Foolproof Sourdough Artisan Bread for New Bakers

Sourdough artisan bread is a supremely satisfying reward for keeping a sourdough starter active and happy. Consider this bread recipe the one that will wow your friends and family every single time. Use this sourdough artisan bread recipe as is, or as a base recipe, and incorporate flavors and scoring designs as your confidence with sourdough grows.

The Only Sourdough Artisan Bread Recipe You’ll Need

I’m being serious. Once you get this recipe the way you like it, there’s no stopping you on your sourdough journey. This sourdough artisan bread recipe has fed my family fresh bread for over 4 months now after my New Year’s resolution to stop buying bread from the store. Foolproof!

Our family loves sourdough artisan bread – it’s baked in a Dutch oven and has a roundish ovalish type shape rather than a typical bread pan loaf shape. Why? I have no idea. Other than it looks really pretty and tastes delicious. Maybe because it adds a pop of fancy to our mundane schedule!

Anyway, I had wayyyy too much fun creating this post for you all. It has TONS of pictures because I find that with baking and cooking it’s important to have visuals rather than words. If someone shows me how to cook something I’m going to feel more confident doing it on my own than if they just tell me through a recipe card.

So you’ll find an obnoxious amount of visuals in this post. If that’s not for you then just scroll on down to the bottom for your recipe.

And, to make this sourdough artisan bread recipe more manageable, I’ve broken it up into three “days”. This doesn’t mean it takes three days to make sourdough artisan bread, but there are things you do each day that complete this recipe.

The first day consists of mixing the dough, completing stretch and folds, and covering for 8-10 hours for the bulk ferment.

The next “day” is shaping the dough, stitching the seam, and placing it in the refrigerator for the long ferment.

And the third “day” is preheating the Dutch oven, scoring the bread, baking, then cooling…and eating. Okay, let’s get into the good stuff!

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How to Make Sourdough Artisan Bread

Ingredients – Makes two loaves

• 100 g active sourdough starter
• 700 g warm water
• 18 g salt
• 1000 g flour + more for dusting

Recommended Equipment

• 5-quart Dutch oven
• Sourdough bread-making kit
• Digital food scale
• Parchment paper
• Large bowl for dough
• Plastic cover (or my favorite baking hack – a plastic shower cap)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Day 1

Start by placing your mixing bowl on the digital scale. Then, press the “TARE” button to remove the bowl’s weight. Now you can add 100g active sourdough starter to the mixing bowl.

Press TARE on the digital scale, then add 700g warm water to the bowl and mix thoroughly with a Dutch whisk.

Next, add 18g salt and 1,000g flour using the same method. Stir until all flour is incorporated.

The dough should be shaggy like this.

Cover with plastic wrap or a plastic shower cap for 1 hour.

*Optional step- skip this if you’re in a rush* Uncover and form the dough into a ball by pulling down and counterclockwise toward you while tucking any dough underneath. After shaping, return to the bowl and cover for 1 more hour.

This part helps activate the gluten in the bread dough but I haven’t noticed any difference in taste or texture when I skipped this step. It’s more important to complete stretch and folds so make time for that part.

After 1 hour, remove the plastic cover and perform the first set of stretch and folds. Using wet hands, lift the dough at least 6 inches up and fold it over the rest.

Try to pull the dough high enough so that it will cover over the rest of itself. You also want to pull the dough apart without tearing, looking for a “windowpane” – a thin layer that allows some light through it.

Don’t stress too much about passing the windowpane test or completing the perfect stretch and fold. The point is to activate the gluten in the dough. Wet hands handle the dough best so keep a small bowl of water nearby.

Turn the bowl 1 quarter turn and repeat the stretch and fold until you’re back at the beginning.

Return the plastic cover to the bowl and wait 30 minutes.

Next, perform the second set of stretch and folds just like the first. Cover the bowl and wait 30 more minutes.

For the last set of stretch and folds, the dough will be more elastic and less shaggy. There should be resistance when trying to lift the dough. It’s helpful to use two hands.

Remember to stretch the dough up, fold it over itself, then turn a quarter turn until you get back to the start.

The dough will have more shape now and may have some tears in it, but that’s okay.

Cover the dough and leave it on the counter for 8-10 hours. This is the bulk ferment.

Day 2

Once you check the dough (most likely the next morning) it should have doubled in size and lost its shape. You might see some big air bubbles in there too!

Now it’s time to shape the dough. Start by dumping the dough out onto a floured surface. I find a dough scraper helpful during this step.

Just look at that air bubble! You can lightly pinch those and the dough will release back.

Flour your Banneton baskets before shaping the dough.

