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    Home » Most Recently Added » Sourdough

    Basic Sourdough Boule

    Published: Mar 23, 2017 · Modified: Jun 23, 2021 by kateschat · This post may contain affiliate links · 40 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Easy Sourdough Boule Traditional BreadI feel as though I've been searching for the perfect Sourdough Boule recipe since starting with sourdough baking two years ago. When I realized last week I was super close, I got obsessed with perfecting it and made 5 loaves in 5 days. I've got it guys. Whew. Are you ready for this?

    What is a boule? A boule is a free form round-ish, artisan loaf of bread. I love the look and simplicity of them. It looks so beautiful.

    My preference for this sourdough boule recipe is to use all white flour. You can hear me ramble about and answer FAQ about sourdough here. I love me some whole wheat flour, but this loaf? It's made for white. That being said, subbing half whole wheat still makes a lovely loaf! All this rambling to say...make it white first...you'll love it.

    What if you don't have a dutch oven for baking?  Thats okay! You can use any oven safe pot, minimum 1 gallon size. You'll need this big for the loaf to fit. An oven safe pot means it can't have any plastic or glass on it. I have a stainless steel pot that I use so I can bake two at a time. If the only "bad" part on your pot is the lid, try putting a metal cookie sheet on as the lid. The point of the dutch oven, is that it traps the steam as the bread dough expands/bakes in the oven, mimicking the steam injected industrial ovens.

    There is some really broad rising times here. Just trust me here. The beauty of sourdough is it's flexibility!

    IMG_20170320_093255310_HDR

    How to Bake a Basic Sourdough Boule

    To bake a basic Sourdough Boule begin by mixing your 3 cups of flour,  the sugar and salt together. I mix starter, water and oil together in a quart jar. When using honey, make sure to add it in with the wet ingredients, not dry.

    Then you mix the wet ingredients into the dry ones. If using any amount of whole wheat in your sourdough boule, let it sit 20-30 minutes to "autolyze". This makes sure that you don't add too much flour and get a dry loaf, as the bran in whole wheat takes a bit to absorb water.

    Knead the dough for a few minutes, until it passes the windowpane test. To windowpane test, take a golf ball sized dough ball and stretch it out thin, to see if you can see light through the middle of it before the dough breaks. Return dough to the bowl, cover with a plate/lid/wet tea towel/beeswax wrap. If desperate, use plastic wrap. But I prefer not to have it in the house.

    Let the dough sit for 8-18 hours. Yes, this is a long period of time. It's going to depend on how warm your house is. If your house is super warm, put it in the fridge after a couple hours. I prefer to mix this up late afternoon and let it sit all night. 18 hours is more of a tangy-sourdough taste, I usually aim for 12 hours, that's my favourite!

    After 12 hours, scoop the dough out onto a floured counter with your hands. Form a loaf by almost reverse kneading? Hard to explain...hmmmm, tuck the sides of the dough underneath in on itself until you've got a smooth tight loaf, it'll take about 5-6 times. Dust the top of the loaf with flour. The flour helps with the pretty crusts we're all trying to get.

    IMG-20170320-WA0003

    I like to use parchment as a "sling" for the dough, but this is optional. Set the dough aside to rest (uncovered!) for 30 minutes to 3 hours. I usually aim for about 1 ½ hours. I like what happens when I "support" the dough by propping it up, but this is optional. You pick. Some people have fancy baskets...I MacGyver it. This allows the dough to rise up and not flatten out if you skip supporting it. It won't drastically flatten out, just a bit. (Don't you like my fancy kitchen?!)

    Thirty minutes before you want to bake, put your pot in the oven and preheat the oven to 500F. Yep, 500F.

    When you're just about ready to put the dough into the pot, get your sharpest knife and slash the top of the loaf. My preference is 3-5 horizontal/angular slashes. Slash deep. ¾-1" deep. This allows for the bread to expand without cracking the crust all over the place.

    IMG_20170320_090418604

    Take the pot out of the oven, lower the dough into the pot, put a lid on, and return to the oven.

    Bake the sourdough boule for 25 minutes. Take the lid off and bake for another 5-15 minutes. Sourdough can be kinda hard to tell if it's done, but an internal temp of 195F with an instant read thermometer tells you it's done. Otherwise, it's somewhat of a guessing game, and I go for the 15 minutes. I'm yet to over bake a loaf, only under bake. When it's done, remove pot from the oven, Remove loaf from the pot and put on a cooling rack. Let sit minimum 15 minutes, preferably 30-60 minutes to allow the gluten structure to set up for you. This makes a nicer loaf!

    Now slather it with butter and enjoy that loaf!

