Best Artisan Basil Sourdough Bread
A beautiful artisan style basil sourdough bread with the savory flavors of fresh basil, garlic, and parmesan baked into the loaf.
Basil sourdough bread is like artisan sourdough bread meets basil pesto. Which is completely wonderful because people like to eat bread with pesto on top. But in this recipe, the “pesto” is baked right into the bread, so you get to enjoy the flavor with every single bite.
I absolutely love fresh basil and enjoy finding new recipes and ways to incorporate it into our weekly menu, especially during the summer when I have it growing in my garden and can’t keep up with these high producing herb plants! If you love basil too, you’ll want to try this Strawberry Basil Tea.
When I smelled this basil sourdough bread baking, I knew it would pair perfectly with a pot of homemade tomato soup. Try dipping the bread into tomato soup and you’ll know what I mean. Basil and tomato were meant for each other.
Why Sourdough?
I am working hard to use sourdough in our diet whenever a food normally contains white flour. This is because white flour alone doesn’t add much nutritious value to food. It can also be hard on the gut. Fermenting white flour with water creates sourdough, which can be used in pretty much any recipe containing flour as an ingredient. Sourdough is packed with nutrients, healthy carbs, protein, fiber, iron, and vitamins like folate. source. Here are 11 reasons why everyone should be eating sourdough bread.
If you’re new to sourdough, make sure to check out my tips on How to make Sourdough Starter More Active.
Tips for Basil Sourdough Bread:
- When performing stretch and folds, you can lightly dip your hands in water to keep the dough from sticking to them. Try not to add too much water or it will change the hydration of your dough. And definitely don’t add any extra flour to your dough as this will also change the hydration.
- If you don’t have a banneton basket, you can line a bowl with a tea towel and sprinkle it liberally with flour.
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Ingredients:
Sourdough starter
Warm water
Fresh basil leaves
Minced garlic
Grated Parmesan cheese
Tools You May Need:
Bowl scraper
Parchment paper
How To Make Basil Sourdough Bread
Feed starter
Feed your sourdough starter at least 4-10 hours before starting the dough. You want it to be active and bubbly before you begin making the dough.
Make dough
In a large bowl, combine the starter, water, flour, salt, basil, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. Work together with your hands. Let rest for 30 minutes to let the dough autolyze, or fully absorb the liquid.
Stretch and folds
Now you’re going to start a period of stretch and folds. This gives the dough elasticity and structure. It’s also what gives it the big bubbles typical of artisan sourdough bread. Dip your hands in a shallow bowl of water. Pull one side of the dough up and then fold the dough to the middle. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat until all sides have been stretched and folded. Cover dough with a towel and let rest 30 minutes before repeating stretch and folds. You will repeat a set of stretch and folds 4 times which will take place over 2 hours.
Bulk rise
Cover with plastic wrap and a clean dish towel and let the dough do a bulk fermentation overnight at room temperature for 8-12 hours, until doubled in size.
Second ferment
In the morning, scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a floured surface. Being careful not to deflate the dough, fold the dough over a couple of times to form it into a ball. Let it sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes.
Sprinkle a banneton basket liberally with flour and place the dough into the basket. Cover with a clean dish towel and let double in size 2-4 hours.
Bake bread
Once the dough is doubled in size, remove it from the banneton by carefully turning it out onto a sheet of parchment paper. Score the top of the dough just before placing it in the oven.
Place a dutch oven into a cold oven and set the oven to 450 F. Once the oven is preheated, remove the dutch oven and place the bread with parchment paper into the dutch oven. Replace the lid. Bake for 20 minutes with the lid, then 5-10 minutes with the lid off until dark golden brown on top.
Remove basil sourdough bread from dutch oven and onto a baker’s rack. Cool completely before slicing.
Sample Baking Schedule:
Noon: Feed sourdough starter.
6 pm: Mix dough and let rest for 30 minutes to autolyze.
6:30-8:30 pm: Perform 4 sets of stretch and folds (1 set every 30 minutes).
8:30 pm: Cover dough and let rise overnight.
6:30 am: Form dough into ball and let rest.
7 am: Place dough in banneton and allow to rise until double.
10 am: Preheat dutch oven & bake the basil sourdough bread.
FAQ:
Why do you do stretch and folds?
Stretch and folds build the gluten structure in the dough, helping it to become stretchy and elastic and form into a more workable ball of dough that can be shaped for baking. They are often used with wetter dough that can be too sticky to knead. Stretch and folds are more gentle than kneading the dough and require less time directly handling the dough. This can actually produce better bread than vigorous kneading. source Stretch and folds also produce more bubbles in your bread, which is desirable in artisan loafs.
How can I make my sourdough bread more sour?
If you’d like a more sour bread, try letting your bread dough rise in the fridge overnight instead of on the countertop. At cooler temperatures, sourdough creates higher levels of acetic acid which has a more sour taste than lactic acid.
Why does sourdough bread need to rise twice?
Sourdough bread needs to rise twice because after it rises the first time (bulk fermentation) it is then shaped and put into a bread pan or banneton. The process of shaping the dough causes some of the gas that was built up during the first rise to escape. The dough needs a second rise in order to allow the dough to build up additional gas. Without a second rise, the bread won’t expand as much during baking and the crumb will be dense.
Find More Sourdough Recipes:
- Honey Oat Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Sourdough Pop Tarts
- Pumpkin Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- Classic Sourdough Waffles or Pancakes
- Einkorn Sourdough Cornbread with Honey
- Pumpkin Sourdough Muffins with Chocolate Chips
If you make this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars!
Basil Sourdough Bread
A beautiful artisan style basil sourdough bread with the savory flavors of fresh basil, garlic, and parmesan baked into the loaf.
Ingredients
- ½ cup active sourdough starter
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, rinsed & minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
1. Feed your sourdough starter at least 4-10 hours before starting the dough. You want it to be active and bubbly before you begin making the dough.
2. In a large bowl, combine the starter, water, flour, salt, basil, garlic, olive oil, and parmesan cheese. Work together with your hands. Let rest for 30 minutes to let the dough autolyze, or fully absorb the water.
3. Start stretch and folds. Pull one side of the dough up and then fold the dough to the middle. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat until all sides have been stretched and folded. Cover dough with a towel and let rest 30 minutes before repeating stretch and folds. You will repeat a set of stretch and folds 4 times which will take place over 2 hours.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean dish towel and let the dough do a bulk fermentation overnight at room temperature for 8-12 hours, until doubled in size.
5. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a floured surface. Being careful not to deflate the dough, fold the dough over a couple of times to form it into a ball. Let it sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes.
6. Sprinkle a banneton basket liberally with flour and place the dough into the basket. Cover with a towel and let double in size 2-4 hours.
7. Once the dough is doubled in size, remove it from the banneton by carefully turning it out onto a sheet of parchment paper. Score the top just before placing it in the oven.
8. Place a dutch oven into a cold oven and set the oven to 450 F. Once the oven is preheated, remove the dutch oven and place the bread with parchment paper into the dutch oven. Replace the lid. Bake for 20 minutes with the lid, then 5-10 minutes with the lid off until dark golden brown on top.
9. Remove basil sourdough bread from dutch oven and onto a baker's rack. Cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- When performing stretch and folds, you can lightly dip your hands in water to keep the dough from sticking to them. Try not to add too much water or it will change the hydration of your dough. And definitely don't add any extra flour to your dough as this will also change the hydration.
- If you don't have a banneton basket, you can line a bowl with a tea towel and sprinkle it liberally with flour.