You guys, I’m so excited about this post! My sister, Lucy, has been stuck at home during this whole pandemic, and offered to help test some recipes! This is a sourdough recipe that she found online and learned how to make it on her own. She doesn’t have any baking or pastry training, although she is incredibly smart – I mean, this is the same sister that once made a Thanksgiving turkey for my siblings and me using her thermodynamics textbook! 🦃🔥💛 But the point is, she made it and it came out great, so you can too!
Recipe credit to The Clever Carrot!
Lucy used the recipe from The Clever Carrot for the most part. She’s made the recipe a few times now and has tweaked it slightly to get it just the way she likes it! Follow her bread-making journey below!
Sourdough Bread
3/4 cup Active Sourdough Starter
1 1/4 cup Warm Water
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 cups Bread Flour
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1. The first thing you’ll need to make sourdough bread is a sourdough starter. You can make one at home from scratch. I typically use King Arthur Flour’s starter recipe and use a combination of whole wheat flour and rye flour as the base. Certain places, like San Francisco, are known for their distinct sourdough flavors – these flavors come from their very mature starters. You can actually order the cultures online to use in your starter to kick that sour sourdough flavor up a notch!
2. Combine your starter, warm water, and olive oil in a large bowl and whisk them together. I used the version of this recipe converted into cups, but investing in a food scale will definitely take your bread game to the next level!
3. Add in the bread flour and salt. Use your hands to mix it all together until it starts to look like a dough. Let your dough rest in the bowl for about 30 minutes.
🔥 Hot Tip: wet your hands and the dough won’t stick to them! I like to keep a bowl of water nearby and dip my hands in every few minutes.
4. Press the dough between your hand and the sides of your bowl to work it into a more uniform ball. Work your dough for about 10 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm spot to proof. The dough should double in size. This can take up to 12 hours at room temperature. Lucy prepares her dough in the evening and then lets it proof overnight for about 12 hours. To speed up the process, you can turn on your oven for 10 minutes or so, then turn it off, put your covered bowl inside, and leave the door cracked open (you can put a wooden spoon in the door to keep it cracked). Your bread should double in about two hours this method.
5. Now that your dough has doubled, it’s time to shape it! This is the part that Lucy was most nervous about, but I think she did a great job! Her sourdough loaf came out pretty round!
Transfer the dough to a very lightly floured work surface. It shouldn’t be very sticky at this point. It will start to deflate as you shape it. Flatten it into a round and fold the sides into the center of the dough, forming a ball again. Flip the dough ball over, and cup it with your hands, turning it a quarter turn and pulling towards yourself, first with your left hand, then the right. Keep doing this until you get a nice, smooth dough ball.
6. Line your Dutch oven with parchment paper and place your beautiful sourdough loaf inside! We’re going to let it proof one more time before we bake! It won’t quite double in size this time, but it will be bigger and puffy looking. This will take about an hour depending on the temperature of your home.
7. Preheat your oven to 450℉. Score the top of your sourdough loaf right before you put it in the oven. I prefer to use a pairing knife for this. You need to make sure your knife is SUPER sharp. You want to slash the top of the bread, about 1 inch deep. Use one motion – you need to be quick, smooth, and confident with your knife.
8. Place your bread in the oven with the lid on for about 20 minutes and then remove the lid for another 40 minutes. You want the outside of your bread to have a nice crust on it and a golden brown color. If you’re nervous and you can’t tell if it’s done, use a thermometer! Insert it in the center of your loaf; if it reads around 190℉, you’re done! You did it!
9. Let the bread cool, and then ENJOY! And thank Lucy for testing this recipe for us! I loaf you, Lucy! 💛🍞🥖
bake the world a better place