Mix everything together until there’s no dry flour left. You don’t need to knead at this point—just get everything incorporated.

Cover your bowl with plastic wrap or beeswax wrap and let the bread dough rest for 30 minutes. This rest time is called the autolyse, and it gives your flour time to hydrate and begin forming gluten naturally.

​After the dough rest, sprinkle in the tablespoon of salt. Knead the dough using the dough hook attachment on low to medium speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should come together into a soft, stretchy dough ball. It’ll be tacky but shouldn’t stick much to your hands.

Remove the dough with oiled hands and form it into a ball. Lightly oil your bowl, return the dough to the bowl, and cover again. Let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, anywhere from 5 to 10 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the strength of your active starter. This is known as the bulk fermentation or first rise.

Once the dough has doubled, use your dough scraper to gently loosen it from the sides of the bowl and turn it out onto a clean surface.

Try to avoid adding too much extra flour unless it’s really sticky—any added flour at this point won’t have the benefit of fermentation and can change the final texture.

Divide the dough into 2 equal parts (mine weighed about 911g each). You can also make smaller loaves if you prefer.

Use the guide below to help with shaping:

Gently press each piece into a rough rectangle.

Fold the top third of the dough down toward the center, pressing lightly.

Fold each side in toward the center, one at a time.

Roll the dough up from the top edge down toward you, pressing gently as you go to seal each layer.

Flip it seam-side down. Use the sides of your hands to rock or slightly pull the loaf toward you, creating surface tension and tightening the shape.

This technique helps create a strong outer structure so the loaf holds its shape during the final rise and bake. It also gets rid of any large air pockets and encourages even crumb throughout.

Avoid tearing the top of the dough—you want tension, not rips. If it starts to tear, rest it for a few minutes to relax the gluten.

Use a bench scraper if the dough is sticking to the work surface. It can help you shape without having to add extra flour.

Place each loaf into a greased or parchment-lined bread pan and cover lightly. Let it rise until it has domed at the top and nearly doubled again. You don’t want it to over-proof—if it rises too much, you’ll get big air pockets just under the crust.

After fermentation, preheat your oven to 350°F. Once the loaves are ready, remove the wrap and place them on the oven rack.

Bake for 35 minutes, covering loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes if the tops are browning too quickly.

If you’re using lidded pans bake for a full 40 minutes. Either method will give you great results.

The internal temperature should read 190–200°F when fully baked.

This part is so hard, but let your homemade bread cool completely before slicing. Cutting too soon can lead to a gummy or doughy texture inside—trust me, it’s worth the wait!