This overnight sourdough bread is a rustic round loaf made with bread flour, a little whole wheat, water, salt and an active starter. It's leavened only by wild yeast, so it takes time: about 30 minutes of hands on work spread over a day, a cold proof in the fridge overnight, and 45 minutes in a Dutch oven. The reward is a crackling crust and a tangy, open crumb.
What does the overnight cold proof do?
The overnight part happens after shaping. The loaf goes into a floured basket, gets covered and spends 12 to 16 hours in the fridge at about 38°F. Cold slows the yeast more than it slows the bacteria in the starter, and those bacteria keep producing the acids that give sourdough its tang. A longer cold proof means a more sour loaf.
Cold dough is also far easier to handle. It holds its shape when you turn it out, and the blade cuts a clean score instead of dragging through a sticky surface. That clean cut is what opens into an ear in the oven.
The fridge frees up your schedule, too. Mix in the early afternoon, shape in the evening, and bake whenever you're up the next morning. The dough is ready when a floured fingertip press springs back slowly and leaves a slight dent. Bake it straight from the fridge; there's no need to let it warm up first.
Is this dough 72% or 75% hydration?
Bakers describe every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight, which makes a formula easy to scale. The catch is which flour you count. The 450 g of bread and whole wheat flour you weigh into the bowl is the 100% line for the formula, and against it the 325 g of water reads as 72%. But the 90 g of starter is itself half flour and half water, so it adds 45 g of each.
| Formula (added flour only) | Overall (starter included) | |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 450 g (375 g bread, 75 g whole wheat) | 495 g |
| Water | 325 g | 370 g |
| Hydration | 72% | About 75% |
| Starter | 90 g, 20% | Counted in flour and water |
| Salt | 9 g, 2% | 1.8% |
Both numbers describe the same dough. The overall 75% is what your hands feel, and it's the figure to compare with other recipes that count their starter. It's a moderate hydration, wet enough for an open crumb and forgiving enough to shape. If the dough feels soupy with your flour, hold back 15 to 20 g of water next time. Use a digital scale, since cups can't measure flour accurately enough for bread.
How do you know your starter is ready?
A starter used at its peak gives the strongest rise and the cleanest flavor. Feed it 4 to 8 hours before you mix, depending on how warm your kitchen is, and look for these signs:
- It has at least doubled in volume since feeding.
- The top is domed or just starting to flatten, not sunken.
- It's full of bubbles, large and small, through the side of the jar.
- It smells pleasantly tangy and yeasty rather than sharp like nail polish remover.
A spoonful dropped into water should float, although this test isn't perfect for whole grain starters. If the starter has collapsed and smells of alcohol, it's hungry. Feed it again, wait until it peaks, and mix then. A sluggish starter is the most common reason a first loaf comes out dense, so it's worth giving it a few days of regular twice daily feedings at room temperature before baking day.
When is bulk fermentation done?
Bulk fermentation runs from the moment the starter goes in until you shape the dough, and it's where most of the flavor and structure develops. Time depends heavily on temperature. At 75 to 78°F it usually takes 5 to 7 hours in total. At 68°F it can stretch to 9 or 10.
Watch the dough, not the clock. Use a straight sided container and mark the starting level with tape. Bulk is done when the dough has risen by about 50%, the surface is domed and shows a few bubbles, the edges pull away cleanly from the container, and the whole mass jiggles when you shake it.
Underfermented dough feels tight and dense and bakes into a loaf with a gummy, tight crumb and a few big holes under the crust. Overfermented dough goes slack and sticky and spreads flat. If you're unsure, shape a little early; the long cold proof will carry fermentation a bit further.
Why bake overnight sourdough bread in a Dutch oven?
A loaf needs steam in the first minutes of baking. Moist air keeps the surface soft, so the dough can expand fully, a burst called oven spring, before the crust hardens. Commercial bakeries inject steam. At home, a covered bread-baking vessel approved for this preheating method traps the moisture coming off the dough itself.
Heat the pot with its lid on at 480°F for a full 45 minutes, so the iron is thoroughly hot. Turn the cold dough out onto parchment, score it with one confident cut about 1/2 inch deep at a shallow angle, and lower it in using the parchment as a sling. Bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncover, drop the oven to 450°F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more.
Take the crust darker than feels natural. Deep mahogany edges taste nutty and caramelized, and a pale loaf goes soft within hours. The loaf is done at 205 to 210°F inside.
