I’m not a master baker, but I was gifted a sourdough starter from Cafe Marie last spring, and I’ve been making 2 sourdough loaves every week since…. Some might say it’s an addiction. Here is my favourite recipe to date.

Adapted from alexandracooks.com

INGREDIENTS

• 50 – 100 g (1⁄4 – 1/2 cup) bubbly, active starter - sometimes I even use more than 100g  

• 375 g  (1 1/2 cups) warm water

• 500 g (4 cups plus 2 tbsp) white flour

• 9 to 12 g (1.5 – 2.5 teaspoons) fine sea salt

• 1 tsp honey

• 1 tsp olive oil

Use a scale! This changed my bread making game.

I will usually feed my starter the night before and leave it on the counter or feed it a couple hours before I plan on using it.

Measure the water first and then add the starter, honey, flour and salt

Mix well and knead - it will be really sticky and I usually end up adding around a cup of flour a little at a time while working on it to fix the sticky.

Remove from your mixing bowl, clean mixing bowl. Use your oil to coat your bowl and put bread back into the bowl.

Wet a dish towel and ring it out so it remains damp, put on top of bowl and place an elastic band around the bowl to anchor your dish towel.

Turn your oven light on and let bread rise in your oven. Stretch and fold (sounds exactly what it is) every 30 minutes - 1 hour) doing at least four rounds.

After your last round of stretching and folding, leave on the counter overnight (or at least 12 hours or more), make sure dish towel is still wet.

When ready to cook, oil your dutch oven, or whatever container you will use (make sure it has a lid), stretch fold and shape (leaving the seam on the bottom) and dust with flour, scour the top of your loaf in any fancy pattern you’d like.

Place a cookie pan on the bottom row of your oven and heat your oven to 450F.

Place your container on the top row of the oven (but as low as it can get) and cook 25 minutes covered, remove lid and cook for another 20-25 minutes uncovered (watch it closely after 20 minutes).

Your loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapping with the back of a knife, it should also sound crispy if you give hit a little squeeze.

Let sit for an hour before cutting into it.

Do you need a starter? Let me know, I’ll put you on my list.

J