Autolyse: Weigh out your sourdough starter and water into a large ceramic or glass bowl. Mix the water and starter together briefly. Then add your whole wheat flour and salt and mix together with a spatula or butter knife. The dough will be fairly shaggy and only just brought together. Cover your bowl with cling film or a damp tea towel and let it sit for around 1 - 2 hours.

Forming Up Your Dough: After the dough has been through autolyse you need to bring it together into a ball. You'll notice that the dough is fully hydrated after soaking all the water up. It will be fairly sticky and might not feel like the dough is really doing much, but try to bring it together into a rough ball. Work your way around the bowl bringing the edges of the dough into the centre. Then cover and leave again for 30 minutes.

Stretch & Folds: Over the next few hours you need to create some structure for your dough by 'stretching and folding'. Aim to do around 4-6 sets of stretches and folds. For each set, stretch the dough up and over itself 4 times. Leave around 15 minutes in between each set. You will need to really work the dough to develop the gluten.

Bulk Ferment: Once you've finished your stretch and folds, place the cling film or damp tea towel back over your dough and let it rest and ferment at room temperature. Ideally you want your dough to double.

Shaping Your Dough: Once your dough has finished its first ferment, it's time to form it back into a ball and give it some shape and surface tension. Use a silicone dough scraper to gently ease the dough out of the bowl. You want it to land upside down on your counter so that the smooth top of the dough is on the countertop and the sticky underside is facing up. Shape into whatever you like.

Cold Ferment: Now your dough is in its shaping container, cover it loosely with a plastic bag or damp tea towel and place into the fridge. Try to leave it in the fridge for a minimum of 5 hours up to a maximum of around 36 hours.

Preparing to Bake Your Sourdough: Preheat your oven to 230C/450F. Place your Dutch Oven into the oven when you turn it on so it gets hot. Preheat for around 1 hour.

Baking Your Sourdough: When your oven is at temperature, take your sourdough out of the fridge. Gently place it onto a piece of baking paper. Score your bread with a lame, clean razor blade or knife. Carefully take your dutch oven out of the oven. Place the sourdough into the pot using the baking paper as a handle. Put the lid on and place into the hot oven. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on at 230C/450F plus 10-15 minutes with the lid off at 210C/410F.

Finishing Your Bake: When you remove your dough from the oven, carefully remove it from the dutch oven as soon as possible and place on a wire rack to cool.