Sourdough Bread
A reliable everyday sourdough, shaped into batards or 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
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Whisk dry: Whisk the 490g all-purpose flour and 10g vital wheat gluten together thoroughly in a large bowl. Whisk the gluten fully into the flour before adding any liquid, or it will clump.
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Dissolve starter: In a separate bowl, stir the 100g starter into the 340g water until milky and evenly dispersed.
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Combine & autolyse: Pour the flour mixture into the liquid. Mix by hand until no dry clumps remain, then cover and let rest 30 minutes. This autolyse hydrates the flour and jump-starts gluten development.
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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.
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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.
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Divide & pre-shape: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and divide into pieces — 2 for batards, 3 for baguettes. Using a bench scraper, gently fold each piece's 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 460°F (238°C) and bake 15 minutes. Remove the steam pan, rotate the loaves, and bake another 10-20 minutes until deeply golden — about 25 minutes total for baguettes, up to 35 for batards. They're done when they sound hollow tapped on the bottom, or reach an internal temperature of 205-210°F (96-99°C).
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Cool: Cool the loaves completely on a wire rack — at least 1 hour for baguettes, 1-2 hours for batards — 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.
- Bulk fermentation time depends heavily on temperature. Warmer kitchens ferment faster; watch the dough, not the clock.
- 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.
- The same dough and method work for both pans — batards are shorter and fatter, baguettes longer and thinner. The baguette pan just bakes a little faster.
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 (230°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: Divide into 4 pieces (~235g each — the sweet spot for individual bread bowls; 5 comes out skimpy once hollowed). Shape into squat, slightly flattened rounds for a sturdier bowl with more surface to cut a lid into. They bake fast — about 20-25 min total, full steam for the first 15, then finish to 205-210°F, 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