Basic Sourdough Artisan Bread
Have you ever tried to make artisan bread and it is just too time consuming due to all the folds and resting time? This recipe has no folds and only one rest time. It is really easy and super fun once you master it.
As I got more involved in the bread making world, I really wanted to make the beautiful loaves of artisan bread that most people imagine when they think of sourdough. However, the more I looked into making artisan bread, the more I realized that a busy youth, like myself, did not have time to make such fancy bread. I knew that an easier way of making artisan bread had to exist.
In my opinion, the best part of making bread is the moment of glory when you take the bread out of the oven fully cooked with a beautifully golden crust. Once seeing my master piece, I tell myself, “I made this with my own hands.”
Instructions:
Step One:
12:00 p.m., noon, activate your sourdough starter. Need a recipe to activate your starter? Click Here.
Step Two:
Four hours later, 4:00 p.m., mix together the dry ingredients, with a dough spoon, then add the wet ingredients to the dry.
Mix into a shaggy dough and kneed into a smooth ball.
Cover and ferment overnight.
Step Three:
In the morning, divide the dough in half. Fold the dough on to itself and shape it into a ball. Place it seam side down onto a piece of parchment paper. Dust with flour and score your favorite pattern into it with a scoring knife.
Step Four:
Preheat oven 450º F.
Place dough into a Dutch oven and mist the inside of the pan with water. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 30 additional minutes.
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Basic Sourdough Artisan Bread
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 6 Cups white flour unbleached
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 Cups cold water
- 1/2 Cup sourdough starter activated
Instructions
- Four hours before making the bread feed your starter to activate it.
- Four hours later, mix together the dry ingredients then add the wet. Mix until it's a shaggy dough, then kneed into a smooth ball.
- Cover and let ferment overnight or for 12 hours on the counter.
- 12 hours later or in the morning, divide the dough in half. Fold the dough over itself to shape it into a ball. Place seam side down onto a piece of parchment paper and dust with flour. Then score your favorite pattern into the dough.
- Preheat oven to 450º F.
- Place into a Dutch oven and mist the inside of the pan with water. Cover and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
- When fully cooked move bread onto a cooling rack and enjoy.
Video
Notes
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