You've created a culture, you've fed the beast and made a levain—now it's time to bake! Finish your scratch-made sourdough with this recipe for a classic loaf you're sure to love.

Preparation

Ingredient Mixing:

Place ripe levain in a mixing bowl, then add water and gently mix by hand. Sprinkle the whole wheat flour on top of the mixture and blend by hand until all the flour is just wet. Add unsifted bread flour, then sprinkle salt on top. Cut dough together in bowl with a scraper; do not fold. When most of the flour is wet, turn the bowl out onto an unfloured wooden surface and continue to cut the ingredients together as if chopping an onion. Once all the flour is wet, gather together into a rough round and cover with inverted work bowl.

Autolyse:

Let the dough rest covered and undisturbed for 15 minutes to allow for proper hydration and gluten development.

Improved Development:

Starting furthest away from you working towards your body, use a bread scraper held parallel to your work surface to stretch the dough from top to bottom in gentle, rhythmic motions. At the bottom of the motion, gather the dough in a mass and flip it onto itself. Repeat process for 2 minutes. 

Rest the dough covered for 5 minutes (mini-autolyse), then repeat for 2 minutes. Gather dough together then gently form into a round and place back into work bowl with the scraper. Cover with oiled plastic wrap.

Fermentation:

Allow the dough to ferment at room temperature for 1 hour.

Invert the dough onto a wooden work surface lightly dusted with bread flour. Gently degas the dough by using the flat of your hand to pat it down from the center outward. Carefully stretch and fold the dough over onto itself from all four sides. Invert the dough with both hands, tucking the edges underneath to form a round and place back in the work bowl. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and cold-ferment in the refrigerator for 18–24 hours.

Shaping:

Remove bowl from refrigerator and temper the dough at room temperature for 1 hour in the covered bowl.

Invert the dough onto a lightly floured wooden surface. Lightly dust your hands with bread flour, then gently stretch and fold the dough over onto itself from all four sides. Gently invert the dough with both hands, tucking the edges underneath to form a round. Flip dough over and let rest 20 minutes covered with oiled plastic.

Remove plastic and work dough into a round using a dough scraper and your hand. Tension will build as you rotate the dough and it slightly anchors to the surface. By the end, the dough should have a taut, smooth surface. When the first blisters appear on the surface, the dough is round enough.

Place dough round into a rice flour-dusted banneton basket and press down gently. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and proof for 1 hour 30 minutes at room temperature. Remove plastic and proof uncovered for 30 minutes.

Baking:

Set one rack to the lowest position in your oven and one at the highest. Place a Dutch oven on the lower rack (or a pizza stone in the center of each rack). Preheat oven to 500°F.

Gently invert banneton onto a large, rice-floured board or peel, using your palm to cushion the dough and keep it from deflating. Use a razor blade or sharp scissor blade to score the top of the round about ¼ inch deep to allow moisture to escape. This will help with presentation and the crumb structure.

Slide dough into the Dutch oven and cover with the lid (or slide dough onto the bottom pizza stone) and bake for 8 minutes. Remove lid (if using Dutch oven) and reduce oven temperature to 450°F. Bake for 16 minutes, or until crust is mahogany brown and a probe thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf reads 200°F.

Transfer bread round to a wire rack to cool. It will sound hollow when tapped. Cool completely, about 2–3 hours, before slicing.