Sourdough Batard

Let’s make some dough!

Tools and Equipment:

bowl, scale, mixer, scraper, a baking sheet and a razor (lame)

Ingredients:

7 oz of water,

10 oz flour,

2 oz active sourdough starter,

6 g salt

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, mix your flour and salt. Once combined, add in your sourdough culture and water. Stir until no dry bits remain and you’ve formed a rough dough.
2. Cover and let the dough rest for 30–60 minutes (this is a passive way to build strength/internal structure).
3. Perform two rounds of stretches and folds*, resting at least 20 minutes between rounds.
4. Bulk ferment* for 10–18 hours, until the dough is puffed, jiggly, and doubled in size. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter.
5. Cut off ~10% of the dough and reserve as your culture for the next bake. Gently preshape the remaining dough into a log shape and let it bench rest* for 15–30 minutes.
6. Tighten the shape into a batard* using a gentle envelope fold or roll. Place seam-side up in a floured banneton* or cloth-lined bowl.
7. Proof at room temp for 30–60 minutes while the oven preheats to 500°F.
8. Score* the top with a sharp blade and bake seam-side down on a hot baking surface.
9. Bake for 15 minutes, rotate if needed, and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes until deep golden. Cool fully before slicing.

Conclusion:
Your sourdough mastery continues here. Master this batard, perfect your shaping technique, and enjoy the chewy crumb and bold crust of a bakery-quality loaf.

Store your reserved dough in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and skip the discard routine next time.

Until next time, let’s give thanks for our daily bread…

Path to Mastery:

Note 1:

It is very easy to see that this is a 70% hydration dough (7 oz water/10 oz flour).
something else that isn’t so apparent is that 6 grams of salt is approximately 2% of the weight of the flour. When ingredients are compared as ratios relative to the total flour weight, that's called baker’s math(or baker’s percentage). Baker’s math makes it easy to scale recipes up or down, compare different styles of bread based upon hydration levels, and adjust ingredients with precision.

Test yourself:

Would you label this as lean or enriched bread?

Both the round loaf and the oval loaf had about 2% salt. How much salt do you think you will use in the next recipe?

Note 2: Jargon explained

• Stretch and fold: This simple technique strengthens gluten by gently stretching the dough and folding it over itself. Think of it like pulling on a cotton ball — at first, the fibers stretch easily, but as they align, they begin to resist. That resistance is strength. Each fold doubles the enhanced strength, building structure without kneading. Stretching in one direction aligns the gluten like threads; stretching in two directions creates a semipermeable membrane that traps the gases from fermentation, allowing the loaf to expand like a balloon.
• Bulk ferment: The main rise, where the dough ferments as one mass before shaping.
• Bench rest: A pause or time-out, allowing the dough to adhere to itself and allowing the gluten to relax before final shaping.
• Batard(French): An oval-shaped loaf, between a round loaf and a ‘stick’ (baguette)
• Proofing Basket/Banneton(French)/Bortform(German): A container that supports the dough’s shape (ideally, it allows air circulation to prevent the loaf from sticking).
• Score: Cutting the surface of the dough before baking to promote and control how it expands in the oven (oven spring).
• Lean dough: A dough made without enrichments like oil, sugar, eggs, or dairy.