DAY 1

• First thing in the morning, feed the sourdough starter and leave it in a warm place (ideally between 21-27°C), loosely covered, for 4 hours. The starter should double in size by then. If it doesn’t, it might need a few more good feedings to be ready.

Autolyse

• Before your starter reaches its peak, start the autolyse. In a bowl of your stand mixer, combine the flour and water into a dry-ish shaggy dough. Simply run the mixer for 1-2 minutes, then cover the bowl with a damp towel and leave the flour to hydrate for 30-60 minutes.

Mixing The Dough

• Sprinkle salt over the hydrated flour and add the active sourdough starter to the shaggy dough mixture. Run the stand mixer for 10-15 minutes until your dough is smooth and elastic. It does not need to pass the windowpane test just yet (the gluten will continue developing when we fold the dough during the bulk fermentation period).

Bulk Fermentation and Coil Folds

• Scoop the dough into a large bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap (a.k.a. cling film) and leave it in a warm place (21-27°C) for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, with cold wet hands, perform the first set of coil folds. Simply lift the bread dough with both hands from the sides and tuck it under to form a coil. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and coil again. Cover the bowl again, and let the dough rest for 30 minutes again.
• Repeat the coil folds twice more. After the third coil fold, your dough should feel a lot less sticky and feel strengthened and elastic. This is important for the next step – lamination!

Laminating The Mix-Ins and Extra Coil Folds

• Pat the pickled jalapeno slices with a piece of kitchen towel to remove excess moisture. Cut your Cheddar into 1cm cubes (about ¼-1/2 inch). 
• Wet the surface of a large area of the kitchen surface (you can spray it or simply use your hands to make the surfaces wet). Scoop the dough out onto a wet surface and stretch it out as much as you can without tearing it.
• Scatter ⅓ of cubed Cheddar and ⅓ of jalapenos all over the middle section of the dough. Then fold one side over the mix-ins. Scatter another ⅓ on top of the folded-over area and fold the other side over. This should look like a large dough pamphlet at this stage.
• Scatter half of the remaining mix-ins in the centre of the pamphlet, then fold the top over. Finally, scatter the remaining mix-ins over the folded-over bit, and fold the bottom over. Please refer to the photos below for a better explanation. You should now be left with a parcel of laminated sourdough.
• Place the dough into the mixing bowl you used before, cover and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
• At 30-minute intervals, perform 2 more coil folds, being very gentle not to pierce the dough. This will help distribute the mix-ins evenly in the dough.
• After two more coil folds, cover the dough well, and leave it to finish its bulk fermentation undisturbed for 2-3 hours. The dough should just about double in size from its original size.

Shaping and Cold Retardation

• At the end of bulk fermentation, using a bowl scraper scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Try and make sure that the smooth top of the dough (the side that is not intact with the bowl) is placed on the floured work surface. Then swiftly fold the four corners of the dough into the centre and flip the dough over.
• With your bench scraper held at a shallow angle to the work surface, push the dough while using your hand to tuck it under itself, creating tension. This fluid circular motion involves pushing and gently rounding with the bench knife, while your free hand continues the rounding motion, tucking the dough slightly under itself. It takes some practice, but you should aim for a tight round ball of dough that holds its shape and doesn't spread much.
• Place the dough ball into a well-floured banneton basket (or any proofing basket alternatives). We recommend using rice flour for dusting your proofing baskets. The smooth side of the sourdough ball should be at the bottom, with the seam side up.
• Pinch the seam together with your fingers, if the dough starts spreading in the bowl to make sure the dough is tight. Sprinkle with some flour, and cover the dough with a clean fabric napkin or small lightweight tea towel.
• Place the proofing basket in a large plastic bag – it will protect the dough from drying out. Then place the whole thing in the fridge for its final rise (a.k.a. second rise) in the fridge for 12-36 hours.

DAY 2

Scoring The Sourdough

• The next day, place the Dutch Oven in the oven, and preheat it to 240°C (typically, it is the highest temperature home ovens will go to) with the Dutch oven in it. It needs to be piping hot!
• Once the oven is hot, take the dough out of the fridge and out of the bag.
• Invert the dough gently onto a large sheet of parchment paper. If your dough was properly bulk fermented and shaped correctly, it should not spread once inverted.
• Dust the surface of the dough with flour. Using a bread lame or a razor blade, score the dough deeply (approximately 1cm deep) at a 30- 45º angle. One single deep slash is all that’s needed for that sought-after sourdough “ear”.

​Baking and Cooling

• Take the hot Dutch Oven out of the oven, take the lid off, and lift the sourdough into it, holding the edges of the parchment paper. Be mindful of how you lift the paper. Sometimes, the scored slash can begin to close up during this process. To prevent this, lift the parchment from the sides that won't push the two edges of the scored dough back together.
• Place the lid back on the Dutch Oven and place the bread into the hot oven for 25 minutes.
• After 25 minutes, take the lid off, and return the sourdough to the oven for another 25 minutes to turn golden brown.
• Once baked, take the Dutch Oven out of the oven. Lift the bread out by holding the corners of the parchment paper. Place the bread onto the wire rack, and slide the parchment paper from underneath the loaf.
• Leave the sourdough to cool down to room temperature before slicing.