Sourdough recipe

Ingredients (1.5x recipe)

• 525g water (788g)
• 250g starter (375g)
• 700g red whole wheat flour (1050g)
• 18g sea salt (30g)
• Add in 20g wheat gluten to make up for the lack of protein in the whole wheat flour I bought
• *Note - add an additional 1hr of proof time because it’s cold in the winter

MAKE THE DOUGH

1. Pour the water into a large bowl.
2. Add the ripe starter to the water and mix thoroughly with a whisk or by hand until the floating cloud of starter is mixed completely into the water
3. Add the flour with vital gluten mixed in to the leavened water and mix with the dough bowl scraper or other spatula. At the end use wet hands to form a shaggy dough ball.

AUTOLYSE

1. Let it rest (autolyse stage) about an hour. This stage can be extended without worry up to four hours at 75 degrees F.
2. After autolyse, add the salt to the bread dough. Use your hands to pinch and stretch the dough gently until the salt is mixed into the dough.

STRETCH AND FOLD (OR SLAP AND FOLD)

1. Using your wet hands pull the dough from under the dough ball up and stretch it gently as you pull it over the dough ball top. Release. Repeat this process as you give the bowl quarter turns until the dough is stretched and pulled from each quarter of the bowl.
2. Over the next 2 1/2 hours repeat the stretch and fold every 30 minutes. Whole wheat flour can be VERY resistant to this technique. If you prefer use the SLAP and FOLD technique. 
3. The dough should become an elastic resilient dough that passes the window pane test. BUT whole wheat flour may need more time in the stretch and fold(Or slap and fold) to build gluten sufficient to pass this test.

BULK RISE:

1. Place clean tea towels in the bowls. Divide the dough in half, form into a tight ball and place on top of the towels. Cover the dough with the rest of the towel
2. Allow the dough to bulk rise IN THE BOWL at room temperature until it rises by 30 percent or so. Note this step can vary wildly depending on the ambient temperature with as little as 2hrs to as many as 6hrs.
3. Set the bowls in the fridge for 15 to 18 hours (Or overnight). It should continue to rise slowly so give it room in the bowl.

Baking Instructions:

1. Set a baking stone (if you have one) on your oven bottom rack. Set your dutch oven with its lid on next rack up (lower third of oven). PREHEAT oven to 450 degrees F. for at least 30 minutes.
2. Keep the formed loaf in your bowl in the fridge until you actually need to place it in your preheated dutch oven. Cold dough will aide the oven spring. (which means the loaves will rise better).
3. Cut a piece of parchment paper the size of a dinner plate.
4. Remove one bowl from the fridge. Place the parchment on the dinner plate and flip the plate on top of the dough. Now invert the bowl so the dough is now sitting on the parchment and the plate.
5. Pick up the dough by the sides of the parchment and carefully place inside the dutch oven. I’ve gotten burned a few times doing this so be careful.

SCORING THE LOAF(Optional):

1. FOR OPTIMAL RISE: Score the loaf with your lame knife or a razor blade or sharp scissors. Scoring helps the dough rise better if you score the loaf at least an inch deep. And use cross cuts (The pound sign works well)
2. Now pick up the scored loaf with the edges of the parchment paper, if using, and gently and carefully place it into your VERY hot dutch oven.
3. Put the lid on the dutch oven and return it covered to your preheated oven.
4. Bake 30 minutes at 450 degrees.
5. Now REMOVE the lid (and parchment paper if using). Steam should come out. Hopefully the bread is a light golden color with a nice rise and set crust. Bake an additional 8-10 minutes UNCOVERED or until the loaf thumps hollowly and the surface gets dark(Caramelized darker than you are used to maybe) and the scored areas look shiny. (To prevent over browning turn the parchment paper (or foil) upside down over the loaf as it finishes in the oven.)
6. Remove the dutch oven. Place the finished loaf on a cooling rack. Do NOT cut it for at least an hour to set the crumb.
7. Return the dutch oven (with it's lid on) to the oven and repeat the process with the remaining loaf.
8. To tell if your bread is properly done. It should sound hollow when thumped. The crust should look shiny and Caramelized at the scored sections. Whole wheat loafs are dense. The crumb may be open or closed depending on how you handled it. 

Modified procedure

1. Follow the standard procedure up to and including the stretch and fold technique
2. Cut and place into shaping bowls seem side up
3. Bulk rise at room temperature for 3hrs (1.5hrs didn’t rise enough)
4. Refrigerate once the loaves are stretchy but not over-proofed
5. Bake using the standard procedure