Artisan Loaves - The Process
As if all things sourdough weren’t already confusing and intimidating enough… insert big, beautiful, crusty artisan loaves with recipes that we hardly understand and a baking schedule that makes our heads spin.
It’s okay - we’ll break it down for you!
Once I got past understanding my starter and how that worked, it was months before I even attempted an artisan loaf - it was so intimidating to me! I’d researched and read and even tried to narrow down the recipes to the simplest I could find.. but my first loaf still came out rather dense and flat. But hey, it was edible and we made some bomb french toast with it! Honestly, I baked probably 20+ loaves before I finally got a beautiful round loaf with an airy crumb that I so diligently sought after! The moral stays the same: this is a learned skill that takes practice, lots of practice!
I’m going to break down the process and schedule as simply as I can and in a way that I’ve yet to find anywhere else. I hope this clears the air for you and helps you understand what to be looking for during the process and how to tell when to move onto the next step!
Step 1: Feed your starter
The absolute most important part - or your bread won’t rise! After you’ve got a healthy starter (2+ weeks of feeding it), feed it again right before you’re ready to bake with it. Make sure you’re familiar with how long it takes to rise and be sure you’ll be home to catch it at its peak or just as it begins to fall!
You want to mix your dough/pull active starter from your jar after it has risen and flattened out (it will have a slight dome on the top when it's rising) and is either at its peak or has just begun to fall. Typically, this takes anywhere from 4-8 hours after feeding, depending on the strength of your starter.
Step 2: Mix your dough
You can find our very favorite classic artisan loaf recipe here. Once you’ve mixed the starter, water, flour and salt into a shaggy dough, cover the bowl and let the dough rest for one hour.
Your bulk fermentation time begins now. More on that later.
STEP 3: Stretch and folds
After an hour of rest, remove the lid or cover from the bowl. You’ll want to gently pull up on all sides of the dough while slowly rotating the bowl to un-stick it from the sides a little. Grab one side of the dough, as big of a handful as you can get and stretch it straight up into the air as high as it will allow. Fold this down over the rest of the dough. Rotate the bowl a quarter of a turn and do the same thing with that side of the dough. Rotate it two more times, pulling up and stretching the dough up and over itself from all four sides.
Most recipes call for 2-4 sets of stretch and folds, each 30 minutes apart. You can usually get by with 2, 3 or 4 sets - but I do recommend doing at least two.
Stretch and folds mainly do two things:
They help strengthen the gluten structure in your dough. (No, sourdough is not gluten-free.)
They incorporate air into the dough for those big, beautiful holes in the crumb.
[crumb]:
What the inside of the bread looks like when cut open after cooling.
Remember, stretch and folds are happening within your “bulk fermenting” time.
Step 4: Bulk Fermentation
Ah, the fermentation stage - by far the most misunderstood stage by bakers everywhere! *insert sweating emoji*
But in all seriousness, this stage really is the most difficult to read and truly just needs to be practiced and experimented with.
Bulk fermentation is your bread’s first big rise. After stretch and folds, you’ll want to leave your dough on the counter for an extended amount of time. Most recipes call for anywhere from 7-12+ hours, but really, it all depends on the temperature of your home and the temperature of the dough. This is something that you have to keep an eye on - there’s really no right or wrong amount of time. You have to watch for how your dough is behaving.
Things I look for in my dough that signal to me that the dough is ready to be removed from the bowl and shaped into a loaf:
Air bubbles on the sides and bottom of the bowl. (You’ll want to use a clear container so you can see these.)
Air bubbles forming on the surface of the dough - these are larger than the ones within the dough.
Jiggly when shaken.
Again, this will probably sound like a different language to you if you’re just starting out, but that’s okay! This is a learned skill that takes time. The good news is.. no matter what your bread looks like, it’s almost always edible!
I think the most important part of bulk fermentation that sourdough bloggers seem to leave out is that during bulk fermentation, you’re looking for rise and when you’re looking for rise, you need to use a straight-edged container. Learning this trick has made a world of difference in my baking experience! Just like you need a straight-edged container to watch your starter rise, you need one to watch your dough rise, too.
