Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (2024)

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Finally, a Basic Sourdough Bread recipe that's easy to follow and absolutely delicious! With a few essential tools, you too can make great sourdough bread! Be sure to save a few slices to make a delicious Reuben Sandwich.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (1)

For the past year (2017), I've been trying to perfect sourdough bread baking. In January, I started my own sourdough starter.

Since then, I have baked many a loaf, trying to get it right. Thisbasic sourdough bread recipe is the result of a lot of trial and error, but I think I finally nailed it!

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  • 🧐 Why This Recipe Works
  • 🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
  • 🔪 Helpful Tools
  • 🍞 Sourdough Bread Recipe
  • 🤷🏻‍♀️ FAQs
  • 👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips
  • 🥖 Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

🧐 Why This Recipe Works

  • Sourdough bread is fun to make, especially when you get it right!
  • The starter discard can be used in so many ways!
  • Sourdough bread is better for you than white bread and loaded with probiotics, so go ahead, have another slice!
  • Once you get the hang of baking sourdough bread using my easy sourdough bread recipe, you can make one as often as you'd like. You can freeze some of it, or give it to family and friends.
  • You can double this sourdough bread recipe to make two smaller loaves, one larger loaf. Or make sourdough rolls instead!
  • I love serving sourdough bread with hearty soups like this delicious ham and beans recipe.

🛒 What You Need For This Recipe

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (2)

🔖 Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions

  • Flour: I prefer to use bread flour but you can experiment with wholewheat, or a combination of the two.
  • Kosher Salt: You can substitute with sea salt if you need to.
  • Sourdough Starter: The most important ingredient is the starter. Make sure your sourdough starter is active and bubbly before proceeding.
  • Cornmeal: I like to add some cornmeal to the parchment paper to keep it from sticking.

*Find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card!

🍞 Sourdough Bread Recipe

Start With A Good Starter

I love that you don't need yeast to make sourdough bread, just a good starter that you can make with flour, water, and wild yeast. Wild yeast is all around us!

To make your own starter, use an equal amount of flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, or a combination of the two) and warm water, measured in grams. I prefer to use 100 grams of each. If you don't have a scale, you can use 1 cup flour and ½ cup water.

Simply combine the two in a mason jar or a sourdough starter jar and mix until combined. Loosely cover the jar with the lid or a paper towel fastened with a rubber band. Set aside in a warm spot for 48 hours.

On day 3, discard half of the starter, leaving 100 grams. Next, you need to feed the starter with equal amounts of all-purpose flour and warm water (100 grams each).

Repeat this process on days 4-7, discarding half each day and mixing in an equal amount of water and flour. On day 7, your starter should be active and bubbly and ready to use!

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (3)

Pro Tip: A 100 grams is an arbitrary number. If you want, you can use 50 grams, 60 grams or any other number. You'll need less flour too!

Another option is to get sourdough discard from a friend, to make your sourdough loaf recipe. If you don't have that option, you can purchase sourdough starter here.

How to Make A Sourdough Loaf

Make sure you begin with an active sourdough starter. Look for plenty of active bubbles, which will help your bread to rise.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (4)
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (5)

Pro Tip: You can also test the sourdough to see if it's active and ready to be used. Just plop a teaspoon full of sourdough starter into a glass of water. If it floats to the surface, it's ready to be used!

Autolyse

Autolyse simply means hydrating the flour. This is done by mixing the water and flour and allowing them to rest before introducing the starter and salt. You can try that method, or mix all the ingredients together from the start, which works for me!

Step 1: Mix the sourdough starter, warm water, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add the bread flour and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and rest in a warm spot for 30-60 minutes.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (6)
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (7)
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (8)
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (9)

Stretch & Fold

Step 2: After 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough. This is done by stretching the dough up and then folding it over the remaining dough. Turn the bowl a quarter of a turn and stretch and fold the dough again. Do this 4 to 8 times, turning a quarter turn each time.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (10)
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (11)

Bulk Rise

Step 3: Cove the dough once more and proof for 4 hours in a warm spot. A good place to proof the dough is in the oven with the oven light on. Set a timer and stretch and fold the dough once every hour for a total of 4 times in four hours.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (12)

Shape Dough

Step 4: Fold the dough onto itself, turn a quarter turn and repeat. Do this going around the bowl. This technique is often described as shaping the dough into an envelope.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (13)
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (14)

Here is a video showing how to do the envelope method.

Step 5: Flip the dough ball over, seam-side down, and pull the dough towards the bottom to make a ball. Push the sides using a bench scraper. As you push on the sides, the end result will be a nice tight ball of dough.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (15)

Step 6: Flour the banneton basket generously with all-purpose flour or rice flour. You don't want the dough to get stuck in the basket, so don't skimp on the flour. Get the sides too!

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (16)

Second Rise

Step 7: Sprinkle flour on top of the dough ball, then gently transfer into the basket, seam-side-up. Sprinkle the top with more flour, then cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Proof a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably overnight in a fridge.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (17)
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (18)

Step 8: Remove the basket from the fridge, while you preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Place a 3.5 quart sized dutch oven in the oven to heat.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (19)

Scoring

Step 9: Sprinkle cornmeal on a piece of parchment paper. Gently remove the dough from the basket and place it seam-side-down onto the parchment paper. Make a few expansion slashes (½" deep) using a sharp knife or a bread lame.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (20)
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (21)
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (22)

I haven't played around much with decorative scoring but if you want to learn how to do that, check out this sourdough scoring post!

Step 10: Carefully remove the heated pot from the oven. Lift the parchment paper from the sides and gently place the dough ball into the hot pot.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (23)

Pro Tip: Another option is to use a silicone bread sling instead!

Baking Instructions

Step 11: Using a small spray bottle, spray the top of the dough with water. Cover the pot and bake for 20 minutes.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (24)

Step 12: Remove the Dutch oven's lid and bake an additional 20 minutes, uncovered, or until deep golden brown.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (25)

Step 13: Carefully remove the pot from the oven. Cool sourdough completely before slicing with a bread knife.

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (26)

Now that you know how to make this easy sourdough recipe with your sourdough starter, what do you do with your discard? Well, you can use it to make all sorts of delicious recipes. Not sure where to start? How about these fluffy sourdough discard pancakes? They're lighter and healthier than regular pancakes!

🤷🏻‍♀️ FAQs

How many times should I feed my sourdough starter before baking?

Your sourdough starter should be at least a week old and fed daily for a week before it's active enough to bake with.

Do you have to discard sourdough starter every feeding?

Yes, discard half of the starter daily, and feed the starter with equal amounts of warm water and flour. Luckily, the "discard" doesn't really have to be discarded. It can be sued to make bread, pizza crust, English muffins and more!


Should I spray my bread with water?

Spraying the bread with water will help create steam in the pot as the bread bakes. This helps the bread to rise and give your sourdough a beautiful crackly crust!

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (27)

👩🏼‍🍳 Pro Tips

  • You need sticky/stretchy dough to make sourdough bread. Although it's hard to work with, it makes all the difference.
  • Banneton Baskets help the dough keep its shape and structure during the last proofing.
  • If too much flour sticks to the dough after removing from the banneton basket, you can always gently brush the excess flour off.
  • You can't rush sourdough bread.Taking two days to make the bread is highly recommended!
  • If you don't want to feed your starter daily, you can store it in the fridge and feed it once a week.
  • Another option is to freeze your starter and bring it back to life when you're ready to start baking sourdough again.
Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (28)

If you enjoyed this easy sourdough recipe, check out these other bread recipe too!

  • Jalapeno Cheddar Sourdough
  • Lavash Bread (Yeastless Armenian Flatbread)
  • Homemade Pita Pocket Recipe
  • Manakish (Lebanese Za'atar Bread)

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.

Stay in touch with me through social media@ Instagram,Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook. Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!

📖 Recipe

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (33)

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe

Delicious classic sourdough recipe made easy!

4.98 from 48 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Side Dish, Snacks

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 6 hours hours

Cook Time: 40 minutes minutes

Resting time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 6 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 slices

Calories: 110kcal

Author: Hilda Sterner

Equipment

  • 1 3.5 quart Dutch oven

  • 1 banneton basket

  • 1 pastry scraper

  • 1 scoring lame (or sharp knife)

  • 1 bread knife

Ingredients

  • ½ cup sourdough starter
  • 1 cup warm water
  • cups bread flour
  • teaspoon kosher salt (may substitute sea salt)
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour for sprinkling the Banneton basket
  • 1 tablespoon cornmeal

Instructions

  • Mix the sourdough starter, warm water, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add the bread flour and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Cover and rest in a warm spot for 30-60 minutes.

  • After 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough. This is done by stretching the dough up and then folding it over the remaining dough. Turn the bowl a quarter of a turn and stretch and fold the dough again. Do this 4 to 8 times, turning a quarter turn each time.

Bulk Rise

  • Cove the dough and proof for 4 hours in a warm spot. A good place to proof the dough is in the oven with the oven light on. Set a timer andstretch and foldthe dough once every hour for a total of 4 times in four hours.

Shape Dough

  • Fold the dough onto itself, turn a quarter turn and repeat. Do this going around the bowl. This technique is often described as shaping the dough into an envelope.

  • Flip the dough ball over, seam-side down, and pull the dough towards the bottom to make a ball. Push the sides using a bench scraper. As you push on the sides, the end result will be a nice tight ball of dough.

  • Flour the banneton basket generously with all-purpose flour or rice flour. You don't want the dough to get stuck in the basket, so don't skimp on the flour. Get the sides too!

Second Rise

  • Sprinkle flour on top of the dough ball, then gently transfer into the basket, seam-side-up. Sprinkle the top with more flour, then cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Proof a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably overnight in a fridge.

  • Remove the basket from the fridge, while you preheat the oven to450℉. Place a 3½ quart sized dutch oven in the oven to heat.

Scoring

  • Sprinkle cornmeal on a piece of parchment paper. Gently remove the dough from the basket and place it seam-side-down onto the parchment paper. Make a few expansion slashes (½" deep) using a sharp knife or a bread lame.

  • Carefully remove the heated pot from the oven. Lift the parchment paper from the sides and gently place the dough ball into the hot pot.

Baking Instructions

  • Using a small spray bottle, lightly spray the top of the bread with water. Cover the pot and bake for 20 minutes.

  • Remove the Dutch oven's lid and bake an additional 20 minutes, uncovered, or until deep golden brown.

  • Carefully remove the pot from the oven and cool completely before slicing with a bread knife.

Notes

    • You need sticky/stretchy dough to make sourdough bread. Although it's hard to work with, it makes all the difference.
    • Banneton Baskets help the dough keep its shape and structure during the last proofing.
    • If too much flour sticks to the dough after removing from the banneton basket, you can always gently brush the excess flour off.
    • You can't rush sourdough bread.Taking two days to make the bread is highly recommended!
    • If you don't want to feed your starter daily, you can store it in the fridge and feed it once a week.
    • Another option is to freeze your starter and bring it back to life when you're ready to start baking sourdough again.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 110kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 88mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 0g

Tried this Recipe? Please leave A Star Rating!Mention @HildasKitchenBlog or tag #HildasKitchenBlog!

Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good sourdough bread? ›

Top 10 Tips & Tricks for Making Sourdough
  • Use your sourdough starter at its peak. ...
  • Moisten the surface of the dough before baking for more rise. ...
  • Handle with care: be gentle with your dough. ...
  • Use sifted flour to make your sourdough less dense. ...
  • Soak your flour beforehand for a lighter loaf. ...
  • Just add water for softer sourdough.

What ingredients should sourdough bread have? ›

Simplicity is a virtue, and a marker of good sourdough bread. The bread should only have Flour, Water, Salt, and Starter (also referred to as Culture on some labels). While the first three are the basic ingredients, the Starter or Culture should be the natural starter used to leaven (raise) the dough.

