The Best Homemade Sourdough Bread

One year ago this month, I embarked upon a journey into the wonderful world of Sourdough. It was almost as if I had a vision that in a few months, the whole world would be making homemade bread while in the 2020 quarantine. There have been many versions of this recipe – at one point, I simply gave up and tossed my starter in the refrigerator for three months.

But alas – I never gave up on creating the kind of Sourdough that I would buy in a Deli.

This is it...


R E C I P E

Gather Your Tools:

  1. You must have an established Sourdough Starter for this recipe. If you would like to learn how to create one, visit my Instagram Account and watch my Starter Highlight.
  2. A medium Bowl
  3. A Dutch Oven or a Pot with lid
  4. Flour (can be any type – I used All Purpose Flour)
  5. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
  6. Filtered Water
  7. Parchment Paper (not required)
  8. Sharp Knife
  9. Cornmeal (not required)
  10. Wooden Spoon
  11. Proofing Basket (if you have one)
  12. Towel

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of Active Sourdough Starter

2 cups Flour

1 1/4 cup Lukewarm Water

3 cups Flour

1 1/2 teaspoons of Fine Sea Salt



Instructions:

Do this in the evening so that it has a chance to rise for about 12 hours

In a bowl, mix starter & water together

Work in flour & salt with a fork

Cover with a towel for 30 minutes

Carefully fold into a ball

Cover with a damp cloth & allow to rise overnight in a warm spot

After about 12 hours, pull out dough and reshape it into a ball, being very careful not to deflate the sourdough bubbles

Place on a lightly floured flat surface and allow to set up for 15 minutes

Reshape once again & flour it so that it will not stick

If you have a proofing basket, place seam side up, or simply place in a bowl & cover again for 2-3 hours (you want it to double in size, so keep an eye on it)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees with Dutch Oven inside to get it nice and hot

If you have Cornmeal, place some in the bottom of your Dutch Oven to keep it from burning

Carefully remove your dough & plop into cookware. If you have it, you can use a square of Parchment Paper

With a sharp knife, slice a few slits into the top (get fancy if you can – a pretty leaf or design can look very festive)

Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on

Remove lid and continue baking for an additional 30 minutes

Check for consistency – you can continue baking until desired color

Your bread should come out with a golden, cracked top and a thick crust

If you bake this bread from scratch, let me know how it turned out! Enjoy!!

Renee Weatherford

For more recipes and Homesteading Tips, head on over to our Instagram Page where we share our New Farm adventures in the Stories and Highlights.

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