Updated from this recipe and some of my others.

Start this late the night before baking (to first proof overnight), and expect to be baking around the evening, 18-22 hours later.

• Makes one large loaf (around 1,550g wet ingredients, for a large cast iron dutch oven)
• Makes two ‘brick loaves’ (around 775g wet ingredients, per 22x11x7cm loaf tin)
• Makes eight pizza bases (around 385g for two pizza bases, 190g per base)

Ingredients

Leaven

• 60g starter (fed and active at a warm room temperature for at least a few hours prior)
• 190ml cold water
• 190g strong white bread flour

Instant mash

• 2/3 cup instant mash (pure potato flakes, no additives)
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup oat milk
• 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

Dough

• 175ml warm water (around 27 degrees Celsius)
• 500g strong white flour
• 50ml hot water (let to cool after mixing in the salt)
• 2 tsp salt
• Additional flour for dusting as needed.
• Additional oil for prooving.

Get your ferment ready.

1. 8 – 12 hours before you make your bread (so in the evening the night before).
2. Combine the instant mash ingredients in a seperate jug (mix lightly once but don’t whisk)
3. Put your 60g of room temperature active starter in a large bowl
4. Add the 190ml water, 250g instant mashed potatoes, and mix well. 
5. Then stir in the 190g flour, cover, and leave for 8 – 12 hours. It should roughly double in size.

Make your dough

1. Add the remaining 175 ml of water and the 500g of flour, to the levin mix. Combine well.
2. In a seperate small container, add salt to the 50ml hot water, mix well, and then let it cool. Whilst also letting the main dough rest for around 30 minutes. [The Autolyse]
3. Fold in (rather the stirring) the salt water into the main dough. [Don’t worry if it looks too wet .. it will get better. But you are going to have a wetter than typical dough. It just needs to able to hold itself together, not something you want to be heavy kneading.]
4. Cover the bowl again and let it rest for another 45 minutes.

Now is a good time to split the loaf and freeze portions, as appropriate.

1st fermentation, lift & folds.

1. The dough will now begin its first fermentation process. (The first fermentation takes about 3 to 4 hours in total depending on the ambient temperature)
2. Instead of kneading, allow the dough to develop through a series of “lift & folds” in the bowl during this first fermentation, every 45 minutes or so.
3. To do a fold it helps if you dip your hand in the water or oil  – it helps prevent sticking to your fingers. Take the underside of the dough, lift it up to help stretch it out, and fold it back over itself to the middle of the bowl. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn. Repeat until you’ve done two full turns of your bowl. After about 3 hours, the dough should feel aerated and more elasticated. Use your judgment : On a hot day, it will take less time for the dough get about a 30 per cent increase in volume.

Wrap-unders for structure  

1. After the three or so hours of lift & folds, really gently transfer the dough to a very well floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and form gently into a ball by stretching the dough underneath itself, adding more flour where needed so it doesn’t stick to your worktop.
2. Work the piece into a round bun shape. Continue working the sides to the underside of the bun. By the end, the dough should have a reasonably taut, smooth surface, which will help give your bread a good really crust.
3. Meanwhile, clean the large mixing bowl of any remaining flour mixture, and coat liberally with oilve oil (it’s fine if the oil pools at the base too).
4. With your dough scraper, transfer to the oiled mixing bowl again (banneton baskets probably aren’t big enough unless you do it in two parts). Your seam from underneath should now be centred and facing upwards. Pinch together any open dough, although it’s likely to still be too wet for that.

2nd fermentation

1. Let rest at room temperature until proved – about 4 – 6 hours, or until about doubled in size again. It will be very fragile and very full of air.

Bake your Bread

1. About twenty minutes before you bake your sourdough, liberally coat the inside of your heavy laof pan with more oil, spreading it carefully up the sides too. Then place the pan in your oven to preheat to about 220 degrees Centigrade.
2. Once pre-heated, gently and in one movement turn the dough out of the large bowl, straight into the hot pan (the dough should be very fluffy, fragile, and pretty wet as a dough, but should come out in one big glob).
3. Cover with the heavy hot lid. Return to the oven, and bake at around 210 degree for around 30 minutes.
4. Then remove the loaf from the pan entirely, and bake the loaf directly on the oven rack for around 15 minutes more, until the crust is deep brown.
5. Transfer to cooling rack for at least an hour, before cutting into it. The loaf will continue cooking internally during this time. If you cut it too soon and it’ll still be slightly uncooked in the middle. The loaf will still be hot and ‘fresh out of the oven’ after the hour resting though.
6. Enjoy.