How do you make enough sourdough starter? ›

There is no single best ratio, but I've found a ratio of 1:5:5 fed twice daily at 12-hour intervals to produce a sourdough starter that's strong and healthy. This ratio corresponds to 20% ripe starter carryover, 100% water, and 100% flour (a mix of whole grain rye and white flour) at each feeding.

What is the best ratio of sourdough starter to flour? ›

The most common feeding ratio is 1:1:1 (sourdough starter: flour: water). This is also known as a 100% hydration starter. For example, let's say you have 40 g of sourdough starter in a jar. To feed it, you'll add 40 g of flour + 40 g of water.

Why do you put honey in sourdough bread? ›

Honey: Honey adds a sweetness to this dough and helps balance any sour flavor that comes through from the fermentation process. If you are looking for whole wheat bread without the honey, try this recipe. Salt: Salt enhances the flavor and helps tempers the fermentation.

How do you make sourdough bread lighter and fluffier? ›

There are several ways to make sourdough bread lighter and less dense, such as:
  1. Increasing the hydration level of your dough, which means adding more water or using less flour. ...
  2. Switching up the type of flour you use, or using a mixture of different flours.
Nov 15, 2015

What ingredients should not be in sourdough bread? ›

Other natural ingredients can be added but genuine sourdough bread making does not involve the use of baker's yeast, chemical raising agents, so-called processing aids or other additives.

Is grocery store sourdough real sourdough? ›

Despite the fact that traditional sourdough ingredients are flour, water, and salt, many store-bought versions include added yeast, ascorbic acid, vinegar, and oil. So, although many grocery stores may carry bread labeled “sourdough”, more often than not they are in fact fake sourdough.

How do you make sourdough bread more flavorful? ›

For bread with stronger sour flavor, the preferment should be:
  1. Looser (100% to 125% hydration), rather than stiff (see “a cautionary note,” below)
  2. Ripened at a higher temperature (75°F to 82°F)
  3. Fed a larger meal; rather than 1:1:1 (starter:water:flour), the feeding ratio should be more like 1:4:4 or similar.
Feb 22, 2022

Can you use too much starter in sourdough bread? ›

If you have too much starter compared to the additional flour and water you're adding, your hungry starter consumes all the nutrients and then it's not as bubbly.

Do you have to discard sourdough starter every time you feed it? ›

It would be best if you discarded some portion of your starter each time you feed it unless you want to continue to let it grow. Eventually, you need to discard the used “food” (flour and water) that's been used to sustain your starter during the last fermentation period.

Can you add too much flour to sourdough starter? ›

Because, yes, you can overfeed your sourdough. The explanation is quite simple: if you add too much water and flour, you're basically diluting the natural population of yeast and bacteria.

What is the secret behind the sour of sourdough bread? ›

There are two main acids produced in a sourdough culture: lactic acid and acetic acid. Acetic acid, or vinegar, is the acid that gives sourdough much of its tang. Giving acetic acid-producing organisms optimal conditions to thrive and multiply will produce a more tangy finished product.

How do you increase the texture of sourdough bread? ›

Here are some tips to help you make your sourdough bread less dense:
  1. Use a ripe sourdough starter. ...
  2. Knead the dough for the right amount of time. ...
  3. Proof the dough for the correct amount of time. ...
  4. Use the right type of flour. ...
  5. Add the right amount of water. ...
  6. Score the bread properly. ...
  7. Bake the bread at the correct temperature.
Sep 9, 2023

Why do you put baking soda in sourdough bread? ›

What does baking soda do to sourdough? because it reacts with the acid from the sourdough starter to create carbon dioxide gas, which provides leavening.

What is the best proofing time for sourdough bread? ›

In my experience, the shortest final proof (at room temperature) that I prefer to do is one hour. The longest final proof (at room temperature) is about 3 hours. When going past 2-3 hours in a final proof, the crumb tends to get very gassy and opens up large gas bubbles with a longer countertop proof.

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