How We Bake Sourdough Bread

I think we could all do with a dose of comfort and what is more comforting than baking bread at home? Today I’m sharing how we bake sourdough bread.

Can’t wait for the recipe? Skip directly to the recipe card at the bottom of this post!

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My husband has wanted to bake bread at home for so long and, now suddenly, has more time to practice. The boys and I are enjoying these wonderful loaves of sourdough he’s making.

I’m not sure my hips and stomach will be happy when I need to pull on my bathing suits, BUT I’m not going to worry about that right now.

One of the loaves he baked had a heart inside when we cut it open…

It was certainly baked with love! 💕

Have you guys wanted to start baking bread at home, too? If so read on for all of Luke’s tips. We’re also including a short video of the process, too. Hope it helps to bring your families together for a lovely dinner or lunch. This bread pairs wonderfully with fresh salads, homemade soups, and roast dinners.

The BEST way to enjoy it, in our experience, is – still warm from the oven, with butter 😊.

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Things You’ll Need

• Sourdough Starter (see below)
• All Purpose Flour, we use King Arthur
• Whole Wheat Flour, we use King Arthur
• Cheese
• Salt
• Water
• Mixing Bowls
• Dough Scraper
• Dough Cutter
• Parchment Paper
• Baking Steel (optional)
• Cast Iron Pan
• Measuring Jug
• Scale
• Pizza Peel

For the Starter

You can follow this recipe here. This takes at least 5 days to grow so make sure you a lot for that time. The night before you want to make the bread, take the starter out of the fridge (discarding part of it) and feed it up to a little over 1 pound. You need to make more than a pound so you’ll have starter leftover after you’ve made your bread for your next bake.

Method

Luke’s method follows the King Arther Naturally Leavened Sourdough recipe.

Special Tip – Wash your hands before every step.

Step 1 – Mix the weighed ingredients into a contiguous dough, using your hands. Cover with a clean tea towel leave it for 20 minutes.

Step 2 – Add salt. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Luke folds it like a business letter and squishes with the heel of his hand. You can see in the video this process.

Special Tip – If it isn’t summer and you don’t have a proofer, boiling the kettle and put two cups of boiling water in a jug in the microwave for two minutes.

Step 3 – Put dough back in bowl, cover with a tea towel, and put in the microwave for one hour. Do not turn the microwave on…

Step 4 – Fold the dough like a business letter, flatten, rotate 90 degrees an do it again. Put it back in the bowl and cover for an hour.

Step 5 – Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, using a dough scraper. Cut in half with the dough cutter.

Shape into circles. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Step 6 – Line two smaller bowls with tea towels and dust with flour.

Step 7 – Chop up Pepperjack Cheese (or other cheese) into chunks and press into the surface of the dough, varying the depth.

Step 8 – Fold the round with cheese, like an envelope (see video). Turn the dough over and drag toward yourself with your finger behind it, rubbing along the surface to support the dough. Rotate slightly and drag again, continuing until you’ve gone all the way around. This makes a tight surface on the top of the bread.

Step 9 – Place in lined bowls with the seams facing upward. Cover and leave to rise for 2 – 2 1/2 hours.

Special tip – About an hour before baking, put your baking steel in the oven and a cast iron pan underneath and heat the oven at 450° F.

Special tip – Boil the kettle just before baking time.

Step 10 – Turn the loaves our seam-side down onto parchment paper. Cut lines into the top to prevent the bread from splitting.

Step 11 – Using the pizza peel slide the dough and parchment onto baking steel. Pour one cup of boiling water into the cast iron pan. BE REALLY CAREFUL and WEAR LONG OVEN GLOVES to prevent burns. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden.

Step 12 – Cool on cooling rack and enjoy!

Step 13 – You can do this after step 1, feed the starter leave it for a few hours to rise and put it a jar and store in the fridge until you want to bake more bread.

For more details see our video:

The bread is amazing! You’ll swear you’re eating professional baked bread.

It makes two loaves but they sure don’t last long in our house! If your bread makes it longer than a few days you might like our recipe for homemade croutons.

Hope you enjoy this bread as much as our family does!