This Sourdough Bread Recipe Is Your Next Weekend Baking Project

Fresh supermarket bread can be tasty, but nothing compares to homemade. From focaccia to ciabbata, bread recipes require patience and baking skills. This sourdough recipe from the Institute of Culinary Education will satisfy your starch cravings while making you feel like a master chef.

When it comes to DIY bread, actually baking it is half the battle. Unless you plan to finish it off in one sitting, you’ll need to store it properly so it doesn‘t go stale quickly. Carrie Smith, chef-instructor of pastry and baking arts at the Institute of Culinary Education’s Los Angeles campus, suggests keeping the sourdough bread wrapped in a paper or cloth bag at room temperature if you plan to eat it the next day. To keep it fresh for two to three days, you can wrap the loaf in plastic. Freeze the food in a plastic bag if you plan to keep it any longer than that, and reheat it in an oven before eating. 

But before you can worry about storing it, you’ll need to bake it. Begin by whisking the starter and water together in a large bowl. After adding the flour and salt, combine everything with an electric mixer or your hands. Next, cover the bowl with a towel and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Once time is up, stretch one corner of the dough and fold it into the middle. Complete this step four to five times. Chef Smith says this step shouldn’t be skipped or rushed because it helps build the structure of the dough and trap carbon dioxide. If not done correctly, the bread will flatten while it bakes.

Cover the bowl again and let it rise at room temperature for 8 to 10 hours. If you live in a warm climate, it may need less time to proof. The dough is ready when has increased in volume by 50 percent, has a bubbly surface, and jiggles when moved. You can also ferment dough in a fridge overnight.   

For the next step, turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape it until it’s round. Then place it in a bowl lined with a cloth or lightly dusted with flour, ensuring the seam side faces upward. Loosely cover the bowl and refrigerate it for 24 hours. The following day, preheat a Dutch oven with a lid in the oven at 500℉ for 30 minutes. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, Chef Smith says that any oven-safe pot with a lid will do. 

Now it’s time to score the dough. After removing it from the fridge, move it to a piece of parchment paper and score it with a sharp knife. Carefully remove the Dutch oven (or pot) from the oven and place the dough in it. Lightly spray the dough with water before putting the lid back on the pot. Set the oven temperature to 450℉ and bake the covered bread, checking to see if it’s a dark golden brown after 20 minutes. If not, take the lid off and bake the loaf for 10 more minutes. The bread should be fully cooked when it reaches 190℉ and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom of it. Finally, remove the pot from the oven, take the bread out, and let it cool on a rack for one hour.

The Institute of Culinary Education is one of the largest culinary schools in the world. Its New York and Los Angeles locations offer career training programs in the culinary arts, pastry and baking arts, hospitality, and hotel management. Whether you‘re beginning your culinary journey or expanding your expertise, you can apply through ICE’s website.

Sourdough Bread 

Yields: one loaf

½ cup active sourdough starter (a mixture of flour and water that has collected wild yeast.  A mature starter can take weeks or months to develop. See if any bakeries in your area sell theirs.) 

1 ½ cups water 

3 ¾ cups bread flour

2 teaspoons of fine sea salt

1. Whisk the starter and water together in a large bowl with a fork or spatula. Add the flour and salt. Combine using a mixer with the hook attachment or by hand. Once the dough is developed, cover it with a towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. 
2. After 30 minutes, grab a corner of the dough and pull it up and into the center. Repeat until you have done this series of folds 4 to 5 times. 
3. Cover the bowl with a towel and let the dough rise at room temperature, about 8 to 10 hours at 70°F (21°C) or even less if you live in a warm environment. The dough is ready when it has increased by 50 percent in volume, has a few bubbles on the surface, and jiggles when you move the bowl from side to side. This fermentation can also be done in the refrigerator overnight. 
4. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Gently shape it into a round. Next, place into a flour-dusted basket or bowl lined with a cloth. Make sure the seam side is facing up in the vessel.  
5. Loosely cover the dough and refrigerate for 24 hours. 
6. Place a Dutch oven with a lid in your oven and preheat to 500°F for 30 minutes. 
7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place a piece of parchment paper over it. Invert the vessel to release the dough onto the paper. Score the dough with the tip of a small serrated knife or a razor blade. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and remove the lid. Use the parchment to carefully transfer the dough into the preheated baking pot, spraying the slashed dough with water. Carefully place the lid on top of the Dutch oven. 
8. Lower the oven temperature to 450°F. Bake the bread in the pot with the lid for 20 minutes. Check for color. If desired, bake for an additional 10 minutes with the lid on. Once the desired color is achieved, remove the lid and bake the loaf for an additional 10 minutes. Most sourdough breads are baked until dark golden brown. An internal temperature of 190°F and a hollow sound when the bottom of the bread is tapped can determine when the bread is done.
9. Remove the pot from the oven, carefully lift the bread, and place it onto a rack for 1 hour before slicing.

Read More Recipes: