Classic Sourdough Boule
A classic sourdough boule is one of the most rewarding breads you can make at home. With just flour, water, salt, and a bit of sourdough starter, you can craft a beautiful artisan loaf featuring a crisp crust and a tender, chewy crumb.
Equipment
- Instant-read thermometer highly recommended for checking doneness
- Disposable shower cap for covering bread
Ingredients
- 125 g active sourdough starter fed and bubbly
- 325 g warm filtered water around 90°F
- 500 g bread flour
- 12 g sea salt
- Rice flour, for dusting the banneton or tea towel (prevents sticking better than wheat flour) optional
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the warm water and sourdough starter until mostly dissolved. Add the bread flour and salt. Mix with a dough whisk, fork, or your hand until fully combined and no dry patches remain. The dough will look shaggy and feel sticky.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 45 minutes.
- After resting, knead the dough in the bowl for about 5 minutes. Use your hand and a flexible dough scraper to fold the dough over itself. The scraper is helpful for lifting the dough and cleaning your hands. This short kneading session helps kickstart gluten development.
- Cover again and let the dough rest. Complete 3 sets of stretch and folds, spaced 30–45 minutes apart. For each session, perform 4 to 6 folds: wet your hand, lift and stretch the dough from one side, and fold it over to the other side. Rotate the bowl and repeat on all sides. This strengthens the dough and improves structure.
- After the final fold, cover and allow the dough to bulk ferment at room temperature. This step typically takes 4 to 8 hours, depending on your kitchen temperature. Look for the dough to rise noticeably, become domed and jiggly, and form visible bubbles along the sides and bottom of the bowl (a clear bowl is helpful here).
- Once bulk fermentation is complete, dust a clean work surface lightly with flour. Gently turn out the dough. Stretch it into a loose rectangle (it doesn’t need to be large), then fold each side inward toward the center like folding a letter. Starting from one short end, roll the dough up into a log.
- To shape the dough into a boule, use the push-and-pull method: gently cup your hands around the dough and pull it toward you along the counter to create tension across the surface. Then rotate it slightly and repeat, pushing it away, then pulling it back toward you again. Continue turning and repeating this motion until the dough forms a tight, round ball with a smooth surface.
- Place the dough into a banneton dusted with rice flour or lightly floured bread flour. If you don’t have a banneton, use a medium bowl lined with a thin, floured tea towel. Cover and transfer to the refrigerator to cold proof for 8 to 12 hours. (Note you can cold proof up to 48 hours. If cold proofing more than 48 hours, this can cause your loaf to be flat when baked.)
- When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 475°F with a Dutch oven inside for at least 30 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the fridge, turn it out onto parchment paper, and score the top with a sharp razor or bread lame.
- Carefully transfer the dough (on parchment) into the hot Dutch oven. For extra steam, you can drop 2 to 3 ice cubes between the parchment and the wall of the Dutch oven just before closing the lid. The added steam can help promote better oven spring and a shinier, crisper crust.
- To ensure the bread is fully baked, use an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf. It should register between 205–210°F when done.
- Let the bread cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing.
Notes
Tips for Success
- For this recipe, it was created and developed with King Arthur Bread Flour. I had great success with it. I’ve also had success using Costco’s Organic All-Purpose Flour as well, since it has a protein content. The top choice would be the bread flour for this recipe.
- Use warm water (around 90°F) to speed up fermentation, especially helpful in cooler kitchens.
- Disposable shower caps are wonderful for making bread here. You can use it to cover the dough when doing stretch and folds. Also, you can use it to cover the banneton or bowl while cold fermenting. These are easier to use than cling wrap, which can be difficult to work with when doing stretch and folds. Could also consider investing in reusable shower caps. They now have bowl covers just for this purpose on Amazon.
- Temperature and environment are the biggest factors in how fast your dough will rise.
- The dough will be sticky at first; this is normal. Highly recommend using a scraper to handle the dough more easily.
- Have a small bowl of water near your dough when doing stretch and folds. You may need to wet your hands a couple of times since the dough can be sticky.
- Clear bowls help you see fermentation progress. I highly recommend a glass bowl, especially if you are just beginning your sourdough journey. Being able to see the bubbles on the side of the bowl helps to determine what stage your dough is at.
- The longer that you cold-proof your dough, the more "sour" it will taste. If you don’t want a strong sourdough taste, then try doing cold proofing the shorter time. If you want the more sour taste then consider doing a longer cold proof such as 24 hours.
- If your loaf is browning too much on the bottom, place a baking sheet on the rack below the Dutch oven to shield it. I would highly recommend this. I have tried baking at a lower temperature and found it still causes dark bottoms if you don’t have a baking sheet on the rack below the Dutch oven.
- Always check the internal temperature to confirm doneness. I recommend using an instant reader thermometer.
- Rice flour can be found in most grocery stores in the alternative flour section. I use Bob’s Red Mill rice flour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I skip the cold proof? Technically, yes, but cold proofing improves flavor, structure, and makes the dough easier to score. My dough is very sticky—is that okay? Yes! Sourdough tends to be sticky early on. Use a dough scraper and try not to add too much flour. Do I need a Dutch oven to make this? A Dutch oven or bread oven is highly recommended for this recipe. They help trap steam, which is essential for a good crust and oven spring. If you don’t have one, you could try baking the dough in a loaf pan. In that case, let the dough rise in the pan first and expect a different shape and crust texture. I haven’t done enough testing to recommend an open-bake on a sheet pan for this recipe. Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour? For best results, stick with bread flour. It has a higher protein content, which helps develop a strong gluten structure, key to achieving that chewy crumb and round boule shape. Using all-purpose flour may result in a flatter loaf with less oven spring and structure. Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!