A fresh crusty piece of a slightly sour and tangy sourdough bread with dried rosemary is a delightful treat. You can serve it with butter, or dipped in olive oil with fresh or dried herbs as a snack or appetizer.
Sourdough bread-proofing basket/ banneton or a large mixing bowl with a kitchen towel
Sheet pan
Ingredients
100gramssourdough starterbubbly and active
260gramswaterdistilled or filtered
8gramssalt
400gramsall-purpose flour
½ - ¾teaspoondried rosemary
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Instructions
Make the Dough:
Place a large mixing bowl on the kitchen scale. Tare the scale - set the scale to zero. Measure out 100 grams of the sourdough starter into the large bowl. Next, tare the scale again to measure out the water, salt, and flour.
Mix all the ingredients together to make a very sticky firm dough. You may need to add a little more water, a tablespoon, or two if the dough is too dry.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rest in a warm environment for 2 hours.
After 2 hours of Fermenting - Stretch and Fold The Dough:
After 2 hours, the dough should look a little bigger. Now, we want to do 4 stretch and folds. Grab one end of the dough and pull it up to stretch the dough. We don’t want to break the dough.
Fold that piece of dough over itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat. Repeat this process until all the dough has been stretched and folded over. It should look like a dough envelope.
Next, grab all of the dough and turn it over, so that the smooth side of the dough is facing upwards. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and a kitchen towel. Allow it to rest in a warm area for another 2 hours.
After Another 2 hours of Fermenting - Stretch and Fold The Dough Again:
After the second 2 hour resting time, do 4 more stretch and folds. Grab one end of dough and pull it up to stretch it. Then fold the dough over itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat until all the dough has been stretched.
At this point, you can let the dough rest for 2 more hours for a total of 6 hours or you can move on to the final shaping.
Final Shaping and Overnight Refrigeration:
Lightly dust your banneton or a large bowl with a kitchen towel inside of it with flour, then set it aside.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Stretch and fold the dough until it is a dough envelope.
Then use your hands to turn the dough in a circular motion to shape the dough into a taut ball. You may need to dust the top and sides lightly with flour.
Lightly dampen the top of the dough with water, and sprinkle the dried rosemary over top. Gently press the herbs into the dough. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour.
Place the dough into the banneton with the rosemary side down. Pinch the edges of the dough together, and lightly dust with a bit more flour. Cover the banneton with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and refrigerate for 8 - 12 hours.
The Next Day:
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, then set aside.
Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Your dough will have risen a bit overnight. Let the dough sit in a warm spot for 1 - 2 hours until it has warmed up and when you gently poke the dough it springs back.
Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
Turn the banneton upside down onto the sheet pan, so that the rosemary side is facing up. Using a pastry brush gently brush away the flour from the loaf.
Using a bread lame or a sharp knife, make a shallow slit into the bread at a 45-degree angle to allow the bread to rise.
Next, sprinkle about a tablespoon of water over top of the loaf to allow it to rise in the oven.
Place the sourdough loaf into the oven and bake until it is golden brown, 35 - 45 minutes.
After the bread is baked, wrap it in a kitchen towel. Allow it to cool for 40 minutes. This is an important step, the bread is still cooking as it is cooling - don’t skip this step!
Lastly, slice and enjoy!
Notes
All nutrition information is a rough estimate and this recipe card may contain affiliate links. Bread can last wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for several weeks.