Ash on Your Hands, Smoke in the Air, Bread That Cracks Like Thunder
There’s a moment — right after you pull the lid off a cast iron Dutch oven buried in hardwood coals — where everything goes quiet. The open fire sourdough bread has sprung, the crust has blistered into something that looks almost dangerous, and the smell hits you: char, fermentation, briny olives, and smoke. This isn’t bread from a kitchen. This is bread from the earth. You built the fire, you tended the coals, and now you’ve got a loaf that doesn’t care what temperature your oven was set to. It cares about the fire you made.
This open fire sourdough bread recipe was born on a fjord camp in late autumn — cold rock underfoot, grey water in every direction, a fire of beech and oak that had been burning since before sunrise. The sourdough starter came in a small jar wrapped in a wool sock. The Kalamata olives were from a tin. Everything went into a Dutch oven that weighed more than the pack it rode in on. The result was the kind of bread that makes you stop talking and just eat — thick slices pulled apart with both hands, the crumb open and glossy, the olives warm and soft and salty against the tang of the sourdough. For a faster, yeast-based fire-baked alternative when you don’t have two days for fermentation, our Campfire Potato Buns deliver the same coal-baked crust on a same-day timeline.
What makes open fire sourdough bread different from anything you’d pull out of a home oven isn’t just the smoke. It’s the radiant heat — uneven, alive, coming from coals above and below simultaneously. The cast iron holds it, distributes it, and creates a pressure-baking environment when the lid is on. The result is a crust that shatters when you knock on it and a crumb that stays chewy for days. The Kalamata olives add a briny depth that plays against the sour tang of the long-fermented dough. Rosemary, if you have it, ties everything to the forest floor around you. Get your starter ready the night before, build your fire strong, and let the coals do what they know how to do.
Why This Open Fire Sourdough Bread?
Most campfire bread recipes skip the sourdough entirely — too slow, too fussy, too unpredictable. That’s a mistake. The long cold fermentation builds flavor that fast-yeast breads simply can’t replicate, and when you combine it with real fire heat, you get a crust that no home oven can touch. The Kalamata olive addition isn’t decoration — it’s a flavor anchor. Their salt and brine cut through the sourdough’s acidity and keep every slice interesting. This recipe is worth the two-day process. Build it at home, cold-proof overnight, and bake it on your next outdoor adventure. The Dutch oven does the heavy lifting at the fire. To put this loaf to work alongside something heavy and buttery, our Open Fire Shrimp Scampi is built to be mopped up with thick, crusty slices straight from the cast iron.
FAQ
Can I bake this open fire sourdough bread without a Dutch oven?
You need something with a tight-fitting lid that can take direct fire heat. A cast iron camp oven or any heavy-lidded cast iron pot works. Without a lid, you lose the steam environment that keeps the crust soft during oven spring — the bread will still bake but won’t open as dramatically and the crust will be tougher.
How do I know when the coals are ready for baking?
The coals should glow deep orange-red with a white ash coating — no visible flames. Hold your hand 6 inches above the coal bed: you should only be able to hold it there for 2–3 seconds. That’s around 450–500°F (230–260°C), which is exactly where you want to bake this open fire sourdough bread.
What if my sourdough starter isn’t active enough at camp?
Feed your starter the night before you leave and transport it in a warm insulated container. At camp, if ambient temperature is below 60°F (15°C), the starter will be sluggish. Warm it near the fire (not on it) for 30–60 minutes before mixing. An under-active starter will produce a denser crumb but the open fire sourdough bread will still bake and taste great.
Fire Kitchen Pro Tip
Score the dough the second it comes out of the fridge — cold dough holds its shape and the razor blade glides through cleanly. Score at a steep 45° angle, not straight down. That angle is what creates the dramatic “ear” on the crust. If your blade drags and tears instead of cuts, it’s either not sharp enough or the dough warmed up too much. Keep a fresh blade at camp — it’s a small thing that makes a big difference. To pair this loaf with a serious centerpiece, our Fire-Roasted Whole Beef Tenderloin is the kind of fire-built roast that demands thick, crusty slices for soaking up the resting juices.
