Drop a small spoonful of starter into room temperature water. If it floats, you're good. If it sinks, feed your starter and wait until it doubles and passes the test.

Your starter should have doubled (or nearly doubled) from its last feeding and look bubbly throughout, not just on top.

It should smell pleasantly tangy, like yogurt or mild vinegar. Not like nail polish remover or alcohol.

Weigh 260g of room temperature water into your mixing bowl.

Add your active sourdough starter and stir until it dissolves (it won't fully dissolve, and that's fine).

Add the bread flour and mix with your hand or a sturdy spoon until no dry flour remains.

Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Let it rest 30 minutes. This is the autolyse, though we're doing a simplified version.

Sprinkle the salt evenly over the surface of the dough.

Wet hands for sticky dough, always. This prevents sticking and makes handling much easier.

Reach under the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Do this 4 times total, working around the bowl.

Cover and leave it alone. Your work is mostly done.

Look for the dough to increase by 50-75% (not doubled—we're not there yet).

The surface should look slightly domed and puffy. You might see some bubbles on the sides of the bowl.

When you gently poke it, it springs back slowly. If it springs back fast, give it more time.

If you want to add one more fold around the 1-hour mark, go for it. Just one set of coil-folds like before. But honestly, you can skip it. This dough is forgiving.

Lightly flour your work surface. Don't use too much—just enough to prevent sticking.

Gently turn the dough out (don't punch it down, ever). Use your bench scraper to release it from the bowl.

Using your bench scraper, shape the dough into a rough round by tucking the edges underneath. Let it rest 15 minutes uncovered (this is the bench rest).

Flip the dough so the floured side is down (sticky side up).

Gently stretch it into a rectangle. Fold the top third down, then the bottom third up (like a letter).

Roll it toward you, using the edge of your hands to create surface tension. Seal the seam.

Place seam-side up in your floured banneton or lined bowl. The seam goes up so when you flip it out for baking, it will be on the bottom.

Cover with plastic wrap or slide the whole thing into a plastic bag.

Refrigerate overnight, anywhere from 8-16 hours. This cold proof develops flavor and makes scoring easier.

You can bake it after 8 hours, or let it go up to 16. The longer it sits, the more tangy the flavor.

Using your bench scraper, gather the dough and tuck edges under to form a rough round.

Let rest 15 minutes uncovered. This relaxes the gluten for easier final shaping.

Flip, stretch into a rectangle, fold like a letter, roll toward you creating tension.

Place seam-side up in a floured banneton or bowl lined with a floured towel.

Put your Dutch oven (with lid) in the oven. Preheat to 500°F (260°C) for at least 45 minutes.

Cut a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than your loaf.

Turn your cold dough out onto the parchment (it should release easily from a well-floured banneton).

Scoring the top with a swift, confident slash about ½ inch deep. One long slash is all you need.

Carefully lower the dough (on the parchment) into the screaming hot Dutch oven. Cover with lid.

Bake covered for 20 minutes at 500°F (260°C). The steam is doing its magic.

Remove lid, reduce temperature to 450°F (230°C), and bake another 20-25 minutes until deep golden brown.

When you tap the bottom, it should sound hollow. That's the sound of success.