Henry's Country Sourdough

Ingredients

Levain (Build 8–12 Hours Ahead)

Built from your mature 100% hydration starter. Yields about 220g, you'll use 200g.

• 20g (1½ tbsp) mature 100% hydration sourdough starter
• 100g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) bread flour
• 100g (⅓ cup + 3 tbsp) warm water (about 80°F / 27°C)

Final Dough

What you'll weigh out the morning of bake day after the levain is ripe.

• 800g (6⅔ cups) bread flour
• 100g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) whole wheat flour
• 620g (2½ cups + 2 tbsp) water (about 80°F / 27°C) — Reserve 20g for the salt step. Mix the rest with the levain.
• 200g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) ripe levain (from above)
• 20g (1 tbsp + ½ tsp) fine sea salt

Total flour: 1000g

Hydration: 72%

Pro tip: Volumes are a courtesy. Grams are the recipe. A 2% salt error is the difference between a seasoned loaf and a bland one.

Equipment

• Digital Kitchen Scale
• Dutch Oven
• Bannetons (Two)
• Bench Scraper
• Lame with Fresh Razor Blade
• Instant-Read Thermometer
• Large Mixing Bowl or Cambro

Method

Build the Levain

Build a young, sweet levain the night before bake day. You're aiming for peak ripeness, not collapsed sourness.

1. Mix the Levain. In a clean jar, combine 20g mature starter, 100g bread flour, and 100g warm water (about 80°F / 27°C). Stir until smooth. Cover loosely and hold at 75 to 78°F (24 to 26°C).
2. Float Test for Readiness. After 8 to 12 hours the levain should have roughly doubled, the top should be domed and bubbly, and a teaspoon dropped in water should float. That's the float test. If it sinks, give it another hour and retest.

Wait: Levain Fermentation

Tip: Use the levain at peak, not past peak. A collapsed levain still bakes bread, but flavor turns sharply sour and dough strength drops.

Fermentolyse

Fermentolyse mixes flour, water, and levain together up front. Salt waits. The dough hydrates and starts fermenting at the same time.

1. Disperse the Levain. In a large bowl, whisk 200g ripe levain into 600g of the water (reserve the other 20g for the salt step). Whisk until the levain is fully dispersed and the water turns milky.
2. Add the Flours. Add 800g bread flour and 100g whole wheat flour. Mix by hand or with a dough whisk until no dry flour remains. The dough will look shaggy and rough. That's correct.
3. Rest. Cover the bowl. Rest at room temperature for 45 to 60 minutes. The dough will smooth out and become noticeably more extensible.

Wait: Fermentolyse Rest

Tip: Reserve the 20g of water for the salt step. It helps the salt dissolve and incorporate cleanly without over-tightening the dough.

Add the Salt

Salt arrives after the rest. It tightens the gluten, slows enzyme activity, and seasons the dough.

1. Pour and Squeeze. Pour 20g salt and the reserved 20g water over the dough. Squeeze and fold the dough on itself for 2 to 3 minutes until the salt disappears and the dough smooths out and tightens. This is the start of bulk fermentation.

Tip: Wet your hand before squeezing the salt in. Less sticking, more even distribution.

Bulk Fermentation with Folds

Four sets of folds at 30-minute intervals, then leave the dough alone. Bulk runs 3 to 5 hours total at 74 to 78°F (23 to 26°C).

1. Stretch and Fold (Set 1). Wet your hand. Reach under one side of the dough, lift, stretch up, and fold over the top. Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat three more times. Cover. Wait 30 minutes.
2. Stretch and Fold (Set 2). Repeat the stretch and fold. The dough is still slack. Cover. Wait 30 minutes.
3. Coil Fold (Set 3). By now the dough has tightened. Switch to a coil fold: slide both wet hands under the center, lift the dough, and let both ends fold under. Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat. Cover. Wait 30 minutes.
4. Coil Fold (Set 4). One more coil fold. After this, the dough is on its own. Bulk continues another 60 to 120 minutes.
5. Read the Dough. You're looking for a 30 to 50% rise above the starting volume, bubbles visible on the surface and along the sides through a clear container, a soft dome on top, and a custard-like jiggle when you tap the bowl. Smells yeasty and slightly tangy, not sharply sour.

Wait: Bulk Fermentation

Tip: Mark the bowl with tape at the start. You can't read 30 to 50% rise by eye. Tape doesn't lie.

Divide and Pre-Shape

Two pieces, two soft rounds, a short bench rest, then final shaping.

