Ingredients
Method
Make the dough
- Place water and honey in large bowl and whisk together to combine.
- Add sourdough starter to water and mix until starter is dispersed in water.
- Add flours and salt and mix until a shaggy dough forms. If the dough seems dry, add some water in small amounts.
- Cover the bowl and allow to sit for around 1 hour.
Stretch and folds
- With wet hands, stretch and fold the dough, rotating the bowl 4 times total.
- Cover and sit for 30 minutes.
- Continue the stretch and folds, followed by a 30 minute rest for a total of 5 times. (Total time - 2 hours).
- Cover and allow the dough to prove at room temperature. The amount of time will depend on how warm your kitchen is. This stage may take 1 hour, it may take 6 hours. You want your dough size to increase by around 30% - not to double.
- At the end of this step, your dough should look light, slightly puffy and glossy. You may see bubbles, this is a good sign.
- Tip the dough onto a well floured surface and shape. Place into a bowl lined with baking paper/non stick parchment paper or a banneton basket and place in refrigerator overnight, covered.
- In the morning, remove the dough and place on bench.
- Heat a cast iron dutch oven with the lid on at your hottest oven temperature. I use a fan forced oven at a temperature of 240 degrees celsius. I place the dutch oven in the middle of the oven.
- After 30 minutes, remove the dutch oven and take off the lid. Careful, it's very hot!
- Slash the dough using a knife or lame. I do this before it goes near the dutch oven, to avoid the possibility of burning myself. Use the baking paper as a kind of sling to move the dough to the dutch oven.
- Turn the oven down to 220 degrees.
- Place the lid back on and put the dutch oven back in the oven for 20 minutes of covered baking.
- Remove the lid and continue to bake uncovered for another 25 minutes.
- Take the dutch oven out and again, use the baking paper to pick up the loaf and place it on a cooling rack, removing the baking paper as you do.
- Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing.