Same Day Sourdough Bread

No Yeast No Fridge No Problem: Another Way of Making Sourdough

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only $24 a year.

---

Tartine style sourdough bread is but one, be it very popular, style of sourdough bread baking. The global popularization of Tartine style sourdough bread making is largely the result of the wide success of

Chad Robertson

’s Tartine bakery and the publication of his book Tartine Bread. The full scale of Chad’s influence on the bread baking world is yet to be fully seen, but it is safe to say that Tartine style baking has had an ENORMOUS impact on both professional and home bakers.

One of the consequences of the popularity of Tartine style sourdough making is the use of refrigeration in the sourdough bread making process. Specifically, this means retarding (refrigerating) the shaped dough usually overnight before baking it the next day.

The majority of bread (specifically sourdough bread) baking books published in the last 10+ years employ the use of refrigeration in their sourdough making process in some capacity.

I’m here to offer an alternative, that historically speaking has been the preferred method of making sourdough bread.

The use of refrigeration in bread making is a relatively new phenomenon, when looking at things from a historical point of view, bread making is thousands of years old. Refrigeration on the other hand, is pretty young historically speaking. It wasn’t until the 1920s and 1930s that refrigerators became a common household appliance.

All of this to say that sourdough making for the majority of its history did not involve the use of retardation or refrigeration. This means that you too can cut out the refrigeration step from your sourdough making process.

If you want to learn more about ambient sourdough baking make sure to follow and read the work of

ian lowe

, who is now writing on Substack! I also recommend reading older bread books that talk about traditional bread making processes from across the world including less commonly studied bread cultures such as bread making in Central Asia—a topic I’m excited to write more about in the future.

I hope this post expands your awareness of some additional ways of making sourdough bread.

What’s Important When Making Sourdough Without Refrigeration?

This is a very quick overview. With just a couple of tweaks you can make a loaf of sourdough from start to finish in under 5 hours. The exact time will of course vary given the specific conditions of your environment, ingredients, temperature, etc.

Before we can get baking we need to adjust a couple of things with our sourdough bread formula and process.

One of the most important things we need to adjust is the percentage of starter or prefermented flour in our formula. Tartine formulas usually use around 20% prefermented flour (starter/levain), my formula on the other hand uses a much higher inoculation, around 40% of the total flour weight.

Another very important factor is the temperature at which we do the bulk fermentation. For this method to work properly, we need to perform bulk fermentation at relatively high temperatures, anywhere between 78F and 84F.

Lastly we need to talk about mixing. In order to make ambient style sourdough bread we need to build strength at the beginning not throughout bulk fermentation. That’s why using a mixer is a great idea for this formula/process. Otherwise, you will need to knead the dough by hand using your preferred kneading technique. Since this is a wetter dough, I like to use the French Fold method or sometimes called the slap and fold method.

The main takeaway is that you need to develop the dough upfront, while doing a couple of coil folds during bulk fermentation but not relying on the folds to build the majority of its strength.

---

The final loaf has a soft and tender crumb and a lovely crust that isn’t overly shattery. Honestly, these are all the things that I look for in a perfect loaf of bread.

You can also get a loaf of sourdough bread on the table in less than half a day. This is a great method for those of us who might not have the best meal planning minds or have very limited refrigeration.

I’m by no means an expert in the ambient sourdough baking process, but I am a huge fan of it. Give this recipe/method a try, and who knows, you might fall in love with this method too.

PREPARE THE STARTER:

The one thing you need to prepare the night before is the starter or levain, I am assuming the majority of us don’t keep such a large quantity of starter on hand at all times.

Since we do need a relatively large amount of starter, 240 grams, make sure to build enough starter the night before to have it ready in the morning for mixing the dough.

You can do a 1:1:1 build by taking 80 grams of starter, 80 grams of flour, and 80 grams of water. Personally, what I do to make sure I have enough starter, I will do 85 each, just to have a little extra starter or a bit of a cushion if you will.

You can also do 60 grams starter, 90 grams flour, and 90 grams water. The key here is to make sure to have a total of 240 grams of 100% hydration starter ready to go in the morning for mixing.

Formula:

Ingredients:

• 240 grams starter (100% hydration)

  • This formula uses a 100% hydration starter/levain. You can use a lower hydration starter but don’t forget to adjust the total water and flour amounts in the final formula if you do use a different hydration starter/levain.

• 320 grams water

  • This dough is 75% hydration which is on the higher side, so please feel free to play around with the hydration and adjust accordingly. You might need to adjust the hydration slightly depending on the flours you end up using.

• 467 grams all-purpose, bread or whole wheat/all-purpose flour mixture

• 11 grams salt

Method:

For Mixing

• In a large mixing bowl or in a bowl of stand mixer, combine all the ingredients until no dry flour remains. Now you have two options.

  • Stand or Spiral Mixer: Mix on low speed for about 10 minutes or until the dough is fully developed.

  • Knead by hand for about 12 to 15 minutes until you get a strong dough.

• Transfer the dough into a large container to begin the bulk fermentation process.

  • Keep your dough covered during bulk fermentation and in a warm place somewhere between 78F (25 C) and 84F (29 C).

For Bulk Fermentation

• During bulk fermentation you can perform a series of coil folds especially if kneaded by hand to give it some additional strength to fully develop the dough.

• For the coil folds, wet both of your hands and reach underneath the dough on both sides. Pull up and allow the tails of the dough to tuck under the top, folding the dough onto itself, and then rotate the bowl 180 degrees.

• This creates a smooth surface on the top of the dough. If the dough looks slack, perform the coil folds on all 4 sides of the dough.

• Repeat this fold every 30 minutes for the next hour. Leave for another 2 to 3 hours.

  • The exact length of bulk fermentation will vary depending on your environment, temperature, flour, and hydration if adjusted.

• Bulk fermentation is done once the dough looks aerated or full of gas, and has significantly increased in volume.

For Pre-Shaping

• Gently dump the dough onto your counter and divide into two equally sized pieces (about 500 grams each). Now gently, working with one piece of dough at a time, with the use of your bench scraper or your hands, shape the dough by pushing and pulling the dough into a ball (boule). This creates some surface tension without breaking the outer membrane of the dough.

• Let rest on your workstation, uncovered, for 20 to 40 minutes. When you come back the dough will have spread out and relaxed.

  • TIP: Bakers call this step bench resting.

For Shaping

• Lightly dust your counter with flour and flip one of the dough balls onto its surface. Pull corners of the dough into the middle of the ball, forming a tighter round ball. Flip the dough ball onto its back, seam side up, and gently tuck the seam in to close it.

• Dust your banneton, a type of basket used to provide structure for shaped loaves of bread during proofing, with flour, before placing the dough seam side up into the banneton.

• If you do not have a lamé or sharp knife you can place the loaf seam side down, instead of scoring it. This will give it a more rustic finish.

  • OPTIONAL: Use a well floured couche or a loaf pan!

For Proofing

• Leave the dough in the banneton for a final proof in a warm place for 2 to 3 hours (depending on room temperature).

  • IMPORTANT: Temperature should be somewhere between 78F (25 C) and 84F (29 C), the exact timing will vary depending on your environment, flour, temperature, etc.

  • Start checking for readiness at 1.5 hours.

• To check if the dough is ready to bake, wet your finger in water and lightly push on the dough. If the indent from your finger fills up quickly, the dough needs more time. If the indent fills back up gradually, it means the dough is ready to bake. And if the dough deflates when you press it, that means it's over-proofed.

  • OPTIONAL: For the last 30 minutes of the proof, put the dough in the fridge to help it set. This will make it easier to score the loaf, as well as keep it shape when the dough is added to the Dutch oven.

For Baking

• At least an hour before you are ready to bake, preheat your oven with a Dutch Oven or a baking stone inside at 550°F (288 C) for an hour.

• When you are ready to load the oven, make sure to take the Dutch oven out while wearing protective gloves.

• Sprinkle cornmeal or semolina flour on the bottom of the dutch oven and turn the dough out into the Dutch Oven.

• With a bread lamé or sharp knife, lightly cut two lines on the top of the dough. Cover and place in the oven.

• As soon as the bread is in the oven, turn the temperature down to 500°F (260 C) and bake with the lid on for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the oven down to 450 F (235 C), remove the lid and bake until the internal temperature is between 205 F (96 C) to 210 F (99 C), or 10-15 minutes.

For Cooling

• Take the loaf out and place it on a cooling rack for an hour. The cooling process is part of the cooking process.

---