Add flour, water and salt together in a large bowl. Mix until combined and cover with a kitchen cloth. Leave this to rest while the starter ripens.

Once the starter passes the float test, usually after 5 or 6 hours, add to the well-hydrated dough.

Mix well, cover and allow dough to rest for 20 minutes before stretching and folding the dough 3 or 4 times. Cover and repeat the stretch-and-fold sequence twice more at 20-minute intervals.

At this point the bulk dough can be left to ripen for several hours at ambient temperature. As it develops it will rise, so your container needs to be large enough to accommodate the increase.

When you are ready to shape the dough, pull it from the container and divide the dough into 2 equal parts.

Shape the bread and place in a floured breadbasket (or improvise one with well-floured kitchen towels draped into a 1-quart bowl). These can be slipped into a large plastic bag and held in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking. Alternately, they can be left at ambient temperature for an hour or 2 and baked the same day. Preferences for the long, cold fermentation are valid. The acids from the sourdough starter break down the proteins in the wheat; this process makes the nutrients more available and the final bread more digestible. The flavor and keeping quality of the bread are also noticeably improved.

That said, a bake that starts and finishes on the same day still produces very delicious results.

On Baking

A cast-iron double Dutch oven makes a great bread oven. Place it into a cold oven and preheat to 500^°F.

Once at temperature, carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven and place it on the stove. Remove the lid and plop dough into it. Carefully score the top and cover the loaf with the hot lid. Quickly return to the oven.

After 20 minutes, remove the lid and drop the temperature to 400°F. Continue baking for 35–40 minutes or more, until desired color is achieved. Remove from Dutch oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Slowing Down the Sourdough Starter

Sourdough starter can be frozen with good results. Freeze it after it’s been fed and ripened for several hours. To activate, thaw it and follow the regular maintenance schedule. It should bounce back to full vigor within a couple of days.

Final Notes

The process of maintaining the sourdough starter becomes intuitive over time. The look and smell of it will become familiar and working with it will become second nature. Stick with it even if the bread isn’t perfect initially. Eventually, the results will please you and bring joy to those who break bread with you.