Today I'm sharing this recipe that I found on Pinterest back in the beginning of the Covid lockdowns. There was NO Bread in the grocery stores near us and NO yeast or flour to make bread! It was so surreal to me, as I'm sure it was for all of you. Thank God for Pinterest and all the awesome ideas and blogs on there! Big shout out to Twelve on Main and Kitchn for their blogs which is where I found the Dutch Oven Sourdough recipe that I just love and the recipe to make my own sourdough starter that creates it's own wild yeast! (since there was none to be had at the store!) Science is so cool how it works with flour to make wild yeast!
Now, before I share the links to the recipes for the starter and the bread, I want to leave a few suggestions. First, when you make the starter, you can use regular unbleached flour. That's what I did the first time I made this starter, and it worked. The bread was good, BUT, I will tell you that regular unbleached flour doesn't have the nutrients in it to make a long lasting starter that will thrive. It can be tricky, mine kept turning a bit vinegary and watery off and on. It can be frustrating to work with. So, having said that, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND using Bread Flour for your starter (mixed with a little whole wheat if you like)and for your bread recipe. I use both Bob's Red Mill Artisan Flour and also King Arthur Bread Flour. These brands are sold in basically most grocery stores.
The other ingredient I recommend using is Diastatic Malt Powder. You don't have to use it to make good sourdough, but it helps to give the bread a nice golden to darker crust as it bakes. I use 1 tsp for every 3 cups of flour that I put into the dough. For this recipe, when you make the sourdough add 1 1/4 tsp of the diastatic powder to the flour before you mix in the other ingredients and the starter together. I bought this brand ( Anthony's ) on Amazon. Easy peasy!
Now, this isn't one of those bread recipes that you don't have to knead. This is a classic Sourdough recipe and you will need to make sure you have the time to do this. It's not a lot of hands on, but, you still will be needing to stretch the dough multiple times at the beginning and shape it before you put it in the fridge at night so it can slow proof. If you don't have the time during the week, do it on the weekend. It's worth the time it takes! I'm going to share the link for the recipe for making the sourdough starter first and then the Dutch Oven Sourdough recipe.
How to make your own Sourdough Starter
Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread
One thing I want to share about stretching your dough , the recipe says to stretch it every 10 minutes. I don't find that long enough to let it rest. I stretch mine every 30 minutes and it comes out so much better when it sits longer in between. It needs that time for the dough's consistency.
When you turn on your oven to heat it up, make sure you put the Dutch Oven in there so it can heat up sufficiently. Once the oven has reached the temperature that it needs to be at, let the Dutch Oven continue to heat for about another 30 minutes after . This will ensure that your bread gets a nice rise while it bakes!
I keep a spray bottle filled with water on hand to spray the dough right before I put it in the
oven, ( after you score your dough) it helps to give the bread a good crust and texture and also helps with the steam for rising in the Dutch Oven. Make sure to spray the inside of the lid and sides of the Dutch Oven, and quickly put the lid on the pot.
This particular recipe makes 1 large loaf of Sourdough, but cut the dough into 2 pieces before I shape it . I like to make 2 smaller loaves and share 1 with neighbors.
Now, since I make 2 smaller loaves, the baking time is less. I bake my smaller loaves for 25 minutes, then take the lid off and let it finish browning on top for at least 5 minutes. It depends how dark you like your sourdough as to how dark you should go. The darker the crust, the better the flavor. I've been starting to experiment with darker crusts and the flavor is delicious!
Hope you have fun making this bread!
