Sourdough Bread

A reliable everyday sourdough, shaped into a single batard or three baguettes and baked on a steel. The vital wheat gluten gives all-purpose flour the strength of bread flour, and the moderate 68% hydration keeps the dough easy to handle while still producing an open, tender crumb.

Ingredients

500g total flour base — 68% hydration

Instructions

  1. Whisk dry: Whisk the 485g all-purpose flour and 15g vital wheat gluten together thoroughly in a large bowl. Whisk the gluten fully into the flour before adding any liquid, or it will clump.

  2. Dissolve starter: In a separate bowl, stir the 100g starter into the 340g water until milky and evenly dispersed.

  3. Combine & rest: Pour the flour mixture into the liquid. Mix by hand until no dry clumps remain, then cover and let rest 30 minutes. The flour hydrates and gluten begins developing on its own. Because the starter went in with the water, this is a fermentolyse rather than a true autolyse — fermentation is already running during the rest, which is why it does in well under an hour what a starter-free autolyse needs 1-2 hours for.

  4. Add salt: Sprinkle the 10g salt over the dough and mix it in, pinching and folding until fully incorporated. The dough will feel shaggy and slightly rough.

  5. Bulk ferment with stretch & folds: Cover and let ferment at warm room temperature (~75°F/24°C) for about 4-5 hours. During the first 2 hours, perform a set of stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes (4 sets total): with a wet hand, grab one side of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over the center; rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides. The dough is ready when it has risen 30-50%, feels airy, and holds a smooth, domed surface.

  6. Divide & pre-shape: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. For a batard, leave it in one piece — a full 500g-flour batch (~950g dough) is exactly one batard-pan loaf. For baguettes, divide into 3. Using a bench scraper, gently fold the edges into the center and flip seam-side down. Drag in small circles to build surface tension into a loose round or short log. Rest 20-30 minutes, uncovered.

  7. Shape: Flour the top of a piece, flip so the floured side is down, and shape into a batard (or baguette): pat into a rough rectangle, fold the top third down and the bottom third up, then roll it up from the top and seal the seam. Gently rock and taper to length — shorter and fatter for a batard, longer and thinner for a baguette. Place seam-side down in a floured batard/baguette pan, or seam-side up in a floured couche pleated between loaves.

  8. Cold proof: Cover loosely and refrigerate 12-16 hours (overnight). The cold retard develops flavor and firms the dough so it's easy to score. It is ready when it springs back slowly and leaves a slight indent when poked.

  9. Preheat: About 45 minutes before baking, place the baking steel on a middle rack and preheat to 500°F (260°C). Since there's no Dutch oven to trap steam, set up oven steam: place an empty cast-iron pan or metal tray on a lower rack to preheat, and have about 1 cup of boiling water (or a handful of ice cubes) ready.

  10. Score & load: If proofed in a couche, transfer the loaves seam-side down onto parchment; loaves proofed in a pan can go in as-is (set the pan on the steel). Dust with flour and score each loaf — one long slash down a batard, or several diagonal slashes on a baguette — about ½-inch deep with a sharp blade or razor. Set the pan (or the parchment) directly on the hot steel.

  11. Bake with steam: Immediately pour the boiling water into the preheated cast-iron pan (or toss in the ice) and close the door fast to trap the steam. Reduce the temperature to 450°F (232°C) and bake 15 minutes. Remove the steam pan, rotate the loaf, and bake another 10-20 minutes until deeply golden — about 35 minutes total for the batard, 25-30 for baguettes. Either way they're done when they sound hollow tapped on the bottom, or reach an internal temperature of 205-210°F (96-99°C).

  12. Cool: Cool completely on a wire rack — at least 1 hour, for the batard as well as the baguettes — before slicing. Cutting too early gives a gummy crumb.

Notes

Tips:

  • Whisk the vital wheat gluten thoroughly into the flour before adding liquids to avoid gummy clumps.
  • Add the starter at its 6-hour peak — bubbly, domed, and doubled — for the best rise.
  • The 340g water gives a safe, workable 68% hydration; hold back a little if your flour runs thirsty.
  • The 4-5 hour bulk assumes a ~75°F kitchen. Fermentation slows about an hour for every 4-5°F below that — at 70°F expect closer to 6 hours. Watch the dough, not the clock; the 30-50% rise is the real signal.
  • Steam is what gives a crisp, blistered crust and good oven spring without a Dutch oven. Preheat the steel and the steam pan fully, and load the water the moment the loaves go in.
  • A 500g-flour batch is one batard or three baguettes. Double the recipe for two batards.
  • 35 minutes is the number for the batard — tested, and it lands right on 205-210°F internal. A full-size loaf looks like it should need longer than that; it doesn't. Go by the thermometer, not by the size of the loaf.

Shaping variations:

Boule (single large round): Shape the whole batch into one tight round instead of dividing. Proof seam-up in a floured banneton or towel-lined bowl. Build real surface tension in the final shape — drag the round on an unfloured patch of counter in tight circles until the skin is taut, or it will spread into a disc on the flat steel. Turn out onto parchment, score deeply and with intent (one confident ½–¾" slash, or a cross), and slide onto the steel. A boule is a thick, dense mass, so keep the full 15 min of steam, then drop to 450°F (232°C) and bake longer — about 40-45 min total to reach 205-210°F internal. Cool at least 2 hours before slicing.

Mini boules for bread bowls: Aim for ~375g pieces — the sweet spot for an individual soup bowl, big enough to hold a real serving after hollowing. A single batch (~950g dough) makes 2 with a little dough left over (roll it into a small boule or dinner roll); a double batch makes about 5. Shape into squat, slightly flattened rounds for a sturdier bowl with more surface to cut a lid into. At this size they bake in about 25-30 min total — full steam for the first 15, then finish to 205-210°F internal, watching color. Cool completely (1 hr+) before cutting a lid and hollowing out the center, leaving a ½–¾" wall. For extra leak resistance, brush the interior with olive oil or egg white and return to the hot oven 3-5 min to set a seal.

Make ahead: The overnight cold proof is built in — mix and bulk-ferment one day, bake the next morning.

Storage: Keeps 3-4 days cut-side down on the counter, or slice and freeze for up to 3 months.

Source

Family recipe

Prep: 45 min active (plus ~5 hr bulk ferment and overnight cold proof) Cook: 35 min for the batard, 25-30 min for baguettes Servings: 1 large batard or 3 baguettes