Start by combining your active sourdough starter and water in a large mixing bowl.

Use a wooden spoon to stir them together until the starter breaks up and the water looks cloudy. Add the bread flour and salt, then stir until it forms a shaggy dough.

Switch to your hand and squeeze the dough, pushing it between your fingers to work in any dry flour pockets. Mix for about five minutes until everything is incorporated and the dough feels cohesive. Keep a bowl of water nearby to wet your hands as needed. This makes the sticky dough much easier to handle.

Cover the dough with a damp cotton towel and let it rest for about an hour. This rest period lets the flour hydrate fully and gives the gluten time to start developing on its own.

Wet your hands and perform a stretch and fold. Pull one side of the dough up from underneath, stretch it gently away from the bowl, then fold it over the top of the dough. Rotate the bowl and repeat this motion all the way around the dough. Cover it again with the damp towel and repeat this process two or three more times, spacing them about 30 minutes apart. If you forget or run out of time, it is fine. The dough will still work. Some folds can be coil folds instead, where you lift the dough vertically out of the bowl with wet hands, let it stretch under its own weight, then quickly flip it back over itself. This builds tension in the dough and helps it hold its shape later.

Let the dough rest in a warm spot in your kitchen for six to twelve hours. The exact time depends on how warm your house is and how active your starter was when you mixed the dough. The dough should roughly double in size, develop visible bubbles on the surface, and spring back slowly when you poke it with a wet finger.

Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured counter. If you want to add inclusions like seeds or dried fruit, stretch the dough out flat, scatter the inclusions over the surface, then fold them in. Shape the dough into a loaf by folding the sides toward the center, then rolling it tightly from one end to the other. Use wet hands to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers.

Line a loaf pan with a floured cotton tea towel and place the shaped loaf inside. Pinch and fold the edges of the dough toward the center, working your way around the bottom until the seam is tightly closed. Mal calls this the “knitting” method.

Fold the tea towel loosely over the top and place the pan in the fridge for 24 hours, up to three days. The longer it sits, the more pronounced the sourdough flavor becomes.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Grease a loaf pan well with butter or oil. Remove the loaf from the tea towel and place it seam side down in the greased pan. Score the top with a sharp knife or razor blade in one long line down the center to give the bread room to expand. Spray the top generously with water, then cover the pan with a second greased loaf pan set upside down on top, or with a piece of greased foil.

Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove the top pan or foil and bake for another 20 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown.

Turn the loaf out onto a wire rack and let it cool for at least one hour before slicing. Cutting into it too soon will make the inside gummy.

The process is long but not complicated, and most of the time is just waiting.