Whole wheat Dutch oven sourdough bread: refrigerate overnight, no yeast needed

Tip: tap a step to mark it as done.

1. Mix the flour and water

   45 min

   In a bowl, mix the whole wheat and all-purpose flours with 330 ml of lukewarm water to form a shaggy dough with no dry spots. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes so the flour can absorb the water.

2. Add the starter and salt

   10 min

   Add the sourdough starter, salt, and remaining 30 ml of water. Use a wet hand to squeeze them into the dough until fully incorporated.

3. Stretch and fold the dough

   2 hr

   Over two hours, stretch and fold the dough every 30 minutes, for a total of four sets: with a wet hand, grasp an edge of the dough, stretch it upward, and fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl and repeat on all four sides. Keep the bowl covered between sets.

4. Let the dough rise

   3 hr

   Keep the dough covered and let rise at room temperature for another 2–4 hours, until it has increased in volume by about half and bubbles appear on the surface.

5. Shape the loaf

   10 min

   Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a round loaf with a taut surface. Place it seam-side up in a proofing basket or in a bowl lined with a generously floured kitchen towel.

6. Refrigerate overnight

   12 hr

   Cover the loaf and refrigerate for 10–14 hours.

7. Bake in a Dutch oven

   1 hr 30 min

   Preheat a cast-iron Dutch oven with its lid in the oven at 250 °C (480 °F) for at least 45 minutes. Turn the cold loaf out onto parchment paper. Using a sharp razor blade, score a wheat-ear pattern: one lengthwise slash with angled slashes along the sides. Lower the loaf, along with the parchment, into the hot Dutch oven. Bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncover, reduce the temperature to 230 °C (450 °F), and bake for another 20–25 minutes, until the crust is dark brown.

8. Let cool

   1 hr

   Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. The bread will be sticky if sliced while warm.

Tip: You can make a sourdough starter in 5–7 days using whole wheat flour and water, feeding it daily. It is ready for bread when it doubles in volume 4–8 hours after feeding and a teaspoonful floats in water.

This recipe was translated from the Slovak original: Chrumkavý celozrnný kváskový chlieb z hrnca: cesto kysne cez noc v chladničke, droždie nepotrebuje