    Sourdough Boule

    Sourdough Boule

    Basic Sourdough Boule

    Kate Schat
    I feel as though I've been searching for the perfect Sourdough Boule recipe since starting with sourdough baking two years ago. I've finally perfected my recipe for an rustic artisan loaf of bread using unbleached white flour and baked in a dutch oven.
    4.91 from 20 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 40 minutes mins
    Rising Time 13 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 14 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
    Course Bread
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 servings
    Calories 172 kcal

    Equipment

    • Dutch Oven

    Ingredients
      

    • 3-3 ¼ cup organic unbleached white flour can sub for up to half whole wheat, including freshly ground
    • 4 tablespoons sugar or 2 Tablespoons honey if using honey, add it into the wet, not dry ingredients
    • 1 ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¾ cup sourdough starter fed in last 24-36 hours, but has doubled since you fed it
    • 1 cup water
    • 2 tablespoons oil I use olive

    Instructions
     

    • Mix 3 cups of the flour, sugar and salt together.
    • In a quart jar mix the sourdough starter, water and oil. If using honey, make sure to add it in with the wet ingredients, not dry.
    • Mix wet into dry. (If using any amount of whole wheat in here, let it sit 20-30 minutes to "autolyze".)
    • Knead it for a few minutes, until it passes the window pane test.
    • Return dough to the bowl and cover.
    • Let it sit 8-18 hours depending on how tangy you want your bread.
    • Scoop dough out onto a floured counter. Form a loaf by tucking the sides of the dough underneath in on itself until you've got a smooth tight loaf. It will take about 5-6 times.
    • Dust the top of the loaf with flour.
    • Using parchment as a sling, set dough aside to rest (uncovered!) for 30 minutes to 3 hours. I usually aim for about 1 ½ hours.
    • 30 minutes before you want to bake, put your pot in the oven, and turn the oven onto 500F.
    • Deeply slash the top of the loaf. (¾-1" deep)
    • Take the pot out of the oven, lower the dough into the pot, put a lid on, and return to the oven.
    • Bake for 25 minutes, take the lid off, and then bake for another 5-15 minutes or until it reaches an internal temperature of 195F.
    • Transfer the bread to a cooling rack.
    • Let it sit for a minimum of 15 minutes, preferably 30-60 minutes to allow the gluten structure to set up for you.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 172kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 4gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 293mgPotassium: 34mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 1IUCalcium: 6mgIron: 0.3mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    More Sourdough Recipes

    Once you've mastered working with sourdough you'll find you're wondering what other recipes you can try with it now? Here are my tried & true favorite sourdough recipes!

    • Sourdough 101
    • Sourdough Sandwich Bread
    • Seedy Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
    • Sourdough Honey Oat Bread
    • Sourdough Biscuits
    • Sourdough Focaccia (or Pizza Dough)
    • Sourdough Cinnamon Twists

    More Sourdough Recipes

    • Sourdough rolls in a cloth lined basket.
      How to Make Soft Sourdough Rolls
    • Honey glazed sourdough buns on a plate next to a bowl of butter.
      Sourdough Honey Bun Recipe
    • Baked cheesy top sourdough buns.
      Sourdough Cheese Buns
    • A glass measuring cup of sourdough starter next to a gallon jar.
      The Best Sourdough Discard Recipes

    Share this with your friends!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Brittany

      March 23, 2017 at 6:58 pm

      Can you explain the started? Where do you get it and what do you mean feed it? (Total newbie).
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • katehosie

        March 30, 2017 at 9:38 am

        Check out my blog post Sourdough 101 for all the details! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Rebecca Schwen

      March 26, 2017 at 11:04 am

      Okay, questions- the parchment is okay to go into the Dutch oven at 500!? And when you say the starter was fed in the last 24 -36 hours and has doubled - like doubled because it's so bubbly or doubled because you added and equal quantity of flour and water to it as were already present?

      Reply
      • katehosie

        March 30, 2017 at 9:39 am

        Sorry for the delayed response...doubled because it has been fed and bubbled up to double. Yes parchment is just fine! It'll be brown but it's not exposed or touching open flame. Check out sourdough 101 blog post for more details 🙂

        Reply
    3. Julie Huntsman

      August 02, 2019 at 8:57 pm

      Kate,
      How many loaves does this make?
      Also thanks for making sourdough baking easy.
      Julie

      Reply
      • katehosie

        November 07, 2019 at 7:18 pm

        Just one loaf!

        Reply
    4. Lindsay

      April 03, 2020 at 10:54 am

      I’ve tried this recipe about 4 times now and I keep getting a very burned/black bottom of the loaf. I’ve tried not preheating my Dutch oven, lowering baking temp, shortening time....still burned bottom. Any advice?

      Reply
      • katehosie

        April 19, 2020 at 5:21 pm

        Try taking it out of the dutch oven and put it directly on the oven rack. Some ovens just seem to burn this bread for no apparent reason...

        Reply
        • Desirae Howell

          April 27, 2020 at 5:58 pm

          Would you take it out after the 25 minute mark? I had the same issue, but I could eat the rest of it all by myself lol!

    5. ambertaube

      April 30, 2020 at 5:42 am

      My oven does not go all the way to 500. How long would you bake on 425?

      Reply
      • katehosie

        May 17, 2020 at 3:40 pm

        Checking your internal temp is really important, hard to guess

        Reply
    6. Anne

      November 13, 2020 at 12:23 pm

      Hello! Is step 8 done in the fridge or in a warmish spot in the home? Thanks!

      Reply
      • kateschat

        November 13, 2020 at 1:53 pm

        are we talking step 9? If so, on counter in warm spot.