1. Turn Out and Divide. Turn the dough onto an unfloured counter. Divide into two equal pieces (about 870g each).
2. Pre-Shape into Rounds. Using your bench scraper and one wet hand, drag each piece across the counter into a loose round. Build surface tension without degassing aggressively.
3. Bench Rest. Cover loosely with a clean towel. Rest 20 to 30 minutes. The dough should relax enough to spread slightly but still hold a soft dome.

Wait: Bench Rest

Tip: An unfloured counter helps you build tension during pre-shape. Save the flour for the bannetons.

Final Shape

Shape into a boule or batard. Choose based on the bannetons you have.

1. Shape and Transfer. Flour the top of each round lightly. Flip seam-side up. Shape into a boule (envelope fold then cup-and-drag) or batard (rectangle, fold thirds, roll into a tight log). Transfer seam-side up into a floured banneton.

Tip: If the dough resists shaping, let it rest another 5 to 10 minutes. Forced shaping tears the gluten you spent hours building.

Cold Retard

Into the fridge for the cold retard. 8 to 18 hours. Twelve is the sweet spot.

1. Cover and Refrigerate. Cover each banneton with a shower cap or plastic bag. Refrigerate at 38 to 40°F (3 to 4°C). Eight hours is the minimum for flavor and handling. Twelve is the sweet spot. Eighteen still bakes well. Past 24 hours, expect some loss of oven spring. Past 36 hours, the dough is usually over-proofed.

Wait: Cold Retard

Tip: Bake straight from the fridge. Cold dough scores cleaner and holds shape better in a screaming-hot Dutch oven.

Score and Bake

Preheat the Dutch oven for a full 45 minutes. Score in one decisive motion. Bake one loaf at a time if you only have one Dutch oven. The second loaf stays cold until it's ready to go in.

1. Preheat. Place the Dutch oven and lid in a cold oven. Preheat to 475°F (245°C) for at least 45 minutes. Cast iron lies about its temperature until it has truly soaked through.
2. Turn Out and Score. Turn one cold loaf out of its banneton onto parchment paper. Score in one decisive motion: a single off-center slash for a batard at a 30 to 45° angle, or a cross or square for a boule. Depth: ¼ to ½ inch.
3. Bake Covered (20 Minutes). Use the parchment as a sling to lower the dough into the screaming-hot Dutch oven. Cover with the lid. Bake at 475°F (245°C) for 20 minutes. The trapped steam drives oven spring.
4. Bake Uncovered (20 to 25 Minutes). Remove the lid. Reduce the oven to 450°F (230°C). Bake another 20 to 25 minutes until the crust is deep mahogany — almost too dark for comfort. Color is flavor.
5. Check Internal Temp. Internal temp should read 205 to 210°F (96 to 99°C). If the crust is pale but the inside reads, leave it 5 more minutes. Don't pull a pale loaf.
6. Cool. Cool on a wire rack, uncovered, for at least 1 hour and ideally 2 before slicing. The crumb is still setting. Cut early and you'll get a gummy interior.
7. Bake the Second Loaf. Re-preheat the Dutch oven for 15 minutes between loaves. Repeat the bake.

Tip: If the crust browns faster than expected during the uncovered bake, tent loosely with foil. Don't pull early.

Shaping the Country Loaf

Pick boule or batard based on the banneton you have. Both work. The boule is more forgiving for first-timers.

Boule (Round) (recommended)

1. Flour and Flip. Lightly flour the top of the pre-shaped round. Flip seam-side up.
2. Envelope Fold. Fold the four sides into the center like an envelope.
3. Cup and Drag. Flip seam-side down. Cup hands around the dough and drag in small circles to tension the skin.
4. Into the Banneton. Transfer seam-side up to a floured round banneton.

Batard (Oval)

1. Flatten to Rectangle. Flour and flip seam-side up. Stretch into a rough rectangle, long side facing you.
2. Fold Thirds. Fold the top third down. Fold the bottom third up over it.
3. Roll into a Log. Roll from the top edge toward you into a tight log. Pinch the seam closed.
4. Into the Banneton. Transfer seam-side up to a floured oval banneton.

Proof test: Press a floured finger about 1 inch into the cold dough. If it springs back slowly and incompletely, it's ready. If it springs back fast and full, give it more time. The poke test works on cold dough too.

Bake

High heat, covered Dutch oven, cold dough straight from the fridge.

Oven: 245°C / 475°F. Internal temperature when done: 96°C / 205°F.

Bake time: PT42M

Equipment: Dutch oven with lid, parchment paper

1. Preheat with Dutch oven inside for 45 minutes. Bake covered at 475°F (245°C) for 20 minutes, then uncovered at 450°F (230°C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Internal temp 205 to 210°F (96 to 99°C).

