Sourdough Bread

Place 20 grams starter in a container.

Add 20 grams room temperature filtered water, and 20 grams white, high gluten flour.

Refrigerate 12 to 24 hours. If more time elapsed, repeat feeding.

Discard some (half) starter.

Recipe is for 1 loaf. Feed according to the number of loaves you would like to bake. Add 60 grams water and 60 grams flour for each loaf of bread.

Cover, don’t seal, and let sit at room temp six to eight hours. Allow starter to become bubbly and active until two and a half to three times its volume. (Do not over-rise; it will reach a peak and then decrease.) Starter is ready to use when it passes a float test; drop one teaspoon starter in one cup tepid water. Starter should not sink. (If starter does not look active and bubbly re-feed and let rise again.)

Place bowl on scale. Press zero then add water.

Press zero and add starter. (Refrigerate remaining starter in a covered container.)

Mix water and starter. Press zero, add flour, and mix gently, by hand. Rest dough 30 minutes then add salt with 25 grams water.

Mix well to incorporate. After 30 minutes stretch and fold every 1/2 hour for three hours (do a total of one to four sets of stretches).

How to stretch and fold: Grab a corner of the dough and pull up as much as possible without tearing, then fold it over the dough. Repeat with four corners of the dough (until dough can’t stretch anymore.)

Rise and shape: Cover dough with dish towel and leave at room temp for three hours, allowing dough to rise to one and a half times its size.

Push and pull: When dough has risen, remove from bowl. Place your hands around the two sides of the dough and push the dough on a flour-less surface to create tension. Rotate dough 90 degrees and repeat, until the dough is a tight ball.

Let sit 30 minutes.

Shape: using your hands, flatten dough to form a round shape. Grab upper center of dough, fold over to the middle, do the same with the bottom, bringing it to the middle. Roll the dough tightly, jellyroll style from one side to the other (right to left). Line bowl with lightly floured towel (or towel paper).

Place dough in bowl. Place bowl in food storage bag. Refrigerate eight hours or up to a few days.

Bake: Place pot with lid in oven. Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour.

Invert dough onto a parchment paper. Optionally, score with a sharp knife or blade (half-moon cut or an ‘x’).

Working quickly and carefully, remove pot from oven, transfer dough (with parchment paper) into pot by holding ends of parchment.

Cover and place in oven. Bake 45 minutes. Reheat bread before serving at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes or until crispy.