Rosemary Olive Oil Sourdough

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Dutch oven (5-quart or larger)
• •Proofing basket or medium bowl
• •Bench scraper
• •Razor blade or sharp knife for scoring
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the dough

   Dissolve your active starter in the warm water, stirring until it clouds and loosens. Add the flour and mix with your hands or a wooden spoon until no dry patches remain. The dough will look shaggy and feel sticky. This is correct. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. This rest, called autolyse, allows the flour to hydrate fully and begins gluten development without any kneading.

   Your starter is ready when it has doubled, looks bubbly throughout, and a small piece floats in water. If it sinks, give it another hour.
2. 2

   Add salt and oil

   Sprinkle the fine sea salt over the dough and drizzle with olive oil. Use wet hands to dimple and fold the dough, incorporating both until you no longer feel salt crystals. The dough will feel silkier now, more cohesive. Cover again.

3. 3

   Fold and ferment

   Over the next three to four hours, perform a series of folds. Every 30 minutes for the first two hours, wet your hands and stretch one side of the dough up and over the center. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat until you have folded all four sides. After the third fold, scatter the chopped rosemary over the dough and fold it in gently. The dough will transform from slack and sticky to smooth and billowy. It will hold its shape when you stop touching it.

   Watch the dough, not the clock. In a warm kitchen, fermentation moves faster. The dough is ready when it has grown by half, feels airy, and jiggles when you shake the bowl.
4. 4

   Shape the loaf

   Dust your work surface lightly with flour. Turn the dough out and let it relax for 15 minutes. Shape it into a round by pulling the edges toward the center, then flipping it seam-side down. Use your hands to drag the dough toward you, building tension on the surface without tearing. The skin should feel taut, like a drum. Transfer seam-side up into a well-floured proofing basket or a bowl lined with a floured towel.

5. 5

   Cold proof overnight

   Cover the basket loosely and refrigerate for 8 to 16 hours. The long, cold fermentation develops flavor that short-risen bread cannot achieve. The acids from fermentation break down the flour, making the bread more digestible and giving it that characteristic tang. This is where patience becomes flavor.

   The dough can proof in the refrigerator for up to two days. Longer cold proofing deepens the flavor without over-fermenting.
6. 6

   Preheat with the Dutch oven

   Place your Dutch oven with its lid inside a cold oven. Heat to 500°F and let it preheat for a full 45 minutes. The pot must be screaming hot. This initial blast of heat, combined with the trapped steam from the dough itself, creates the blistered, crackling crust that defines good sourdough.

7. 7

   Score and bake

   Remove the dough from the refrigerator. It can go straight into the oven cold. Turn it out onto a piece of parchment paper, seam-side down. Brush the top generously with olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Using a sharp blade or razor, score the top with a decisive slash about half an inch deep. Carefully lower the dough into the hot Dutch oven using the parchment as a sling. Cover and bake for 20 minutes.

   Score with confidence. A hesitant cut drags and tears. One swift motion, angled slightly, lets the bread expand where you want it to.
8. 8

   Finish uncovered

   Remove the lid, reduce heat to 450°F, and bake another 20 to 25 minutes until the crust is deeply golden and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. The internal temperature should reach 205-210°F. Lift the bread from the pot and let it cool on a wire rack for at least one hour before slicing. This rest is essential. The interior is still cooking, and cutting too soon releases steam that should stay in the crumb.

Chef Tips

• •Find flour from a mill you trust. Central Milling, Cairnspring, King Arthur: these are companies that care about grain. The bread will taste of that care.
• •Rosemary is most fragrant in late spring and summer, but it grows year-round in temperate climates. Use what you can snip fresh. Dried rosemary is a different ingredient entirely and will not give you the same brightness.
• •The olive oil matters. Use something you would drizzle on finished food, something green and peppery. Cheap, refined oil adds nothing but fat.
• •If you do not have a Dutch oven, bake on a preheated baking stone with a pan of water on the rack below. The steam is what makes the crust.
• •This bread keeps well for three days wrapped in a towel. After that, slice and freeze it. Toast frozen slices directly and they will taste fresh.

Advance Preparation

• •Feed your starter the night before or the morning of baking day. It needs 4 to 8 hours to reach peak activity.
• •The shaped dough can cold-proof in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours, allowing you to bake when convenient.
• •Baked bread freezes beautifully for up to three months. Wrap tightly and thaw at room temperature, then refresh in a 350°F oven for ten minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 70g)