        Reply
        • Anne

          November 24, 2020 at 6:49 am

          Hi! So sorry for late reply! I meant to type step 6 (bulk ferment). I tried it without refrigeration and it worked great. Wondered if cold ferment would make a difference. Thank you!

        • kateschat

          November 24, 2020 at 10:04 am

          Love it!

    7. Kaeleigh

      November 26, 2020 at 12:47 pm

      Love these easy to follow boule instructions! I make this one when I want a "fancier" looking bread compared to the sourdough sandwich loaf.

      Reply
    8. Heather

      November 26, 2020 at 1:33 pm

      This is my go to recipe for boule. We love it!!!

      Reply
    9. HealthyLivingwithChristene

      November 26, 2020 at 2:48 pm

      This tutorial mixed with the highlights on IG have helped me come along way in sourdough.

      Reply
    10. Heather

      November 26, 2020 at 3:21 pm

      Well worth the process! Crowd pleaser for sure!

      Reply
    11. Heather

      November 26, 2020 at 3:57 pm

      I love using this recipe when I want a fancy, yet easy-to-make sourdough loaf. The step-by-step instructions are so helpful! Kate is definitely my sourdough hero, I have learned a lot from her. 🙂

      Reply
    12. Carli Morrow

      November 26, 2020 at 5:01 pm

      This recipe and your tutorial helped me immensely when I started baking sourdough, it is definitely a go-to for us!

      Reply
    13. Carli Morrow

      November 26, 2020 at 5:05 pm

      We love this bread and the tutorial that goes with it!

      Reply
    14. Susanna

      November 26, 2020 at 5:09 pm

      The first sourdough recipe I made, so easy and delicious!

      Reply
    15. Kim

      November 26, 2020 at 5:42 pm

      Love this recipe!

      Reply
    16. Kelsey Carter

      November 27, 2020 at 6:16 am

      So this recipe is also very easy to follow. I tend to like more of an open crumb on my sourdough boules, so I should try adding more water or slightly less flour. Thank you!

      Reply
    17. Cassidy

      November 27, 2020 at 7:51 am

      Such an easy and simplistic recipe for a delicious outcome!
      Can’t go wrong with this basic boule

      Reply
    18. TAMARA STERR

      November 27, 2020 at 9:11 am

      Love this recipe! Even my husband will eat this one. He doesn't like chewy sourdough, so this is fantastic! Thank you.

      Reply
    19. Kaitlyn

      December 04, 2020 at 12:04 pm

      This was the first sourdough recipe I ever made. Super delicious. All the employees at our company ask when I am making more.

      Reply
    20. Emily Theresa Gardella

      December 04, 2020 at 12:37 pm

      This is such an easy, straight forward recipe and helped me get over the baking my own bread hump. Thanks for creating a resource that helps make sourdough accessible.

      Reply
    21. Shaundy

      December 04, 2020 at 12:40 pm

      This has become my favorite go-to sourdough boule recipe! The texture is perfect!

      Reply
    22. Mariah Babcock

      February 02, 2021 at 9:47 am

      This was a pretty easy recipe to make. It tastes delicious! The video on youtube was super helpful to watch as I looked at the recipe just to make sure I was going it right.

      Reply
    23. Anna

      February 27, 2021 at 8:46 am

      A great beginner recipe! Followed steps exactly and it turned out perfect! Thanks!

      Reply
    24. Morgan

      July 20, 2022 at 1:13 pm

      Have you ever made this with gluten free flour?

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Seedy Whole-Wheaty Sourdough Sandwich Bread – Venison for Dinner says:
      May 9, 2018 at 1:35 pm

      […] make a tidy loaf, then put into the loaf pan. You can also bake it in a boule, as instructed in my Sourdough Boule recipe! Although if you feel like the dough is a little more soft than it should be, go for the […]

      Reply
    2. Sourdough Biscuits – Venison for Dinner says:
      January 16, 2020 at 4:48 am

      […] Sourdough Boule […]

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    3. Sourdough Sandwich Bread  – Venison for Dinner says:
      January 16, 2020 at 11:22 am

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    5. How to Make Sourdough :: Best Recipes, Resources, & Recommendations - This Pilgrim Life says:
      April 21, 2020 at 8:35 am

      […] Basic Sourdough Boule :: Venison for Dinner (I have not made this one. I used a recipe from the cookbook, Artisan Sourdough Made Simple. I am eager to try this one, though). […]

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    6. Seedy Whole-Wheaty Sourdough Sandwich Bread - Venison for Dinner says:
      August 12, 2020 at 9:26 am

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    7. How to Make a Simple Sourdough Boule - Nourishing Simplicity says:
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      […] simple sourdough boule is a combination of a recipe from Venison for Dinner and a recipe from the book Artisan Sourdough Made […]

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    Hi, I'm Kate! Thank you for joining us on this crazy journey! Our family lives on a 34 acre homestead in northern BC, Canda and get a kick out of things like raising our own meat, dairy and vegetables.

    We’re a homeschooling family who believes life is the best teacher but we do hit the books in winter. I’m so glad you’re here, I hope you stick around!

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