🍞 How to Make Sourdough Bread (Full Instructions for Both Baking Methods)

This guide teaches you how to:
✔ properly measure ingredients using a kitchen scale
✔ create your sourdough dough
✔ bake using a Dutch oven OR an open cookie-sheet method
✔ use steam correctly for an artisan crust

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🧪 1. Measure Ingredients Using a Kitchen Scale (MOST IMPORTANT STEP)

Sourdough is extremely sensitive to moisture, so measuring by cups will give inconsistent results.
A kitchen scale ensures accuracy every single time.

How to Use Your Scale

1. Place your empty mixing bowl on the scale

2. Press TARE → this zeros the scale

3. Add your first ingredient (example: 500g flour)

4. Press TARE again → scale returns to 0

5. Add the next ingredient

6. Repeat after each ingredient

💡 TARE = reset scale to zero so you don’t have to measure ingredients separately.

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🍞 2. Dough Creation Instructions

Ingredients

• 500g bread flour (or all-purpose flour)

• 350g room-temperature water

• 100g active, bubbly sourdough starter

• 10g salt

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⭐ Step 1 — Autolyse

1. Add 500g flour and 350g water to your bowl

2. Mix until all flour is hydrated

3. Cover and rest 30 minutes

This improves gluten development and makes shaping easier.

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⭐ Step 2 — Add Starter & Salt

1. Add 100g active starter

2. Add 10g salt

3. Mix with your hands until incorporated
   (The dough will feel sticky — that’s correct.)

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⭐ Step 3 — Stretch & Folds (Gluten Development)

Every 30 minutes, perform one round of stretch-and-folds:

1. Wet your hands

2. Grab one side of the dough, stretch up, fold over

3. Turn the bowl ¼ turn

4. Repeat 4 times

✔ Do 4 rounds total
✔ These develop gluten structure without kneading

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⭐ Step 4 — Overnight Cold Bulk Fermentation

After the last fold:

• Cover the bowl

• Place in refrigerator 8–16 hours

Cold fermentation:
✔ prevents over-proofing
✔ gives better flavor
✔ improves dough strength

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🔥 3. Baking Methods (Choose One)

You can bake sourdough two ways:

1️⃣ Dutch Oven Method (best rise, easiest)
2️⃣ Open Cookie-Sheet Method (steam added manually)

Both produce excellent bread — follow the one that matches your equipment.

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🍲 METHOD 1 — Dutch Oven Baking

(Standard Artisan Method with the 30-minute covered + 20-minute uncovered bake time)

1. Warm the Dough

Remove the dough from the fridge → rest 20–30 minutes

2. Shape

• Lightly flour your counter

• Shape dough into a tight ball

• Place into a floured proofing bowl seam side UP

3. Preheat

• Place Dutch oven in oven

• Preheat to 450°F for 45 minutes

4. Transfer & Score

• Turn dough onto parchment seam side DOWN

• Score the top

⭐ 5. Bake:

• Bake 30 minutes COVERED

• Remove lid

• Bake 20 minutes UNCOVERED

Total time: 50 minutes

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🍪 METHOD 2 — Open Bake Using a Cookie Sheet

(Includes how to add steam with a pan of boiling water)

This method is perfect if you do not own a Dutch oven.

1. Warm the Dough

20–30 minutes on counter after refrigeration.

2. Preheat Oven to 400°F (important for preventing burning)

Place inside the oven during preheat:

• Empty loaf pan (Caraway is perfect) on bottom rack

• Cookie sheet on middle rack

🔥 NOTE:
It is safe to preheat a Caraway loaf pan empty (ceramic-coated steel, oven safe to 550°F).
Do NOT preheat a glass pan empty — glass can shatter.

3. Shape

• Turn dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheet

• Place seam side DOWN

• Score the top

4. Add Steam

• Boil 1 cup of water

• Slide dough on the cookie sheet into the oven

• Pour the boiling water into the hot loaf pan on the bottom rack

• Close the oven immediately

Steam is essential for oven spring.

⭐ 5. Bake:

Bake 40–50 minutes at 400°F total.

Check at 40 minutes:

• If pale → continue baking

• If deep golden → remove

Internal temp should reach 205–210°F

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🧾 Comparison Chart (Optional for Your Blog)

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🌾 PART 2 — Instructions to Create Your Own Starter

⭐ Day 1

• Mix 50g flour + 50g water

• Stir, cover loosely

⭐ Day 2

• Add 50g flour + 50g water

• Stir

⭐ Day 3

• Discard half

• Add 50g flour + 50g water

⭐ Day 4

Repeat the Day 3 cycle:

• Discard half

• Feed 50g flour + 50g water

⭐ Day 5–7

Starter should:
✔ smell pleasantly sour
✔ have bubbles
✔ rise and fall

Continue discard + feed until it doubles within 4–6 hours after feeding.

At that point → your starter is ready to bake with.

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🌱 How to Feed & Maintain Your Starter

If kept on the counter (daily baking):

Daily:

• Discard half

• Feed equal parts starter, flour, water (50g each)

If kept in the refrigerator (weekly baking):

Weekly:

• Remove from fridge

• Discard half

• Feed equal parts

• Let sit 1 hour

• Return to fridge