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wild fermented bread
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4.85 from 13 votes

Overnight Sourdough Bread

A wild fermented bread that uses a hungry starter and bulk ferments overnight. An easy and simple sourdough recipe. Perfect for beginners.
Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bread, Sourdough
Servings: 0
Author: Chasing the Seasons

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven, round approx 5-6 quart
  • parchment paper
  • banneton, or bowl of similar size
  • blade or baker's lame, for scoring or a sharp and oiled small knife

Ingredients

  • 90 g sourdough starter (hungry, just passed peak) use a starter that is "falling" and was last fed approx.12 hours earlier (see notes)
  • 385-395 g fresh filtered water, room temperature start with 385g if unsure
  • 520 g organic bread flour ex. King Arthur's brand
  • 2 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

  • It is strongly encouraged to read through the entire blog post, recipe and notes before starting to have an understanding of what might be unique to your environment and schedule.

About 8-12 hours before you plan to bake (the night before):

  • It's important to use a digital scale to make sure all the measurements are accurate.
  • Add a large mixing bowl to a digital scale and clear the weight (use the "tare" function) so it weighs zero. Measure in the hungry sourdough starter (that was last fed approx. 12 hours earlier). Tare the scale again to zero, and measure in the water. Remove the bowl from the scale.
  • Using a Danish dough whisk, or something similar, mix the starter and water vigorously until it is milky and frothy and the starter is well combined (no stringy bits on the whisk), about 1 minute.
  • Add the bowl back to the scale. Tare the weight to zero again. Measure in the bread flour.
  • Remove the bowl from the scale and add the salt evenly across the surface of the flour. Using the same whisk gently combine just the salt and flour at the surface before incorporating the liquid below the surface. Then, mix all the contents together until a shaggy and cohesive dough is formed, about 2 minutes.
    Note that the dough will be quite dry and hard to mix at first. Keep going, folding in the flour and pressing down, scooping up and mixing. As the dry flour absorbs the liquid it will become much easier to work with, give it time. (see Texture & Consistency video)
  • Cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let it rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  • Keeping a small bowl of warm water nearby, dampen your hand - and with one hand, do a set of stretch and folds. Picking up the dough from underneath with the pads of your fingertips and bringing it up and into the middle. Quarter turn the bowl and keep going until the dough starts to resist, about a 1-2 minutes or so. I let the dough roll off the pads of my fingers to help keep it from tearing. (see Evening Stretch & Fold video)
  • Cover the bowl again and wait another 15 minutes.
  • Complete another set of stretch and folds in the exact same way. It should be more pliable now. When the dough starts to resist, turn it over in the bowl. Cover the bowl with the damp towel again (so it doesn't dry out overnight).
    If your kitchen is warm enough, leave it on the counter overnight. If you have a colder kitchen consider placing it in the TURNED OFF oven with the light on (this provides a steady ambient temperature, so long as it's not too hot). Or, if you have another warm area you prefer, use that instead. You just need a warm spot you can rely on that isn't too hot or too cold.
  • Next will be a little trial and error to find out how long your dough needs to bulk ferment (rise)*. See notes to best determine when it's ready.

After bulk fermentation 8-12 hours (in the morning):

