Sourdough bread is so nutritious and has hardly any ingredients, the first is water! Start by pouring 290g water into a bowl and add your sourdough starter.

Next add your flour, first plain then wholemeal flour and lastly, salt.

Mix these ingredients together using a spoon to get the flour hydrated – no need to do for too long!

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 3hr in total, with an important step to follow after every hour.

After one hour, take the dough out of the bowl and try the “Window pane test”: Stretch a piece of sourdough bread dough using a few fingers on each side, it should stretch well, but holes will appear.

Next, take the dough out of the bowl and place onto a bench.

To work the dough, stretch one side out while it is still on the bench, and fold it over, repeat on the other side then follow the same technique at the top and bottom too.

Roll the ball on the bench into a ball and tuck the sides in underneath so it smooths out.

Cover and rest for 1 more hour, then repeat steps 6-8. Do this one more time, so the sourdough bread dough has rested for a total of 3 hours.

Once you have shaped it this final time into a tight ball, place it on the bench for a moment.

Spread a kitchen towel inside a banneton basket (or leftover ricotta basket), covering the bottom and sprinkle flour over the top.

Put the dough ball in upside down, with the smooth side at the bottom.

Dust the sourdough bread ball with flour and cover it with the kitchen towel so there is no air inside.

Keep this in the fridge overnight/for a minimum of 12hr.

Once rested, remove from the fridge and leave to rest for 4-5hr.

One hour before the dough has finished resting, pre-heat your oven (using the conventional setting only) at 240°C/464°F, putting your empty dutch oven inside along with the lid.

HOW TO CHECK IF THE SOURDOUGH BREAD DOUGH IS FULLY PROOFED/READY TO BE BAKED?

Press the tips of a few fingers down on the dough and if it rises back up slowly, it is ready. If it bounces back quickly, it needs to rest more as the dough still has too much energy, so rest it for at least another ½hr.

Once the dough has rested, roll out some baking paper on your bench and turn the dough out on top.

Carefully score the top of your bread loaf using a tool you have at home (Ideally, using a baker bread lame tool and blade).

Using the edges of the baking paper, lift the sourdough bread dough and put it into the dutch oven – lid on!

Place in your oven for 20 minutes.

Now remove the lid and leave to bake for another 20 minutes or until the crust is dark and deep in colour.

E ora si mangia, Vincenzo’s Plate….Enjoy!