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Easy Sourdough Bread (Whole Wheat-ish)
By Alexandra Stafford
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Last Updated: 01/22/2026
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Made with a small portion of stone-milled whole wheat flour, this sourdough bread is so flavorful, aromatic, and tasty. Using a mix of both bread flour and whole wheat flour keeps the texture light while providing a nutritional boost and lovely flavor. 🍞🍞🍞🍞
If you are looking to add more nutrition to your bread, a logical first step is to replace some of the white flour with whole wheat flour. The trouble with this idea is that not all whole-wheat flours are created equal.
Let’s get straight to it. Most commercial flour (both white and whole wheat) is made from roller-milled wheat, meaning a roller mill has separated the wheat kernel into three parts: the endosperm, germ, and bran. White flour is made from the endosperm. Whole wheat flour is made from a combination of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Much research shows that as soon as the wheat kernel is separated into the various parts, much of the nutritional value is lost — even when the bran and germ are added in after the fact.
So what’s the solution? Seek out stone-milled flour, which is flour made from wheat that passes through a stone mill, the process of which keeps the endosperm, bran, and germ together. Much research shows that keeping the components together preserves the nutritional value.
What’s more, the bran and germ present in stone-milled flours lend so much by way of flavor, texture, aroma and hue:
The recipe below calls for a mix of both bread flour and stone-milled flour. Using a small amount of stone-milled flour gives your bread a boost of nutrition while preserving its light texture. Once you’ve made the recipe once, if you like what the whole wheat flour is contributing to your loaf, you can increase the proportion of stone-milled flour next time around.
How to Make Whole Wheat-ish Sourdough Bread, Step by Step
First, gather your ingredients: you need an active/fed sourdough starter:
To ensure it is ready, drop a spoonful into a glass of water. If it floats, it’s ready:
Place 300 g of water, 100 g of starter, and 10 g of salt into a bowl.
Next, weigh your flour: you need 400 grams of flour. For this whole-wheat-ish loaf, my preference is 350 grams of bread flour (King Arthur Flour) and 50 grams of stone-milled, freshly milled flour (I use a mix of Anson Mills rye and graham).
Mix until a sticky dough forms.
Then transfer to a straight-sided vessel for the bulk fermentation (the first rise).
After 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough:
You’ll repeat this stretching and folding 3x at 30-minute intervals…
… then you’ll leave the dough to rise until it increases in volume by 50-75%:
Transfer dough to a clean work surface. I prefer to use no flour and minimal handling to shape it into a ball.
After the initial shape, let the dough rest for 20-40 minutes; then shape again and transfer to a flour sack-lined bowl.
Transfer bowl to fridge to proof (second rise) for 18 to 24 hours
After 18 to 24 hours, transfer dough to a sheet of parchment paper. This video shows how:
Score as you wish; simple is fine.
Transfer to a Dutch oven and bake, covered, at 450ºF for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake at 400ºF for 10 minutes.
Store the bread at room temperature in a ziptop bag for 3 to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months:
Easy Sourdough Bread (Whole Wheat-ish)
- Total Time: 48 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Description
Made with a small portion of stone-milled whole wheat flour, this sourdough bread is so flavorful, aromatic, and tasty. Using a mix of both bread flour and whole wheat flour keeps the texture light while providing a nutritional boost and more flavor.
Notes:
Special equipment: Straight-sided vessel for the bulk fermentation, Dutch oven, flour-sack towel
Digital Scale: Do not attempt this recipe without a scale. This one costs $10. Troubleshooting what goes wrong with sourdough bread is impossible if you’ve measured with cups. They’re simply not accurate.
Troubleshooting: If you have issues with your dough being too sticky, please read this post: Why is my sourdough so sticky? The 4 common mistakes.
Flour:
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- I prefer making this bread with 350g bread flour and 50g of freshly milled, stone-milled flour, which provides both flavor and color. I love using a mix of Anson Mills graham flour and rye flour, but there are many great stone-milled flours out there, and you may have a local source, which is even better.
- Where to buy stone-milled flour? In the past few years, it has become easier to find stone-milled flour, and if you are up for it, you should seek out locally, stone-milled flour. Why? Because if you’re buying locally milled flour, you likely can find out how recently it was milled. Because stone-milled flour perishes more quickly than roller-milled flour, it’s best if you can find a local source, which will ensure it will be fresh. Note: Store stone-milled flour in the freezer if you don’t bake regularly.
- I find locally milled stone-milled flours at a local co-op, Honest Weight Food Co-op, and I also order online from various sources. Here are a few I love: Cairnspring Mills, Anson Mills, and Community Grains
- 50g may seem like a tiny amount of stone-milled flour for this recipe, but I am constantly amazed by how much flavor this small amount of freshly milled flour adds.
Ingredients
*Please read notes above before proceeding. Watching the video is helpful, too.*
- 300 g water
- 100 g active sourdough starter
- 10 g kosher salt or sea salt
- 350 g bread flour, see notes above
- 50 g whole wheat flour, preferably stone-milled, see notes above
- rice flour, for dusting
Instructions
- Mix the dough. In a large bowl, combine the water, starter, and salt. Stir with a rubber spatula to loosely combine. Add the flours, and stir with a spatula to combine — it will be a wet, sticky dough ball. Transfer to a straight-sided vessel and cover with a tea towel or bowl cover for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and fold. After 30 minutes, grab a corner of the dough and pull it up and into the center. Repeat until you’ve performed this series of folds 4 to 5 times with the dough. Let the dough rest for another 30 minutes and repeat the stretching and folding action. If you have the time, do this twice more for a total of 4 times in 2 hours. [Video guidance here.] Note: Even if you can only perform one series of stretches and folds, your dough will benefit. So don’t worry if you have to run off shortly after you mix the dough.