Why wait an hour before slicing?
The inside of a fresh loaf is still cooking when it leaves the oven. Steam is finishing the starch in the crumb, and cutting early lets that steam escape, which leaves the crumb gummy and compressed. Cool the loaf on a wire rack for at least 1 hour, and 2 is better. You'll hear the crust crackle as it contracts.
Slice with a long serrated knife. Store the loaf cut side down on a board for 1 to 2 days, or in a paper bag. Plastic keeps it soft but kills the crust. For longer storage, slice it and freeze the slices in a bag; toast them straight from frozen.
Thick slices are ideal toasted and rubbed with garlic, dragged through the broth of a Tuscan white bean soup, or floated under melted Gruyère on French onion soup. Day old bread toasts best.
The recipe
Overnight Sourdough Bread with a Blistered Dutch Oven Crust
Ingredients
For the dough
- 375 g (about 3 cups) bread flour
- 75 g (about 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon) whole wheat flour
- 325 g (1 1/3 cups plus 1 teaspoon) water at about 80°F
- 90 g (about 1/3 cup) active sourdough starter at 100% hydration, fed 4 to 8 hours earlier
- 9 g (1 1/2 teaspoons) fine sea salt
For shaping
- Rice flour, for dusting the proofing basket
Instructions
- Autolyse. Mix both flours with 310 g of the water by hand until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 45 minutes so the flour hydrates.
- Add starter and salt. Spread the starter over the dough, sprinkle on the salt and the remaining 15 g water, then pinch and fold the dough for 2 to 3 minutes until fully combined. Transfer it to a straight sided container and mark the level.
- Stretch and fold. Over the next 2 hours, do 4 sets of stretch and folds 30 minutes apart: with a wet hand, lift one side of the dough, fold it over the center, rotate the container a quarter turn and repeat 3 more times.
- Finish bulk fermentation. Leave the dough covered at 75 to 78°F until it has risen about 50%, looks domed and bubbly and jiggles when shaken, about 5 to 7 hours from adding the starter (longer in a cooler kitchen).
- Shape the loaf. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter, fold the edges into the center, flip it seam side down and drag it toward you a few times to tighten the surface. Place it seam side up in a rice floured banneton or towel lined bowl.
- Cold proof. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 16 hours. The dough is ready when a floured fingertip press springs back slowly and leaves a slight dent.
- Bake covered. Heat the oven to 480°F (250°C) with a lidded Dutch oven inside for 45 minutes. Turn the cold dough onto parchment, score it 1/2 inch deep, lower it into the pot, cover and bake for 20 minutes.
- Bake uncovered. Remove the lid, reduce the oven to 450°F (230°C) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more, until the crust is deep mahogany and the center reads 205 to 210°F. Cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Cook's notes
- Timeline example: feed the starter at 7 a.m., mix at 1 p.m., shape around 8 p.m., refrigerate overnight and bake at 10 a.m. the next day.
- No banneton? Line a bowl with a well floured linen or cotton tea towel. Rice flour sticks less than wheat flour.
- The loaf keeps cut side down on a board for 2 days. Freeze sliced bread for up to 3 months and toast from frozen.
Overnight Sourdough Bread questions
Why is my sourdough bread dense?
Dense sourdough usually comes from a weak starter or underfermented dough. Use your starter at its peak, when it has doubled and looks domed and bubbly, and let bulk fermentation run until the dough rises about 50% and jiggles. A cold kitchen slows everything, so a warmer spot around 75°F often fixes a dense loaf.
Can I bake sourdough without a Dutch oven?
Yes. Bake on a preheated baking stone or heavy sheet pan and create steam by putting a metal pan on the lowest rack and pouring in a cup of boiling water as the loaf goes in. Remove the water pan after 20 minutes. The crust and oven spring will be good, if slightly less dramatic.
How long can the dough stay in the fridge?
A shaped loaf can cold proof for 12 to 16 hours comfortably and up to about 24 hours. Longer proofs taste more sour and may bake a little flatter as the dough weakens. If you need to wait beyond that, bake the loaf anyway; it'll still make good toast and croutons.
How can I make my sourdough more sour?
Extend the cold proof toward 24 hours, use a little more whole wheat or rye flour, and keep your starter slightly stiffer and cooler between feedings. Cold, slow fermentation favors the bacteria that produce acetic acid, which gives sourdough its sharper tang. A warm, fast ferment gives a milder, more yogurt like flavor.
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