In a large bowl, combine sourdough starter and warm water. Stir to distribute the starter into the water.

Dissolve into the mixture kosher salt.

Add the all purpose flour or bread flour and stir until it's too stiff to work with a spoon. Use your hand to bring the ingredients together into a uniform dough, about 15 seconds.

Let the dough rest, covered with plastic wrap or a lid, in the bowl for 30-60 minutes.

Perform stretch and folds (if desired) after the 30-60 minute rest period. Do this series 2-3 times with 30-60 minutes between sets. This helps build strength in the dough.

Once the stretch and folds are completed, place the dough in a straight-sided container with a lid. To help monitor the rise of the dough, use a dry erase marker to follow the outline of the dough. This will help you see more clearly how much it’s risen. *Keep in mind - the warmer the dough temperature, the faster the rise. We’re going to aim for 4-6 hours of total rise time by keeping the dough in the microwave with the under-microwave light on during the fermentation time.

Let rise covered at room temperature until not quite doubled in bulk. *When you start experimenting with other processes and want to try cold fermentation, only let it rise to about 50-75% before putting it in the fridge so that it doesn’t become over-proofed (a sloppy mess with no structure).

Pre-Shape: Turn the dough out onto your counter (do not use flour yet), using a bench scraper pre-shape your dough by sliding under the dough and working in a circular motion, repeat working around the dough until it forms into a ball and builds a skin. Allow to rest 30 min.

Final-Shape: Lightly flour your counter and hands, slide your fingers under the edge of the pre shaped dough, pull it straight up and flip onto counter. Make a pamphlet, fold the bottom third up and the top third down. Grip the dough at the side of the pamphlet shape and gently stretch as you roll the dough into a loaf. Gently pull and slide the dough across the counter a few times to build tension.

Lightly oil the parchment paper where the dough will go and then place the dough on the parchment paper. Place in greased loaf pan, if using.

Score the bread as desired.

If using a COOKIE SHEET/BAKING STONE: Cover with a lightly-oiled oven-safe bowl or other dish deep enough to allow the dough to rise without running too much into the cover. The oil helps both soften the crust and limit the sticking if the dough does touch the cover. *Optional – toss a few ice cubes under the cover to help create more steam for more rise.

If using a DUTCH OVEN: Cover with the lid. *Optional – toss a few ice cubes into the Dutch oven with the bread.

If using a LOAF PAN: Use a second loaf pan on top as a lid to help trap steam. A dome made of foil can be used if a second loaf pan isn't available.

Place into a cold (un-preheated) oven and turn the oven on to 400F convection and bake, covered, for 35 minutes.

Remove the cover, turn temp down to 375F and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 205-209F. I usually put a thermometer into the loaf when I remove the cover and then set it to alarm at 205F. If it’s not brown enough by then, I will reset the alarm to 209F and let it continue baking.

Turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool fully before slicing, if you can wait that long.