- Bulk fermentation: Cover the vessel with a tea towel or bowl cover and let rise at room temperature (70ºF/21ºC) for 4 to 18 hours (times will vary based on the time of year, the humidity, and the temperature of your kitchen). The bulk fermentation will end when the dough has nearly doubled in volume, and you can see bubbles throughout the dough and on the surface. (Note: Do not use your oven with the light on for the bulk fermentation — it is too warm for the dough. To determine when the bulk fermentation is done, it is best to rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to time. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.)
- Shape: Gently transfer the dough to a clean work surface. I prefer to use no flour and a bench scraper at this step, but if you find an unfloured work surface to be difficult, feel free to lightly flour it. [Video guidance is especially helpful for this step.] Fold the dough, envelope style: top third over to the center; bottom third up and over to the center. Then repeat from right to left. Turn the dough over and use your bench scraper to push the dough up, then back towards you to create a tight ball. Repeat this pushing and pulling till you feel you have some tension in your ball. Place the dough ball top side down and let rest 30 to 40 minutes. (FYI: This is called the bench rest.)
- Proof. Line a shallow 2-qt bowl (or something similar) with a tea towel or flour sack towel. Flour sack towels are amazing because the dough doesn’t stick to them, and therefore, you need very little rice flour, but if you only have a tea towel, you will be fine. If you are using a tea towel, sprinkle it generously with rice flour. If you are using a flour sack towel, you can use a lighter hand with the rice flour. After the 30-to 40-minute bench rest, repeat the envelope-style folding and the bench scraper pushing and pulling till you have a tight ball. [Video guidance here.] Place the ball top side down in your prepared towel-lined bowl. Cover bowl with overhanging towel. Transfer bowl to the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. (Note: When you remove your dough from the fridge, visually it will likely look unchanged. This is OK. You do not need to let it then proof at room temperature before baking.)
- Bake. Heat oven to 500ºF. Remove your sourdough from the fridge. Open the towel. Place a sheet of parchment over the bowl. Place a plate over the parchment. With a hand firmly on the plate and one on the bowl, turn the dough out onto the parchment-paper-lined plate. [Video guidance here.] Carefully remove the bowl and towel. Carefully remove the plate. Brush off any excess rice flour. Use a razor blade to score the dough as you wish. I always do a simple X. Grab the ends of the parchment paper and transfer to the Dutch oven. [Video guidance here.] Cover it. Lower oven temperature to 450ºF, bake covered for 30 minutes. Uncover. Lower the temperature to 400ºF. Bake for 10 minutes more or until the loaf has darkened to your liking. Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack.
- Cool. Let the loaf cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
- Prep Time: 48 hours
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Sourdough
- Cuisine: Global
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
1,106 Comments on “Easy Sourdough Bread (Whole Wheat-ish)”
Hi Ali, Read through all the comments and many complained of sticky dough which is hard to work with. I have the same problem. I weigh everything (and have not factored in the weight of starter) and I calculate to a 75% hydration using supermarket AP flour. The dough is waaaaay too wet and I wound up adding a LOT of flour and kneading on the counter. When bulk fermenting it looks nothing like your vid…it is wet and VERY sticky. 1. I’m thinking about dropping to 65% hydration. What will that do?
2. Do you think not using bread flour is a problem? Does bread flour need more hydration?
3. I’d like larger bubbles in the loaf how would I do this?
4. I’d like more ‘sour’ in the sourdough.
5. In your recipe you use 1 cup of starter…Breadtopia uses only 1/4 cup, could this be an issue. What does more starter accomplish?
OK that’s enough for now…lol…and I just picked up fresh blueberries for your cobbler recipe for Moms day for my Queen. Thanks from all of us for what you do…and DARN! I guess Me didn’t win book .
Hi Gary! I’m wondering if humidity is affecting your dough? I think cutting the water back considerably will help everything.
I’m thinking about dropping to 65% hydration. What will that do? Yes, do this. It sounds as though too much water is causing your issues.
2. Do you think not using bread flour is a problem? Does bread flour need more hydration? Bread flour absorbs more water than ap flour, which is why doughs made with ap flour will be a little wetter. When people swap ap flour for bread flour, and if they live in a humid place, I suggest cutting the water back.
3. I’d like larger bubbles in the loaf how would I do this? There are various ways, but I would start with getting your hydration right, because if you can’t create good tension in the dough during the shaping process, you won’t be able to get that desirable open crumb.
4. I’d like more ‘sour’ in the sourdough. This is counterintuitive, but try using 50 g of starter instead of 100 g.
5. In your recipe you use 1 cup of starter…Breadtopia uses only 1/4 cup, could this be an issue. What does more starter accomplish? More starter makes for a less sour taste.
Are you using a scale to measure?
Alexandra, I’ve been following your recipe for a few weeks now and the bread always comes out quite tasty! However after removing the dough from the bowl following proving in the fridge, it tends to lose shape. For this reason, I get a boule that is sometimes a little flat and sometimes a bit uneven in the rise. The taste is still good though!
I thought that this may perhaps be an issue with low surface tension, so have been using the scraper to shape it a few more times (before the fridge proving) as shown in your video.
My bulk fermentation tends to be about 8 hours or so at 71F.
Any thoughts or recommendations? Thanks!
Hi Sree! So nice to hear this.
It sounds as though you are doing everything right. I’m wondering if you should try reducing the water a little bit? Next time, see if you get a better shape if you use 280 g water.
One other question: are you using a preheated Dutch oven? And is your starter very active? As in, does it double in volume within 6 hours of feeding it?
