There’s something undeniably captivating about the moment you pull a beautifully baked sourdough loaf from the oven—the golden crust, the rustic scoring, the irresistible aroma. But what if you could elevate that artisanal charm even further? Using a piece of lace as a stencil offers a simple yet striking way to create intricate patterns on your bread’s crust, blending craftsmanship with a touch of vintage elegance. Surprisingly, a humble scrap of lace can transform your homemade sourdough into an edible centerpiece, along with tips for achieving those picture-perfect results.
100 grams active starter
345 grams warm filtered water
50 grams King Arthur organic whole wheat flour
450 grams Bobs Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour (unbleached)
11 grams sea salt
🍞Mix your starter & water, then add the flours. Mix until MOST of the flour is mixed & let sit for about 10-15 minutes covered with a damp towel. After 10-15 minutes, add your salt & continue to mix until a shaggy rough dough is formed. Cover and let rest for one hour.
🍞Uncover, dampen hands, stretch the dough up & fold onto itself, turn bowl & stretch & fold on each side of the dough. Cover and rest for 30mins. Repeat 3 more times every 30 mins.
🍞After the last stretch & fold, cover & let the dough rise on your counter until it has ALMOST doubled. This may take 2-3 hours. It may take 5. It depends on how strong your starter is, how warm your dough is, how warm the water was that you used, how warm your kitchen is.
🍞Slowly remove the dough from bowl & shape it into a boule or batard. Place it into a lined basket/bowl that has been sprinkled with rice flour. Sprinkle the top with rice flour – this will eventually become the bottom. Cover & put into fridge overnight.
🍞 Take the basket & put into the freezer for at least an hour.
🍞Remove from the freezer & cover the top with parchment paper. Carefully flip basket over onto flat surface. Lay the lace over and sprinkle with rice flour. Carefully remove lace and score.
🍞Bake at 435F in a preheated Dutch oven for 25 minutes – lid on. After 25 minutes, remove the lid & bake at the same temperature for 30 minutes. I always put a pizza stone & a cookie sheet on the rack below to help prevent the crust from getting so hard.