Feed your sourdough starter before going to bed the night before. 

The next morning--

Combine Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix together: warm water, active sourdough starter, and honey. Stir with a wooden spoon or dutch dough whisk in a circular motion until the ingredients are roughly combined. 

Add the Dry Ingredients: Add the flour and salt to the wet ingredients and stir. The dough doesn't need to be fully mixed at this stage

Rest the Dough: Cover the bowl with a damp towel, plastic wrap, or a plastic bag and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. This allows the flour to fully hydrate and begins the gluten development process.

Stretch and Fold (First Set): After the resting period, sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough to prevent sticking. Use a dough scraper, bench scraper, or clean wet hands to gather the dough from one side of the bowl, stretch it out and fold it onto itself. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretching and folding process. The dough should form a somewhat square shape. Cover the bowl again with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rest for another 20 minutes.

Repeat the Stretch and Fold Process: After the 20-minute rest, perform another set of stretch and folds. This involves stretching out the dough from opposite ends and folding them over each other. Turn the bowl and repeat the process. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for another 20 minutes. Repeat this step two more times for a total of three sets of stretches and folds.

First Rise: After completing the stretch and fold process three times, cover the bowl again and let the dough undergo its first rise. Place the dough in a warm place or in your oven with the light on and door propped open. The light should provide enough heat (without being too hot) to help the dough rise faster. It should take about 3 hours for the dough to double in size.

This initial process helps develop the structure and flavor of the sourdough bread while also contributing to gluten formation through the stretch and fold technique. After the first rise, the dough can be shaped, proofed, and baked to produce delicious homemade sourdough bread.

Setting up for the final rise.

Once the dough has doubled in size, pull the dough gently together to form a ball. Be very careful to not pop any of those precious bubbles your starter has spent so much time making! 

Place the smooth side of dough upside down into a floured banneton or in a bowl with a floured tea towel, the seam side facing out. Cover the banneton with plastic wrap or damp towel and place it into the fridge for the second rise. This will take another 3 hours.

Baking the Sourdough

After the final rise, remove the proofing basket from the fridge. Gently turn the dough over onto a piece of parchment paper, score the dough, and then place the dough into the dutch oven. Place the dutch oven with its lid on into the oven and turn the oven on to 425 degrees. 

Bake for 55 minutes. Remove the top of the dutch oven. If the desired color is achieved, then remove the bread from the oven and place it on a cooling rack. If you would like it a little browner, then leave it in the oven with the top off and cook for 5 minutes at a time, until the desired color is reached.

Once baking is finished, carefully remove the sourdough loaf from the dutch oven and place on a clean work surface. Allow the sourdough to cool down for at least an hour before cutting into it! It may be hard to resist but keep in mind that the bread is still baking as it cools down. Waiting an hour before cutting into it will prevent the crumb from being mushy. Try this with homemade butter on it! How To Make Easy Homemade Butter From Raw Milk