Ali,
Thanks for your comments! Yes my starter almost seems to double overnight (6-8 hours) when left in the over with the pilot one. I’ve also done a float test, which it seems to pass.
However I do not pre-heat my dutch oven, instead just placing it in once the oven itself is pre-heated. Perhaps I should do that next time? I’ll also use your advice to try reducing the water a bit 🙂
I do think a preheated Dutch oven makes a difference. I have had success with a non-preheated Dutch oven, but I do think preheating makes a slight difference in terms of oven spring.
I might try that first before reducing the water, or you could try both and see how it turns out 😍😍😍
Ali,
So I tried reducing the water (to 280g) AND pre-heated the dutch oven in my latest series of experiments.
The boule shaped wonderfully and the crumb was very nice. However it appears pre-heating the dutch oven “browned” the crust a bit more than usual, so perhaps will skip the pre-heating next time.
For my next step i’m thinking about cutting down my mult-grain flour from 50g to 25 g (and increasing AP flour by the same), and possibly reducing the water a bit more.
I also intend to cut the sourdough starter in half for increasing sourness – could you advise on how this affects fermentation/proving time?
As always, thank you for your time 🙂
Hi Sree! Great to hear the boule shaped wonderfully and had a nice crumb. Will love to hear how it turns out again with less water and not a pre-heated Dutch oven. Out of curiosity, what material is your Dutch oven made of?
I like this idea “cutting down my mult-grain flour from 50g to 25 g (and increasing AP flour by the same)” and this one, too: “possibly reducing the water a bit more.” Keep me posted on how it works.
Regarding this: “I also intend to cut the sourdough starter in half for increasing sourness – could you advise on how this affects fermentation/proving time?” My experience is that regardless if I use 50g or 100g of starter, my bulk fermentation is about the same. You may find that it takes longer for your dough to double when using less starter, so just be patient and as always rely on the visual cues when determining when the bulk fermentation is done.
Remind me: do you have a straight-sided vessel?
I’ve had a starter brewing for about two weeks (we made your focaccia last week and will comment there later today). I fed her last night, and am going to embark on this today. I’ll keep you posted on Instagram. 🙂
Wonderful! Keep me posted 😍😍😍😍
I first tried this recipe last week and never managed to even get to the proofing stage as the dough was too sticky, too wet. While you state it is a 75% hydration recipe, it seems to me to be 100% hydration when you total the starter (100g) and the water (300g). I didn’t even try to add, work more flour into it during/after the bulk fermentation. I threw it away. It was simply a sticky mess.
Today, after more research about hydration ratios, I tried what seems like a more accurate 75% hydration. So, for the 400g of flour, I used 100g active starter and 200g of water. Worked like a charm. My rough dough came together nicely, it was tacky, yet not too sticky, and I was able to perform the stretch and folds during the bulk fermentation.
I am a bread baking novice. I don’t have your experience, but I humbly submit that the way you have your ingredients listed makes this a 100% hydration… wet (starter & water) ingredients to dry (flour) ingredients.
Hi Bryan! I’m so happy to hear you were able to find a ratio that worked for you. This definitely is a sticky dough, and I do encourage others to reduce the water, especially if they are living in a humid environment or if they are using all-purpose flour.
Regarding hydration, this is a little bit more than a 75% hydration dough. If you are using a 100% hydration starter, which I am using, that means your starter is equal parts by weight flour and water. So here, that would be 50 g water and 50 g starter.
So this brings the totals to:
450 g flour
350 g water
The hydration therefore is 350/450 = 77.78%
Do you know if your starter is 100%?
If so, that would bring your figures to:
450 g flour
250 g water
Which brings your hydration to: 55.56%
Again, I’m so glad this worked for you, and I’m going to encourage others to cut back the water more aggressively than I have been advising. Do you happen to live in a humid environment? Are you using ap flour? Is your starter 100% hydration?
Hello thank you for the great recipes. Just wondering about the proofing phase. If I decide that I cannot cook the bread for whatever reason after 24 hours in the fridge can I let it stay up to 48 or even 56 hours in the fridge before cooking? Thank you
Absolutely! I have left my dough in the fridge for more than 48 hours. It will be fine.
I’m a novice bread baker who has tried a couple of sourdough (partial whole wheat) recipes for about six months. All the recipes and methods turned out fine — a nice loaf of bread indeed. But as I’ve been trying to get better and improve technique, flavor, and texture, I ran across this recipe. I’ve now made 5 loaves of really excellent sourdough with it. Thanks for all the detailed guidance and thoughtful extra tips. Much appreciated!
So nice to hear all of this, Annie! Thanks so much for writing 😍😍😍😍
I have caught the bread baking bug and have made your recipe twice. Both times came out great! One surprise was the dough was much stickier than I imagined when trying to shape. My one question is how to get a crunchier crust. Both times my crusts were chewier than I want. Is there a secret to this? If longer baking time is required how long can you leave in the oven without overbaking the center?
Hi Andrew! So nice to hear this. The dough definitely is sticky, and you absolutely can use flour while shaping. I find it to be a fine line between using too much flour, which can make it a little tricky to get tension in the round while shaping, and using not enough flour, which can make the process a little frustrating. Sometimes just a light dusting on your work surface before you turn the dough out onto it, makes all the difference.
Regarding the crust, question: are you using a preheated Dutch oven? And are you using rice flour to dust your tea towel or regular flour? I think this bread is actually pretty forgiving in that you could remove it entirely from the Dutch oven after 40 minutes total, and let it bake on the oven racks for 5-10 minutes longer.
Yay! Just made an excellent sourdough boule, using this recipe. Thank you, Alexandra!
