In Lessons Episode 4, we take the country dough formula we created in our Baker’s Math episode and finally turn it into a loaf of bread.

I’ll walk you through the entire process, beginning with the night-before levain build and continuing through the autolyse, mixing, gluten development, bulk fermentation, folds, pre-shaping, final shaping, basket proof, cold retard, scoring, baking, cooling, and evaluating the finished loaf.

Along the way, we’ll cover:

How to recognize when your levain is ripe and ready
What an autolyse does—and when it may be helpful
Mechanical mixing and the windowpane test
How to reach a Desired Dough Temperature of 78°F
Stretch and folds versus coil folds
How to measure percent rise during bulk fermentation
The signs of under-fermented, properly fermented, and over-fermented dough
Pre-shaping, bench rest, and final shaping
Choosing the right banneton
The room-temperature basket rise before refrigeration
Covering your dough during an overnight cold retard
Scoring and baking in a Dutch oven
How to evaluate the crust and crumb after baking

Most importantly, we spend time answering one of the most difficult questions in bread baking: How do I know when bulk fermentation is finished?

There is no single bubble, jiggle, percentage, or number on the clock that can answer that question by itself. Instead, we’ll learn how to look for several signals that begin telling the same story: the dough has developed enough gas to feel light and alive, while retaining enough strength to be shaped into a loaf.

This is not intended to be a strict bake-along. Listen through the episode once before beginning, then return to individual sections as you work through your own loaf. Your dough may move faster or slower than mine. The goal is not to force it to follow my schedule, it is to understand what you are trying to accomplish during every stage.

If sourdough starter maintenance, levain building, or baker’s math still feels unfamiliar, begin with Lessons Episodes 1–3 and then return to this episode.

Next time, we’ll use what we learn from this bake to begin troubleshooting under-proofing, over-proofing, weak dough, dense crumb, scoring problems, dark bottoms, and more.

Happy baking, and long live real bread.

Formula for the Show Notes

Levain Build

10 g ripe starter
25 g bread flour
25 g whole wheat flour
50 g water

Total levain: 110 g
Use 100 g in the final dough.

Final Dough

375 g bread flour
75 g whole wheat flour
325 g water
100 g ripe levain
10 g salt

Approximate total dough weight: 885 g

Total Formula

500 g total flour
20% whole wheat flour
75% hydration
10% pre-fermented flour
2% salt

Keywords

sourdough, sourdough bread, country dough, country loaf, sourdough country loaf, beginner sourdough, artisan bread, bread baking, naturally leavened bread, levain, sourdough starter, baker’s math, autolyse, gluten development, windowpane test, mechanical mixing, KitchenAid sourdough, desired dough temperature, DDT, bulk fermentation, percent rise, stretch and fold, coil fold, pre-shaping, sourdough shaping, banneton, basket proof, final proof, cold retard, scoring sourdough, Dutch oven bread, oven spring, whole wheat sourdough, fermentation, bread education, Saving Bread Podcast

Links and Mentions

Follow Saving Bread on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/savingbreadpodcast/

Listen to or review Saving Bread on Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saving-bread/id1896790106

The Perfect Loaf: Complete Bread-Shaping Guide
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/guides/shaping-bread-dough/

The Perfect Loaf: How to Shape a Batard
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/guides/shaping-a-batard/

Rosehill Sourdough: The BreadMat
https://rosehillsourdough.com/product/the-breadmat/

Rosehill Sourdough: Oven Gloves
https://rosehillsourdough.com/product/gloves/

Music by Joshua from DOPE