How to Make an 80% Hydration Sourdough Loaf | Step-by-Step Guide for Beautiful Open Crumb

New to sourdough? Start here! Learn how to make your sourdough starter with my easy course:    • Sourdough Course  

Welcome to this step-by-step guide on how to make an 80% hydration sourdough loaf. In this video, I’ll walk you through every stage of the process, from mixing the dough to shaping and baking, with tips to achieve a beautiful open crumb. To show how results can vary, I made this loaf three times, highlighting the differences in the finished crumb. When I first started my sourdough journey, I often felt discouraged by photos and videos of dramatic, airy loaves that seemed out of reach. My goal with this tutorial is to remind you that every crumb is a good crumb—it’s all part of the learning process. Let’s get started!

How to Prepare a Starter:
I prefer a 1:4:4 (10g: 40g: 40g) ratio (starter: bread flour: water).
Typically, I mix it in the evening and let it ferment overnight.
By the next morning, it’s ready to use for baking.
You can adjust the ratio to fit your schedule—
lower ratios will ferment faster, while higher ratios will take longer to grow.

Recipe (80% hydration)
Water: 225 ml (initial) + 15 ml (reserved for later)
(If it is a warm day then just use room temperature water ,
otherwise if its a cold day you should use lukewarm water)
Bread flour 240g ( protein 12.8g )
Whole grain flour 60g
Active starter 60g
Salt 6g

Baking time
Bake 250°C for 20 mins with steam
Remove the steam and bake 250°C for another 15-20 mins

For Dutch oven
250°C with lid bake for 20 mins
230°C without the lid bake for 15-20mins

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The Brod & Taylor Foldable Proofer & Slow Cooker is used in this video, You can find it here: https://brodandtaylor.com/MYFORMOSAFOOD

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