For anyone who may be having trouble, I highly suggest that you read this page multiple times, take notes, and most importantly, watch the corresponding video before and while you perform each step. My first sourdough was a fail, for multiple reasons… but the second time, I relied more on replicating what I saw in the video and adapting the time/ingredient amounts.
Water amount – I started with 280g and then added little by little until it resembled the dough consistency in the video.
And please consider getting flour sack towels + rice flour. I used a tea towel + all-purpose flour the first time…the dough completely stuck and I baked flatbreads.
Oh Kaylie, so nice to read all of this … thank you 😍😍😍
Sourdough definitely is a journey. For too long I resisted investing not only in certain tools/gadgets but also in techniques, but I’ve learned over time that all of these small details/decisions make a difference and play a role in the success of the final loaf. So glad you found the info/videos helpful.
Yes, this. My first loaf just emerged from the oven and while it’s not perfect, I learned a ton and I think it’s much better than it would have been if I hadn’t studied the videos at each stage in the process. I know next time I’ll preheat the dutch oven and I’ll start with a little less water.
So nice to hear this Dolores!
Hello Ali
I have been making many sourdough recipes lately. This one is a definite keeper and I just love your videos and techniques.
I have been having a similar result though with every recipe I have tried and that is the crumb though nicely airy is always a bit too moist and actually somewhat gooey at times. I have tried 70% hydration, leaving the loaf in the oven after done with the door cracked for 20 minutes and several other ‘tricks’ to no avail.
Any suggestions?
James
Hi James! So nice to hear this.
My initial thought is for you to try bringing it down even further, to maybe 65% hydration, but before you do that, questions: after the bulk fermentation, when you are shaping the dough, do you feel you are getting good tension on it? As in, does the dough have strength and elasticity? Or does it feel pretty slack. One other question: what type of flour are you using?
Hi Ali
Yes I am getting great tension. Watching you do it has helped immensely, made it easier.
I use King Arthur bread flour mostly. I have also been using bread flour from a local bakery since it is hard to get King Arthurs lately.I also prefer rye flour instead of whole wheat but I have tried both. I also use rye flour in my starter and have discovered that when I use whole wheat in the mix the bread still has a nice rye flavor to it.
Everything else I have done consistently, preheating the dutch oven, bulk fermentation in the fridge, etc. I will try 65% hydration. I know sourdough is a journey and I haven’t given up.
PS. My wife checks King Arthurs web site daily in hopes that they finally have the sprouted wheat flour again. She cant wait for me to make your seedy sandwich bread!
James
So great to hear all of this, James! I love the flavor a little rye flour lends to loaves. I’ll have to start adding some rye flour to my starter or maybe make a separate rye starter all together. And great to hear your wife loves the seedy sandwich bread. KAF has been out of all of their flours for soooo long. I, too, am hoping things turn around soon.
OK, so yes, I think the next logical move for you is to reduce the hydration to 65%. Keep me posted!
This was my first attempt at Sourdough. It turned out absolutely lovely!!! So impressed. Thanks a million! Loved the step by step details and no nonsense process.
So nice to hear this, Leanne 😍 Thank you.
Hello! I love how simple this recipe is and wold love to give it a try but I’m aiming to make two loafs. If I just double this recipe will it work? Or should I not double the starter?
Thanks!
Hi Natasha! For a double recipe, I would actually double the starter too.
This is such an easy foolproof recipe thanks! Definitely time is required. I make it over 3 days. The 75% hydration dough does take some patience but the lift and folds transform the dough. I agree with the comment to read, read again, take notes. It has so many steps that are there for a reason. Don’t skip them. This recipe turned out much better than MikeG’s yet they are quite similar.
So happy to hear all of this, Barbara! Thanks so much for writing 😍😍😍
Hi Ali,
Just made your recipe today and found the step by step video to be so helpful! And using a scale was definitely a revelation for properly piecing out the ingredients. My question revolves around getting the dough properly shaped into a ball. I found that my dough was very sticky and wet and that no matter how much I tried to get it into the ball (even using a bench scraper) it just went flat. Eventually, I gave up and put it in the fridge to proof overnight. As you can imagine, it baked flat and is essentially a bread disk (flavor still TBD). I’m wondering if you suggest reducing the water a bit to make the dough less wet/sticky? I noticed that was the recommendation for some others who had asked. I used bread flour only, for the recipe.
Thank you!
Hi Brian! It sounds as though your dough over fermented during the bulk fermentation. Questions:
What temperature is your kitchen?
Do you live in a humid environment?
How long was the bulk fermentation?
Did you do it at room temperature on your counter top?
Before you reduce the water, answer these questions. Also, when you mixed the dough, did it look similar to the video? In other words, did it hold it’s shape into a rough ball?
Hi Ali,
Thanks for the response! While I was trying to troubleshoot the issue after the fact, I realized that the over-fermenting issue was the most likely culprit.
What temperature is your kitchen? Generally speaking between 68-70
Do you live in a humid environment? Nope, CA!
How long was the bulk fermentation? I left it overnight and so it was probably 12-15 hours.
Did you do it at room temperature on your counter top? Yes!
When I mixed the dough, yes it looked like a rough ball.
I’m thinking a better strategy for next time likely entails starting the bulk fermentation process in the morning, so that I can monitor it, rather than leaving it overnight.
Flavor turned out pretty good, despite the bread’s appearance.
Thank you!
Sure thing! And yes, starting in the morning is a good idea so that you can monitor it; then you can shape it and stick it in the fridge to proof.
But it sounds as though your conditions are totally fine, so you could try reducing the water a bit or you could try making it again as written, and shaping it when the dough doubles.
