Vegan Sourdough Bread

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Mix the dough - Whisk or mix the sourdough starter and water together in a large mixing bowl until the lumps of starter are broken up and the water looks milky and frothy.
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Add the flour and the salt. Mix it all together really well with a spatula, a wooden spoon or clean hands until you can no longer see any dry flour. Make sure you scrape right down into the bottom of the bowl and along the sides so every little bit is incorporated. If you have time, keep working the dough for about 10 minutes. This really helps strengthen your dough.
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Rest - Cover the bowl with a lid or a damp, clean dish towel (run it under the tap and wring it out) and leave it on the counter for about 1 hour.
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Stretch & folds - Now it's time to stretch and fold the dough. Get a spray bottle of water or a small bowl of water big enough to fit your hands in. We will be doing 3 sets of stretch and folds. Don't worry, this is much easier than kneading and only takes a minute or two each time.
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SET 1 - Place your bowl of dough in front of you on the counter. Uncover it. Wet your hands. With the dough still in the bowl (you don't need to take it out), cup your hand under and grab the dough from the side directly opposite you. Pull the dough up, stretching it gently out and upwards, then fold it over onto itself towards your body. Then turn the bowl a quarter of a turn, grab the dough on the side farthest from you, stretch it out gently and fold it over on itself. Work your way all around the dough until you have done this 10 times. You will notice that it gets a little tighter and more ball-like as you go. Turn the ball of dough upside down so its smooth side up, cover and leave again for 1 hour. See my video of stretch and folds in the body of the post above.
A NOTE RE THE STRETCH AND FOLDS - While doing the stretch and folds, you do not have to be exact about the resting time between. An hour between each is just a guide. If you're busy, it's ok to do one 30 minutes early or an hour late. The important thing is that you get them all in at some point while giving the dough some time to relax between each one.
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SET 2 - Do another round of stretch and folds just like before but this time you should only need to do about 6. Carry on as many as you can before the dough feels too tight to do any more. You should feel a difference in the dough this time. It will be noticeably more elastic. When finished, turn the ball of dough upside down so it's smooth side up, cover and leave again for 1 hour.
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SET 3 - Do one more set of stretch and folds. You will notice that the dough feels smoother and tauter, and a little tougher to stretch and fold. Do as many as you can before it gets too tight to do any more. It will probably be less than last time. When finished turn the ball of dough upside down so it's smooth side up, cover and leave on the counter again.
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Windowpane test - After a short rest to let the gluten relax, do the windowpane test. I've included a video in my post above, but basically, you need to pull and stretch a bit of dough up and out of the bowl really gently and slowly with your fingertips. Keep stretching it, and if it is strong enough, you should be able to stretch the dough so thin you can see light through it like a window. If it keeps tearing, wait 20 minutes and do another round of stretch and folds.
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Bulk ferment - The time the bulk fermentation takes is very dependent on your individual environment and the strength of your starter, so you will need to be flexible and use your intuition. As a guide, though, in my kitchen, which is about 21 °C (70 °F), the bulk fermentation (after stretching and folding has been completed) takes about 6 hours.
The dough is ready when it has increased in volume by about 70 to 75%. Using a clear straight-sided container or a container with measurements on it makes knowing when it's reached 70-75% a lot easier (see my equipment recommendations in the post above).
Instead of being just a tight mass like when you left it, it should be well domed, look shiny like satin, not feel sticky if you touch it with dry hands, have bubbles all the way through (check the sides and underneath), be a bit jiggly when you wobble it, and if you gently pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl it should come away cleanly.
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Preshape - At no point should you punch your dough down like you might with regular yeasted bread! You need to preserve as much of the gas build-up as you can by treating it very, very, gently.
Turn your dough out and onto your counter. It's a low-hydration dough, and if bulk fermented properly, the dough will fall slowly and cleanly out of the bowl and shouldn't stick to the surface. I don't recommend dusting with flour, or you won't be able to shape effectively.
Very gently use your dough scraper or hands in a push and pull motion to get the dough into a rough ball. Place your now-empty mixing bowl upside down over the dough ball and leave it to rest for 30 minutes.
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Prepare your banneton - Dust your banneton or towel-lined bowl liberally with rice flour.
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Final shape - Dust your work surface with a very light dusting of flour and keep a portion of your counter flour-free. It's important not to use too much flour.
Turn your dough ball upside down onto the floured surface. A bench scraper is ideal for getting under it and flipping it over.
Now we will do a caddy clasp (the easiest way to shape your sourdough). Pick up your dough ball so it's resting on both of your hands, and fold it in half like a book. If making a batard (oval loaf), that's it. Plop it into your floured banneton seam side up.
If making a boule (round loaf), once folded, gently rest on your counter and pinch the seam shut all along so it kind of looks like a Cornish pasty then pick up in both hands again and fold again the other way like a book then plop into your banneton.
There is a video of me doing a caddy clasp in the body of the post above.
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Tighten things up - Pinch the seam shut all the way along. To make it really tight, you can gently stretch up and over the sides of the dough and pat, stitch, or pinch it together to form tension. I've included a video of me doing this in the post above. Dust the top of the dough with rice flour and rub it in gently.
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Cold retard - Cover your banneton with a banneton cover or plastic bag and put it in the fridge for anything from 10 to 36 hours.
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Prepare to bake - Preheat your oven (with your Dutch oven inside) to 475 °F (250°C). Once preheated, cut a square or rectangle of parchment paper big enough to turn your dough out with excess to lower into your Dutch oven.
Remove your bread from the fridge. Place the parchment paper over the top of the banneton, place your hand on top then carefully flip over to turn the bread out. Score with one or 2 long, very deliberate and quick cuts with a razor blade, lame, or very sharp knife to a depth of ½ to ¾ inch.
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Bake - remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Remove the lid and carefully drop your bread in. Put the lid on and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove the lid, and turn the temperature down to 425°F (218°C) and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until deeply golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 200 - 210°F (93-99°C). When tapped on the bottom with your fist, it should sound hollow.
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Cool - Remove the loaf carefully from the Dutch oven and place on a wire rack to cool. For the best crumb, allow it to cool completely, but if you can't wait that long, leave it for a minimum of 90 minutes. Slicing too soon will result in a gummy, sticky crumb.

Ingredients

The only way to get accurate and consistent results is to weigh your ingredients with a digital scale.

INSTRUCTIONS

NOTES

NUTRITION

Vegan Sourdough Bread

Ingredients 0.5x1x2x

The only way to get accurate and consistent results is to weigh your ingredients with a digital scale.

INSTRUCTIONS

NOTES

NUTRITION

Ingredients