Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread (Master Recipe)
This Dutch oven sourdough bread recipe is perfect for beginners. Learn how to make a classic Dutch oven sourdough boule. This is my master recipe for Dutch oven sourdough bread, which means you can use this as a base recipe for any sourdough bread you want to make.
- Prep Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 9 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Sourdough
- Method: Fermentation
Ingredients
- 500 Grams Organic Bread Flour
- 300 grams Water
- 100 grams Sourdough Starter
- 10–15 grams Sea Salt
Instructions
- It’s best to start the sourdough process before 9 am so you have enough time. Please check the notes section of this recipe for tips.
- In a large bowl, combine the starter, flour, salt, and water.
- Knead the ingredients together until a uniform dough ball forms.
- Using a spray bottle filled with water, mist your clean countertop. Wet your hands and wet the top of the dough ball with the spray bottle. Turn the dough out onto the wet counter surface. Scrape out the bowl and rinse the inside of the bowl really well. Leave the bowl wet.
- Stretch and fold the dough. Stretch the top of the dough over the bottom, side over side, and bottom over top. Place the dough back in the bowl with the seam side down. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold 1: Using a spray bottle filled with water, mist your clean countertop again. Wet your hands and wet the top of the dough ball with the spray bottle. Turn the dough out onto the wet counter surface. Scrape out the bowl and rinse the inside of the bowl really well. Leave the bowl wet.
- Stretch and fold the dough. Stretch the top of the dough over the bottom, side over side, and bottom over top. Place the dough back in the bowl with the seam side down. Let the dough rest for 2 hours.
- Stretch and Fold 2: Using a spray bottle filled with water, mist your clean countertop again. Wet your hands and wet the top of the dough ball with the spray bottle. Turn the dough out onto the wet counter surface. Scrape out the bowl and rinse the inside of the bowl really well. Leave the bowl wet.
- Stretch and fold the dough. Stretch the top of the dough over the bottom, side over side, and bottom over top. Place the dough back in the bowl with the seam side down. Let the dough rest for 2 hours.
- Stretch and Fold 3: Using a spray bottle filled with water, mist your clean countertop again. Wet your hands and wet the top of the dough ball with the spray bottle. Turn the dough out onto the wet counter surface. Scrape out the bowl and rinse the inside of the bowl really well. Leave the bowl wet.
- Stretch and fold the dough. Stretch the top of the dough over the bottom, side over side, and bottom over top. Place the dough back in the bowl with the seam side down. Let the dough rest for 2 hours.
- Clean and dry the counter surface you’re working on. Sprinkle some flour on the surface of your counter and coat your hands in a bit of flour. Gently flip the dough out onto the floured surface so that it is seam side up.
- Pre-shape: Gently stretch out the dough, and fold it again. Fold side over side and top over bottom. Then flip the dough over so that the seam side is down on the counter. Tuck under any parts of the dough you need to form a nice circular shape. Leave the dough on the counter, sprinkle some flour on the top of the dough, and cover with a tea towel.
- Let the dough rest for 1 hour.
- Sprinkle a little more flour on the top of your pre-shaped dough and on the counter around the dough. With your hands coated in flour, flip the dough over so that the seam side is up again.
- Gently stretch out the dough, and fold it again. Fold side over side and top over bottom. Then flip the dough over so that the seam side is down on the counter. Tuck under any parts of the dough you need to form a nice circular loaf shape. This is the final shaping so take your time with it.
- Coat a proofing basket with flour and bread toppings (optional). You can also use a bowl lined with a towel and a generous amount of flour.
- Flour your hands and swiftly pick up and flip your dough into the basket. Smooth side down, seam side up.
- Cover and place in the fridge overnight for 8-12 hours.
- After the 8-12 hours in the fridge, preheat your dutch oven with the lid, in your oven at 450 degrees F.
- Once your oven is preheated, carefully remove your dutch oven and place the lid to the side. *Don’t forget that it’s very hot!*
- Cut a large square of parchment paper and place it on the counter. Turn your dough out onto the paper so that the seam side is down and touching the parchment paper.
- Score the dough using a very sharp knife or a scoring tool.
- Picking up all four corners of the parchment paper, move your dough into the dutch oven.
- Place the lid on the dutch oven and bake at 450 F for 30 minutes.
- After baking covered, remove the lid and bake for another 20-30 minutes at 450 F.
- Remove your finished loaf from the dutch oven and allow it to cool for at least 1 hour.
Notes
- The time you need to wait in between stretch and folds depends on the temperature in your house. If your house is above 75° F, you may be able to reduce the amount of time between stretch and folds to one hour.
- You can also speed up the time in between stretch and folds by using a bread proofer or heating pad near the dough. Just stretch and fold when the dough has risen a bit and relaxes out into the bottom of the bowl, and make sure you do at least three stretches and folds. Monitor the dough to make sure you do not over-proof.
- when flouring your proofing basket, it helps to use coarse flour such as rye, masa, or rice flour.
- Depending on your oven, you can bake at a lower temperature. Some ovens run hotter than others.
- When baking with the dutch oven lid off, check every few minutes. Some ovens run hotter than others, so check to see when the loaf is golden brown.