Hi Ali, I am a novice at sourdough baking having tried several recipes with mixed results. Your technique appears simple as you use smaller amounts of flour , however I don’t possess a Dutch oven, please can you suggest an alternative which might work! The alternatives that I have tried as suggested by others has given me mixed results. I am in the process of acquiring one. Cheers Krish
Hi Krish! Question for you: do you have an oven safe pot? And do you have a pizza stone or Baking Steel?
Hi I’m trying this recipe for my first sourdough loaf (it’s in the oven right now so wish me luck!) and I wondered if it does well, can I add other things to it like cinnamon and raisins or sundries tomatoes or olives etc? Or would I need another recipe? Thanks!
Absolutely! I have not done this yet, but others have. The way they’ve incorporated ingredients is during the third “stretch and fold”. Sprinkle the ingredients over the dough; then stretch and fold the dough to incorporate the ingredients into the dough. You may want to add a fifth “stretch and fold” to ensure the ingredients are evenly dispersed. Hope that helps!
Hello Alexandra,
When you say during the 3rd stretch and fold do you mean the folds that are down those first 4 hours?
Dough is proofing in the fridge. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Yes, exactly! And yay re dough in the fridge 🎉🎉🎉Keep me posted!
Hello! Thank you for taking the time to make such a well explained and easy to follow recipe for sourdough. I’ve been making this one and other bread recipes from your site for a while now and always have success, so thank you!
One question, it’s only my husband and I eating this bread and I’d love to make a smaller loaf every other day. Would it be possible to just halve this recipe down the middle?
Thanks for your help!
Carly
I don’t see why not! I think halving the recipe will work out just fine. You may want to decrease the cooking time slightly, but otherwise I wouldn’t make any other changes. And so nice to hear all of this 🙂 Thank you 😍
Hi Ali
I forgot to do the 30 minute bench rest last night before I stuck my sourdough into the fridge for final proofing, what can I do about my mistake now?
I plan to bake it after 18 hours of refrigeration.
Thank you so much for all your recipes!
Althea
It will be fine! The bench rest just allows the dough to relax a bit, and after it relaxes, you can potentially get a better shape because you can stretch and extend the dough a bit better, but honestly, skipping that step is nothing to lose sleep over 🙂
Great! Thank you!
Ali always saves the day! Super straightforward with really good results!
Wonderful to hear this, Tina!
Hi, Ali …
I’ll begin here because what you & James wrote speaks to most of my hurdles. I apologize for the long post. Maybe others have had similar experiences & this might help.
A friend gave me some of her starter 18 days ago. I’ve baked bread with success, but never sourdough. After receiving the gifted starter I read online that starter needs to be strong for a successful sourdough loaf. My friend’s starter was less than a week old. I was surprised it even worked! She gave me half a loaf of bread she had just baked with her *baby* starter & whole wheat flour. It wasn’t bad, by which I mean it wasn’t a doorstop & it was actually quite flavorful for a 1st attempt (still … it had a dense crumb & no sour taste, so not really a sourdough loaf).
I felt confident I could improve on that & looked for expert tips online while letting my starter grow stronger. The first thing I learned was the need for a strong starter.
I used flour I had just bought — Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Wheat. My starter doubled everyday. I felt encouraged. Some days I fed it twice and used the extra to make crackers & pancakes. So much tasty success did not prepare me for what happened today using a very simple sourdough recipe (NOT yours) that skipped many of your steps (no 4-folds, no mention of problems with using all whole wheat flour, no mention of tea towel sticking, no preheating the Dutch oven (I used a heavy similarly shaped pan w/lid), no straight-sided clear container, etc. etc. etc.
Today, with great anticipation, I baked a big round sourdough doorstop.
I went back to YouTube & found your video. After watching the video several times, reading the printable instructions, & all of the comments plus your answers, clearly the *simple* video I chose initially was way too simple … & maybe just wrong considering all the skipped steps.
I’ve spent so much time growing a very active starter. Is there any reason I should STOP using it? Do I need to begin a new starter with all purpose flour (no whole wheat)?
That question brings up the concern of how to source all the supplies you suggest for best success. Sadly, I don’t have all the supplies that would make this a more successful process. And so many things are not easily available right now. I only shop for food & only when necessary. I suppose I could buy online.
You mentioned flour shortages. Yes, that’s why I bought what was available at my co-op — Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Wheat — since my friend’s whole wheat loaf came out okay, I thought a strong starter was all I needed to bake a better sourdough loaf.
I do not have a Dutch oven. Can I sub another heavy pot w/lid? Or should I put the loaf on a cookie sheet & invert the pot over it, as suggested in the other recipe?
– Flour sack cloth: I don’t have that.
– Rice flour: I don’t have that. I wonder if it’s available.
– Scale: I don’t have one. Are cup conversions possible?
– Clear straight-sided proofing container: I don’t have that.
– Flour — I’m limited to what is available, as we all are.
Ali, your recipe sounds amazing in all ways & the success stories here give me confidence that I could have a great outcome, too, if I had the right supplies. Do you have suggestions for viable workarounds pertaining to supplies (especially the flour!!) considering the pandemic has interrupted supply chains?
I have a feeling there are lots of folks out there like me attempting to bake sourdough without the right supplies who would appreciate knowing ways to make it work. Or — if you feel it truly IS necessary to use the supplies you listed, please let us know that. Maybe state it up front — *WAIT TO GET THESE SUPPLIES BEFORE ATTEMPTING A GREAT LOAF OF SOURDOUGH.*
It would be great to know if you can recommend practical workarounds or if you think it’s a waste of time & good flour to attempt your sourdough loaf without the supplies.
Hi Anthea!
