Coach's Wife Life
About the Recipe
Becca Butcher's best homemade bread!!!
Ingredients
1 cup of sourdough starter
3 cups warm filtered water
1 TBS salt
8 cups unbleached bread flour
little bit of honey
Preparation
Step 1:
Mix: Combine the sourdough starter and warm water in a large bowl
-stir until well blended. Add salt and flour, then mix with your hands until a smooth, stretchy dough forms (some recipes call for a shaggy texture, but a smooth dough works beautifully here).
Step 2:
Rest: Cover the bowl with a plate and let the dough sit for 1 hour.
Step 3:
Stretch & Fold: Perform four sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes, gently folding the dough over itself each time.
Step 4:
Fermentation: Let the dough ferment on the counter for 2-3 hours. It won't double, but expect a 20% increase in size.
Step 5:
Divide & Shape:
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and split it into two equal portions.
Flatten each piece into a rectangle, fold the sides inward, and roll from the short edge.
Pinch the sides to secure, then round the dough into a ball.
Perform a candy cane shaping technique to create structure.
Step 6:
Rest & Final Shape:
Let the dough balls sit on the counter for 20 minutes.
Reshape them, flattening and rounding once more.
Place each in a shaping bowl (a small bowl lined with a floured kitchen towel works well).
Step 7:
Chill: Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Step 8:
Bake:
Preheat your oven to 500°F.
Turn each dough ball out into a Dutch oven (coat the bottom with flour or use parchment paper). Score the tops. Cover and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, score again on the same lines to allow for a second rise. Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown, with an internal temperature of 200-210°F.