Emily Laurae

Levain
14 Make sure to do a float test - It’s the best way to tell if your starter is fresh. Simply pinch off about 1 tablespoon of your starter and place it in a glass of water. If it floats, you're in business!
1 Mix starter (20g) and water (80g) together before adding bread flour (80g) and mix until homogenous approximately 12 hours before you start the process of making your Sourdough loaf. Place in a covered container at room temperature.
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
3 Mix your levain and water together until combined. Then mix in the bread flour until little to no clumps remain with a spatula or your hands and cover for 45 minutes. This is called the autolyse - hydrating your flour prior to moving on to the next step.
4 *When making sourdough it’s helpful to have a little bowl of water nearby - dipping your hands in water prior to working with the wet, sticky dough will help immensely!
5 Add 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to your dough and mix with a spatula or your hands until the salt granules have dissolved completely into the dough. Place in a bowl greased with one tablespoon of olive oil, cover, and set aside to rest for another 45 minutes.
6 Time to start folding the dough - every 30 minutes for the next two hours fold your dough. Gently stretch the dough in an upwards motion before placing back onto itself - do this four times every 30 minutes rotating around the dough as you do so.
7 Once you’ve folded the dough 4 separate times, allow it to rest for 45 minutes before continuing.
8 Pre-Shape: On a wooden cutting board greased with a touch of olive oil, gently shape the dough into a batard or oblong shape, being careful not to deflate it. Starting from the top edge, fold the dough down about one-third of the way towards the center. Next, fold the bottom edge up towards the center, slightly overlapping the previous fold, and pinch the dough in the middle to secure the seam. This pre-shaping process establishes the foundation for the charming oblong shape. Flip the dough seam side down, gently tuck the two ends underneath, and create some tension by dragging the dough against your work surface around ten times. Allow the dough to rest, covered by a towel, for an hour.
9 Final Shape - Once again, follow the instructions above before placing the dough seam side down into a loaf pan greased with olive oil and allow to rise covered by a towel for 1.5 hours before baking. *You can also place your bread in the fridge to bake the next morning if you prefer! Simply remove it from the fridge while your oven in preheating before baking.
11 Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place your risen loaf in the oven and reduce the heat to 375F. Bake for about 30-45 minutes or until you start to see a hint of browning on the edges and top of your loaf. Your target internal temperature is between 200-210 degrees F, that can help determine whether your loaf is fully baked or not!
12 Remove the loaf from the oven and carefully remove the bread from within - I usually flip the loaf pan upside down using oven mitts, allowing me to remove the hot sourdough loaf and place it on a cooling rack. If you notice that the bread looks a little pale, you can place it back into the oven to continue baking for some additional color. 
13 It will be very challenging to wait before cutting into the loaf, but I promise you it’s worth it! Cutting into your bread when it is too hot could ruin it’s structure - I usually wait an hour at the very least before diving in unless you don’t mind cutting in early.