To answer your questions:
I’ve spent so much time growing a very active starter. Is there any reason I should STOP using it? Do I need to begin a new starter with all purpose flour (no whole wheat)? Keep using it! It sounds very active and healthy. As long as it is doubling within 6-8 hours of feeding, and as long as it passes a float test, it should be work well. A few people have commented here, that they’ve used their 100% rye starters with success here.
I do not have a Dutch oven. Can I sub another heavy pot w/lid? Or should I put the loaf on a cookie sheet & invert the pot over it, as suggested in the other recipe? Any oven safe pot will work. You can top it with a cookie sheet. Or as you suggest, you can put the loaf on the cookie sheet (I would definitely still use parchment paper) and invert a pot over top. Whatever seems easier to you. If you have a pizza stone, you can use that and invert a pot over top.
Unfortunately, I do not recommend making this loaf with 100% Red Mill Stone Ground Whole Wheat. I think you will find it very dense. I also do not recommend making this recipe without a scale. Measuring with a scale is the only way to be truly accurate. Of all the things I suggest investing in above, a scale is the most important.
Regarding the other things you mention:
– Flour sack towel. These are not essential, but they do ensure no sticking.
– Rice flour. Not essential, but it doesn’t burn the way wheat flour burns.
– Scale. For me, this is essential.
– Clear straight-sided proofing container. Not essential, but it’s a wonderful tool for beginners who have a hard time gauging the bulk fermentation.
– Flour. A mix of all-purpose or bread flour + some whole wheat is ideal. If you can’t find bread or all-purpose flour, I would wait to make this recipe. I think you’ll be disappointed with the results.
Hi Alexandra,
I’ve made a few loaves using other recipes that have turned out like a flat pancake. So hoping this one works
I’ve just put the dough into the fridge to proof overnight after a bulk fermentation of 4-5 hrs (in a relatively 25-30 Celsius environment). Would it be ok to bake tomorrow after 14 hrs? I would like to do it before I go to work. Or would it be better if I do it after? Thanks!
Hi Angela! If you are able to wait till after work, that would be best. The beauty is that you can bake the loaf straight from the fridge, so right when you get home, preheat your Dutch oven, and when it’s ready your loaf can go straight into the oven … no need to rise at room temperature first. Do try to be patient before cutting into it! 😍
I ended up baking at 14 hrs because I was too keen. It turned out amazing!! Best oven spring and so light and nice crumb. Wish I could upload a photo to show.
Oh Yay!! So nice to hear this, Angela. 😍😍😍😍
Alexandra,
What ratio do you use for the 50 grams of rye and graham flour blend?
Hi Briana! 25 g each.
Hi! I’m excited to try out this recipe!
If I don’t want to proof it in the fridge, how long do I need to let it rise for at room temperature?
Thanks,
Kat
I would go for 4-5 hours.
Hi,
Thx a lot for this recipe. Like some others, I discovered sourdough, and sourdough bread with confinement, so rather new to it. I tried several times before, but it’s the 1st time that it comes out as good as that, so thx so much for the explanations and mini videos all the way! But for me, still room for improvement though. So, few questions:
1. When I got bread out of oven, I liked its taste and consistency, though the crumb inside was still a bit humid. How can I get it to be drier? Please consider fact that I do not have dutch oven or any other alternative, (difficult to get during lockdown where I am, on the other side of the world!! ) so I did not cover the bread, still I cooked it at temperature you indicated and lowered temperature for last 10 minutes. You think it has to do with the cooking or the dough? Dough was a bit sticky during preparation.
2. should I bake it differently since I cannot cover it?
3. The kitchen paper sticks to the bottom of the bread when I remove from the oven. Any hint on how to adress that?
4.if I add cereals like sunflower, flax, pumpkin seeds etc, should I decrease the amount of flour accordingly?
Thx again
Hi Nathalie! Great to hear this. To answer your questions:
1. “… though the crumb inside was still a bit humid. How can I get it to be drier? Please consider fact that I do not have dutch oven or any other alternative, (difficult to get during lockdown where I am, on the other side of the world!! ) so I did not cover the bread, still I cooked it at temperature you indicated and lowered temperature for last 10 minutes. You think it has to do with the cooking or the dough? Dough was a bit sticky during preparation. Do you have any oven safe pot? An oven safe pot + a sheet pan as a lid is a great alternative. You can also preheat your sheet pan, which will help with “oven spring”. It sounds as though you may need to reduce the water a bit though, too. I would reduce by 50 g.
2. The kitchen paper sticks to the bottom of the bread when I remove from the oven. Any hint on how to adress that? That is an issue with the paper itself … not all parchment is created equally. I would try a different brand. I have had this happen to me, and it is so frustrating.
3.If I add cereals like sunflower, flax, pumpkin seeds etc, should I decrease the amount of flour accordingly? I wouldn’t increase the flour. For this recipe I would start with about a cup. Add them during the third set of stretch and folds.
Thanks a lot!
I have to say I have been baking bread with your recipe every 4 days since I started, and it’s a real passion now 🙂
I replaced the dutch oven with an arcoroc bowl with its lid that I turned upside down in the oven, and its working ok. I also got another kitchen paper, not sticking to the bread and working perfectly well, thx.
For the cereal seeds, are you suggesting that I add a full cup with a mix of the different seeds, with same amount of water, flour and starter?
Also, if I want to do it with brown flour, do I have to change the amount of water? (I did read your text on white and brown flour and stone-milled flour, but the latter is difficult to access where I am. In fact I never saw it anywhere).
Do you have recipes/suggestions where you add ingredients like olives etc?
Thanks again
So great to hear all of this!
