USA · North America

Sourdough Bread

A living culture you feed daily, rewarded with crust and tang.

sourdough starter breadwild yeast sourdough

The Chemistry in This Bake

Feeding and maintaining a live starter culture over days/weeks — direct parallel to keeping a microbial culture alive through regular subculturing.

Learn the full technique →

Ingredients

  • Active sourdough starter
  • Bread flour
  • Whole wheat flour
  • Water
  • Salt

Method

  1. Feed the starter 8-12 hours ahead so it is active and bubbly at mixing time.

  2. Mix flour, water, starter, and salt; rest 30 minutes, then perform a series of fold-and-rest cycles over 4 hours.

  3. Shape the dough into a tight boule and proof overnight in the refrigerator in a floured basket.

  4. Preheat a Dutch oven to 250 °C for 45 minutes.

  5. Score the loaf and bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncovered for 25 more.

  6. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.