Ingredients:

10.8 oz. sourdough starter

14.8 oz. water

1 lb 7.2 oz. King Arthur Organic Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon salt

1. Mix the water, starter, and flour

Place your mixing bowl on a scale, and zero out the weight. Add and weigh your water, sourdough starter, and flour in the appropriate weights and mix together with your hands or a stand mixer. Gently mix until you make a soft dough that cleans the sides of the bowl, but is still lumpy and not overly mixed.

2. Let rest for 20-30 minutes

This step is called Autolyse. An autolyse is the gentle mixing of the flour and water in a bread recipe, followed by a 20 to 30 minute rest period. After the rest, the remaining ingredients are added and kneading begins. This simple pause allows for more flavor development in your bread. Two enzymes that are present in flour — protease and amylase — begin their work during the autolyse:

• The protease enzymes degrade the protein in the flour, which encourages extensibility.

• The amylase enzymes turn the flour's starch into sugars that the yeast can consume.

Proper dough development requires a balance of both extensibility and elasticity. By delaying the addition of salt and other remaining recipe ingredients (all of which can have a tightening effect on gluten), the extensibility of the dough has a better chance to develop. Once kneading begins, the dough develops elasticity, which is the quality that allows the dough to retain its shape.

3. Mix in the salt

Add the salt, and pinch into the dough, then mix with your hands, making sure to thoroughly mix in the salt. We recommend using Pink Himalayan salt so that you can see if it is fully incorporated. Knead dough thoroughly using the stretch and fold method until it becomes tight and does not tear easily. Cover with a towel, and let sit at room temperature for 2 -4 hours; and then place in the refrigerator overnight, if baking the next day. If baking the same day, perform one more set of stretch and folds and move on to step 4.

4. Divide the dough

Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into two equal halves. Form each piece into a tight round ball, and place each ball in a floured banneton basket (or similar container). Cover the loaves with towels, and allow them to rise for 2 hours (or more), or until they've become puffy. If you’ve refrigerated your dough overnight, it will be a shorter rest time.

5. Perform the “poke” test

The poke test is used to determine if your sourdough is ready to bake. With the “poke test” you put some flour on your finger and poke the dough. If it springs back immediately, it needs more time. If it leaves an indention, or slowly springs back about halfway, it is ready to bake.

6. Preheat the oven

While the loaves are rising, insert your Dutch oven, lid on, into the oven, and preheat to 450°F. Once preheated, allow Dutch oven to remain in oven for at least 20 minutes to become fully heated.

7. Score the dough

Remove the Dutch oven from the oven, and remove the lid. Place a piece of parchment paper in the bottom. Carefully dump your dough top side down (floured side up) into the Dutch oven. Use a sharp knife or lame to make slashes on the top of each loaf, which helps the bread to rise evenly in the oven.

8. Bake sourdough

Place lid back on Dutch oven, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the Dutch oven lid, and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown to your liking.

9. Remove the bread from the oven, and cool completely on a rack.

10. Store loosely in a paper bag for 3 days, or wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.