Dutch Oven Sourdough
This is a no-knead sourdough built around a long, slow overnight rise, which does most of the work for you while you sleep instead of standing over the counter kneading dough by hand. Baking it covered in a Dutch oven traps the steam that the loaf naturally gives off as it bakes, which is what gives artisan bakery bread its shattering crust without needing a steam-injected commercial oven. The process looks longer on paper than it actually is to manage, since most of the eighteen hours is unattended rise time split between the counter and the refrigerator. What matters more than the clock is reading the dough itself: a well-risen dough will look domed and be dotted with small bubbles across the surface, while an under-proofed one will still look tight and smooth. Once you've made this loaf a few times, adjusting for your own kitchen's temperature becomes second nature, and a warm loaf pulled straight from the Dutch oven is worth the wait on its own.
Ingredients
- 100 g active sourdough starter (fed 4–6 hours before use)
- 375 g warm water
- 500 g bread flour
- 10 g fine sea salt
- Extra flour or rice flour, for shaping
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the starter into the warm water until dissolved.
- Add the flour and salt, and mix with your hands or a spatula until no dry flour remains. The dough will be shaggy — that's fine.
- Cover and let rest for 30 minutes, then perform a set of stretch-and-folds: pull one side of the dough up and over itself, rotate the bowl, and repeat 4 times.
- Cover and repeat the stretch-and-fold every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature for 8 to 10 hours, or until visibly puffed and dotted with bubbles.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface, shape it into a round, and place it seam-side up in a well-floured proofing basket or towel-lined bowl.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight, 8 to 12 hours.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 475°F with a covered Dutch oven inside for at least 30 minutes.
- Turn the cold dough out onto parchment paper, score the top with a sharp blade, and carefully lower it into the hot Dutch oven using the parchment as a sling.
- Cover and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until deeply golden.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.
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