Tried & Tasted·Baking·November 2025

Homemade Sourdough Bread

A 24-hour labor of love. The crust crackle alone makes it worth every minute.

BakingArtisanFermented
🔪

30 min

Prep

🔥

24 hrs

Cook

🍽

1 loaf

Serves

📊

Advanced

Level

Let me be honest: sourdough is a commitment. It's not hard, but it requires patience and attention. Your starter needs feeding. Your dough needs time. And you need to be okay with failure — my first three loaves were bricks.

But loaf number four? The one where the crust crackled when I pulled it out of the oven, and the inside was pillowy with those perfect irregular holes? That loaf changed my life.

🧾

Ingredients

●An active sourdough starter
●500g bread flour
●350g water
●100g active starter
●10g salt
●A Dutch oven
👩‍🍳

Method

1

Mix flour and water, let it rest for 30 minutes (autolyse).

2

Add starter and salt, mix until combined.

3

Over the next 4 hours, do 4-6 sets of stretch and folds (every 30-45 min).

4

Let the dough bulk ferment until it's risen 50-75% — this can take 6-10 hours depending on temperature.

5

Shape the dough into a round and place in a floured banneton.

6

Refrigerate overnight (12-16 hours) for a slow, cold ferment.

7

Preheat your Dutch oven at 250°C (480°F) for 30 minutes.

8

Score the top of the dough, place in Dutch oven, bake covered for 20 min.

9

Remove lid, reduce to 230°C (450°F), bake another 20-25 min until deep golden.

10

Let it cool completely before cutting. This is the hardest step.

💡

Tips

The most common mistake is cutting into it too early. The bread is still cooking inside for up to an hour after you take it out. Wait. It's worth it.

If your starter isn't active enough, nothing else matters. Feed it twice a day for a few days before baking — it should double in size within 4-6 hours.

The fridge is your friend. Cold ferment develops flavour that room temperature can't match.

plated & pretty

that crust crackle

the crumb shot

fresh from the oven

with butter and salt

← Back to Tried & Tasted