Sourdough Boule

How can you go wrong with bread? It's delicious and goes with everything! This one is especially easy to make too! So get your Sourdough Starter and lets get started!

Ingredients
475 Grams Organic Bread Flour (3 1/2 cups)
315 Grams Filtered Water (1 1/3 cups)
250 Grams Active Sourdough Starter (1 cup of 100% hydration starter, stirred down)
12 Grams Salt (1 3/4 teaspoon)

Instructions
Weigh and mix all the ingredients into a loose shaggy dough with a wooden spoon or dough whisk.
Wet your hands and gently knead the dough in the bowl by hand until it comes together with no excess flour.

Let the dough rest covered for 20-25 minutes.
Start the first stretch and fold by wetting your hands and lifting one side of the dough and folding it toward the middle. Repeat this stretch and fold process in all four directions.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Start the second stretch and fold by wetting your hands and repeating the same folding motion in (at least) all four directions.

Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Repeat the stretch and fold and resting process up to 5 more times for a total of 7 stretch and folds (the more stretching and folding, the more gluten will develop, and the higher your bread will rise)!
After the last stretch and fold, cover the dough and allow it to double in size. This can take anywhere from 3-6 hours depending on starter strength and the temperature.

Working with the doubled dough, start the final stretch and fold. This will act as the "punch down" of the dough, deflating the gasses trapped inside the gluten network. Stretch the dough several times toward the center, each time pressing down on the dough to remove air bubbles.
Let the dough rest for 10 minutes while you coat a bowl with olive oil

Shape the dough by repeating the same folding toward the center action. Once a tight ball is achieved flip it seam side down and push it gently in all directions across the work surface to build tension in the outer layer.

Let the dough rest seam side down for 5 minutes.
Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, seam side up.
Sprinkle the seam side of the shaped dough with a light dusting of flour and cover it securely with plastic wrap.

Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight for at least 10 hours, up to 24 hours.
Preheat your oven to 450° with your covered Dutch oven inside!

Cut a piece of parchment paper big enough to overhang your loaf's circumference by a few inches.
Remove the bowl from the refrigerator, remove the wrap from the dough and place the parchment sheet over the exposed dough. Hold the parchment in place with your hand while you flip the dough onto the counter. Now the parchment is on the bottom.

Carefully ease the bowl off the dough. Sometimes it takes a little coaxing. Use your fingers to gently work between the dough and bowl. Hopefully the bowl will lift away clean!

Using a sharp knife, score the dough along the top. Score the dough about 1/2 inch deep.
Using baking gloves remove the Dutch oven from the oven and remove the lid.

Working quickly pick up the boule by the parchment paper edges and place it into the Dutch oven on top of the parchment.

Cover the Dutch oven and place it back in your preheated oven. Bake undisturbed for 25 minutes!

Open your oven and remove the Dutch oven lid. Bake for an additional 15 minutes!

Remove your Dutch oven from the oven and gently lift the boule out using the parchment paper as handles. Remove the parchment paper and cool the boule on a wire rack. Cool the boule completely before cutting (possibly the hardest part of baking this incredible loaf of bread!).