Everything I Thought I Knew About Sourdough Was Completely Wrong: sourdough bread recipe tips

I have been making bread for years.  And I have always firmly believed in the 10 steps of bread production:

1.           Measure ingredients

2.           Mix and knead the dough

3.           First fermentation (bulk fermentation in the bowl), AKA PROOF

4.           Punch down (de-gas)

5.           Divide dough by weight (only if making more than one loaf, rolls, pretzels, etc.)

6.           Round dough

7.           Shape dough (pretzels, cinnamon rolls, pizza, dinner rolls, etc)

8.           Second fermentation, AKA PROOF (dough is proofed when it bounces back when you poke it)

9.          Score, egg wash (if needed)

10.        Bake until internal temperature of 200 degrees

And then, 5 years ago, everyone started making sourdough bread and sourdough starters and lamenting over the process.  I was like “what’s the problem, ya just follow the 10 steps and you have bread”.  I’ve even wrongly tried to convince people that they should follow the 10 steps when making sourdough bread.  And I’m not ashamed to admit it.  Because learning never stops.  And that’s what I love about food and teaching and learning about food.  The knowledge is never static, we can grow and evolve and open our minds to different ways of making food happen.  In this case, it’s sourdough bread.  So let me take you on a journey of what I’ve learned, because I’m really good at making traditional sourdough bread now.  And I want you to be good at it too if it’s something you want to do. So here are some sourdough bread recipe tips to help you along your way!

Making a sourdough starter

My first step on this journey was to make a sourdough starter.  I bought a simple jar kit from Amazon and followed the instructions that came with the jar.  Most sourdough starters have the same information give or take.  Here’s what I did, along with what I did right and what I did wrong.

Day 1: 100 grams of whole wheat flour and 100 grams of bottled water in the glass starter jar.  Mixed thoroughly, covered with the little breathable bonnet the jar comes with.  Left it on the counter in my 70 degree F kitchen.

Day 2:  Placed a clean stainless-steel bowl onto a scale.  Zeroed it out so the scale read 0.  Then poured 100 grams of the starter from the jar into the bowl, and discarded the rest into the trash can.  I mixed 100 grams of whole wheat flour with 100 grams bottled water and into the stainless-steel bowl until smooth, cleaned the original starter jar, and then added the 300 grams of mixed (fed) starter to the clean jar.  Placed the little breathable bonnet back onto the now fed starter and left it on the counter of my 70 degree F kitchen. 

Day 3-7: I repeated these same steps, but I noticed my starter was very sour smelling and not pleasant.  She did not have any signs of mold or fuzz and everywhere I consulted: Blogs, books, TikTok, etc said to keep going as long as there were no signs of mold or fuzz. 

Day 8:  I realized something, I was using bottled water that had minerals added to it.  The instructions that came with my little sourdough jar—which by this day, I had two of because I wanted to have a clean jar at the ready—said to use tap water.  So, I made this adjustment.  I used tap water instead of bottled water. 

Day 9: Finally!  My starter, now named “Tummysha” because she’s going to be good for our tummy’s, had doubled in size and had a pleasant bread-sourdough-fermented smell.  I was now ready to give her a feeding, clean jar, and tight lid so that she can be stored int the fridge. 

Weekly feeding my sourdough starter. Only cover with a lid if its time to refrigerate it!

The Science

You might be asking yourself by now, “what is feeding Tummysha, why is she growing, why does she have a name?”.  Let me break it down for you.  Wild yeast naturally occurs in the raw flour that we mix with water to make our starter.  Using organic whole wheat flour increases the chance of naturally occurring yeast, that’s why it makes for a great choice in this instance.  When the flour and water are mixed, the yeast, which is a single cell living organism, wakes up and “feeds” on the carbohydrates in the flour.  Then the yeast “burps” and gives off a gas, which causes the bubbles.  When we add the yeast rich starter to more flour and water, and then knead that flour and water into an elastic-y dough, the gas becomes trapped in the web of glutens and gives the dough rise.  The “sour” part comes from lactic and acidic acids that build up through fermentation.  That’s the good bacteria we want for good digestion.   Oh, and Tummysha has a name because she’s alive!  And we have to feed her once a week or else she dies (maybe not that often, but I’m not a microbiologist). 

 My first sourdough bread

My wife looooooves sourdough bread.  So of course, I wanted to make her a perfect loaf.  But ya, all of the recipes, videos, and information out there was overwhelming.  Even for me!  A seasoned chef with 25 years in food and beverage.  I was just like “I don’t see this happening”.  And then, I discovered a creator on TikTok by the name of @msemilyrose11.  I cannot tell you how soothing Emily’s videos are.  It took me about a week of watching Emily’s videos, with her calm, no stress approach to making sourdough bread and enjoying every minute of it.  I finally understood the rhythm of the fermentation process, so, I gave it a shot. 

