Sourdough Loaf Recipe

Updated: Oct 30

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Ingredients:

4 ½ cp AP flour
- You can sub up to 3 ½ cups of fresh milled or whole wheat flour
- You may need more flour to get the right consistency
1 2/3 cp filtered water
2/3 cp Active Starter
2 ½ tsp Sea salt (can adjust to taste)

Optional Ingredients

Feed Starter for Baking (8-12hrs before mixing dough)

Place 1 tablespoon of starter in a clean jar. If you’re maintaining your starter in the fridge, follow the Feed starter for Maintenance instructions and place the original starter back in the fridge.
Combine the 1 tablespoon of starter with 1/2 cp flour and 1/3 cp water.
Stir well and cover.
Leave the starter out on the counter 8-12hrs.
It should now be active, bubbly and doubled, ready for your dough.

Mixing the Dough

Add 4 ½ cp flour, 1 2/3 cp water, 2/3 cp active starter, 2 1/2 tsp salt, and if using, 1 tbsp molasses and 1 tbsp melted butter, to a large bowl and mix until well blended.
Cover the bowl and leave to rest for 10-30m. This allows the flour to soak up the water
- The more fresh milled or whole wheat added, the longer it needs to rest, at least 30m.
Begin to knead the dough. Knead the dough until it is tacky and smooth but not sticky.
- Kneading develops and strengthens the gluten for a nice, soft loaf.
- If needed, add more flour 1/4 cp at a time until you achieve the right consistency. Ensure each addition of flour is incorporated before adding more flour.
- If the dough becomes too dry, you can add some water 1 tablespoon at a time, incorporating fully after each addition.

First Rise

Cover the bowl with a lid or a plastic bag and leave it on the counter for 8-12hrs or in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- The more fresh milled flour you use, the faster the dough will rise.

Preparing the Dough for the Pan

If you did the First Rise on the counter, the dough should be noticeably risen. It may not have doubled in size, but the texture should be light and fluffy when you remove it from the bowl.
If you left it in the fridge, it may not rise much at all and could still be thick. The dough will be a little difficult to roll out but you can move to the next step.
Butter your pan.
The dough should not stick to the counter but you can add butter or olive oil to the counter before rolling it out.

Shaping the Dough

Scrape all of the dough onto the counter. It should feel a bit like silly putty, soft and pliable but not sticky.
Press the dough flat into a rectangle with your hands or a rolling pin.
Fold it over in thirds, like a letter, pressing each fold down and pressing out any air bubbles.
Turn the dough clockwise once and press the dough flat into a rectangle again with your hands or a rolling pin.
Starting at a short end of the dough, start rolling the dough up, pulling the dough tight as you roll it and pressing it down to remove any air bubbles.
Continue rolling and pressing until finished.
Roll the dough seam side up and pinch the seam together all along the dough to close it.
Roll the dough seam side down and place it into the buttered pan.
Wrap the pan in a plastic bag or cover, and leave it out on the counter for the second rise.

Second Rise

The second rise can take 4-12hrs depending on many factors: strength of your starter, temperature, humidity, etc.
You can speed up the second rise a bit by placing the pan in a cold oven with the light on.
You will want to be available to watch the dough closely as it can rise quickly either way.
Preheat the oven to 400° once the dough is risen over the edge of the pan.
The dough is ready to bake when it is at least 1-2" over the edge of the pan. It should have a full, fluffy appearance.

Baking

Optional: Egg wash - Beat an egg with a splash of water and brush over the top of the loaf before baking to create beautiful color and shine.
Optional: Score the bread with a bread lame or sharp knife, if desired. This prevents blowouts and adds beauty. One or two cuts down the middle or get creative.
Bake at 400° for 10m. This will create a nice oven spring, a quick, large rise of the loaf.
At 10m, without opening the oven, turn the temperature down to 350° and continue baking for another 25-30m, or until the internal temperature is at least 200°.
Remove loaf from the oven and immediately remove it from the pan to a cooling rack. Wait at least an hour to slice, if possible.

Storage and Freezing:

The loaf will last several days on the counter loosely wrapped but will begin to dry out or go stale.
To preserve the freshest state, freeze it. The sooner you freeze it after it cools completely, the fresher it will be when you thaw it.
You can slice and then freeze or freeze the whole loaf.
To thaw, simply leave it on the counter for about 10m for slices or up to an hour or longer for an whole loaf.
You can toast slices from frozen.

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