling and twisting towards yourself until a tight skin is formed on the outside.  Here’s a video on shaping your sourdough.
4. Cover with a dish towel, and allow your dough to rest for 30 minutes on the counter.
5. Place shaped dough into a breathable basket lined with a heavily floured kitchen towel.  Be sure to use a towel with a tight weave to prevent sticking to the dough. I use a banneton basket, but you can also use any basket you have at home or a colander. 
6. Place basket into a plastic bag and place into the refrigerator to continue fermenting overnight.

Baking Day

1. Place your dutch oven with the lid on into your oven with the shelf on the lowest position.  Preheat oven to 500 F (260 C).  Continue preheating dutch oven for 30 minutes after coming to temperature.
2. While the oven is preheating, remove your dough from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.  
3. Remove the dutch oven and turn oven temp down to 450 F (232 C).
4. Turn your dough out onto a piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mats and score to your preference. Be quick with this process to prevent the dutch oven from cooling down too much.
5. Place your dough into your dutch oven and cover with the lid.
6. Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on. 
7. Remove the lid and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes with the lid off.
8. Your bread is done when it sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom, or when the internal temperature reaches 210 F (99 C)
9. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving

Notes on this Artisan Sourdough Loaf:

1. I really prefer to use a food scale when making my breads and I find my loaves are much more consistent when weighing ingredients versus measuring by cups and teaspoons. I have included measurements in both formats below, but I do highly encourage investing in a kitchen scale if you plan to do a lot of baking.
2. Baking artisan loafs in a dutch oven maintains some of the moisture from the dough allowing it to rise adequately before the hard crust forms.  It essentially replicates the environment you would find in an old stone or brick oven in your own home!
3. I prefer to use the artisan bread flour, and Redmond sea salt because I find it yields a fluffier texture and great taste!
4. A stretch and fold is exactly what it sounds like. You will grab some of your dough and stretch it over and across itself essentially folding it in half. You will turn the bowl a quarter direction or 90° and repeat the process until you’ve done all four sides of your dough, this is considered one set of stretches and folds. You will let your dough rest for another 30 minutes and repeat with an additional set of stretch and folds. Now, you let your dose sit for approximately four hours.

Favorite Ways to Serve Artisan Sourdough Loaf:

My favorite way to enjoy this bread is simply on it’s own with a little butter.  Nothing quite beats a warm from the oven slice!  Here are some other ways I like to enjoy this loaf:

• With a bowl of soup
• Toasted for avocado toast
• With a fried egg to soak up the runny yolks
• To make croutons (although we usually eat it all up before we get to make them)

How to Store this Artisan Sourdough Loaf:

You will want to store this loaf in an air tight container, especially once you’ve cut into it.  My favorite way to do this is to wrap in a kitchen towel and place into a gallon (or 2 gallon!) zipper bag. 

The bread will mold more quickly than store bought bread because of the lack of preservatives.  You can store in the air tight container on the counter for 1-2 days, but should place into the refrigerator if your loaf lasts any longer than that.

Other Recipes You Might Like:

• Sourdough Sandwich Break
• Rustic Sourdough Artisan Loaf
• Sourdough Pizza Dough

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Artisan Sourdough Loaf

This simple artisan sourdough loaf results in a loaf with a soft interior with a crisp outer crust. It is the perfect recipe for sourdough beginners.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Fermentation Time 18 hours hrs

Course bread

Cuisine American

Servings 1 loaf

Equipment

• Dutch Oven
• Medium to large mixing bowl
• Cling wrap or beeswax wraps
• A breathable bowl such as a banneton, wicker basket, or colander for proving. 
• Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
• A knife or razor blade for scoring
• Kitchen scale or measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients

  

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• 3 tbs (50 g) Active sourdough starter
• 1 ½ cups (350 g) Filtered water
• 4 cups (500 g) Bread Flour
• 1 ½ tsp (10 g) Salt

Instructions

 

Mix The Dough

• Add active starter, water, flour, and salt to a mixing bowl. Use your hands to combine using a squishing motion until no wet or dry spots remain.

Bulk Ferment

• Cover the bowl with cling wrap or beeswax wrap, and let the dough rest for an hour.
• Stretch and fold by picking up one side of dough and folding over so you've essentially folded your dough in half. Turn 90 degrees and repeat until all 4 sides have been folded over.
• Every 30 minutes for the next 2 hours, you will perform a set of stretch and folds, for a total of 4 sets.
• After the last set of stretch and folds is completed, cover the dough and let rest for about 4 hours.

Shape the Dough

• Pick up the right side of your dough and fold it to center like an envelope, then do the same thing with the left side of your dough.  Next do the same thing with the top and bottom until all four sides of your dough have met in the center.
• Turn dough over so the seams are on the bottom.  Add more flour to your work surface as needed to prevent sticking.
• Shape the dough into a ball by cupping the dough with your hands and pulling and twisting towards yourself until a tight skin is formed on the outside.  Here’s a video on shaping your sourdough.
• Cover with a dish towel, and allow your dough to rest for 30 minutes on the counter.
• Place shaped dough into a breathable basket lined with a heavily floured kitchen towel.  Be sure to use a towel with a tight weave to prevent sticking to the dough. I use a banneton basket, but you can also use any basket you have at home or a colander.

Overnight Ferment

• Place basket into a plastic bag and place into the refrigerator to continue fermenting.

Baking Day

• Place your dutch oven with the lid on into your oven with the shelf on the lowest position.  Preheat oven to 500 F (260 C).  Continue preheating dutch oven for 30 minutes after coming to temperature.
• While the oven is preheating, remove your dough from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.
• Remove the dutch oven and turn oven temp down to 450 F (232 C).
• Turn your dough out onto a piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mats and score to your preference. Be quick with this process to prevent the dutch oven from cooling down too much.
• Place your dough into your dutch oven and cover with the lid.
• Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on.
• Remove the lid and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes with the lid off.
• Your bread is done when it sounds hollow when you knock on the bottom, or when the internal temperature reaches 210 F (99 C)
• Allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving

Keyword artisan bread, simple sourdough bread, sourdough bread

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