The Recipe
Open Fire Sourdough Bread with Olives
Equipment
- 5-qt Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Lid
- Large mixing bowl
- Kitchen Scale
- Bench Scraper
- Proofing Basket (Banneton) or Bowl + Cloth
- Long Tongs or Shovel for Coals
- Razor Blade or Sharp Knife for Scoring
- Parchment Paper
- Instant-Read Thermometer
Ingredients
Dough
- 450 g bread flour high-protein, 12–14%
- 50 g whole wheat flour
- 375 g water lukewarm, divided — 350g + 25g
- 100 g active sourdough starter fed and bubbly, 100% hydration
- 10 g fine sea salt
Mix-ins
- 150 g Kalamata olives pitted, halved, patted dry
- 1 tbsp fresh rosemary finely chopped, optional
For Baking
- 1 parchment paper sheet cut to fit Dutch oven base
- 1 tbsp semolina or rice flour for dusting banneton
Instructions
Build the Dough
- Combine bread flour, whole wheat flour, and 350g of the lukewarm water in a large bowl. Mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 45 minutes. This hydrates the flour and builds gluten structure before any fermentation begins.
- Add the active sourdough starter and mix with your hand, squeezing it through the dough until fully incorporated. Dissolve the salt in the remaining 25g of water and add it to the dough. Fold and squeeze until the dough feels cohesive again — about 3 minutes.
Bulk Fermentation
- Over the first 2 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch-and-folds, spaced 30 minutes apart. Each set: grab one side of the dough, stretch it up as high as it goes without tearing, fold it over to the opposite side. Rotate the bowl 90° and repeat 4 times. After round 2, laminate in the olives and rosemary — spread the dough flat, scatter the olives across it, then fold it back over itself and continue folding until evenly distributed.
- After the final fold, cover the bowl and let the dough bulk ferment at room temperature (68–72°F / 20–22°C) for a total of 4–6 hours from when you added the starter. The dough is ready when it has grown 50–75%, looks domed, jiggly, and shows bubbles around the edges. Don’t rush this — the fermentation is where the flavor lives.
Shape & Proof
- Turn the dough out onto an unfloured surface. Using a bench scraper, fold the edges into the center and flip the dough seam-side down. Drag it toward you on the counter to build surface tension. Rest uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Dust your banneton with semolina or rice flour. Shape the dough into a tight boule: flatten slightly, fold the top third down, the bottom third up, then roll it toward you. Pinch the seam and place it seam-side up in the banneton. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap.
- Place the banneton in the fridge and cold-proof overnight — 8 to 14 hours. Cold proofing slows fermentation, deepens flavor, and makes the dough much easier to score. If you’re in a camp setting without a fridge, proof at cool ambient temp for 1–2 hours until puffy but not over-proofed.
Fire & Bake
- Build a strong hardwood fire — oak, beech, or hickory — and let it burn down to a thick bed of glowing coals. You want consistent, even heat, not flaming wood. This takes 45–60 minutes. Preheat your 5-qt cast iron Dutch oven (with its lid) directly in the coals or over the fire for at least 20 minutes. It needs to be screaming hot.
- Cut a sheet of parchment to fit the base of your Dutch oven. Remove the dough from the fridge. Flip it out of the banneton onto the parchment, seam-side down. Score quickly and confidently with a razor blade — one deep slash at a 45° angle across the top, or an X. The score controls where the bread opens as it springs in the heat. Immediately lower the dough (on parchment) into the hot Dutch oven using the parchment as a sling. Put the lid on fast.
- Nestle the Dutch oven into the coals. Shovel additional coals onto the lid to create top heat — aim for roughly equal heat from above and below. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Don’t open the lid. The steam trapped inside is everything — it keeps the crust pliable so the bread can fully expand before it sets.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid. You should see a pale, sprung loaf. Continue baking for another 15–20 minutes until the crust is deep mahogany — almost burned-looking. The internal temperature should hit 205–210°F (96–99°C). Pull the loaf from the Dutch oven using the parchment and set it on a wire rack or propped against a log.
- Resist every instinct and let the bread cool for at least 45 minutes before cutting. The crumb is still setting as it cools — cut it too early and it’ll be gummy. When you finally slice it open, the crumb should tear apart with a satisfying pull — open, irregular holes, glossy from the olive oil, smelling of smoke, fermentation, and salt.
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
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