  • Prepare a banneton or a comparable-sized bowl with parchment paper, dust the bottom with flour. Set aside.
  • Uncover the sourdough bowl. The dough should be somewhat rounded now, volumized (almost double in size), with visible bubbles. Do the poke test (see notes). Note that this is a very loose and sticky dough.
  • With slightly wet hands, gently help unstick the dough from the sides of the bowl. Simply slide your wet fingers down the sides of the bowl to help unstick the dough from the bowl. The consistency should feel like the inside of a toasted marshmallow, airy, loose, and sticky.
  • With both hands, gently reach under the center of the dough and lift it up and fold it under on to itself to preform a set of coil folds. Quarter turn the bowl and repeat. (see Morning Stretch & Fold video).
  • Cover for 15 minutes with the damp towel and repeat one more set of folds -except when you quarter turn the bowl you will fold it over once (or twice if your dough feels it would benefit from another fold) then gently lift the dough and fold it onto itself into the parchment lined bowl.
  • Pinch the sides if any seams are visible and flour the surface, gently even out the flour out with your hand. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for one hour while the oven preheats. No need to cover.
    This stunts the dough a bit so it won't rise, and a colder, floured, dough will be easier to score. Note that you can use this as a placeholder and keep it in the fridge for a few hours if you need to hold off on baking.
  • Preheat the oven to 500 F. Place the empty Dutch oven inside the oven while it is heating with the lid securely on. Let the empty Dutch oven heat for one hour.
  • ** See notes below. If considering a layer of foil below the Dutch oven to prevent the bottom of your bread from burning, add it after the Dutch oven has pre-heated and right before you bake the bread.
  • Carefully remove the Dutch oven and remove the lid, it will be scorching hot. Take the dough bowl out of the refrigerator and score it (noting that a simple cross or slash works best on a wet dough as this).
  • Pick up the dough by the sides of the parchment paper and gently place it (parchment and dough) into the Dutch oven, taking care as it is extremely hot. A little bit of paper overhang is fine. Slightly open the scores a bit more if you prefer and put the Dutch oven lid back on. Place it back into the hot oven.
  • Bake at 500 F. for 25 minutes.
  • Remove the lid. Reduce the heat to 450 F. and bake for another 15-25 minutes with the lid off, until the bread is golden and crisp with darker edges. Noting that ovens vary, check at the 15 minute mark and go from there, making a note of the time that works best for you.
    Note: sourdough bread is done when it reaches an internal temp of 205–210°F (96–99°C). You can use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature by inserting the tip into the center of the loaf. It's best to do this the first time to know if a temperature adjustment needs to be made (when baking with the lid off) going forward.
  • Carefully remove the bread (noting that any charred parts of parchment will easily rip so be mindful). Remove and discard the parchment and allow the bread to rest on a cooling rack for 2 hours.***

Notes

This recipe uses an inactive starter, meaning one that is just past peak and was last fed approximately 12 hours earlier.  Note that it is important for this recipe to use a starter that has already doubled (or more) and is beginning to fall.
If using a starter that is refrigerated, you can use it cold and straight from the fridge if it has been fed in the last 7 days.
Alternatively, this can be prepared in the morning and baked at night, depending on your schedule.
As stated throughout the post and in the recipe your environment dictates so much.  A colder kitchen with stone counters in winter might struggle during bulk fermentation if the bowl is left on the counter to rise overnight.  In that case, the ambient light in a turned off oven might be best, but do a temp check first as some oven lights generate excessive heat.  Conversely, a hot and humid kitchen in summer would benefit from rising on the counter. The target bulk fermentation temperature range is 78-82F / 25.5-28C, so you will get a faster rise with warmer temperatures (up to a point) or a slower rise with cooler temps. 
* To know when the bulk fermentation has happened, you'll have to take into account if the dough has almost doubled in size (it doesn't have to double like traditional yeasted bread).  Are there bubbles forming?  Is it somewhat domed-shaped?  Do a poke test - Some will say a floured finger works, but this is a very wet dough and a damp finger works best for me.  Dampen your finger and lightly press it into the surface.  Did the fingerprint make an indent and slowly come back to shape?  It's ready.  If the dough resists the push, it might need a little more time.  Let it rest longer.  Anything else, even if it's risen quite a bit and has over-fermented, bake it.
**To prevent burning the bottom of your bread consider adding a piece of foil to the rack below the Dutch oven to act as a heat buffer. I add the foil after the Dutch oven has heated for an hour and I'm ready to bake.  I don't add it before that time as I want the Dutch oven to be as hot as possible before baking.
***Resist the urge to cut into the hot bread right away. You'll hear crackling noises when it's out of the oven - this is a good sign of moisture settling.  If you cut into the bread too soon the center will be gummy and your hard work compromised.  It will still be quite warm after 2 hours, so be patient.  
Wrap the bread in a lightweight linen or tea towel when it is still same-day.  Once it is fully cooled, before the day is done, store leftovers in a bread bag or plastic wrap.
This is a flexible recipe, it allows for an increase in water weight, if you think your dough can handle that.  The final hour in the refrigerator can be extended too, if need be, covering the dough in plastic to prevent drying might be necessary though if the period is more than a few hours.  Need more than 15 minutes between stretches and folds, that's fine.  I've forgotten about it for a half hour and it still baked up perfectly.  Like with anything, use your judgment.  An overly fermented dough will benefit less from a longer time between stretches.