Sourdough bread log

Here is an ongoing log of my sourdough bread experiments (most recent at the top). The objective is to improve my process, updating my basic recipe as I go.

2025-10-01

Process:

• 01/10, 23:00, 21 °C: refresh the starter (less than 1 cm left in the jar, so that it can slowly rise overnight)
• 02/10, 6:40: mix everything except for salt, let rest 30 min
• 7:10: incorporate salt, let rest 20 min
• 7:30: first out of 4 folds
• 9:10: last fold, let rest +4h
• 13:10: preshape on a wet counter, let rest 30 min
• 13:40: shape, place in banneton
• 15:00: bake

Feedback:

• Surprisingly good rise in only one day
• Moist and relatively airy texture inside
• I used 200 g of whole wheat flour, but could bring up the proportion to 50/50, next time around
• The crust is much better than the last one, but it could be even crispier. Ideas: spray a bit of water on the bread before baking, or place ice cubes under the parchment paper (inside the Dutch oven). Bake at the highest temperature for the open lid baking part.

2025-09-29

Process:

• 29/09, 13:15, 21 °C: mix everything, except salt — this time, I used the special bread flour (T80)
• 13:25: incorporate salt
• 15:30: fourth and last fold, let rest 30 min
• 16:00: shape, banneton, fridge overnight
• 30/09, 7:20: remove from fridge, preheat oven to 230 °C for 20 min
• 7:40: bake at 230 °C for 20 min, middle rack
• 8:00: lower temp to 200 °C and bake for 20 min more, top rack (or as high as the pot can go)

Ideas for next time:

• Top crust too thin and not crispy enough...
  • For the open lid baking part, lengthen it to 30 minutes (instead of 20 min).
  • Once baked, let the bread cool down in the open air (no cotton towel on top).
• Increase the whole wheat flour proportion to 200 g (2/5)

2025-09-11

This is by far not the first sourdough bread I bake. However, after 1.5 year of travelling, I don't really remember the recipe I used anymore. All in all, I am starting from scratch again. My previous sourdough starter (Heimlich) is long gone, but I created a new one in Lausanne two weeks ago (named Sylvain).

This first try was all over the place (and not following any ideal recipe), as I had to leave the house in the middle of the process. I'll try to document the things I remember doing anyway:

• Refresh the sourdough starter twice before using it.
• Mix the dough, incorporating the ingredients at 20 minutes interval (total duration: 1 hour). 400 g wheat flour (T80) + 100 g whole wheat flour (T110) + 350 g water > 125 g sourdough starter > 9 g salt.
• Perform a few sets of folds 20–30 minutes apart. Let rest six hours (in the fridge) after the last set — I had to leave the house at that point.
• Take the dough out of the fridge, stretch and fold it once more on a floured work surface. Let rest 20 minutes.
• Shape the dough, place it in a banneton, and let rise for 9 hours in the fridge.
• Bake in a dutch oven at 230 °C (gas oven). Keep the lid on for 20 minutes, remove it for the last 20 minutes.

My first bread in 1.5 year came out nicely! The result is soft with a good bounce, and the air bubbles have a decent size. I think the dough might have slightly over-proofed, as the bread was a bit flat. The crust was practically black at the bottom, but not very crispy at the top.

Things to try:

• Have a shorter second rise (or shorter total rise time) to avoid over-proofing.
• When baking, lower the temperature from 230 °C to 200 °C after removing the lid. This might help with creating a more homogenous crust. ⊙