Sourdough Bread

Yields: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 5 days, 16 hours and 30 min

Bake Time: 45 min

Everyone is baking loaves of bread at home, so we thought we would do the same because why not. No loaf really turns out the same, but with tons of practice you can get a better final product! Don't give up, and keep on baking my friends.

Ingredients

Starter

2 cups warm water

2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 packet

3 ½ cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

Bread

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 ¼ cups water

1 cup starter, stir before using

Preparation

1. In a glass bowl, add water and yeast. Mix the yeast in the water and let sit for a couple minutes.

2. Add in the rest of the ingredients for the starter. Mix until everything is fully incorporated.

3. Loosely cover the bowl with saran wrap and let it sit in a dark place at room temp. Make sure to stir it every 12 hours. Keep this up for 5 days.

4. Once the starter is ready, in a large bowl or standing mixer, add in the bread ingredients, mix well and knead for about 20 minutes by hand, or 10 minutes in your standing mixer on a low setting.

5. Store your starter in the fridge for future use. Feed it once a week with a teaspoon of sugar. You can always replenish your starter by adding 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water.

6. Place the kneaded dough into a large floured bowl, flour the top, and then place a towel on top. Let it rise for 12 hours.

7. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes, and place it into a floured bowl to proof for an additional 4 hours. You can flour the top of the loaf at this step as well.

8. Preheat your oven to 480F.

9. Flip the dough onto a parchment paper and transfer to a large dutch oven. Score the top of the bread in whatever pattern you desire.

10. Place the lid on, and bake for 30 minutes, at 30 minutes remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

11. Remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack and let the loaf rest for an hour. You'll want to check for a hollow sound when you knock on the bottom of the loaf. This will help determine how the loaf turned out.

12. Slice, serve and enjoy!

13. To preserve your bread for longer, you can slice it completely and in an airtight bag, leave it in the freezer until you are ready to eat it.