sara’s lazy sourdough

At the beginning of Covid quarantine, I decided I was determined to find a method of keeping up with sourdough that worked for me. Now after four years of making sourdough every week, I think I can say I’ve found a method that maximizes taste and results with the minimal amount of time and effort. My sourdough isn’t going to win any awards, but it tastes consistently delicious and works with our busy life.

After trying lots of various techniques, I based mine off of the Kitchn’s methods and recipe. Go there first to read about techniques, timing, all of that. But then come back here, and I’ll tell you how I lazied it up.

The starter

First you need a starter. Get one from a friend or make your own. I got mine from a local bakery that has been continuously going since 1987. I am very attached. I travel with it or leave it with a friend if I can’t.

I feed mine at least once a week. 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water. Honestly, I eyeball it at this point. I don’t do the thing where you discard some of it. I just continually feed the starter, and use about 75-100 grams of it to make my leaven for the sourdough every week. I think all of the recipes are super precious about sourdough, but I honestly like to go by intuition/trial and error to see best what works for me.

Materials

You don’t need a ton of stuff to start. I don’t use proofing baskets even though I have them. Here is what I use:

A big 5 quart mixing bowl. You want bigger than you think you need because the dough will expand alot. I like plastic for this because it’s lighter.

Bench scraper. You’ll find that you use this for all sorts of stuff once you have it. You want one of these to make folding easier. Watch this video from A Couple Cooks for proper folding technique. It’s super easy once you get the hang of it.

Plastic scraper. Yes, you could just use a spatula, but I find this thing to be so much easier to get all of the dough out and/or fold it in the bowl.

Reusable parchment paper. Another thing you’ll use for all sorts of other stuff, but I use this to put the bread after shaping and then easily plop into the Dutch oven for baking.

Dutch ovens or bread cloche. I used Dutch ovens for first few years, and then Grant bought me a cloche for Christmas. The cloche bakes it marginally better, but it is a single-use gadget, which I don’t love. Because of the high heat, I don’t use my nice La Creusettes for sourdough. I have an older Dutch oven that I use, and they regularly go on sale. You’ll need two for my recipe.

Bowl topper. I don’t like using plastic wrap, so I bought these for the bowl while the dough rises. Again, I find that I use it for all sorts of things in addition to the sourdough.

Serated knife. Grant gave me a scoring lame, but you could easily just use a serated knife to score your bread.

Scale. You could use measuring cups, but once you start using a scale for baking, you’ll never go back.

Flour. People get crazy about flour, but I just use King Arthur bread flour from Costco or the organic flour from Costco. We like to experiment with other flours, but that was only once we got the basics down.

Steps

Day 1. Make the leaven. I usually just eye ball it, but you want about 75 – 100 grams from your starter into your large bowl. Add about a quarter cup of flour and a quarter cup of water. This is when I feed my starter too – while the flour is already out. Let it sit out all day.

Day 2. In the morning, get your scale out. Add 700 grams of flour and 525 grams of water to your leaven. Stir to combine. Put bowl topper on top. About an hour later, add three teaspons (1 tablespoon) of salt. Stir.

Wait a few hours or so. Here is where I start using the plastic scraper. Is it better to dump the dough on a flour-ed counter and then fold it? Yes. Is it easier and way less messy to just use the plastic scraper to flip the dough several times in the bowl? Also yes. The crumb is marginally better when I do it on the counter, but honestly, I’m probably the only one who even notices. (See step nine from Kitchn’s method). Honestly, how many times I flip the dough depends on my schedule. I aim for six times every 30-60 minutes, but sometimes I’ll forget about it for a few hours and only get four flips in. After at least four flips, I put it in the fridge over night with the bowl topper.

If you read other directions, you’ll see most people shape the loaves at this point and put them in proofing baskets. I don’t really have that kind of room in my fridge, so I experimented with just shaping the next day before baking and didn’t notice a ton of difference. The crumb is maybe a little airier and the dough a bit tighter if you shape the night before, but not always. And, most importantly to me, it doesn’t taste any different. Remember, this is my lazy method that is trying to maximize efficiency and taste. You do you!

Day 3. Preheat oven with Dutch ovens in oven to 500°. Take dough out of the fridge. Get your parchment paper sheets out. Dump some flour on the counter. Grab your bench scraper, and divide the dough in half. Then fold the loaves several times into the dough is relatively tight on top and shape the loaves. Place each loaf on a parchment sheet, and score the top of your dough.  

Once the oven has reached 500°, grab each side of the parchment paper, and put each loaf in its own Dutch oven and then put the lid on top. Set timer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn down oven to 475-485° (you’ll want to experiment with your specific oven) and remove the lids from your Dutch ovens. Check after 15 minutes. Mine usually takes about 15 minutes, but again, you’ll need to check based on your specific oven. Some hold higher temps better than others.

Let cool and enjoy! If you think you won’t finish your loaf, slice it up and freeze it for easy toasting later.