Sourdough Bauernbrot (German Farmer’s Bread)

Add the water and starter to a mixing bowl and mix until fully combined.

Add the bread flour, rye flour, and salt to the bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until a shaggy dough forms.

Cover the dough with a tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes.

Once a half hour has passed, do three rounds of stretches and folds over the course of an hour, one round every 20 minutes. The dough will be sticky but will come together as the folds are completed.

Shape the dough into a boule and sprinkle the top with flour. Place it, seam-side up, in a proving basket (banneton) lined with a tea towel.

Cover the dough and set it aside to rise at room temperature for three hours.

The dough should look slightly puffy but not doubled in size. Cover with a plate and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). The pot (dutch oven) can be heated with the oven but this is optional (see notes below).

Once the oven is hot, remove the dough from the refrigerator. Carefully tip it out onto a piece of parchment paper and score the top.

Reduce the oven heat to 450°F (230°C).

Carefully remove the pot from the oven if you chose to preheat it. Place the dough into the pot and bake for 20 minutes with the lid on.

Remove the lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown.

Carefully lift the bread out of the pot (use the parchment paper as handles) and cool fully on a wire rack before slicing. Store leftover bread in the same pot you baked it in, or wrapped in a tea towel and stored in the oven.