Enjoy fresh baked sourdough bread right from your oven. For this recipe you need the sourdough starter to have already been made. The ingredients are shown in weight and conventional measurement. Baking is a science and our bakers recommend weighing ingredients for the most accurate measurements. The results will be a fantastically sour, pillowy round of sourdough perfect for slicing and slathering in butter.

Preparation

To make the dough, pour cool water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add bread flour and mix using the hook attachment until no bits of dry flour remain, about 3 minutes. Let rest (or autolyze) in a cool place in the mixing bowl for 30 minutes. This will allow your flour to properly hydrate.

Add sea salt and sourdough starter. Mix on medium speed until gluten forms, about 2–3 minutes. Dough should look smooth and feel elastic. Transfer dough to a glass bowl, cover with a towel, and let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Pull dough from container and transfer to a floured surface. Lightly dust dough with flour and work dough with your hands flattening the dough and pulling all 4 ends into the center. Press down once more, flip it over, and lay it back into the bowl to rest another 30 minutes.

Retrieve from bowl and work dough into a round using a dough scraper and your hand. Tension will build as the dough slightly anchors to the surface as you rotate it. By the end, the dough should have a taut, smooth surface.

Dust with flour then cover with a towel to rest on the work surface for 30 minutes. Line a medium basket or bowl with a towel and generously dust with flour. Using dough scraper, flip and transfer dough round to basket with the floured/smooth side down and seam facing up. Cover again with a towel and place on the top shelf in fridge to slowly ferment and rise for 17 hours.

To bake the bread, retrieve dough from the fridge and allow to rest at room temperature for approximately 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 500ºF. Set rack to lowest position and warm an 11-inch Dutch oven or any heavy, oven-proof pot with a tightly fitting lid for about 20 minutes.

Cut a piece of parchment into a square at least twice the diameter of your round. Generously dust dough round with flour, then place seam-side down onto the center of your parchment. Using the parchment, gently lower your round into heated Dutch oven. Using a razor blade or sharp knife, score the top of round about ¼ inch deep to allow moisture to escape. This will help with presentation and the crumb.

Cover with lid, return to oven, and reduce oven temperature to 450ºF. Bake for 20 minutes, then carefully remove lid and bake 20–25 minutes, until golden brown.

Transfer round to cool on a wire rack. It will feel light and sound hollow when tapped. Allow to cool completely before slicing.