Advanced Techniques

Our Simply White Sourdough Bread recipe is a versatile, easy-to-master loaf whether you're a beginner or experienced baker. There are many more advanced techniques to explore when you're ready to experiment. Every baker has their favorites. Here are a few of mine:

Build Gluten on the Front End

Kneading your dough builds gluten, which creates structure in your dough. Just incorporating a few sets of stretch and folds still create a great loaf, but kneading can take your bread to the next level. 

How to do it: 

  1. Mix your dough according to your recipe. Cover and allow it to rest for 1 hour. 
  2. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. You will feel the texture change from loose and  shaggy to a more structured dough.
  3. Proceed with your recipe as written, including additional stretch and folds to continue developing gluten.

Adjust Your Starter Quantity

The amount of starter you add to your recipe directly affects the bulk fermentation speed. By adjusting this measurement, you can customize your dough's timing.

How to do it:

In colder months, try increasing your recipe's starter quantity by 25g to speed your rise. In the Summer, reduce the starter by 25g to slow it down. 

Fermentalyze: The Delayed Salt Method

The addition of salt to your dough slows gluten development. By delaying this step, you allow your yeast to get a jump start on fermentation. This can lead to a better oven spring (or rise) for your bread. I use this technique in every loaf I make. Working the saltwater in also serves to strengthen your dough. You'll notice this technique is the same as the Build Gluten method above, just with the addition of delaying the salt. 

How to do it:

  1. Combine your ripe starter, flour, and water according to your recipe. Reserve 20g of the water in a small bowl. Cover and rest the dough for 1 hour.
  2. Mix your salt into the water bowl. 
  3. Pour the saltwater mixture into your dough and dimple it in with damp hands
  4. Knead the dough until well combined. It may feel rubbery and slippery at first. This is normal. Work the dough for about 5 minutes until it is soft and uniform. I like to use a combination of squeezing and slap and folds. 
  5. Proceed with your recipe. If the instructions call for stretch and folds or coil folds, count this knead as the first set.

Open Baking: 

A Dutch oven works great, but baking multiple loaves at once can be frustrating and time consuming. This method allows you to bake several loaves simultaneously, while still creating a blistery, crispy crust.

How to do it:

  1. Preheat your oven to 500F.
  2. Place a roasting pan of water on the bottom rack of your oven.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Flip your loaves out of your banneton onto the parchment and score. Be sure to leave a small amount of space between each loaf to allow for expansion. 
  4. Lower the heat to 450F. Place the baking sheet with your bread into the oven rack above the roasting pan. 
  5. With a spray bottle, mist water into the oven directly onto your loaves to create steam.
  6. Bake at 450F for 25 minutes.
  7. Lower oven temp to 425F. Remove water tray from the bottom rack. Rotate the pan the loaves are on 180 degrees. Bake a further 15-10min, monitoring the crust color closely.

The Six Minute Score

Before your bread makes it into the oven, you create an expansion score to control the direction of your loaf's rise. With this technique, you will remove your loaf from the oven after six minutes to deepen this score. This can create a larger ear and belly on your loaf.

How to do it: 

Follow your recipe as written, including scoring your loaf. Remove your bread from the oven after six minutes of baking and deepen your expansion score. Return the loaf to the oven and continue to follow your recipe as written. 

Extend Your Cold Proof

Refrigerating your dough after shaping deepens the flavor profile of your bread while slowing down the yeast to resist overfermentation. The exterior of your dough will dry slightly, resulting in the signature sourdough crust. 

How to do it:

You should always cold ferment your dough in the refrigerator at least 6 hours. Try extending this time to 40 hours for a fluffy, deeply flavorful, crusty loaf. For best results do not exceed 48 hours; refrigeration slows fermentation but does not stop it completely. Your loaf may end up overproofed and flat.