Tartine Bread Recipe
Easy sourdough bread for beginners
This is the recipe that started it all! I was at a friends house for the weekend, and she was making a loaf of sourdough bread. I had been wanting to get into bread for a LONG time, so I asked if she could show me how she does it. Just like any good sourdough nerd, she exuberantly said YES, and then we went down the rabbit hole together. The biggest barrier for me was that I’m a tactile person and I really needed to see and feel what the bread was supposed to look like, so having a friend show me the ropes was a game changer. I have no idea who originally wrote this recipe, but she got it from the person who gave her Jerry (the sourdough culture), which she then passed on to me that weekend.
I’ve adapted the original recipe slightly because it made two LARGE loaves of sourdough bread, and I really struggled with it at first. To save you some of the headache, here’s the adjustment so you can just make one large-ish (a reasonable size, if you ask me) loaf of sourdough bread. Reach out with any questions!
Tartine Sourdough Bread Recipe (Single Loaf - 900g Total Dough Weight)
Ingredients:
445g white flour
50g whole wheat flour
370 grams water, plus 25g additional water later
100 grams leaven
10 grams salt
Step-by-Step Instructions:
1. Make the Leaven OR Feed Sourdough Starter (Night Before Baking):
Leaven: Mix 1 teaspoon mature starter with 100g warm water and 100g 50/50 flour blend (equal parts white and whole wheat). Leave at room temperature overnight, covered with a towel.
Feed Starter: Measure out at least 50g of starter, add 50g of lukewarm water, mix with a fork/whisk, then add 50g of flour, and mix until no flour is showing. Leave at room temperature overnight, covered with a towel.
2. Check Leaven / Starter (Next Morning):
It’s ready when it has doubled in size, and if a spoonful floats in water (be gentle so you don’t knock air out).
3. Mix the Dough:
In a medium bowl, mix 345g warm water with 100g leaven or starter.
Stir to disperse.
Add 445g white flour and 50g whole wheat flour (495g total).
Mix by hand until no dry flour remains.
Let rest (autolyse - hydrating the flour) for about 30 minutes.
4. Add Salt:
Add 10g salt and 25g water.
Mix well by squeezing/pinching and folding dough until fully incorporated.
It will come apart at first, but keep mixing, it’ll come back together.
5. Bulk Fermentation (3 to 4 Hours):
Let dough rise in a sealed container, or put plastic wrap / a shower cap over the bowl. In BV, it’s super dry, so you have to be careful not to let your dough dry out!
Every 30ish minutes, perform a series of turns (stretch and fold).
Do 6 turns total, spaced 30 minutes apart.
If you’re not going for perfection and you prefer the less involved option, just knead the bread for about 15-20 minutes by hand, or 5-8 minutes with a mixer (dough hook or paddle), until it achieves a smooth, elastic, and tacky texture. Then leave it to rise.
Dough should increase 20–30% in volume and become smoother.
6. Pre-Shape:
Lightly flour work surface.
Shape dough into a loose round.
Let rest covered with a towel on your counter for 20–30 minutes.
7. Final Shape:
Lightly flour top of dough and flip.
Place into a well-floured proofing basket or bowl.
8. Final Proof (2 to 3 Hours at Room Temp or Overnight in Fridge):
Cover with towel or plastic wrap.
Let proof until dough passes the "finger dent test” (wet your finger, poke it, and if the dent remains but slowly grows back in, it’s ready).
Recommended: overnight proofing — refrigerate dough after shaping for about 12 hours.
9. Bake:
Preheat oven to 475°F (245°C) with a Dutch oven inside. You can also just preheat the oven and use two loaf pans.
Invert dough onto parchment.
Score top with a lame or razor.
Bake covered: 20 minutes.
Uncover, then bake an additional 20–25 minutes.
Let cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.