Our Process

Since 2022 we’ve offered a unique shopping experience in our locally owned and operated cottage bakery. We do things a little differently at Bee In Your Bonnet, making our long-fermented sourdough entirely by hand with wholesome ingredients just for you.
Sourdough is not the sort of thing you can really order for instant gratification. To make one loaf of true sourdough can take 3-5 days to feed our starter, go through fermentation, work in any mix-ins, bake, and then cool to the appropriate temperature before it can be packaged. The wait isn't for everyone but we can say that we think it's definitely worth it.
Here is a little breakdown of the life of your Artisan Sourdough order:
Example: Sunday evening you place your order with us via messenger, receive a confirmation response, and select a pickup time for Friday.
Wednesday morning:
We feed the sourdough starter (Levian) and wait for it to peak (2 to 4 hours)
Meanwhile, we autolyze the flour for the dough by adding just spring water to the flour
When the starter is ready we mix it into the flour mixture and add the salt and begin the fermentation process.
We let that mixture sit for one hour.
Then we begin the stretch and folds of the dough: there are a total of 6 (3 in 15-minute intervals and 3 in 30-minute intervals)
Once that is complete, we place the dough in a covered container to proof (bulk fermentation at 50% to 75% increase) this step can take 4 to 6 hours
When the dough has risen enough we take it out preshape it and let it rest for 30 minutes
After 30 minutes we shape the dough properly and place it in a banneton basket we cover it
It then rests for another hour
Lastly, we take the banneton basket with the shaped dough and place it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours for the final cold-proof
Friday morning (Pick up day):
We preheat the oven and the covered cooking vessels to 500 degrees
We score and prepare the dough and place it in the hot vessels to bake
The bread bakes for 25 minutes covered and 20 minutes uncovered
We take the bread out and allow it to cool
Then we package it for you
We use a blend of 90% Hard Red Winter Wheat Bread Flour and 10% Whole Grain Winter Wheat Flour with an Organic Rye Levian.
Our dough is a 75% hydration dough. These loaves are made entirely by hand, we always want you to have a fresh delicious loaf!