Ava Roth's Basic Sourdough Country Loaf
Photo: Ava Roth
Adapted from Tartine Country Loaf
Yields 2 loaves
DAY ONE: FEED YOUR STARTER
Note: If you typically keep your starter out at room temp, skip 'Day One’ of these instructions and begin with building your levean at 'Day Two'
- Two days before you want to bake your bread, place 75 grams of starter in a small container with 150 grams flour and 150 grams of warm water and mix well. To make your own starter, this article from thekitchn.com shows you how.
- Leave at room temperature or slightly warmer all day, and then feed again at night.
DAY TWO: MAKE THE LEVEAN
- The next morning, add 1 heaping tablespoon of your starter to 150 grams of warm water.
- Mix and let rest 4-6 hours at room temp or slightly above. This is now your levean.
MAKE THE DOUGH
- Combine 200 grams of the levean with 700 grams of water, and stir to disperse.
- Add 900 grams all purpose or bread flour and 100 grams whole wheat flour, and mix well with a clean hand into the sticky wet dough (the rest of the levean can be put in your fridge and is now your new starter).
AUTOLYSE
- Cover dough with a dish towel and set aside at room temperature or above for 30 minutes.
FINAL MIX
- Add 20-25 grams of salt and mix very well by hand until salt is totally incorporated
- Your dough should feel very sticky and wet, but still manageable – if you feel you can add more water, add up to 50 grams warm water at this time and stir to incorporate.
BULK FERMENTATION/RISE AND AERATION BY TURNING
- Cover with cloth and set aside for 30 min. Then, every 30 minutes for 4 hours, wet your hands and stretch and fold (beginners, please watch this video of how to do a ‘stretch and fold’ inside the bowl).
DIVIDE AND SHAPE
- Place dough onto a lightly floured counter and cut into two without tearing the gluten strands.
- Form into a rough ball shape, cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Dust proof your proofing baskets (learn what this is here) extremely well (rice flour is ideal).
- Shape dough balls with a bench scraper into boules – pull into a rectangle, roll and tuck into ball, turn on bench, creating tension on surface (beginners, please watch video)
- Place into floured baskets, seam side up and cover well.
FINAL RISE
Place in the refrigerator overnight to ferment anywhere from 12 to16 hours.
Photo: Ava Roth
DAY THREE: BAKE
BAKE
- Preheat oven with two dutch ovens or cast iron skillets inside at 500ºF for at least one hour.
- Gently turn bread out of baskets (bowl with tea towel inside) and onto a pizza peel or flat plate, and score your bread (beginners, watch this VIDEO for tips).
- Place bread gently into hot containers and lower oven to 450ºF for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and bake a final 20 minutes.
- Remove bread from dutch ovens and let rest on a cooling rack for at least an hour before cutting into it.
Photo: Ava Roth