Sourdough is one of those things that is a bit of a labour of love, but once you start cooking with it and realise just how delicious it can be, you get completely hooked. This white sourdough loaf is one of my staples.
A disclaimer, to start – you cannot rush this. It’s simple, there are no special techniques, you don’t even need to knead it. But it takes a lot of time, and you need to let it do its thing. I start mine three days before I want to eat it.
You’ll need a sourdough starter for this recipe. They’re very easy to make yourself at home – this is the recipe I used to make mine. If you don’t have a sourdough starter yet, get that made first – it’ll take about five days. Once you’ve made it, it can be stored in the fridge and ‘reactivated’ (as per the recipe below) each time you want to cook with it.
White Sourdough Loaf – The Ingredients
The great thing about this loaf is that it only needs very few ingredients:
- Sourdough starter – see the notes above. A sourdough starter just needs white flour and water to make.
- Flour – strong, white bread flour is best.
- Water – tap water is fine (in the U.K.)
- Salt – I use some nice coarse sea salt, it gives the bread a great flavour.
Top Tips
- Timeframes In the recipe, I’ve given the times it takes to achieve best results, following my own trial and error.
- Where to make your sourdough At some points in the recipe, I say to keep your dough in a warm place. I use my airing cupboard for this. You’ll want somewhere around 23-25 degrees Celsius, out of direct sunlight.
- Cooking your sourdough I cook my loaves one at a time in my Le Creuset casserole dish. Any similar casserole dish will work, as long as it has a lid.
More sourdough recipes:
- Rosemary Sourdough Focaccia
- Homemade Sourdough Pizza
- Sourdough Flatbreads
- Asparagus and Bacon on Sourdough
- Classic Welsh Rarebit Sandwich with Sausage
Homemade White Sourdough Loaf
Make your own fresh, white sourdough loaves at home.
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Ingredients
To feed the sourdough starter
- 100 grams plain flour
- 100 grams water
To make the levain
- 100 grams plain flour
- 100 grams water
- 2 tablespoons sourdough starter
For the bread
- 1 kilograms strong white bread flour
- 650 grams water
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
Instructions
Three days before you want to bake your bread
- Feed your sourdough starter to activate it. Remove it from the fridge and add 100g flour and 100g water. Stir to combine it, cover and leave at room temperature overnight.
Two days before you want to bake your bread
- After 24 hours, check your sourdough starter. It should now have bubbles at the top – this means it has been activated. Check it’s ready to use by putting a teaspoon of it in water – it should float. If it’s not ready, feed again and leave for another day.
- If it is ready, you can make your levain. Get a large mixing bowl and put 100g flour and 100g water into it. Add 2 tablespoons of your sourdough starter. Stir with a spatula to combine, then cover and leave at room temperature overnight.
One day before you want to bake your bread
- In the morning, check your levain. It should have bubbles on the surface- this means it’s ready to go. Tip in 600g tepid water and stir with your spatula to dissolve the levain. Add 1 kg strong white bread flour and stir well to create a shaggy dough. Cover and leave for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, sprinkle over the salt and tip over 50g water. Use your hands to pinch and twist it into the dough, until it comes together as a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Uncover the dough, then grab one side of the dough, stretch it out and pull it over itself. Turn the dough clockwise and repeat four times. Cover and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Repeat the stretching and pulling three more times (four times in total), leaving to rest for 30 minutes each time. When you have done this, cover the dough and leave it in a warm place for 3 hours.
- Tip the dough onto a floured surface. Split into two, and form each one into a ball. Leave uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Prepare two proving baskets by flouring them heavily. Take one of the dough balls and form a tight ball by pulling the sides out and folding them in on itself. Place it in one of the floured baskets. Repeat with the other dough ball. Put the baskets in the fridge overnight.
The day you want to bake the bread
- Preheat the oven to 240 degrees Celsius. Put your empty casserole dish in the oven while it is heating up.
- When the oven is hot, take one of the baskets from the fridge. Carefully line the bottom of your casserole dish with baking parchment and tip the dough ball in. Score a line on the top with a sharp knife. Transfer to the oven (with the lid on the dish) for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, then repeat with the other dough ball.
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