My Best Sourdough Recipe | The Perfect Loaf (2024)

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I’ve baked this loaf, or somevariant of it, so many times I’ve lost count. This bread was born when I first got my hands dirty with flour and water. Its parent—if you could call it that—was originally Chad Robertson’s Tartine loaf with his liquid levain, brought to life, not with intensive kneading, but rather a series of folds during bulk fermentation.

My best sourdough recipe has grown since then. It has developed a personality of its own as I’ve expanded my baking repertoire and investigated the many facets of baking naturally leavened sourdough. It’s taken on and lost traits from many great bakers out there, borrowing from their inspiration and giving me a direction to raise this bread into something of my own. This bread is one that doesn’t entirely taste like anything else I’ve had, and yet, still employs many of the same processes and ingredients.

That’s one of the greatest things about bread: it can taste and look dramatically different just by changing the two hands that create it. Calling this post “my best sourdough recipe” is a lofty claim, but honestly, I do believe this is the best bread I've made thus far.

I sometimes revisit a discussion I had with a few readers of this site and their comments: “bread is just bread, it’s something to be eaten and is something life-giving, isn’t that enough?” I agree, but when something becomes a passion for you it’s important to set lofty goals and get excited when breakthroughs are made. Isn’t that the definition of a craft and the relentless honing required?

I’ve taken my best sourdough recipe from its most nascent form to its current stage and can trace through the years each change to its formula or process — and I’m sure I’ll be changing things well into the future as it continues to evolve — a work-in-progress.

Yes it’s excessive in some way, but there’s an excessiveness to ambition as well.

John Mayer

Maybe the actual recipe for this bread isn’t the most important part, but rather, the lessons and insights learned along the way as I continually hone my baking proficiency. I’m not claiming this recipe will yield the perfect loaf every single time, but I dare say it comes the closest for me—and that’s exciting.

Thisbreadis the bread that I want to make the most often, the one my family asks for the most often, and the one I share most often. I have a special place for whole wheat bread, and taste-wise, it might make me want to call that my favorite one day, but the versatility of this bread is pretty hard to beat. In fact, I bake this so often that my freezer has an entire shelf lined with pre-sliced loaves wrapped and in bags labeled pane perfetto1.

While the actual formula for my best sourdough recipe is simply a mix of flour, water, salt, and levain, there are many nuances here to pay close attention to; here are a few key things to successfully making this bread:

  1. An active starter
  2. An autolyse
  3. A high hydration
  4. Sufficient dough strength
  5. A warm and complete bulk fermentation
  6. A long, cold proof

Before writing this post, I pulled out my trusty notebook (or use my free baker's note sheet!) and paged through the handwritten (and flour-ridden) pages to find any scribbled “ah-ha” moments or little notes jotted down in the margin, along with a few curse words peppered throughout, and have bundled them up into this entry (sans curse words to keep it clean). A compendium of sorts containing my insights, breakthroughs, and ah-ha moments.

My best sourdough recipe doesn’t require an exotic blend of hard-to-find flour, a complicated multi-step levain build, or the use of a mechanical mixer. It's built around making this bread in your home kitchen.

My best sourdough recipe is very highly hydrated and can be challenging. Feel free to adjust the hydration to suit your environment and flour; as we know, each bag of flour can be different. If you’re not used to working with high-hydration dough, please start with hydration somewhere in the middle and slowly work up.

Flour Selection

I’ve tried a lot of flour out there (and am an avid user of freshly milled flour), indeed not everything there is, but I’ve ordered enough now that the UPS guy thinks I might have a bakery in my backyard. I have baked some great bread with Hayden Flour Mills, Central Milling, and Giusto’s. I’ve also had great success with King Arthur Baking high-protein white flour.

I have consistently made incredible loaves with Giusto's flour; I only wish it was organic. Nevertheless, I find myself ordering a box of it here and there and enjoying the results every time. Of course, as I mentioned before, try whatever is local first (sadly, my source for local, organic flour is no longer) and what you like.

When trying new flour, remember to hold back more water than you might otherwise, and then slowly add it in at the end of mixing or throughout bulk fermentation. Now, on to my best sourdough recipe.

Watch Me Make This From Start To Finish

I absolutely love this bread and make it often, but it can be challenging for first-time bakers. Be sure to watch my YouTube video below for a look at how I handle the dough and every step of the process.

If you're brand new to baking sourdough, check out my Beginner's Sourdough Bread recipe; it has in-depth information on every step in the baking process. Then come back and bake this!

