This sourdough bread is packed with flavour! The aroma in the kitchen while baking will be simply mouth-watering. Spread a little butter on it and is ready to enjoy!

Given the amount of added ingredients, the hydration is 76% and I would not recommend going higher than that.

A key point to highlight in this recipe is the incorporation of the additional ingredients—mixing them all in properly towards the start of bulk fermentation will benefit the crumb and will make the shaping easier.

Video tutorial is available on our YouTube channel.

Ingredients

Yields 2 loaves

140g active starter/levain

560g white bread flour

140g whole wheat flour

520g water (+10g)

14g salt

40g olives

10g sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil

60g walnuts

1 roasted garlic**

Handful of fresh thyme

Steps

STEP 1 | |Autolyse

In a large bowl, combine the flour with 520g water and knead until there is no dry flour left. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

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 | Add olives, walnuts, tomatoes, roasted garlic and thyme

Add olives, walnuts, tomatoes, roasted garlic and thyme, and mix everything thoroughly (this can take 5-10min). Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 min.

STEP 5 | 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 6 | 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 7 | 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 8 | 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.

* For this bread I have added the 7min expansion score. To do the score remove the dough from the oven after the first 7 minutes of baking, perform the additional score, cover with the lid and place it back into the oven. Bake for the remaining 18 minutes with the lid on. Then remove the lid and continue baking for the final 15min at 230°C/450°F.

** To roast the garlic, cut the top of the garlic bulb, exposing the cloves. Place on a small piece of kitchen foil, season with some salt, pepper and olive oil, then scrunch up the foil to seal the garlic. Bake for 30min at 170°C/338°F. When cooled down, squeeze the soft garlic out of their shells.

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).

What’s Next?

Try out our custom-built Baker’s Percentage Calculator. The intuitive design and instant results will allow you to easily work out grams or percentages for your sourdough bread recipe. Get access to the calculator or read more about it.

We highly recommend keeping a record of your process, timings, ingredients and techniques. Our Sourdough Fever Record Keeping PDFs will help you do all that and more. This 4-page PDF includes a record-keeping page, a basic sourdough recipe with instructions, and troubleshooting notes. You can download and print it at home. Click the photo below to find out more!

And if you want to make your sourdough bread look extra special, check our NEW Sourdough Fever Stencils!