Ingredients:
150 grams of bubbly/fed started (do the float test)
285 grams filtered water at room temperature
500 grams bread flour (can substitute up to half with whole wheat bread flour)
9 grams of sea salt (I only use 1-2 grams as I like to top my bread with salted butter)
Recipe:
Pre-prep:
Take sourdough started out of the fridge a couple of days in advance of baking the bread. Feed the starter (50 g of starter, 100 g of water, 80 g of all purpose and 20 of whole wheat flour). You will have leftover starter that you can feed and store in the fridge or use it in a sourdough discard recipe.
Making dough:
6:30 am – Squelch all the ingredients together briefly (for a minute or two) with your hand. Cover the bowl with plastic warp and let the dough rest for 30 mins.
7:00 am – Stretch and fold the dough in the bowl several times for about a minute. Cover and leave it out of the counter (or in the oven – do not forget about it) for the day. By evening it would have doubled in size.
5:00 pm or later (I waited until 7:30 pm) – Pre-heat oven to 450F and place a lidded cast iron pot in the oven (can be done in a cold pot as well – haven’t tried it yet). Dust a parchment lined baking sheet with flour. Scrape the dough out onto the parchment paper. Do not punch it down. Pull the outer thirds into the middle and shape into a boule shape. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rest for exactly 30 mins (no less, no more)
5:30 pm or half an hour later – Removed plastic warp and slash with a sharp knife (I like one slash down the middle).
Baking:
Carefully remove the pot from the oven, remove the lid and place the dough (with the parchment paper in the cast iron pot. Place the lid back on and put it in the oven. Reduce the temperature to 425F and bake for 20 mins. Remove lid and bake for an additional 20-25 mins.
Remove from oven and let bread cool in the pot. Once cool enough to handle, remove from pot and place it on a wire rack to cool completely overnight. The bread is ready to slice into the next morning for breakfast/lunch.