Perfect White Sourdough Bread

A classic white sourdough: open but tender crumb, crisp crust, and a mild, balanced tang. This formula (500 g flour, 72% hydration) is designed for home bakers and professional cooks alike — it works beautifully when started at 6:00 p.m. and given an overnight cold retard for flavor development. Below you’ll find a short introduction to sourdough, the full ingredient list, equipment notes, and a minute-by-minute timeline built around a 6:00 p.m. autolyse.

About Sourdough (brief)

Sourdough bread relies on a living culture of wild yeasts and lactic acid bacteria (your starter) instead of commercial yeast. The long, gentle fermentation that sourdough allows (bulk fermentation and cold retard) develops complex flavors, improves keeping quality, and creates a more digestible crumb. The starter provides leavening and flavor — feeding schedule, temperature, and hydration affect the final tang and oven spring. Serve slathered with homemade butter: https://admirals-table.com/2025/11/01/homemade-butter/

Pro tip: always measure salt by weight. For predictable results use a scale and keep dough temperature near 72°F (22°C) during bulk fermentation unless you want a faster or slower rise.

Ingredients

Ingredient	Weight	Notes
Bread flour	500 g	High-protein for best structure
Water	360 g (72%)	Room temperature — reserve 20 g if needed
Active sourdough starter (100% hydration)	100 g	Fed and peaked
Morton kosher salt	9 g	Weigh by grams (≈1¾ tsp by volume)

Equipment

Lodge 5.5‑quart Dutch oven (recommended) or similar 4.5–5.5 qt oven-safe pot
Mixing bowl, bench scraper, digital scale
Banneton or bowl lined with a heavily floured towel, parchment, lame or sharp knife

Timeline (Start: 6:00 PM)

6:00 PM — Autolyse

Mix 500 g flour + 360 g water until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 30–45 minutes.

6:45 PM — Add starter & salt

Add 100 g active starter and 9 g Morton kosher salt. Mix until fully incorporated. Rest 15 minutes.

7:00–9:00 PM — Bulk fermentation with folds

Perform stretch-and-fold sets every 30 minutes (7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30). After final fold, let the dough rest until ~9:00. Dough should be smooth, airy, and slightly domed.

9:00 PM — Preshape

Lightly flour bench, preshape into a round. Rest 30–60 minutes (a full hour is fine and recommended if dough is tight and warm).

10:00 PM — Final shape

Shape into tight boule or bâtard. Place seam-side up in a floured banneton.

10:15 PM — Cold proof

Cover and refrigerate overnight (8–12 hours) for flavor and controlled final proof.

Next morning — Preheat (approx. 8:00–9:00 AM)

Preheat oven with Dutch oven inside to 475°F (245°C) for 45–60 minutes.

Bake (approx. 9:00 AM)

Turn dough out onto parchment, score, place in preheated Dutch oven. Bake 20 minutes covered, then 20–25 minutes uncovered until deep golden brown.

Cool

Cool on a rack at least 1 hour before slicing for best crumb and finish.

Chef’s Notes

The Lodge 5.5 qt Dutch oven gives plenty of headroom for oven spring; use parchment for an easy transfer.
If your kitchen is cool (<72°F / 22°C), allow extra bulk time (30–45 minutes) or keep dough at room temp longer before chilling.
Morton kosher salt varies by crystal size compared with other brands — measure by weight for consistent results.
For a milder flavor, add 1 teaspoon of honey during autolyse. For a richer crumb, add 20 g olive oil during mixing.

2 responses to “Perfect White Sourdough Bread”

nutfortunately593e63b685

November 1, 2025

I’m intrigued by the use of kosher salt. I typically use a finer grain salt in breads. Have you noticed a significant difference with the kosher salt?

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1. Askins Family
  
  November 2, 2025
  
  I’ve used finer salts and I haven’t noticed a difference. Diamond Crystal Salt and coarser salts might damage the gluten structure but I think Mortons is fine enough to use.
  
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