Classic sourdough boule
A crackling, deep golden crust and a soft, open crumb. A forgiving first loaf, mixed in the afternoon, shaped in the evening and baked the next morning.
sourdough boule
The timeline
Times assume a kitchen near 24 °C. Begin at 8 am on the first day and the loaf comes from the oven around 9 am on the second.
- IDay 1 · 8:00 am
Build the levain
Mix 20 g mature starter with 40 g flour and 40 g water in a clean jar. Cover loosely and keep somewhere warm (24–26 °C). It is ready when it has doubled, is domed on top and smells sweetly tangy.
4–6 hours Baker's note In summer my levain is ready in about 4 hours, so I build it later in the morning. Watch the jar, not the clock. — Phuong Sample note · edit freely - IIDay 1 · 1:30 pm
Autolyse
Stir the flours and 325 g water until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest. The flour hydrates and the dough becomes smoother and easier to handle.
30–60 minutes - IIIDay 1 · 2:30 pm
Mix
Add the levain and salt. Squeeze, fold and pinch the dough for about 3–5 minutes until everything is combined. Aim for a dough temperature near 25 °C.
5 minutes - IVDay 1 · 3:00 pm
Bulk fermentation, with folds
Give four sets of stretch-and-folds, one every 30 minutes, then leave the dough alone. It is ready when it has grown by about half, jiggles like jelly and shows bubbles at the edges.
3½–4 hours Baker's note I fold the dough each time the kettle boils for tea. Easy to remember, and the dough gets a rest in between. — Phuong Sample note · edit freely - VDay 1 · 6:30 pm
Pre-shape & shape
Turn out onto a bare counter, pre-shape into a round and rest 20 minutes. Then shape tightly into a boule and place it seam-side up in a floured banneton.
30 minutes - VIDay 1 · 7:15 pm
Cold retard
Cover the banneton and refrigerate. The cold slows the yeast while flavour keeps developing, and makes the loaf easy to score.
10–14 hours
- VIIDay 2 · 7:30 am
Preheat & bake
Preheat the oven, with a Dutch oven inside, to 250 °C for 45 minutes. Turn out the dough, score it and bake covered for 20 minutes. Lower to 230 °C, remove the lid and bake 20–25 minutes more until deep brown.
About 1½ hours - VIIIDay 2 · 9:00 am
Cool
Let the loaf cool on a rack for at least an hour. The crumb is still setting inside, and slicing early gives a gummy middle.
1 hour Baker's note I admit I sneak the heel while it is still warm, with butter and a pinch of salt. Do as I say, not as I do. — Phuong Sample note · edit freely
Troubleshooting
- Dense, gummy crumb? Usually under-fermented. Extend the bulk by 30–45 minutes next time and watch the dough, not the clock.
- A flat loaf that spread out? Shape more tightly, or shorten the bulk a little. Over-proofed dough loses its structure.
- A pale crust? Bake the final 20 minutes lid-off until the crust is deep mahogany. Colour is flavour.
- Dough too sticky? Wet your hands rather than adding flour, and use gentle stretch-and-folds.
- Want a tangier loaf? Keep the retard nearer 14 hours, or use a slightly more mature levain.
Sample text · to be rewritten
Why it’s good
A round country loaf is the loaf that teaches the rest. One dough, one banneton, one pot. The long fermentation is the old method: time instead of improvers, a living starter instead of a packet, and a crust that crackles because the oven was hot and the dough was ready. It keeps for days, and it is built from flour, water, salt and the leaven you keep on the counter.
The tradition here is not a single village recipe. It is the ordinary practice of bakers who let dough sit overnight in the cool, then baked it in a covered vessel so the first minutes stayed steamy. Home bakers borrowed the Dutch oven for the same reason. Nothing in the formula is there to impress. The percentages are there so the loaf can be made again on a different day, in a different kitchen.
The science
Total flour is 500 g. That count includes the 50 g of flour inside the levain: 40 g you stir in, and about 10 g already living in the 20 g of starter, which is itself half flour and half water. Total water is 375 g, so hydration is 375 ÷ 500 = 75%. The 100 g of ripe levain is not extra flour. It is the preferment, already inside those totals, and it is 20% of the flour’s weight.
At 75% the dough is soft but not a batter. The whole-wheat portion, 10% of the flour, brings minerals and a little thirst; the rest is bread flour, which has the strength to hold the gas. Salt at 2% tightens the gluten and seasons the crumb. Four folds during the bulk organize that gluten without a machine. The cold retard then slows the yeast while the acids keep working, which is why the loaf tastes rounder in the morning and scores cleanly when it is cold.
If the kitchen runs warm, the bulk finishes sooner. If the flour or the air is already damp, the dough needs less water, which is why the note beside the formula drops the dough water from 325 g to 300 g and the hydration from 75% to 70%. The percentages are the thing to watch. The clock is only a suggestion.