KNEVA Recipes · Easy all-in sourdough
Make one loaf with 400g bread flour, a ripe starter and 65% total hydration. Everything goes into one bowl before mixing; gentle folds and resting develop the dough without kneading.
2:08 · Animated step-by-step guide · Sound on for the kitchen effects
Ingredients
- 400g bread flour
- 246g water
- 80g ripe sourdough starter at 100% hydration — fed with equal weights of flour and water
- 9g salt
Including the starter, this gives 440g total flour and 286g total water: 65% hydration. Use a ripe, bubbly starter; dried starter needs to be reactivated and ready to bake with first.
Equipment
A mixing bowl and cover, spoon or dough whisk, kitchen scale, lightly floured work surface, floured banneton or cloth-lined proofing bowl, baking paper, bread lame or sharp scoring blade, a suitable Dutch oven with lid, oven gloves, cooling rack, cutting board and bread knife.
Method
1. Mix everything together
Put the flour, water, ripe starter and salt into the bowl together. Mix until no dry flour remains. No kneading is needed. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
2. Do three sets of four folds
Wet your fingertips. Gently lift one edge of the dough and fold it into the centre. Let it release and settle, then turn the bowl a quarter turn. Repeat around all four sides: four folds make one set.
Cover and rest for 30 minutes before the second set. Repeat four folds, cover and rest another 30 minutes, then do the third set of four folds. That is 12 folds in total. Keep each pull gentle and stop if the dough resists.
3. Finish the first rise
Keep the dough covered in the same bowl until it is about 50% larger, puffy and bubbly. The earlier rests and folds are part of this first rise. Follow the dough rather than a fixed number of hours; a warmer kitchen makes fermentation faster.
4. Gather and rest for 20 minutes
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and gather a loose round. Cover and let it relax for 20 minutes before final shaping.
5. Close the seam and shape
Fold the edges into the centre. Pinch the gathered seam closed along the join so it stays shut. Turn the dough seam-side down. With both hands cupping the loaf, draw it gently towards you to tighten the surface. Keep the closed seam underneath and stop before the skin tears.
6. Choose your proof
Same-day option: cover and proof at room temperature until puffy and a gentle press springs back slowly. If using a floured banneton or lined bowl, place the shaped loaf seam-side up, then turn it out before scoring.
Optional overnight option: cover and refrigerate overnight. The fridge is a choice, not a required step.
7. Preheat, score and bake
Heat the oven to 230°C. Preheat a suitable Dutch oven inside, following the pot maker’s instructions. Turn the risen loaf onto baking paper and score a cut about 5mm deep. Use oven gloves to lower it carefully into the hot pot.
- Lid on: bake for 20 minutes at 230°C.
- Remove the lid, lower to 220°C and bake for another 12–15 minutes, until deeply golden and baked through.
8. Cool completely before slicing
Move the loaf to a wire rack. Allow at least two hours and let it cool completely before slicing so the centre can finish setting. Transfer to a cutting board, then slice with a bread knife.
Keep these cues in mind
- Ripe starter, not an unreactivated dried starter, goes into the dough.
- Four complete folds per set; rest covered between sets.
- Keep the full 20-minute bench rest before final shaping.
- Pinch the seam shut before turning it down.
- Overnight refrigeration is optional.
- Cool fully before cutting.
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