My Best Sourdough Recipe

Vitals

Total Dough Weight1,800 grams
Pre-fermented Flour6.4%
Levain percentage in final dough17.1%
Hydration85.0%
YieldTwo 900g loaves

Total Formula

The target final dough temperature (FDT) is 78°F (25°C). This dough loves a warm ambient environment. Try to keep the dough at the listed temperatures if possible; use your oven with its light on inside, your microwave with a bowl of steaming water, or a proofer. I use my instant-read thermometer to check the dough temperature periodically throughout bulk.

For more information on how to calculate DDT, monitor temperature, and maintain temperature have a look at my post on The Importance of Dough Temperature in Baking.

WeightIngredientBaker's Percentage
852gMedium-protein bread flour (~11.5% protein, Giusto's Artisan Bread Flour)90.00%
94gWhole wheat flour (Giusto's Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat)10.00%
710gWater 175.00%
95gWater 210.00%
17gSalt1.80%
30gRipe sourdough starter (100% hydration)3.20%

As I mentioned above, my best sourdough recipe is an extremely high hydration. If this is your first time working with this recipe, reduce the total water or hold water back during mixing to ensure your dough can handle the addition. The amount of water your dough will handle will vary based on your particular flour and environment—play it safe the first few bakes and work the water up gradually once you get a feel for the dough.

My Best Sourdough Recipe Method

1. Levain – 9:00 a.m.

Build the liquid levain in the morning and store somewhere warm around 77-80°F (25-26°C) ambient for 5 hours.

WeightIngredientBaker's Percentage
30gRipe sourdough starter (100% hydration)50%
30gMedium-protein bread flour (~11.5% protein, Giusto's Artisan Bread Flour)50%
30gWhole wheat flour (Giusto's Organic Stoneground Whole Wheat)50%
60gWater100%

If you haven't yet read through my post on my sourdough starter maintenance routine, check it out for some helpful hints on what to look for when your sourdough starter and levain are ripe and ready to use.

2. Autolyse – 12:00 p.m.

Mix the flour and water in a bowl until all the dry bits are incorporated, then cover. Ensure all dry flour is hydrated—store near levain (we want the dough's temperature to remain warm).

WeightIngredient
822gMedium-protein bread flour
64gWhole wheat flour
650gWater 1

3. Mix – 2:00 p.m.

Add the following ingredients to your dough in the mixing bowl that underwent an autolyse. Add the water slowly, in stages, while you're mixing, and stop adding water if the dough feels excessively wet or soupy at any point.

WeightIngredient
95gWater 2
17gFine sea salt
151gRipe liquid levain (see above)

Perform folds for about 2-3minutes in the bowl. Grab under one side, pull up and over to the other side, then rotate the bowl a bit and repeat. I do this probably 30 times or so (it goes fast and easy). In the end, the dough should still be shaggy, but it will be more smoothand will start to hold itself together more in the bowl.

If you're a fan of the I've describedin the past, you can do this but be aware that it is difficult at this hydration. It's best to first slap and fold the dough without adding all the reserved water to get the dough smooth and strong. Then, return the dough to the mixing bowl and slowly add the remaining water while folding the dough.

My Best Sourdough Recipe | The Perfect Loaf (5)

I find thatthe correct level of dough strength at this point is important. You want the dough to be smooth, elastic, and strong, but it doesn't have to be fully developed, and it will still be shaggy. We will continue to strengthen the dough through stretch and folds in bulk fermentation.

Transfer dough to a tub or thick-walled bowl for bulk fermentation.

5. Bulk Fermentation – 2:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

At 78°F (25°C) ambient temperature, bulk fermentation should go for about 4 hours. Perform six sets of stretch and folds during the bulk. The first three are at 15-minute intervals, and the last three are at 30-minute intervals. After these folds (2 hours and 15 minutes have gone by), let the dough rest for the remainder of bulk fermentation.

I stretch and fold more vigorously at the beginning of bulk than usual since it is extraordinarily slack and extensible (due to this recipe's high hydration and autolyse). Pick up one side of the dough with both hands and pull it up, just before tearing, and fold it over to the other side. Rotate your container and repeat 4 or 5 times. That is one set.

Above, you can see my best sourdough recipe dough halfway through bulk, after about 2 hours. There is no significant rise as of yet, but the edges are beginning to dome downward, and the dough's texture is smoothing out slightly. We still have several more folds to do and more strength to build.

It is essential that the dough is kept near 78°F (25°C) as much as possible (minor fluctuations up and down are ok). If temperatures dip down too far, you might have to extend the bulk fermentation duration to compensate, and vice versa. Use your judgment, the signs described below, and be flexible.

