This design is one of those instances where the extra 7-minute expansion score can work wonders for the oven spring. I love how the bread expanded here, creating a perfectly square centre with the delicate wheat stalks pattern. To achieve this design, I recommend drawing a grid for both the square and the wheat stalks before embarking on the scoring process.

Full scoring tutorial can be found on our YouTube channel.

Ingredients

Yields 2 loaves

140g active starter/levain

280g white bread flour

210g whole wheat flour

210g light spelt flour

480g water (+10g)

14g salt

Steps

STEP 1 | Autolyse

In a large bowl, combine the flour with 480g water and knead until there is no dry flour left. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

STEP 2 | Add starter/levain

Add 140g active starter/levain and knead until fully incorporated. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 min.

STEP 3 | Add salt

Add 14g salt and 10g water and knead for a few minutes until the dough is smooth and supple. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30 min.

STEP 4 | Bulk fermentation

Perform one stretch and fold, rest the dough for 30 min, then perform four sets of coil folds, each 30 min apart.

Once you complete the last coil fold, cover the bowl and wait until the dough increases in volume by about 80%-90%.

STEP 5 | Pre-shape

Transfer the dough onto a work surface, cut it in half with a bench scraper and pre-shape each part into a round. Cover with a towel and let the dough rest for 30 min.

STEP 6 | Shape & cold proof

After the 30-minute bench rest, shape the dough and transfer to the proofing baskets. Cover with a towel and let the dough rest for about 12 hours in the fridge.

STEP 7 | Score & bake

The next morning, score the dough, transfer to your baking dish, cover with the lid and place in the oven.

Bake for 25 minutes* at 250°C/480°F, then remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes at 230°C/450°F.

* For the 7min expansion score — remove the dough from the oven after the first 7 minutes of baking, perform the additional score, cover with the lid and place it back into the oven. Bake for the remaining 18 minutes with the lid on. Then remove the lid and continue baking for the final 15min at 230°C/450°F.

Once baked, repeat with the second loaf.

Happy baking!

TIP: Another way of decorating your boule is by using a stencil. Our Sourdough Fever stencils are now available via our store, check them out!

If you require more detailed recipe instructions, refer to our Beginner’s Sourdough Recipe.

And if you haven’t baked sourdough bread before, or need more guidance, check our New To Sourdough Baking section, where you can find details such as how to make your starter from scratch or the tools required to bake your first loaf of bread (including some of the tools we personally recommend).

What’s Next?

We highly recommend keeping a record of your process, timings, ingredients and techniques used. Our Sourdough Fever Record Keeping PDFs will help you do all that and more. This 4-page PDF file includes a record keeping page, a basic sourdough recipe with instructions and troubleshooting notes that you can download and print at home. Click the photo below to find out more!

You may also like to our custom-built Baker’s Percentage Calculator. With our intuitive design, and instant results, you will be able to easily work out grams or percentages of your sourdough ingredients.

Get access to the calculator.