Feed your starter 4 – 6 hours before making the fall-inspired apple cinnamon sourdough. You want your starter to be bubbly and active before mixing. If you want to be super accurate while doing this, use a 1:1:1 ratio (equal parts starter, water, and flour by weight). We follow the measurements below and still get a bubbly starter in the same amount of time. I also feed my starter right before bed the night before and it’s always ready to go in the morning. This could work great for those of you that have a colder home.

1/2 cup – bread flour

1/2 cup – whole wheat flour

1 cup – water

Once your starter is active mix it in a stand mixer or larger bowl with warm water and whisk together until you get a frothy mixture. Next, add your bread flour and salt and mix until the dough comes together.

Let the dough rest for 1 hour. This will allow the flour to fully hydrate and develop gluten.

After that hour, start performing 3 rounds of stretch and folds. Do 4 - 5 stretch and folds 30 minutes apart.

On the last stretch and fold, add the apples and cinnamon. Start folding them into the dough.

Let the dough rise at room temperature until it's doubled in size. Reference the fermentation chart we linked in the previous section to determine how long your dough should bulk ferment. Remember, inclusion might cause your dough to rise a bit slower.

After the dough has doubled in size for a loooooong time, dump the dough onto a floured surface and perform the final shape. The easiest way to do this is with a bench scraper.

Tuck the bench scraper underneath the dough and move the dough in a clockwise motion (counter clockwise if you're left handed) until the bench scraper is in front of you again. Keep doing that until you've built tension in your dough.

Once the dough is nice and tight, transfer it to a banneton basket or a bowl and cover it with a tea towel. Put it in the fridge for 12 - 15 hours before baking.

Preheat your oven and your dutch oven at 420 degrees. While you're waiting for your oven to preheat, perform the final stitch of the fall apple cinnamon sourdough by taking opposite sides of the dough and crossing them over each other in the middle.

Pitch together the dough you just brought in the middle. Tip - Place your dough on floured parchment paper and let it sit on top of the oven while it preheats. By giving the dough a warm surface to lay on, it will bring the dough to room temperature a bit quicker.

Once your oven has preheated, bake for 6 minutes in your dutch oven with the lid on. Then take your lame or sharp knife to score it. The 6 minute score is going to be the best scoring method for oven spring, but you can also score your sourdough beforehand like we did.