At the end of bulk, your dough should look very gassy, with some bubbles here and there, and the edges where the dough meets the bowl should be slightly domed. You can see all these signs in the image above.

When you gently shake the bowl, the entire mass jiggles from side to side—veryalive. You'll also notice that compared with the photo at the beginning of bulk, the dough is smoother and holds its edges, folds, and creases more readily (most of the bumps and ridges you see are due to trapped gasses from fermentation).

6. Divide & Preshape – 6:15 p.m.

Divide the dough into two halves and gently preshape each piece of dough into a round. Then, let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered.Act quickly when handling this dough and rely heavily on your bench knife. I try to use my hands as little as possible when dealing with the dough at this point.

7. Shape – 6:45 p.m.

Lightly flour the top of your dough rounds and flour the work surface. With this recipe use a little more flour on the surface than normal, the dough will be extremely sticky and wet. Flip each round and shape into a batard (see notes below) or boule, whatever your preference.

Here's a video of how I shape a bâtard. With this dough, be sure to use the “slack dough” shaping method since the dough is such high hydration.

I prefer to shape these as batards, and my shaping method is as follows:

  1. Flip pre-shaped round
  2. Fold the bottom up to about halfway
  3. Fold the left side over to about 3/4 to the right
  4. Fold the right side over to cover left
  5. Stretch top up & away from the center and fold down to about half (you’ll now have a “letter”)
  6. Grab a little of the dough at the sides near the top and stretch it over the center, so the dough crosses. Imagine lacing up a shoe where you first grab your laces and cross them over
  7. Repeat three times from top to bottom (the result will look like a laced up shoe)
  8. Take the bottom and gently roll the dough up to the top and try to seal it slightly when done rolling

Alternatively, if the dough feels pretty strong, you could shape it by “cinching” up the dough. For more instruction on how to shape this dough as an oblong loaf, see my post on how to shape a batard (with video!).

After shaping, let the dough rest on the bench for a few minutes and then place it into a banneton that is lightly dusted with white flour.You'll see above my bannetons give the dough plenty of room to relax and expand in the fridgeovernight.If your proofing container is on the smaller side, and you find your dough almost spilling over the edges, it might be time for a larger basket.

8. Proof – 7:25 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., the next day

Cover your banneton with plastic and place it in the refrigerator at 38°F (3°C) overnight.

9. Bake – Next Morning: Preheat oven at 8:00 a.m., Bake at 9:00 a.m.

Preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C). Remove the dough from the fridge (there's no need to let the dough come to room temperature) and uncover. I scoredthe dough with a single, long slash to get that dramatic opening when baked. I keep the blade at a reasonably shallow angle so the taut skin created during shaping will “peel” back as theloaf rises.

I steamed my oven in my usual way, described here in my post on how to steam your home oven for baking. But you can also bake in a pot or Dutch oven.

Bake for 20 minutes with steam, then remove your steaming pans if baking on a surface or Dutch oven/combo cooker lid. Then, bake for an additional 30 minutes until done to your liking. I like to bake rather dark, so I sometimes extend this second half of baking until I get the crust I'm looking for.

Once your loaf is done, remove and let cool on a wire rack for 1-2 hours. See my post on the best way to store the bread after it's baked for a few tips on keeping it on the counter and freezing if you think you won't get through both loaves in a week.

Conclusion

It’s hard to put into words just how much I enjoy this “my best sourdough recipe.” I bake it almost every week (sometimes multiple times if baking for friendsand family), and yet every time I pull it from the oven, I smile. The crust color, the open and light interior, only the smallest perception of sour notes, and the way it crunches when toasted. I could go on and on.

Thephotos to follow are the results ofscattered recent bakes that all followed this process exactly and have a slightly different outcome. You'll notice some are a bit darker, some have more or less flour on them, someexpand differentlyin the oven, and some are tallerand some are shorter—that's the nature of baking.

With baking, every single bake is different no matter how consistentyou try to be. It's the same with my Dad and his Italian restaurant, and the reason I'll sometimes get a callin the middle of the afternoon: “hey, the pizza dough is incredible today, you should head over and grab some.”

Crust

As a kid,I wasknown to take slices of bread, cut out the center, and eat the crust. It used to anger my family because they'd reach into the breadbasket only to find slices of only the soft parts. That's how much I love the crust! Can you blame me, though?

