Hack That Makes Perfect Sourdough Stress-Free

Everyday Sourdough Table Bread (Beginner-Friendly Batard) 🍞 Perfect everyday sourdough with soft crumb, thin crust, and reliable results! This stress-free recipe uses a tiny pinch of yeast to standardize timing + open the crumb while keeping full sourdough flavor. No mixer needed – just hands, slap & folds, and bowl coil folds. NEW simplified formula (1 loaf): overnight levain, 1-hour rest, hand mix. Walks you through why we add yeast and how it makes baking foolproof for beginners! Timestamps: 0:00 Levain 1:36 Mix + 1hr rest 2:13 Slap & fold 3:25 Stetch & fold 3:49 Pre - shape 5:26 Batard shaping 7:20 Bake Day 8:41 Why use yeast 🥖 Sourdough Table Bread Recipe Levain (make the night before - ferment 12-16 hours) 75g water (room temp) 75g bread flour 50g active sourdough starter Total: 175g levain Mix until no dry flour. Cover, ferment 12-16 hrs at 70-75°F until bubbly & domed. Final Dough 500g bread flour (strong bread flour, 12-13% protein) 350g water (Water 1 - room temp) 175g ripe levain (all of above) 0.5g instant yeast 12g salt 25g water (to add with salt) 📋 Step-by-Step Process Night Before (Levain) Mix 75g water + 75g flour + 50g starter until smooth Cover. Ferment 12-16 hours until doubled & bubbly Day Before Baking (~3.5 hours active time) 1. Initial Mix (5 min) Large bowl: 500g flour + 350g water + 175g levain + 0.5g yeast Pinch/fold by hand until no dry flour. Shaggy & sticky = perfect. Cover. Rest 1 hour (flour hydrates, gluten starts forming) 2. Add Salt (3 min) Sprinkle 12g salt + 25g water over dough surface Wet hand, pinch & fold until salt dissolves (2-3 min) 3. Slap & Fold (8 min) Wet table & hands. Turn the dough out. SLAP front edge down, fold back over. Rotate. Repeat 5-8 min until smooth, elastic. Form a loose ball, place in an oiled bowl. Cover. 4. Bulk Fermentation (2.5 hours) Room temp (~75°F). 4 coil folds every 30 min (in bowl): Wet hands, grab the center, stretch up as far as possible Fold over the opposite side. Rotate bowl 90°. Repeat x4 Each set = stronger, smoother dough After 4th fold: rest 30 more min 5. Shape Batard (10 min) Lightly flour counter. Gentle oval pre-shape → 20 min bench rest (cover) Final tight batard shape → seam-up in floured oval basket/couche Straight to fridge 12-16 hours. Baking Day Preheat 475°F 1hr with Dutch oven OR stone/steel Turn batard seam-down on parchment/peel Score long slash down length Dutch oven: 25 min lid-on @450°F → 25-35 min lid-off @425°F Stone/steel: Add steam, 30 min @450°F → rotate → 30 min @425°F Done when: Deep golden crust, hollow thud when tapped Cool 2 hours minimum on rack Yield: 1 large batard (~525g baked) Storage: Room temp 3-4 days, freezes great Why Add Yeast to Sourdough? ✅ Predictable timing (no "is my starter sleepy?" stress) ✅ Open, soft crumb perfect for sandwiches/toast ✅ Backup for levain = beginner-proof results ✅ Full sourdough TANG + flavor + shelf life Perfect first "table bread" - simple steps, reliable oven spring, versatile crumb! #sourdoughtablebread #everydaySourdough #batardrecipe #sourdoughwithyeast #beginnersourdough #slapandfold #noMixersourdough #sourdoughbatard #hybridsourdough #handmixedbread Tools I Use in This Video: (affiliate links — THANK YOU for supporting the channel) • Tea Infuser for flour dusting: https://amzn.to/3Xsmwoz • Emile Henry Artisan Bread Baker https://amzn.to/3MEl941 • Plastic Dough Scraper: https://amzn.to/4rzoMIh • Baking Steel: https://amzn.to/3Xw67iL Shop all my recommendations on my Amazon Storefront: https://www.amazon.com/shop/doughwith... Which will you slice this with first? 🧈🥪🍲 Comment below! 👇 👍 Like + 🔔 Subscribe for weekly bread!