Use the dough scraper to divide the dough in half. You can use something sharper but I don’t want to damage our countertops.

Place the dough on the floured surface and shape it into a ball using floured hands, pulling it down towards you to tighten the skin.

Continue turning and pulling the dough down toward you until the dough forms a smooth tight skin.

Place the dough smooth side down in the floured Banneton basket.

Sprinkle flour on top of each dough bowl and let rest for about 5 minutes.

Before you cover the dough you want to stitch the dough. It’s a simple step that makes for a smooth bottom crust after baking.

Pull the dough across itself to create a smoother seam in the dough.

After stitching the dough, cover with the plastic shower cap and put the loaves in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

TIP: It can be nice to take one sourdough artisan bread loaf out after 12 hours then bake and eat. Then 36-48 hours later you can take out the second loaf and bake. That way you’ll have two fresh loaves throughout the week.

Day 3

When you’re ready to bake your bread, preheat your oven to 500 degrees with your Dutch oven (lid on) inside. Putting your dough in a hot Dutch oven will make the crust crunchy so if you prefer softer bread on the inside and outside, just preheat your oven to 450 and leave the Dutch oven out.

While your Dutch oven is preheating, take out one Banneton basket from the fridge. I’m only baking one loaf at this time but you could bake both back-to-back if you want.

Place the dough seam-side down (smooth side up) on a piece of parchment paper.

Sprinkle about a tablespoon of flour on the dough and smooth it out – similar to making a blank canvas for your scoring.

Using your lame (scoring tool pronounced “lahm”), cut along the dough from top to bottom just off center about 1/2 inch deep.

This is called an essential cut or expansion cut. Pretty self-explanatory in its name but if you skip this cut your bread could explode or fail to rise properly and that’s no good. If you see bubbles inside your expansion cut that’s a great sign!

Next you can add a decorative leaf cut or just skip this step! And, if you really want to go down a rabbit hole, check out some decorative sourdough artisan bread scoring patterns to practice in your free time. You’ve been warned!

To make the decorative leaf pattern simply use the lame at 45 degree angle and make a shallow slice every 1/2 inch or so. There isn’t a hard or fast rule for spacing.

Then you’ll want to rotate the lame to -45 degrees and create the same shallow cuts from the top to the bottom of the loaf.

Here’s the finished scoring pattern before baking.

Carefully remove the preheated Dutch oven and place the dough and parchment paper inside.

Next you should add 1-3 ice cubes in between the parchment paper and the hot Dutch oven. This creates more steam for the dough and allows it to rise even more. Just be careful the ice cubes immediately start producing steam so you’ll want the lid close by and ready to put on!

Place the Dutch oven with the lid on back into the oven. Turn down the oven temperature from 500 degrees to 450 and set the timer for 30 minutes. I also place an old cookie sheet underneath my Dutch oven to prevent the bottom crust from getting too dark.

After 30 minutes, remove the lid from your Dutch oven. This is where I get really excited. You can tell the sourdough artisan bread is really turning out now!

If your expansion cut isn’t very big or you want to try to get your bread to push out even more, now is a good time to use your lame and carefully make a slice just under the top of the expansion cut. Optional. I thought my expansion cut looked fine on my sourdough artisan bread so I just returned the Dutch oven back to the oven for the second bake.

During this 25-minute baking period, I like to keep my oven light on just to make sure the sourdough artisan bread isn’t getting too dark. Plus it’s fun to see when you walk by the kitchen! 😂

After the 25-minute timer, remove your bread from the oven and allow to cool for one hour. It’s torture so just find something else to do if you can. You can cool the sourdough artisan bread in the Dutch oven or remove it to a cutting board.

Bon appetit!

Additional Tips and Options for a Sourdough Artisan Bread

Stretch and folds v. Coil folds – Some people prefer the stretch and fold technique to activate the dough, while others do coil folds. Both are effective. Coil folds (lifting the dough up from the bottom in the middle and shaking until the ends fold under) can help with dough that is very sticky and has little shape.

No Dutch oven? No problem – Simply place a cast iron skillet or durable pan on the bottom rack in your oven and place a cookie sheet on the top rack (middle of the oven). Preheat the cookie sheet (or baking stone) as you would the Dutch oven, then place your sourdough artisan bread dough lined with parchment paper on the sheet. Add 2 cups of boiling water to the skillet below and bake at 450 for about 35 minutes.

Want the detailed circles on your sourdough artisan bread? Take off the Banneton fabric cover and heavily flour your basket.

Let us know if you make this sourdough artisan bread or what other techniques you find helpful when baking with sourdough! Please tag us on IG @circlecityhomestead or add a comment below.

Thanks for stopping by the homestead.