SOURDOUGH BOULE 

Add salt, then begin mixing more thoroughly. At 

this point you’ll want to stretch and fold by 
500g poolish  hand rather than stirring. After a few folds, let it 
275ml water  rest for at least 10 minutes, and repeat. Do this 
500g bread flour  several times over the next few hours, until the 
dough is smooth and not sticky. 
16g salt 
 
 
If you wait too long, the dough will have 
POOLISH 
over-fermented, begin to tear, and will no 
150ml water 
longer hold its shape. There’s not much you can 
150ml whole wheat flour  do to save it, so avoid letting this happen. 
200g sourdough starter   
  Prepare a small bowl or banneton by lining it 
SOURDOUGH CULTURE  with a clean cloth dusted with a mixture of flour 
200ml water  and either brown rice flour or cornmeal to 
200g whole wheat flour  prevent it from sticking. 
Some previous culture if available   
  Form the dough into a smooth ball on a flat 
Sourdough culture:  surface. A bench scraper is helpful. Let it rest for 
If starting from scratch, mix equal parts by  five minutes, and repeat. 
weight of flour and water in a jar and leave in a   
warm area for up to a few days, until it begins to  Place the dough ball smooth side down into the 
smell yeasty and slightly alcoholic. Don’t seal  cloth-lined bowl. Cover and let it rise in a warm 
the jar too tightly, it may explode. Empty half of  area. 
this culture (perhaps use this half for bread - it   
will be full of active yeast, but it’s not very sour  Preheat an enameled cast iron dutch oven with 
yet) and repeat, adding flour and water to this  lid in a 500°F oven. 
culture. After several cycles of this, it should   
have developed a healthy colony of lactobacilli,  Once the dutch oven is as hot as it will get, 
which is what creates the sourdough acids.  remove it from the oven. Carefully turn the risen 
Refrigerate the culture between feedings to slow  dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and 
its growth.  place it into the pot. 
   
Poolish:  Using a wet razor blade or lame, quickly score 
The day before baking, feed the sourdough  the surface of the dough to allow it to expand 
culture as above, this time reserving 200g of the  without tearing as it bakes. Cover with the lid 
starter in a large bowl and adding flour and  and place in the oven. 
water to create the 500g of poolish for the bread   
dough. The only di erence between the  Lower the oven temperature to 450°F and bake 
sourdough culture and this poolish is timing -  for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, and continue to 
you want this culture to be at its peak of activity,  bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the loaf is a rich 
and to not have so much acidity that it breaks  golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped 
down all of the gluten in your bread.  on the bottom. The internal temperature should 
  be somewhere around 190°F. 
Bread:   
Add water and bread flour to the bowl of poolish,  Take it out, place on a wire rack and let it cool 
and stir just enough for it to hydrate the flour.  for at least an hour before cutting. 
Don’t start kneading yet. Let it rest for about 20 
minutes.