Sourdough Bread

Kitchen Utensils

Dutch Oven

Proofing basket

Dough scraper

Stand mixer

Ingredients

Pre-Dough (Sourdough Starter)

80 g active sourdough starter

80 g whole wheat flour or dark wheat flour

80 g water (weigh instead of measuring)

Main Dough

240 g pre-dough after doubling in volume

400 g wheat flour type 550

210 g cool water

10 g sea salt

Preparation

Prepare the Pre-Dough (Sourdough)

Place 80 g of your active sourdough starter into a clean jar and mix it with 80 g of warm water. Then stir in the whole wheat flour.

Place a rubber band around the jar at the height of the dough so you can track how the dough develops. Cover the jar and let it mature at around 28°C until the sourdough has doubled in size. This should take about 2–3 hours.

Prepare the Main Dough

About one hour before the pre-dough has doubled in size, mix 200 g of water with the flour, knead it roughly, and let it rest covered. During the autolyse process, the flour hydrates and the gluten becomes activated. Dissolve the salt in the remaining 10 g of water.

Once the pre-dough is ready, knead it into the main dough. When everything is combined, add the salt water. Knead for about another 10 minutes, then cover the dough and let it rest at room temperature.

During the next 2 hours, stretch and fold the dough twice, once every hour. This can also be seen in the video with my pizza dough and a larger batch.

Overnight Fermentation

Place the dough into a tightly sealed container and let it ferment in the refrigerator for 20–24 hours. During this time, the bread develops its flavor.

Shape the Sourdough Bread

Take the dough out of the refrigerator, fold it once more, and shape it into a ball. The shaping technique used for our burger buns or pizza dough balls works perfectly here. Then place the dough with the smooth side facing down into a floured proofing basket. If you do not have a proofing basket, use a bowl lined with a well-floured kitchen towel.

Preheat the oven with the Dutch oven and its lid for one hour at 250°C top and bottom heat.

Cover the bread and let it rise in a warm place for 1–2 hours. I noticed that after just one hour, the dough was still not fully relaxed. The dough is ready for baking when it has increased slightly in volume in the proofing basket and springs back into shape within 3 seconds after pressing a small indentation into it with a floured finger.

Bake Your Sourdough Bread

I bake in my Sauerteigbrot using a Gusskönig Dutch oven placed upside down on a baking tray in the middle rack of the oven. This means I turn the bread out of the proofing basket directly into the lid. It is much easier than dropping it into the deep, preheated pot.

Using a very sharp knife or a razor blade, deeply score the sourdough bread where you want it to open during baking. Close the lid or pot. Spray a small amount of water through a gap into the pot so it evaporates immediately and creates hot steam inside. I use a spray bottle for this. Bake the wheat bread for 35 minutes with the Dutch oven closed.

Reduce the temperature to 210°C and release the steam from the pot. To achieve a beautiful crust, finish baking the bread without the lid. You can also place it directly on the oven rack without the pot. After 20–30 minutes, the bread is done. It should sound hollow when tapped. Let it cool on a wire rack before slicing.