Bake the Perfect Sourdough Bread: A Step-by-Step Guide

Summary by Krater

A complete guide to making homemade sourdough bread from scratch, covering feeding the starter, bulk fermentation, shaping, cold proofing, and baking in a Dutch oven or cast iron combo cooker.

From the video

Answers: How do you make sourdough bread from scratch?

• Feeding sourdough starter
• Mixing sourdough bread dough
• Stretch and fold technique
• Shaping sourdough loaves
• Cold proofing sourdough
• Baking sourdough in a Dutch oven

Ingredients

• 50 g sourdough starter
• 50 g flour
• 50 g lukewarm water
• bread flour
• rye flour
• whole wheat flour
• salt
• rice flour
• butter

What it concludes

• Combining equal parts of sourdough starter, flour, and lukewarm water creates an active starter within 4 to 6 hours.
• Using filtered or spring water avoids chlorinated water slowing down yeast activity.
• Using lukewarm water no hotter than 85 degrees Fahrenheit prevents killing the yeast.
• Stretching and folding the dough every hour during bulk fermentation strengthens the gluten network and creates a better rise and texture.
• Using rice flour to dust the banneton creates a better crust than standard bread flour.
• Cold proofing the dough in the refrigerator for 8 to 48 hours develops the sourdough flavor and helps create a better oven spring and crust.