Regarding your questions:
For the cereal seeds, are you suggesting that I add a full cup with a mix of the different seeds, with same amount of water, flour and starter? Yes. It’s possible you may need to add a little bit more water, but I hesitate to suggest that because the dough is so high hydration as it is. I think this may take some trial and error. If you make it once, and you find the bread to be too heavy/dense, you may want to increase the water next time.
Also, if I want to do it with brown flour, do I have to change the amount of water? Again, hard to say, and because it is a relatively high hydration dough, I hesitate to have you increase the amount of water. I would give it a try once as written; then adjust based on the results. My gut is that you won’t have to make any changes.
Do you have recipes/suggestions where you add ingredients like olives etc? I haven’t tried adding olives yet, but a few people have on the sourdough focaccia recipe, and they’ve had success adding it during the third set of stretches and folds.
thx so much for all yr valuable comments
Hi – I’m totally new to baking but created my own starter last month when yeast was sold out during our local lockdown. I started with your focaccia recipe (twice) then moved on to baguettes and all of them turned out great. Maybe I was overconfident but I thought I was finally ready to make a real sourdough boule! Oops. To echo some of the other comments, I would also suggest cutting back on the water significantly. I did use bread flour and also weighed the ingredients so I don’t think those were issues.
The dough turned into a sticky flat mess which I still tried to bake. Not surprisingly, I ended up with a flat puck. It seems to have slightly more than doubled overnight so perhaps it could have been over fermented? I’ll try again with less water and also shorten the bulk fermentation time.
But assuming it was just too wet, is there any way to “rescue” dough which is too sticky/wet after bulk fermentation? I did try to add some more flour which helped a bit but it seemed like I was adding a ridiculous amount so I stopped. Or do you just give up and throw it out? Thanks!
Hi Trishan! How long was the bulk fermentation? And at what temperature?
Did you perform 4 sets of stretches and folds? And if so, during the 4th fold, did you notice the dough feeling elastic and strong?
When you turned the dough out after the bulk fermentation, had it lost all strength? Or was there some elasticity? The dough definitely is sticky, and using a little bit of flour is OK when shaping.
If the dough truly has over-fermented, it unfortunately is not salvageable.
I left it to bulk ferment overnight for ~16 hours, my kitchen is cool (definitely < 70°) and not humid at all. I did do the 4 folds every 30 minutes at the outset but the dough did not feel strong on any of the folds. And when I turned it out, it was a mushy mess, no strength and just impossible to shape.
Does that sound more like it was too wet or the fermentation was too long?
This is concerning to me “I did do the 4 folds every 30 minutes at the outset but the dough did not feel strong on any of the folds.”
What type of flour are you using? When you made the focaccia, did you feel the dough had strength during the stretch and folds?
This is a sign of over-fermentation: “And when I turned it out, it was a mushy mess, no strength and just impossible to shape.”
Let’s talk about your starter: are you feeding it with equal parts by weight flour and water? And does it double in volume after feedings within 4-6 hours? And when it does double, if you drop a spoonful of it in water, does it float?
I’m using bread flour from a local bakery which is dividing up it’s bulk flour for resale during the continuing shortages. For all the prior recipes (focaccia & baguette) which I tried, the dough definitely have more strength during folding however, I didn’t really realize that until I started thinking about it now.
For my starter – I am feeding equal parts water & flour by weight. However, it’s not growing as it previously did and no longer doubling in size in 6 hours or “foamy” on top. After a couple of weeks of playing with it, I decided to try it in the dough and it certainly made the dough rise. Seems obvious now but I guess this could also be the problem?
OK, we’re making progress! I think you need to spend some time strengthening your starter before you attempt another loaf.
This is the advice I always give: be aggressive with how much you are discarding: throw away most of it, leaving behind just 2 tablespoons or so. Feed it with equal parts by weight flour and water. Start with 40 g of each or so. Use water that you’ve left out overnight to ensure any chlorine has evaporated. (This isn’t always necessary, but it might make a difference.) If you can find some organic flour — my store carries small bags of KAF organic flour (honestly, your bakery flour is probably great, so don’t worry) … they’re a little more expensive ($3.49 for 2 lbs) but I use it exclusively for feeding my starter. Organic flour or a little bit of rye flour or some stone milled flour (fresh or locally milled if possible) can make a difference.
Try this more aggressive feeding schedule and see if you notice your starter being more active. Then report back 😍
I did cut it back significantly about a week ago and restarted with a small amount, weighing equal parts starter, flour, water (spring water, not tap). . It did bubble up quite nicely though not as fast and still not as high/foamy as before. Tried again yesterday with this even more aggressive method with less starter relative to flour & water, it was thick and took ~15 hrs to double in size (overnight and a bit more) and still not as bubbly/foamy as it should be. I’ll try changing the flour slowly and see how that goes. Thanks!
OK, keep me posted! And you are using a scale when measure the flour and water when you feed your starter, correct?
I am using a scale but the starter was doing better when I was just guessing with a 2:1 volume ratio! 🙂 Couple days in with an additional discard/feeding but same situation- it’s bubbling and rising but definitely not doubling in 6 hours. I’ll try to find some of the other flour types and keep playing with it. Thanks!
OK, sounds good! Keep me posted. I was pretty astonished to see what a little bit of freshly milled rye flour + organic flour did to my starter.
Hello! As many others have, I have been discovering the joys (and frustrations!) of learning to make sourdough during the Lockdown.
I have tried your recipe for several days now – but although it has a beautiful open crumb when cooked, it looks flat and disc like as many others have said.
Today when I took my dough out of my bowl to try to “shape”, despite having included 20g less water in the recipe, it was still incredibly sticky and impossible to get it into a ball shape…i had to drop it into the banneton and it was stuck to the dough scraper so in no way a ball…it also doesn’t seem as light and airy as your dough in the video and I can’t work out what I’m doing wrong! After overnight proving, the dough is floppy and disc like rather than ball shaped, which I wondered might be overproofing, but I am only leaving the dough to proof for a maximum of 10 hours which doesn’t seem long.
