Sourdough Loaf

Prep: 24h Bake: 45m Yield: 1 Boule
Brian Lagerstrom Tutorial

The Theory: 6 Stages

1. Build: Turn your maintenance starter into a "leaven"—the engine for your bread.
2. Mix: Combine the leaven with fresh flour, water, and salt.
3. Bulk Fermentation: Wild yeast produces gas and acidity while you build strength through folds.
4. Shape: Organize the gassy dough into a strong, taut loaf.
5. Proof: Final gas production to grow the loaf's size before the oven.
6. Bake: Use trapped steam to help the bread "spring" and cook through.

The Leaven (Stage 1)

  • 100g Water (~78°F)
  • 25g Ripe Sourdough Starter
  • 100g All-purpose Flour

The Dough (Stage 2)

  • 310g Warm Water (~92°F)
  • 200g Overnight Leaven (keep 25g aside for next time)
  • 400g All-purpose Flour (approx 11.7% protein)
  • 50g Whole Grain Wheat Flour
  • 12g Salt

Step-by-Step Instructions

Stage 1: Build (9 PM)

The night before, mix your leaven ingredients in a high-sided vessel. Stir until it looks like thick pancake batter, cover, and ferment on your counter overnight (approx. 12 hours).

Stage 2: Mix (The Next Morning)

Ensure your leaven is ripe (it should float in water). Mix the warm water, leaven, flours, and salt in a large bowl. Stir with a sturdy spoon until shaggy, then use a wet hand to pinch and squeeze for 2-3 minutes until fully combined. It will be sticky!

Stage 3: Bulk Fermentation

Place the bowl in a warm spot (unheated oven with light on). After 30 mins: Perform your first set of 4-side stretches and folds. After another 30 mins: Repeat the stretches and folds. Let it sit until it's been 3 hours total since mixing. The dough should be buoyant and grown by 50-60%.

Stage 4: Shape

Flour your surface and the dough top, then flip it out. Stretch the bottom up, sides over, and top down. Round it into a taut ball, then place it seam-side up into a heavily floured proofing basket.

Stage 5: Proof

Cover with a towel and let rise on the counter for about 90 minutes. Use the poke test: the indent should barely hold and then slowly pop back out.

Stage 6: Bake

Preheat a Dutch oven at 500°F (260°C). Flip the loaf onto parchment, give the top 5-6 rustic snips with scissors, and lower it into the hot pot. Bake covered at 485°F for 18 minutes. Remove lid, drop to 465°F, and finish for 25 more minutes. Cool for at least 40 minutes before slicing.