Sourdough Country Loaf

This sourdough bread recipe is based on the Country Loaf from Tartine Bakery! This has been my go-to recipe as of late. It’s a slightly higher hydration recipe, so it yields consistently more open crumb (nice air pockets) and a beautiful, crispy crust. Enjoy!

Sourdough Country Loaf Recipe

Yield: 2 loaves
Time: 10-24 hrs

Ingredients:

1000g flour (900g unbleached bread flour + 100g rye or whole wheat flour)
750g water
200g starter/levain
20g salt

Instructions:

Mix water, flours, and levain. Cover and let rest about 30 mins (don’t skip the autolyse).
Add salt and stretch and fold dough in the bowl with a wet hand until combined.
Cover and let rest (bulk ferment) for about 4 hours, “turning” or stretching with a wet hand (to avoid sticking) every 30-45 mins.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide in two. Pre-shape each loaf by folding like an envelope and resting seam-side-down on a pile of flour for 1 hr.
Flip dough ball seam-side-up and dust off excess flour. Gently stretch out into a rectangle and do the final shaping by folding the dough like an envelope again and then pulling/turning toward you to build surface tension OR (my preference) work from left to right pulling dough toward the center and then rolling up like a burrito. You should see lil bubbles forming under the surface – that’s your indicator that you have good tension and you’ll have a sturdy crust.
Place shaped dough seam-side-up in a generously floured basket or tea towel-lined bowl and allow to proof for ~4 hrs at room temp or 8-24 hrs in the fridge. Dough should be visibly puffy and spring back when poked.
Preheat dutch oven with lid on to 450°F. Turn dough out onto a sheet of parchment. Score lines in dough just before placing in the preheated dutch oven and covering with lid. Bake for 20 mins with the lid on and another 20 mins with the lid off. (Don’t be afraid to experiment here based on your oven and browning preferences.)
After baking, allow to cool on a cooling rack before slicing. This helps finish the baking process and bakes bread easier to cut.
Enjoy!