How to bake sourdough bread

Crackly crust, chewy middle. Mostly waiting, a little squishing.

Time: 24 hrs · Difficulty: Tricky · 8 steps

What you need

Feed your starter
Mix a spoonful of starter with equal weights of flour and water. Mark the level with a rubber band and wait until it doubles and turns bubbly, about 4 to 8 hours.
Tip: doubled & bubbly = ready
Mix flour and water, then rest
Stir 500 g bread flour with 350 g water until no dry bits are left. Cover the bowl and let it rest.
Tip: shaggy is fine
Add starter and salt
Add 100 g of bubbly starter and 10 g of salt. Squish it through the dough with a wet hand until it all comes together.
Tip: wet hands don’t stick
Stretch and fold
Grab one side of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over the top. Turn the bowl and repeat 4 times. Do a round every 30 minutes, 4 rounds in all.
Tip: one round every 30 min
Let it rise
Cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature until it’s about half again as big, jiggly and bubbly on top.
Tip: look for bubbles on top
Shape it, then chill overnight
Tip the dough onto a floured counter and cup your hands around it, pulling it toward you into a tight ball. Put it seam-side up in a floured bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Tip: tight ball, tall loaf
Bake it in a hot pot
Heat the oven and the pot to 475°F / 245°C. Flip the dough onto parchment, slash the top and lower it in. Bake with the lid on, then lid off until deep brown.
Tip: careful, the pot is HOT
Cool before slicing
Let the loaf cool on a rack for a full hour. It’s still cooking inside, so cutting early makes it gummy.
Tip: the hardest step!