I enjoybread with a chunky, chewy crust, but this bread with its delicateand cracker-like crust takes the top spot for me. Even though I bake these ratherdark, the crust remains thin and brittle, crackling under the slightest pressure. I love using the “heel” (the very end) of this bread to eat soup or combined with heftyslices of cheese. It's delicious.

Crumb

I think there’s a balance to be had with bread like this. It’s possible to let the crumb open up too much, but for me, this is just right. Scattered open areas with that translucent webbing spanning from wall-to-wall, a dynamic movement to these areas,almost show you how shaping was carried out.

Taste

This bread has an almost imperceptiblehint of sour, andbecause of this, the wheat flavors from the flour come forward. It has an incredibly tender, soft crumb that almost dissolves in your mouth. It’s one of those rare foods whereupon taking that first bite your mouth beginsto water.

In the end, bread is just bread. But it's also the staff of life and has been for thousands of years. It's is also more than the sum of the ingredients you add to the mixing bowl. It’s how it makes you feel when you give some to a friend, and they grin ear-to-ear as they take a big bite. It’s the knowledge that you created this thing over a few days that once was a lump on your counter and is now an incredibly delicious food meant to be shared. To me, this is real bread and my best sourdough recipe to date.

Buon appetito!

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My Best Sourdough Recipe | The Perfect Loaf (16)

My Best Sourdough Recipe

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  • Author: Maurizio Leo
  • Prep Time: 24 hours
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  • Total Time: 24 hours 55 minutes
  • Yield: 2 loaves
  • Category: Sourdough, Bread
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This sourdough bread is one of my favorite recipes. It's a highly hydrated dough that results in a loaf with an open and lacey interior contrasted by a thin, crispy crust.

Ingredients

Levain

  • 30g medium-protein bread flour
  • 30g whole wheat flour
  • 60g water
  • 30g ripe sourdough starter

Main Dough

  • 822g medium-protein bread flour
  • 64g whole wheat flour
  • 745g water
  • 17g salt
  • 151g ripe levain

Instructions

  1. Levain (9:00 a.m.)
    In a small container, mix the levain ingredients and keep at 78°F (25°C) for 5 hours.
  2. Autolyse(12:00 p.m)
    In a medium mixing bowl, add 822g medium-protein bread flour, 64g whole wheat flour, 650g water, and mix until no dry bits remain. Cover the bowl and let rest for 2 hours.
  3. Mix (2:00 p.m.)
    To the mixing bowl holding your dough, add 95g water (holding back any as necessary if the dough is too wet), 17g sea salt, and the ripe levain (from step 1). Pinch and mix all the ingredients together and do folds in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough smooths and is cohesive. Then, transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover.
  4. Bulk Fermentation (2:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.)
    Give the dough 6 sets of stretch and folds. The first three sets are at 15-minute intervals, and the last three sets are at 30-minute intervals.
  5. Divide and Preshape (6:15 p.m.)
    Lightly flour your work surface and scrape out your dough. Using your bench knife, divide the dough in half. Lightly shape each half into a round shape. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered.
  6. Shape (6:45 p.m.)
    Shape the dough into a round (boule) or oval (batard) and place it in proofing baskets. Cover the baskets with a reusable plastic bag.
  7. Proof (7:25 p.m. to 9:00 a.m. the next day)
    Cover proofing baskets with reusable plastic and seal them shut. Then, place both baskets into the refrigerator and proof overnight.
  8. Bake (Preheat oven at 8:00 a.m., bake at 9:00 a.m.)
    I steamed my oven in my usual way, described here in my post on how to steam your home oven for baking. But you can also bake in a pot or Dutch oven. Preheat your oven with a combo cooker or Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C). Remove your dough from the fridge, score it, and transfer it to the preheated combo cooker. Place the cooker in the oven, cover with the lid, and bake for 20 minutes. After this time, remove the lid (you can keep it in the oven or remove it) and continue to bake for 30 minutes longer. When done, the internal temperature should be around 208°F (97°C). Let the loaves cool for 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.

Notes

This is a very highly hydrated dough. Don't add in all the reserved water during mixing if it feels like the dough is becoming overly weak, slack, or soupy.

If you use this recipe, tag @maurizio on Instagram so I can take a look!

  1. Thanks Margie for the name suggestion!

My Best Sourdough Recipe | The Perfect Loaf (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good sourdough bread? ›

Top 10 Tips & Tricks for Making Sourdough
  • Use your sourdough starter at its peak. ...
  • Moisten the surface of the dough before baking for more rise. ...
  • Handle with care: be gentle with your dough. ...
  • Use sifted flour to make your sourdough less dense. ...
  • Soak your flour beforehand for a lighter loaf. ...
  • Just add water for softer sourdough.