Dutch Oven (Recommended) (recommended)

Equipment: 9 to 10 inch Dutch oven with lid, parchment paper

1. Preheat 45 min. Dutch oven and lid in cold oven. Preheat to 475°F (245°C) for 45 minutes minimum.
2. Score and load. Flip cold dough onto parchment, score decisively, lower into hot Dutch oven using parchment as a sling.
3. 20 min lid on. Covered bake at 475°F (245°C).
4. 20–25 min lid off. Reduce to 450°F (230°C). Bake until deep mahogany, internal temp 205–210°F (96–99°C).
5. Cool 60+ min. Wire rack, uncovered, at least 1 hour before slicing.

Baking Stone with Steam Pan

Equipment: Baking stone, cast iron skillet or steam pan, boiling water, parchment paper

1. Preheat. Stone on middle rack, steam pan on bottom rack at 500°F (260°C) for 45 minutes.
2. Slide and steam. Slide scored dough onto stone on parchment, pour boiling water into steam pan, close oven immediately.
3. Bake. 20 minutes at 500°F (260°C), then reduce to 450°F (230°C) for 20 to 25 more minutes until mahogany and 205–210°F internal.

Storage

• Room temperature: 3 to 4 days cut-side down on a wooden board, in a paper bag, or in a bread box. Never in plastic at room temp — it traps moisture and turns the crust leathery within hours.
• Refrigerated: Not recommended. The fridge accelerates staling for lean doughs.
• Frozen: Up to 3 months. Slice before freezing for easy grab-and-toast portions, or freeze the whole loaf wrapped tightly in plastic then foil.
• Refresh: Spritz the crust with water and warm the whole loaf at 350°F (175°C) for 10 to 15 minutes. For slices, toast directly from frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my crumb dense and tight?

Under-fermentation is the first suspect. If bulk was cut short or the kitchen ran cold, the dough didn't build enough gas. Second suspect is a sluggish levain that didn't pass the float test before you used it. Third is over-shaping, which tears the gluten network you spent hours building. Give bulk the full 30 to 50% rise, rebuild the starter with a couple of strong feeds at 1:5:5 if it's been neglected, and shape with just enough tension to hold the loaf.

My loaf came out flat with no oven spring. What happened?

Usually over-fermentation. If bulk went past a 50% rise and the dough felt loose and bubbly rather than jiggly and domed, the gluten had already exhausted its strength. A dull scoring blade is the second most common culprit. A cold dough into a cold Dutch oven is the third. Diagnose with the poke test: an over-proofed dough stays indented and doesn't push back.

The inside is gummy and sticky. Is it raw?

Almost always it was cut too soon. The crumb sets during cooling as starches retrograde. Cutting hot bread is like cutting a soufflé: it collapses. Wait at least 1 hour on a rack, ideally 2. If it's still gummy after a full cool, it was pulled from the oven under temperature. Internal temp should read 205 to 210°F (96 to 99°C).

Why is my crust pale or soft?

Three common causes. The Dutch oven wasn't preheated long enough (45 minutes is the floor). The cold retard was skipped, which robs the crust of Maillard browning. The lid came off too early or the bake was pulled too soon. Fix: full preheat, full 8+ hour retard, lid off for the last 20 minutes, and don't pull until the crust reads deep mahogany.

How do I know my starter is ready to build the levain?

Float test. Drop a teaspoon of starter into a cup of water. If it floats, it's gassy enough. Visual cues back it up: doubled or tripled from its fed volume, domed on top, surface dotted with bubbles, smells like ripe yogurt or green apples rather than acetone. Peak typically lands 4 to 8 hours after a 1:1:1 or 1:5:5 feed at 75 to 78°F. If it's sluggish, do two back-to-back feeds before building the levain.

Can I cold retard longer than overnight?

Eight hours is the minimum. Twelve is the sweet spot. Eighteen still bakes well if bulk was timed right. Past 24 hours in a standard 38 to 40°F fridge, expect slow loss of spring. Past 36 hours the dough is usually over-proofed and will bake flat. A colder fridge buys more time. A warmer one buys less.

My scoring looks ragged and no ear forms. Help?

Three fixes. First, fresh blade. A razor used on more than a dozen loaves is a butter knife. Second, angle. Hold the lame at 30 to 45 degrees to the dough for an ear, not straight down. Third, one stroke. No sawing. Pull the blade through in one motion at a steady speed.

Can I make this with all bread flour and skip the whole wheat?

Yes. The 10% whole wheat adds flavor depth and slightly speeds fermentation, but a 100% bread flour version still bakes a beautiful country loaf. Keep hydration the same.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 slice (~50g)): 120 calories, 24g carbohydrates, 4.5g protein, 0.5g fat, 1.5g fiber, 260mg sodium.