Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Boule – easy dutch oven recipe

Here is a simple recipe for a delicious crusty fresh milled flour sourdough boule baked in a dutch oven.

I really like this recipe because it’s simple to measure, there are different options for timing, flours, and shapes, and it simply tastes great! This loaf was a favourite for many of the recipe testing team for Sourdough Without Fail too.

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Why the dutch oven method works so well for baking bread

The dutch oven method is the closest thing we can do at home to achieve the same results that professional bakers get in a traditional wood-fired oven. By heating up the dutch oven in advance, we create a source of thermal mass, steam, and conductive heat, all at the same time.

One of the keys to getting a great rise and oven spring with fresh milled flour doughs is to have a source of steam. Using a dutch oven or bakers cloche traps the steam that comes out of the loaf as it heats up in the hot oven, keeping the crust soft, and allowing maximum dough expansion.

Choosing a dutch oven for baking bread

I find that a 5 litre (5 quart) size dutch oven is the best choice for making boules. I can use this size to either make a regular-sized sourdough boule, or a double batch boule, and it’s an excellent size to have around the house for making all kinds of soups, stews, pot roasts, bone broth, and rice. I like to use enamelled cast iron, but regular cast iron works well too.

Some bakers prefer to use a double dutch oven, combo cooker, or baker’s cloche for making boules, because you can be a bit more gentle when transferring your loaf into it. I just use the dutch ovens that are already in my home, and they work fine. If I didn’t already own a dutch oven and were choosing something new, I’d probably pick the double dutch oven.

The basics of dutch oven boule baking for any loaf

1. Pre-heat your dutch oven and lid to the correct temperature (or slightly higher, if your oven loses a lot of heat).
2. Once your oven reaches the correct temperature, make sure to leave the dutch oven and lid in there for at least another 15 to 30 minutes, to make sure they get completely saturated with oven heat.
3. When your dough is ready to bake, gently flip it into the hot dutch oven, quickly shut the lid, and put it back in the oven.
4. After the first 15-25 minutes of baking, remove the lid, to allow the excess steam to evaporate, so that the hot dry oven heat can create a delicious caramelised crust during the rest of the baking time.

More tips for dutch oven baking

• If your loaves are not springing up as much as you’d like in the oven, throw an ice cube in next to your loaf in the dutch oven to provide extra steam.
• If you need to bake more than one loaf, simply remove the first loaf when it’s done, put the dutch oven and lid back in the oven, and allow it to heat back up for 15 minutes before adding your second loaf in.

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A sourdough boule with many options

Timing options

Same day ferment and bake

Ferment your dough for 4 to 6 hours, shape, proof for 2 to 3 hours, then bake

Same day ferment with overnight proof

Ferment your dough for 4 to 6 hours, shape, proof in the fridge overnight, bake the next day.

Overnight dough

Ferment your dough overnight below 8ºC (46ºF). Shape, proof for around 3 hours, then bake.

Flour choices

Wheat, emmer, or Khorasan

Make the loaf as-is, using all wheat (hard white or hard red, or a mix), emmer, or Khorasan. This loaf works beautifully with home-milled flour or store bought flour.

Hint of rye

Replace up to 82g (2/3 cup) of the wheat flour with fresh milled rye flour.

Spelt

Replace 50% of the flour with spelt, or use all spelt if you don’t mind your boule flattening out a bit in the oven

Einkorn

Use all einkorn flour instead of wheat, just make sure to reduce the water by 45g (3 Tbsp) per loaf.

Inclusions

Feel free to add your choice of fruits, nuts, and/or seeds to the dough. Olives work well too. Simply mix through around 135g of dried fruit, nuts, seeds, or olives during the last set of stretch and folds.

Shaping options

This dough also makes excellent baguettes! Or use it for rolls or pizza, or make a bâtard instead of a boule. This dough works well for pan loaves too.

You can also make an extra large boule by making a double batch of dough, and then shaping and baking it as a single large boule. Reduce the oven temperature to 220ºC (430ºF) and increase the baking time by 15 minutes. You’ll need a dutch oven with at least 5 litres (5 quarts) capacity for this.

How to shape a sourdough boule made from home-milled flour

Get a bowl or brotform ready to hold your dough by draping a linen tea towel or other non-fluffy towel into it, with the edges hanging over the sides. Dust the towel liberally with flour.

In the photos below, the shaping begins in the bowl, with the final tensioning happening in mid-air. You can do all the shaping in mid-air (or in the bowl) if you prefer.

1. Take each piece of dough with wet hands and hold it in both of your hands, or in the bowl. Imagine there is a dot in the centre of the dough, on the top. Gently stretch the sides of the dough to this dot, or slightly over it, pressing lightly to secure it. You will need to do this for all four sides.
2. Flip the dough over and continue building tension towards this imaginary dot. Gently stretch the skin of the dough to create a tight surface, quickly working all around the ball to create a tight and shiny surface.
3. Sprinkle the top of the loaf with flour.
4. Flip upside down, and place in the towel-lined bowl, seam side up. Sprinkle with a little more flour, drape the towel edges over the top and leave it to rise.

Fresh Milled Flour Sourdough Boule Recipe

Equipment

A dutch oven, at least 4 quarts (4 litres in size) (5 is better)

Mixing bowl

Proofing bowl or brotform with a rounded shape, at least 2 litres (2 quarts) in size (I like to use a 3 litre (3 quart) Pyrex bowl)

Linen tea towel, or similar non-fluffy towel

Ingredients for 1 boule

100g (scant 1/2 cup) ripe fresh milled flour sourdough starter at 100% hydration

500g (3 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp) fresh milled wheat, emmer, or Khorasan flour (or other options, see above)

400g (1 2/3 cups) water

8g (2 1/2 teaspoons) salt

Method

Mix

Combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spoon or your hands until no traces of flour remain.

Rest, stretch, and fold

Allow to sit for around 20 minutes, then do a series of stretch and folds.

Ferment

Leave to ferment until it has increased in size somewhat and feels puffy and airy when poked – this will take around 4 hours at around 22ºC (72ºF), longer if it’s colder. Optionally do up to three more sets of stretches and folds early on in the fermentation time.

Divide, shape, and proof

Divide the dough if you’re making more than one loaf, and shape into a boule. Place in a bowl lined with a tea towel, and leave to rise either two to three hours at room temperature, or overnight below 8ºC (46ºF).

Bake

Preheat the oven to 230ºC (450ºF) with a dutch oven (including the lid) inside it.

Once the oven and dutch oven are hot, gently invert your loaf into the dutch oven, optionally score the top of the loaf a couple of times, put the lid back on, and bake for 50 minutes in total, removing the lid after the first 20 minutes.