Grateful Bread Company’s San Francisco Style Sourdough

Ingredients

2 pounds, 4¼ ounces King Arthur Bread Flour 22 ounces water 10¾ ounces Ripe Sourdough Starter (can order from King Arthur)

Weigh out, and keep 1 ounce sea salt or kosher salt separate Equipment Stand mixer with a dough hook Cast iron pan Bread-proofing basket (often called a banneton) Bread peel Baking stone Razor blade Directions

Mix the bread flour, water and sourdough starter, ideally using a stand mixer with a dough hook, for 2 minutes. Leave the mixing bowl and hook on the mixer and cover the bowl with plastic wrap; let rest for 30 minutes. (This process is called autolyse, which allows the water to hydrate the flour and the enzymes to break down the flour’s proteins.)

Add the salt and mix on low for 2 minutes, then increase to medium speed for another 2 minutes. Remove the bowl and hook from the mixer, leave the dough in the mixing bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Rest for 20 minutes.

Take the dough out of the bowl and place on a floured surface. Turn the dough in on itself a few times until it forms a ball (don’t overwork). Place the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover, set a timer for 20 minutes, then repeat twice for a total of three turns and two rests.

Place dough back in the mixing bowl to rest for about 2 hours. (This is called bulk rest.) Divide the dough into two 2-pound pieces and shape into a boule (ball-like shape).

Place in a lightly dusted bread proofing basket (banneton) and proof (let the dough rise) for about 12 hours. It may take several attempts to find the best place for sourdough to proof.

If using a thick baking stone, set oven temperature to 450 degrees. With a thinner baking stone, set to 500 degrees. (Home ovens are all slightly different, so finding just the right temp may take a few tries.)

Preheat a cast iron pan on a lower rack in the oven until it’s hot. Just before loading the dough into the oven, toss 3 or 4 ice cubes in the pan to create steam. This will prevent the dough from forming a crust immediately, and allow it to expand while baking.

Lightly dust a wooden bread or pizza peel and turn the sourdough boule out of its basket onto the peel. With a razor blade, slash the top of the boule several times and slip onto the baking stone.

A 2-pound loaf will take about 45 minutes to bake. When it reaches the color you like, remove with the flour-dusted peel and cool before slicing.