Inspired by The Clever Carrot If you are new to sourdough, watch the step-by-step video here: Simple Sourdough Bread or in the post above. 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. Notes: You need an active sourdough starter. I have had success activating starters from: King Arthur Flour Breadtopia As always, I highly recommend investing in a digital scale before beginning any bread baking adventure. This is the Dutch Oven I use for sourdough bread. I used this Dutch oven for years, and it’s a great one, too. Flour sack towels are a great investment because they ensure your dough will not stick while it is proofing. I love using rice flour for dusting (as opposed to ap or bread flour) because it doesn’t burn. When you use a flour sack towel, however, you don’t need to use any flour. Find all of my sourdough essentials here: Essential Equipment For Sourdough Bread Baking I love a high-hydration dough, and I have great success using 380 grams of water in this recipe, so feel free to play around and push the hydration here. Salt: I have had success using both kosher salt and fine sea salt here. When I use kosher salt, I use the Diamond Crystal brand. When I use sea salt, I use the Baleine Fine brand. Regardless of the brand, I use 12 grams. Shaping: If you’re looking to get a more open crumb, try shaping a batard (as opposed to a round). Watch this video for guidance. Also: The recipe below follows the traditional shape once, rest, then shape again method. I often skip the preshape now and simply shape the dough once. I still get a nice open crumb. How much Sourdough Starter to Use? Because my kitchen is cold for much of the year, I like using 100 g (1/2 cup) of starter as opposed to 50 g (1/4 cup). When determining how much starter to use, consider a few things: If you live in a warm, humid environment, 50 g should suffice. If you plan on doing an overnight rise, 50 g also should suffice. If you want to speed things up or if you live in a cold environment, consider using 100 g starter. Note: If you use 100 g of starter, your dough may rise more quickly, so keep an eye on it. As always, rely on the visual cues (increasing in volume by 50%) when determining when the bulk fermentation is done. A straight-sided vessel makes monitoring the bulk fermentation especially easy because it allows you to see when your dough has truly doubled.