If you are just starting out and don't have all of the sourdough bread tools yet, don't worry there are alternatives.

You will need:
1. Kitchen Scale
2. Bowl (for mixing and proofing)
3. Kitchen Towel (lint free)
4. Dutch Oven or Cast Iron Combo Cooker

Nice to Haves:
1. Bench Scraper (plastic & metal)
2. Proofing Basket (Banneton)
3. Bread Lame (scoring tool)

To a larger glass jar, add 5 grams of mature starter, 25 grams of bread flour, 25 grams of whole wheat (or rye) flour and 50 grams of filtered water.

Mix well until all of the dry bits are fully incorporated then loosely seal with a lid and store it in a draft-free area in your kitchen and away from the sun.

The cooler the area, the slower the fermentation. 68°-73°F is best*.

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*In the summer months, when it's hot and humid outside, I rarely am able to grow my levain overnight as it reaches peak too fast.

For that reason, I create my levain very early in the morning and do a 1:1:1 ratio which takes about 4 hours until it reaches peak.

The night before, I will do a 1:10:10 ratio with 2.5g mature starter, 25g flour mixture (bread & whole wheat flour) and 25g cold and filtered water.

In the morning, I will use that sourdough starter (about 50g) and mix it with 50g flour mixture and 50g of warm filtered water (80°-90°F).

Doing this changes the schedule of course. You will need to see what works best for your environment.

To a large bowl, add 100 grams of all-purpose flour, 400 grams of bread flour and 320 grams of filtered and room temperature water.

Use you hand or a wooden spoon to mix until all of the dry bits have been absorbed and it is a shaggy ball of dough.

Cover with a lint-free kitchen towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Before adding your levain to the dough, perform the float test to see if the levain is at peak strength.

Fill up a small bowl with water and add about 1/2 teaspoon of the levain. If it floats it is ready* to be used.

Add 100 grams of the levain to the dough then lightly wet your hand, spread the levain evenly over the top of your dough, then poke numerous holes using your fingers, squeeze and mix the dough well in the bowl for 3-5 minutes.

Next, add 10 grams of salt then mix again for 3-5 minutes or until you can no longer feel any salt granules and the dough looks a bit more smooth.

Cover the bowl and note down the time as the start of bulk fermentation.

*If your levain is not passing the float test, it either has not reached peak yet or it has already reached peak and is now at its falling stage. Asses your glass jar and if the top of the levain is still domed, it still needs time to reach peak. If that's the case check on it every 10 minutes or so. If you see some falling streak marks on the glass jar, you will need to re-start by creating a new levain. To be able to make bread the same day, create a levain with a 1:1:1 ratio and it should reach peak after 4-5 hours when kept in an environment that is 75°F-80°F.

During the first 2 hours and 15 minutes of bulk fermentation, perform 6 stretch and folds.

The first 3 stretch and folds are 15 minutes apart and the last 3 are 30 minutes apart.

8:05am - perform your 1st stretch and fold. Lightly wet your hands then gently scoop and grab one side of the dough and stretch it up and over the dough to the other side. Rotate the bowl 90° and perform another stretch and fold slightly overlapping the first. Continue to rotate the bowl and perform stretch and folds until all sides are complete. You can leave the dough as it or gently lift it up and place it back into the bowl with face-side down so that the top is round and smooth.

Cover the bowl again and set a timer for the second stretch and fold.

8:20am - perform your 2nd stretch and fold.

8:35am - perform your 3rd stretch and fold.

9:05am - perform your 4th stretch and fold.

9:35am - perform your 5th stretch and fold.

10:05am - perform your 6th and final stretch and fold.

Cover the bowl and allow it to rest for the remainder of bulk fermentation.

Depending on how well your dough ferments, it may be ready after 3-5 hours. The colder your kitchen, the longer fermentation takes.

The dough should have risen during bulk fermentation, have a smooth and slightly domed top, and show some bubbles on the sides and surface or the dough. It should also feel alive and aerated.

If the dough does not seem ready, allow it to bulk a but longer. I do not recommend going past a 5 hour bulk fermentation.

Lightly flour your clean work surface then gently remove the dough from the dough using a wet hand or bench scraper, being careful not to deflate the dough too much. You want as much of the air pockets to stay in tact.

Place the dough on top of the lightly floured work surface then gently pre-shape using a lightly floured bench scraper or your hands. Gently shape the dough into a ball shape by pushing the dough and rotating it with a bench scraper or your hand into a ball shape.

Allow the dough to rest uncovered for 20 minutes. During the bench rest, the dough will spread and flatten a bit.

Generously coat all sides of your proofing basket with flour. Rice flour or any type of gluten-free flour works best.

Use a small, fine-mesh strainer to coat each side of the proofing basket with the rice flour.

Using regular flour that contains gluten will attach itself to the dough as it is proofing, which will make removal harder.

Using lightly floured hands or a bench scraper, loosen the edges of the dough ball then gently flip it over.

Brush off any excess flour.

To shape the dough into a boule (round) shape, gently stretch the right side of the dough then fold it into the center on the dough, pressing it down so it adheres.

Then gently stretch the left side of the dough and fold it into the center of the dough, pressing it down so it adheres.

Next, gently stretch the bottom side of the dough and fold it into the center of the dough, then gently stretch the top and fold it all the way over.

Flip the dough over so it it seam side down.

Next, using both hands drag the dough down toward your body using your pinky fingers to pinch the dough between your fingers and the work surface. Rotate the dough and continue dragging to create tension on the top and outside of the dough.

You want to be left with a smooth, round and tight ball.

Gently flip the dough in your hands so that it is seam side up and place it into the prepared proofing basket.

Stick the dough if needed by pinching the seams together, if needed.

Lightly dust the top and the sides of the dough with rice flour.

Place the proofing basket into a large plastic bag.

Add air into the bag so that it balloons when you twist the ends. The top of the bag should not touch the dough.

Allow the dough to proof at room temperature for 2-4 hours.

If you are using a dutch oven or combo cooker, add your baking vessel and the lid to the cold oven then turn the oven to 450°F and allow it to preheat for at least 1 hour.

To see if the dough has fully proofed, perform the poke test.

Lightly flour the surface of the dough and also dip your finger into flour then poke the dough about 1/2 inch deep. If the dough slowly springs back and doesn't fully fill in the indentation, it is fully proofed.

If the dough pops back out quickly, it is under-proofed and needs more time.

Additional signs it’s ready are the fact that it is well-risen in the proofing basket and quite gassy.

Once the bread is fully proofed, it is time to bake baked!

Get a piece of parchment paper that is slightly larger that the circumference of the proofing basket.

Place the parchment paper on top of the proofing basket then gently flip it over.

Once the dough is on the parchment paper, score the dough using a bream lame or a very sharp knife.

Scoring the dough is not necessary, however, it allows it to expand during baking and the slashing controls the direction in which the bread will expand.

Gently grab the parchment paper and place it into your dutch oven or combo cooker then cover it and bake it at 450°F for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the top, lower the heat to 425°F and bake it uncovered for an additional 30-35 minutes.

Once the fully baked bread has reached 208°F, turn off the oven, leave the bread inside the oven with the door ajar for 25 minutes.

This allows the bread to dry out a bit.

Move the bread to a wire rack and allow it to fully cool for 2-3 hours before slicing in.

You can store the bread in a bread basket or plastic bag in a cool and dry place for up to 4 days.

Alternatively, you can slice and freeze the bread.

It is not recommended to store the bread in the refrigerator as it causes the bread to go stale faster.