How do you make sourdough bread lighter and fluffier? ›

Sourdough bread can be really light if you know how to play with your ratios. When I want a really fluffy, light loaf with a thin crust I work 300g starter to each kilogram of flour and 500g water (less or more depending on the kind of bread I'm making). A teaspoon of sugar helps.

What does overproofed sourdough loaf look like? ›

What to look for in an over proofed loaf. Similar to the signs of over proofed dough, an over proofed loaf will be very flat, without much rise or retention of shaping. Over proofing destroys the structural integrity of the bread, so loaves that have gone over are unable to hold their shape in the oven.

What is the best flour for sourdough bread? ›

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour.

What makes sourdough bread more flavorful? ›

Cold Ferment: Cold fermenting your dough for longer periods of time can produce even more flavor as the dough ferments in the refrigerator at low temperatures. The longer your dough stays in the refrigerator, the more sour it has a chance to become.

Should I spray water on my sourdough before baking? ›

Spray your well fermented dough with water mist before baking in a searingly hot Dutch Oven and you'll achieve that perfect, natural sourdough shine every time!

Why is my homemade sourdough bread so dense? ›

One of the most common mistakes is having a dough temperature that's too low for the starter to feed on all the flour in the dough, resulting in a crumb that's dense, with fewer openings. "Starter is happiest and most active at around 75 degrees. If it's a lot colder, the process will be much slower.

What temperature do you bake sourdough bread at? ›

Preheat your oven with a baking surface or combo cooker/Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C). Remove your dough from the fridge, score it, and transfer it to the preheated baking surface or combo cooker. Bake for 20 minutes with steam.

What is underproofed sourdough? ›

Underproofed bread dough is simply dough that has not had enough total fermentation time: the time from where your preferment (such as a sourdough starter or levain) is added to the dough until baking.

What is the perfect sourdough crumb? ›

Sourdough crumb should be even, meaning there won't be any areas that are super tight or with giant tunnels. The crumb should be light and fluffy - not wet and gummy. The holes inside the sourdough may seem shiny. This is a sign that the gluten is very well developed.

How to tell if dough is underproofed? ›

Gently press your finger into the dough on the top. If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed. If it springs back very slowly, it's properly proofed and ready to bake. Finally, if it never springs back, the dough is overproofed.

Can I eat under fermented sourdough? ›

It's not until you slice the sourdough and see the crumb structure that you realise it's under fermented. The great thing is that generally, unless it's completely raw inside, you can still eat an under fermented sourdough bread.

What flour do Italians use for sourdough? ›

Grano tenero flours are generally used in Italy to make both bread and pastries.

What is the best sourdough starter? ›

There is no single best ratio, but I've found a ratio of 1:5:5 fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals to produce a sourdough starter that's strong and healthy. This ratio corresponds to 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% water, and 100% flour (a mix of whole grain rye and white flour) at each feeding.

Can you let sourdough bread rise too long? ›

YES! You most definitely can bulk ferment sourdough too long. If you leave the dough to ferment for too long, it will become "over fermented". Over fermented dough will lose its structure and become a soupy, sloppy mess that you will not be able to shape.

What makes a sourdough bread good? ›

Sourdough is known for its characteristic tangy flavor, chewy texture and crisp, crackly crust. From a health standpoint, it dominates when compared to supermarket loaves. The naturally occurring acids and long fermentation help to break down the gluten, making it more digestible and easy for the body to absorb.

What is the secret behind the sour of sourdough bread? ›

There are two main acids produced in a sourdough culture: lactic acid and acetic acid. Acetic acid, or vinegar, is the acid that gives sourdough much of its tang. Giving acetic acid-producing organisms optimal conditions to thrive and multiply will produce a more tangy finished product.

How to make better sourdough? ›

10 Genius Ways to Bake Better Sourdough Bread
  1. Wake Up Your Starter.
  2. Call Your Active Starter Into Action.
  3. Think Beyond White Flour.
  4. Consider Dough Hydration.
  5. Don't Skip the Autolyse.
  6. Give Dough a Long Bulk Fermentation.
  7. Proof Before Baking.
  8. Properly Prepare the Baking Surface.

Why not use a metal spoon with sourdough? ›

And it can dissolve some metals. However, what happens when sourdough and metals contact each other depend on the metal and the length of exposure. If the metal is a stainless steel, there will be no problems.

References

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