Baking Alchemy · French
Sourdough Country Loaf
The weekend project
A proper open-crumb sourdough with a shatteringly crisp crust and deeply tangy flavor. This one takes two days and rewards every minute.
Prep
30 min
Cook
45 min
Serves
1 loaf
Difficulty
Advanced
Ingredients
Dough
- 450g bread flour (high protein)
- 50g whole wheat flour
- 375g water (~75% hydration)
- 100g active starter (mature, at peak)
- 10g fine sea salt
Method
- 1
Autolyse
Mix the flours and 350g of the water until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 45 minutes.
- 2
Add starter and salt
Work in the starter by squeezing through your fingers. Add the salt dissolved in the remaining 25g water. Rest 30 minutes.
- 3
Bulk fermentation
Over 4 to 5 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes, then leave undisturbed until dough has grown 50 to 60 percent.
- 4
Shape
Pre-shape into a round, rest 20 minutes, then do your final shaping — build tension across the surface by dragging the dough toward you.
- 5
Cold proof
Place seam-side up in a floured banneton. Cover and refrigerate overnight (8 to 16 hours).
- 6
Score and bake
Preheat oven to 250C (480F) with a Dutch oven inside for 45 minutes. Score the cold dough, lower into the Dutch oven. Bake covered 20 minutes, then uncovered 20 to 25 minutes until deeply dark. Cool at least 1 hour before cutting.
Origin story
Sourdough is the oldest form of leavened bread, with evidence going back 14,000 years. The country loaf has its spiritual home in French artisan baking, popularized globally by American bakers like Chad Robertson of Tartine Bakery.