The ingredients and the method

One big loaf

500 grams organic bread flour

325 grams tap water

110 grams hungry starter

12 grams salt

The night before you begin your bread prep, remove your starter from the fridge and do the usual feeding process.  Place a clean stainless-steel bowl onto a scale.  Zero it out so the scale read 0.  Then pour 100 grams of the starter from the jar into the bowl, and either discard the rest, or store it in the fridge to use in a “discard” recipe.

Discard Sourdough Waffle Recipe

Next, mix 100 grams of whole wheat flour with 100 grams of tap water and into the stainless-steel bowl until smooth.  Then added the 300 grams of mixed (fed) starter to the clean jar.  Place the little breathable bonnet back onto the now fed starter and leave it on your kitchen counter.

By the morning, your starter will be hungry to feed, which will happen when we make our dough right now. 

For this method, we’re going to use the autolyze method.  This method promotes optimal chewiness. 

In a 6 to 8 quart stainless steel or glass bowl, mix the flour and water using a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk or even your hands!  Next, turn the dough out onto a clean surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth. 

Place the dough back into the bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Allow to sit on your counter for 1 hour. 

Mixing flour with water for the Autolyze method

Remove the plastic wrap after 1 hour and add the starter along with the salt.  Salt kills the bacteria in the starter so don’t let them touch right away.  I like to place the salt on one side of the bowl and starter on the other.  Sprinkle a Tablespoon or two of tap water over the dough.  Next, using your hands like crab claws, pull up the dough and start mixing in the starter and salt.  Pinch the dough, pull up, pinch, pull up and continue until the starter and salt are mixed into the dough. 

Mmhmm yes crab claw mixing the dough. I did my best. It's mixed!

Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and set in a warm place at around 80 degrees F for one hour.  This is the “bulk fermentation” step.   Electric dough proofing matts are great if you live in a cool climate.  You can also place your dough in the oven with the light on.  Here in Florida, a shaded patio is a great location for your dough to bulk ferment. 

After one hour, remove the plastic wrap from the bowl.  Dip your hand in a bowl of cool tap water so the dough does not stick to your hand and grab the dough at the 12 o’clock position.  Stretch the dough up and place that piece at the 6 o’clock position.  Turn the bowl clockwise ¼ turn and repeat this process.  You will need to complete 4 “stretch and folds” by stretching, folding, and turning the bowl ¼ turn. 

Stretch and fold x 4

Repeat the stretch and folds 3 more times, for a total of 4 stretch and folds.  Resting the dough 1 hour in between each fold. 

Rest the dough 30 minutes after the last stretch and fold.

Now its time to shape the bread.  Turn the dough onto a clean surface.  Stretch the dough into a 12 inch by 12 inch square.  Fold in the left and right side of the dough square so the two edges meet in the middle.  Then roll the dough away from yourself just like you would a jelly roll.  Be careful not to squeeze out any air bubbles. 

Dude, if I can oafishly shape this dough and be successful, so can you.

Flour a banneton generously with bread flour and place the smooth side of the dough down into the cloth lined basket.  Pinch any seams together.  Sprinkle flour over the top (which will eventually be the bottom of the dough), cover loosely with plastic wrap and proof again for 1 hour. 

After 1 hour, place the dough in the banneton basket into your fridge and chill overnight. 

The next morning, place a Dutch oven with the lid on into your oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. 

Remove the banneton basket from your fridge.  Roll the bread dough onto a bread sling.  Score the top of the bread dough with one slash from edge to edge.  The scoring creates a weak spot for steam to escape so that your bread doesn’t have a blowout. 

The final stages of scoring and baking

Next, lower the bread sling into the Dutch oven.  Place the lid onto the Dutch oven and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 500 degrees F. 

Remove the lid after 20 minutes and lower the heat to 450.  Bake for another 20-30 minutes.  The bread is done when the internal temperature of the bread reaches 200 degrees F. 

Allow to fully cool before you cut it!  Otherwise, your bread will stale more quickly. 

And that’s it!  3 days of work plus another 7 to create a sourdough starter.  So ya, if this is for you, I say go for it.  It is incredibly satisfying to cut into a loaf of bread that is so complex and perfect with a schmear of French butter and a sprinkle of Pro Seasoning All Purpose.