You’re looking for anywhere between 50-100% rise in the height of your dough to determine when it’s finished with the bulk fermentation/rise. The recipe may specify, but it also heavily depends on the temperature in your home. Take a look at this chart for a temperature-based approach from The Sourdough Journey:
Once I found this, I never looked back. You’ll need a Digital Food Thermometer to measure the temperature of your dough. Stick the probe right in the middle of the bowl to get the most accurate reading. Go off of whatever temperature your dough is and count the hours that have passed since first mixing your dough.
Step 5: Shape your dough
After you’ve determined that your dough has risen as it should, it’s time to shape your loaf! Turn the dough out onto a floured countertop and stretch it as wide and long as you can into a square or rectangle. Sometimes, this is called laminating. This is an additional step that isn’t necessary but helps the gluten develop to make a strong loaf. After you’ve gotten your dough into a ball, you’ll place it seam side up into your banneton or bowl. From this point on, you can either cold retard your dough by placing it in the fridge for 12-48 hours (this is what I do!) or you can let it rest on the counter for about two hours before placing it in your dutch oven to bake.
Step 6: Cold Retard (optional)
After shaping your dough into a ball, place it in a banneton or bowl and cover with a damp towel, lid or plastic wrap to avoid a hard crust forming on the dough. Place the dough into the fridge for 12-48 hours, pulling it out just before it’s time to bake and while your oven is pre-heating. If you choose to let your dough rest at room temperature after shaping, skip this step.
Step 7: Pre-Heat your Oven and Score your Dough
After pulling it from the fridge, turn the dough out onto parchment paper, seam side down. Once on the parchment paper, it’s time to score! Get creative - it’s always fun to see what your loaf will look like when it comes out of the oven! You’ll need a bread lame or sharp knife for this. Scoring your dough deeply in at least one spot allows air to escape during the baking process. This is important for a beautiful loaf because if you don’t, the dough will bust open no matter what in order to release air.
Once you’ve scored your dough, place it in your dutch oven and follow the recipe’s cooking instructions.
Quick Tips:
Use a digital thermometer to measure your bread’s internal temperature at the end of the baking time. A finished loaf should read between 205-210˚F when fully cooked through.
These silicone bread slings really help with preventing the bottom of your loaf from burning.
Some recipes call for pre-heating your dutch oven while the oven pre-heats. It works, however, I find that the bottom of my loaf burns much easier than when I don’t pre-heat the dutch oven inside the oven.
Place your loaf in the freezer for 15-20 minutes while your oven pre-heats. This will firm up the outside of your dough and allow cleaner scoring lines.
OVerview:
Feed your starter. You’re looking for lots of bubbles and for your starter to double or triple in size.
Mix your dough. Incorporate ingredients until shaggy dough forms. Bulk fermentation begins now.
Allow the dough to rest. Cover it and leave it alone for an hour.
Stretch and folds. Use your hands to stretch the dough up and over itself, rotating the bowl four times and doing it once from each side. Usually done in intervals 30 minutes apart for 1-2 hours. Dough will get more firm by the third fold each time.
Bulk fermentation. This is when you’re looking for the largest rise in your dough. Leave it alone in a straight-edged container to accurately measure the amount of rise. Add a rubber band around the container to mark its initial height, then you’ll be able to tell the amount of rise from there.
Shape your dough. Once risen fully on the counter, turn the dough out and shape it into a ball. Place the dough ball into a banneton or bowl, seam side up.
Cold retard (optional). This allows the second rise to happen in the fridge over the course of 12-48 hours.. If you choose to skip the fridge, you call allow your dough to rest and rise a second time once shaped on the counter for 1-2 hours instead of putting it in the fridge.
Pre-heat your oven and score your dough. While your oven is heating, use a sharp knife or bread lame to score your dough, allowing air to rise during the baking process.
Bake and enjoy!