Any tips for things I might be missing would be greatly appreciated! (Could it be that my starter is 100% wholemeal flour?)
thanks
Rachel
Ah…I’ve just been re-reading the recipe trying to work out if I’m going wrong anywhere and realised I haven’t been doing the bench rest….would that be the problem?! I also think maybe 8-10 hrs bulk ferment is just too long for my dough…so maybe it is overproofing. Although it passed the poking test each time! But it might have gone over double its original size…I don’t have a straight sided vessel so hard to tell.
I don’t think the bulk rest is the issue. The dough definitely is sticky, but there should still be some strength and elasticity to it. When the dough over-ferments, it gets very sticky, goes completely slack, and there’s no strength to it at all.
Hi Rachel!
It sounds as though your dough may have over fermented. Was there any strength or elasticity in the dough? Or was it totally slack?
How long was the bulk fermentation? And what temperature is your kitchen?
I don’t think your starter is the issue.
Hello there,
Yes I think it must be over fermented (although the bread is still pretty tasty and bubbly inside so maybe I am only just missing the right moment!).
Today I have moved the start of my bread making forward by about 8 hours so that I can monitor the whole process (before I was leaving it overnight for the bulk fermentation and I think it must have been too long).
I noticed also that my starter seems happier being used at this point rather than waiting all day to be used after a feed first thing, and I’ve been reading that this is probably because it’s wholemeal and peaks much more quickly than white flour! There seems to be so much to learn!! It can seem overwhelming but I am enjoying the journey (and eating all the results!)
Thank you very much for your advice and I will keep you posted on how this loaf turns out! It’s currently very warm here in the UK so it may be that everything happens much quicker today (27degrees C today).
Rachel
Hmm. I only let it bulk ferment for 3 hours after the 2 hrs with the 4 x stretch and fold and it was still extremely sticky and slack…I honestly don’t know what can be wrong! It never gets that pillowy look that your dough has in the videos… 🙁
Great to hear all of this, Rachel! Keep me posted on your trials. Smart to make it during the day so you can monitor it. I am curious to hear how the shaping process goes and how sticky your dough is with a shorter bulk fermentation.
Hello again, so after a few more loaves and more experimentation – yesterday I used 20g less water and only bulk fermented for 2 hours and stopped as soon as I saw bubbles on the surface – and I FINALLY got a dough I could shape!! I never thought I could get so excited about dough, haha! It came out beautifully this time….so hopefully I’ve cracked it! 🙂
Delicious! Thank you.
Wow, Rachel, amazing! I am so, so happy to hear this 😍😍😍
I’m doing the final proofing but wanted to note that I had no issues with the amount of water– probably because I used half bread flour and made up the rest with sprouted grain and whole wheat flour (and a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten). So far, the texture is perfect, and shaping it minus flour worked beautifully. Great videos, too! Thanks.
So great to hear this, John! Thanks so much for writing.
Finished bread was PERFECT! Best crumb and crust I have EVER gotten! Already getting requests to make another. Thank you so much, Ali.
So wonderful to hear this, John! Thanks so much for reporting back with the results!! 🍞🍞
Hi, the second time I’ve followed the recipe very carefully and it was a great success. got 2 amazingnloaves. Thanks a lot.
Amos
Wonderful to hear this, Amos!
I’m gonna try it.
I made this for the first time about 2 1/2 weeks ago. The dough was really sticky and loose during the shaping stage and I thought it wouldn’t turn out but it baked beautifully and was basically perfect. I’ve since made 3 more loaves and none of them have turned out. Not sure what I’m doing wrong/differently. I’m using the exact amount of ingredients listed, making sure it only doubles during fermentation, it’s always loose and gooey during shaping and I have to use flour. I live in a basement apt (aka always cold) in southern Ontario. First batch was made on a colder day and others have been on warmer days but it’s never been hot.
Any idea what my issue could be?
Sorry to clarify, they’re not rising. So basically the dough isn’t a ball and it doesn’t rise much in the oven. Kind of just makes a big puck. Tastes good but is dense and flat.
So strange!
It sounds as though your conditions are right and that you are doing everything right. How is your starter? After you feed it, does it double in volume within 4-6 hours? And if you drop a spoonful of it into water, will it float?
Are you feeding your starter with equal parts by weight flour and water?
This was what was happening to me and I reduced the bulk ferment and it seemed to work…
Great
Hello! I’m a newbie. Have made a few successful loaves with AP flour from a different recipe, tried this recipe because I really would like to add whole wheat.
However – it was completely wet and without any stretchiness. When I tried stretch and fold, it just pulls apart. I tried a different recipe with bread flour, with the same results. Ended up mixing some yeast in and sticking it in the bread maker! (Was very dense but passable.)
Any advice on what could be going wrong. Wonky flour? Too much water? Thanks!
So strange! What kinds of flours are you using? Can you be specific with the amounts and brands/types you are using? And are you saying you had trouble when you used bread flour as well? And just so I’m clear, you are having trouble right off the bat with the stretches and folds — this isn’t after the bulk fermentation, right? Also: did you end up letting the dough rise till it doubled in volume?
Just made this for the first time. It came out great! I used AP flour (the supermarkets are entirely out of bread flour, and most any other flour for that matter!) with 1/6 white whole wheat flour. The dough was somewhat stickier and looser than in your video, but in the end it came out fine! I didn’t cut back the water, but I may try that next time if I’m using AP flour.
Wonderful to hear this, Steve!