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A loaf of homemade sourdough bread.
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4.85 from 39 votes

Overnight Sourdough Bread

This overnight sourdough bread is the perfect recipe for beginners or experienced bakers. Simple to make and requires a long proof overnight in the refrigerator. This method gives the loaf a richer flavor and softer texture. Once you make your first loaf of sourdough, there is no going back!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time50 minutes
Resting Time1 day
Total Time1 day 1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 182kcal
Author: Kristin

Ingredients

  • 175 grams Sourdough Starter Learn how to make your own
  • 360 grams Filtered Water
  • 9 grams Salt
  • 550 grams All-Purpose Flour
  • Brown Rice Flour For banneton basket

Instructions

Feed the Starter

  • Feed your starter 6-8 hours prior to making bread. Make sure it's at peak performace, meaning it has doubled in size and has lots of bubbles.

Mixing the Dough

  • Start by placing a glass bowl on a digital scale. Make sure it is measruing in grams and zeroed out.
  • Add in the active sourdough starter.
  • Zero out the scale again and pour in the filtered water. Zero the scale.
  • Add in the Salt. Zero out the scale.
  • Mix well with a fork until fully combined and zero out the scale.
  • Add in the flour.
  • With a dough whisk or fork, mix everything until it starts to come together and forms a rough dough.
  • Using your hands, form the dough into a rough ball.
  • Cover with plastic wrap, or wet towel, and set aside for 1 hour.

Stretch and Folds

  • Over the next three hours you will do a series of stretch and folds at the end of each hour (3 total). To do this gentely pick up one side of the dough, stretching it out as far as it can without breaking and gently folding it over. Repeat on the three other sides.
  • At the end of the first hour, remove plastic wrap and do first round of stretch and folds. Cover and rest another hour
  • After hour two, remove plastic wrap and stretch & fold all four corners again. Cover back up and rest.
  • After hour three, remove plastic wrap and stretch & fold all four corners again. Cover back up.
  • After the third round of stretch & folds it's time to let the dough sit overnight. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator where it will sit 12-48 hours.

Shaping and Final Proof

  • Once you are ready to bake, remove the bowl from the refrigerator and turn your dough on to a solid surface (not floured).
  • Prepare the banneton, or tea towl linned bowl with brown rice flour. (see notes about what flours to use).
  • Shape the dough. Gently streatch out all the corners of the dough. Be careful not to deflate any of the air pockets.
  • Take each corner and gently fold to the middle, again avoid kneading and deflating the air pockets.
  • Repeat on all four corners until it resembles a rough ball.
  • Turn the dough, seam side down, and with your hands, gently slide the dough across an un-floured surface a few times. The friction will cause the seam to come together without overworking it. Use a bench scraper if necessary.
  • Place dough in the basket, seam side up. Cover and rest for a total of two hours.

Baking

  • 30 minutes before baking, preheat your oven 500 degrees Fahrenheit with your dutch oven inside. We want the dutch oven nice and hot before adding our dough.
  • Remove your dough onto a piece of parchement paper so now it is seam side down. What you should have is a round, somooth top.
  • Score your dough with a razor or bread lame.
  • Lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees.
  • Careyfully lower the parchment paper into the scalding hot dutch oven. Put the lid on and bake for 25 min.
  • After that time, remove the lid and bake for another 25 minuties.
  • Your bread is done when the internal temp. reaches 205-215 degrees Fahrenheit. 210 is the sweet spot.
  • Wait about 1 hour before cutting into the bread. It is still baking during this time and if cut too soon, it could lead to a gummy texture.

Notes

Important Sourdough Baking Notes: 
  1. Making sourdough bread takes some practice. If it doesn't turn out your first time don't give up. It is a very different process than typical loaves of bread and a lot of different factors can lead to a loaf not turning out.
  2. Sourdough is a very wet, tacky dough. Don't be surprised if it sticks to everything. We want to avoid adding more flour to the dough. This can cause the new flour to get clumpy and not incorporate well. Instead, try these things:
    • Get your hands damp (not too wet) right before handling the dough. 
    • Work Fast
    • Use a bench scraper
  3. The dough will undergo a long, cold-proof in the refrigerator. This will make sure the bread does not proof too quickly. The cold temps slow down this process and give the dough more time to develop more flavors. 
  4. Do not use a proof setting on an oven. Most ovens that have a preset-proof option are a minimum of 100 degrees. That is just too hot. So double-check what your proofing temp is on your particular oven prior to using the setting. You want the final proof of your bread around 75-80 degrees. 
  5. Use brown rice flour for the basket. The rice flour will not absorb the moisture in the bread. Regular flour will make it stick. 
  6. Dutch Oven: We bake sourdough in a dutch oven because this particular dough requires steam to rise. When the cold dough is put in a hot dutch oven the moisture from the dough gets trapped inside. This helps give it that beautiful oven spring. Then, by removing the lid halfway through it gives the loaf a chance to develop that crispy crust.
    • Make sure your dutch oven can withstand temps of 500 degrees
    • Be extra careful when handling. They get extremely hot!
  7. Scoring Bread. We want the inside of our bread to release the moisture and we help it by scoring the crust. Not only does it give your final product a fun and artsy look but it also helps the bread get that nice oven spring. There is no hard and fast rule here. Have fun. Get creative!
    • Do not use a knife. They are not sharp enough
    • Use a sharp razor blade or bread lame. 
  8. Rest: This is the hardest part of baking your bread. You just spent all these hours caring for your loaf just to look at it for the next hour. While you could dive right in I encourage you to wait an hour. The bread is extremely hot (205 degrees) and cutting too soon can disrupt the final cooking process and can lead to a more gummy texture. 

Nutrition

Calories: 182kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 55mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 2mg