Calendar 2024 | April Bread
This combination of flours—60% white and 40% whole wheat—has become one of my favorites. With 80% hydration, it strikes the right balance, making the dough fairly easy to handle. I love the simplicity of this loaf, with a classic wheat stalk score and a flawless ‘ear’.
To achieve the perfect ear, ensure your blade is at about a 40-degree angle in relation to the dough when slashing. Don’t go too deep, but also not too shallow. Be confident when scoring, and make sure to use a sharp blade to avoid dragging.
Ingredients
Yields 2 loaves
140g active starter/levain
420g white bread flour
280g whole wheat flour
550g water (+10g)
14g salt
Steps
STEP 1 | Autolyse
In a large bowl, combine the flour with 550g water and knead until there is no dry flour left. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
STEP 2 | Add starter/levain
Add 140g active starter/levain and knead until fully incorporated. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 min.
STEP 3 | Add salt
Add 14g salt and 10g water and knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and supple. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 min.
STEP 4 | Bulk fermentation
Perform one stretch and fold, rest the dough for 30 min, then perform four sets of coil folds, each 30 min apart.
Once you complete the last coil fold, cover the bowl and wait until the dough increases in volume by about 80%-90%.
STEP 5 | Pre-shape
Transfer the dough onto a work surface, cut it in half with a bench scraper and pre-shape each part into a round. Cover with a towel and let the dough rest for 30 min.
STEP 6 | Shape & cold proof
After the 30-minute bench rest, shape the dough and transfer to the proofing baskets. Cover with a towel and let the dough rest for about 12 hours in the fridge.
STEP 7 | Score & bake
The next morning, score the dough, transfer to your baking dish, cover with the lid and place in the oven.
Bake for 25 minutes at 250°C/480°F, then remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes at 230°C/450°F.
Once baked, repeat with the second loaf.
Happy baking!
If you require more detailed recipe instructions, refer to our Beginner’s Sourdough Recipe.
And if you haven’t baked sourdough bread before, or need more guidance, check our New To Sourdough Baking section, where you can find details such as how to make your starter from scratch or the tools required to bake your first loaf of bread (including some of the tools we personally recommend).
And if you want to bake just a single loaf, check our custom-built Scaling a Recipe Calculator. This and six other calculators are part of a useful toolkit for both beginners and experienced bakers—helping you work out baker’s math at the various stages of the sourdough-making process.
We highly recommend keeping a record of your process, timings, ingredients and techniques used. Our Sourdough Fever Record Keeping PDFs will help you do all that and more. This 4-page PDF file includes a record keeping page, a basic sourdough recipe with instructions and troubleshooting notes that you can download and print at home. Click the photo below to find out more!
And if you want to make your loaf extra special, check our NEW Sourdough Fever Stencils!
