Stefano’s Sourdough Recipe

Tue 10th February 2026

The Recipe

Stefano’s Sourdough Recipe:

Stefano, Cowdray’s talented pastry chef, has shared his sourdough recipe in time to celebrate Real Bread Week, which takes place from 21st February to 1st March 2026. Real Bread week is a celebration of additive-free bread and the people who make it. Stefano works in the Farm Shop producing high-quality baked goods and deserts including the award-winning chocolate mousse cake. The Farm Shop has a range of freshly made artisan bread available every day.

Before making the sourdough, it is necessary to create the Sourdough Starter. This is a living culture of flour and water that captures wild yeast and friendly bacteria from the environment. That culture is what makes sourdough bread rise and gives it that tangy, complex flavour. For more information on the sourdough starter, visit: www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sourdough-starter

Then, follow Stefano’s recipe for a delicious, homemade sourdough loaf:

Ingredients

  • 2x Banneton Baskets
  • 900g Super Strong Canadian White Flour
  • 100g Wholemeal Bread Flour
  • 20g Salt
  • 720g of Cold Water
  • 200g Active Sourdough Starter

Method

  1. Before making the bread, feed your starter the night before with a 0:5 to 1:1 ratio. For example, this means 50g starter, 100g flour, 100g water and leave overnight at room temperature.
  2. The following morning, take 100g starter, 100g flour and mix leaving for at least four hours at room temperature.
  3. Add both types of flour to a bowl and then add 600g of cold water. Mix briefly and let rest for at least 40 minutes. This process is called autolysation - the flour will absorb the water and start to develop gluten.
  4. After 40 minutes, add your starter and gradually the remaining water and the salt - alternate each time. Mix for a few minutes. Don't worry if it looks wet, it will come together.
  5. Rest for 30 minutes. Then start a set of stretch and fold, letting it rest for 20 minutes in between folds. You need a total of four sets.
  6. After the last fold, let the dough bulk proof for three hours at room temperature. Then turn out of the bowl on to a floured surface and divide it into two. Pre-shape your dough into two rounds, flour the top and cover with a tea towel. Let it rest for 20 minutes.
  7. Shape the dough balls into two loaves. Dust your Banneton baskets with a 50/50 mix of rice flour and flour. Then add your loaves and cover with a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. This process is called Cold Fermentation or Retardation.
  8. The following morning pre-heat your oven to 250 degrees Celsius. Use a cast iron pot with a lid big enough to contain one loaf at a time. Cut two pieces of baking paper big enough to place your bread on.
  9. Take the plastic bags off the Banneton baskets and dust the top with some flour and reverse your bread on to the baking parchment. Score the top of your loaf with a serrated knife.
  10. Open the lid of the pot, add your bread and put in 2 ice cubes. Put the lid back on and cook for 20 minutes, then remove the lid, lower the temperature to 220c and cook for another 20 minutes.
  11. Place on cooling rack and let it cool, before serving and enjoying with friends and family!
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