Beginner Sourdough Loaf
Sourdough bread has a reputation for being complex, but it doesn’t have to be! With a bit of patience and some basic ingredients, you can create a delicious loaf that rivals any bakery. This simple sourdough recipe is perfect for beginners and will have your kitchen smelling heavenly in no time.
This is the recipe I used when I first started baking! This loaf has a 70% hydration which makes the dough less sticky and easy to work with. This loaf also has 50g of active starter, having less starter in a recipe will allow more forgiveness in the bulk fermentation phase because the dough will generally rise slower.
What You’ll Need
Ingredients:
Active Sourdough Starter: 50g
Bread Flour: 500g
Water: 350g
Salt: 10g
Equipment:
Kitchen Scale
Mixing Bowl
Bowl Cover - reusable, plastic wrap, or tea towel
Mixing Utensils
Dough Scraper
Proofing Basket
Scoring Knife
Parchment Paper
Dutch Oven/Loaf Pan/Bread Stone
Cooling Rack
Step-by-Step Instructions
Feed your starter
Depending on your schedule you can either feed your starter in the morning or the night before you plan to bake.
The key is to create enough starter to use for the recipe and to have some left over.
When I plan to bake I feed a 1:2:2 early in the morning or 1:3:3 ratio the night before I bake. You can feed a 1:1:1 if you are in a pinch and need your starter to rise quickly. Read my Understanding Starter Feed blog for more information on this!
Your starter is ready to use when it has doubled in size and there are lots of bubbles on the sides of the jar and big bubbles on the surface.
Here’s a feeding example: 15g starter + 30g flour + 30g water = 75g starter. You’ll have roughly 25g left over after making this recipe.
Mix the Dough
In a large bowl, add active starter and water. Use a Dough Whisk to mix until starter is dissolved.
Add bread flour and salt. I use a silicone baking spatula to mix at this point. You can use the Dutch whisk, I don’t like how the dough sticks to it.
You will want your dough to look like a shaggy mass at this point. It has not taken on the shape of a dough ball and some of the flour will look like it still needs incorporated.
Autolyse
Cover the bowl with a reusable cover, wet tea towel, or plastic wrap for 30-60 minutes. I usually try to let it rest for an hour but this step can be a little flexible based on your schedule.
Forming-Up the Dough
Uncover your shaggy mass and begin to work it into a ball in the bowl by stretching and folding the dough over itself.
Start on one side, pull the dough up gently so it stretches and fold it over itself.
Rotate your bowl a quarter turn or 90° and repeat the same process.
Do about 18-20 stretches
Pro Tip: slightly wet your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands
Cover & Rest
Once you have finished forming the dough cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes
Stretch & Folds
Repeat the stretch and fold process above but only do 4 stretches. You will end up rotating your bowl in a complete circle or 360° for one complete set. Repeat this every 30 minutes for 2 hours.
I prefer to preform coil folds for this step instead of the same stretch and folds.
Pro Tip: slightly wet your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands
Bulk Fermentation
The timing of this step largely depends on the temperature of your kitchen and dough. Warm temperatures, your dough will ferment/rise faster. Cooler temperatures, your dough will ferment/rise slower. Timing can range from 5.5 hours to 16 hours.
My kitchen and dough typically stay around 73°F and I bulk ferment my doughs for 5.5 to 6 hours.
Please read my A Guide to Bulk Fermentation for a complete explanation on this step.
Shaping & Cold Fermentation
Once dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently stretch the dough into a small rectangle. Fold the left side to the center, fold the right side over the left, then roll the dough up starting at the bottom. Work the dough into a ball by pushing and tucking the dough.
Let the dough bench rest for 20-30 minutes, then perform a final shape, tightening the surface of the dough by pushing and tucking again.
Place the dough, seam side up, into your floured proofing basket. Stitch the seam together to help the dough hold its shape. If you don't like stitching the seam you can gently pinch it together before placing it in the proofing basket.
Cover and place in your refrigerator for 8-36 hours. The longer you let your dough cold ferment the more complex the flavor will become. (I typically do 12 hours).
Preheat Oven and Dutch Oven
Place your dutch oven with lid in your oven and preheat them at 500°F for 30-45 minutes.
Scoring
Place parchment paper down on your work surface and turn your dough out onto it. Lightly brush away excess flour. With a sharp scoring lame or sharp knife, cut in your desired design, this will allow steam to escape and your loaf to expand.
Pro Tip: For intricate scoring designs, place your proofing basket and dough into the freezer for 15 minutes. This will stiffen the dough slightly so it will not pull as you cut your intricate designs.
Baking
Carefully remove your hot dutch oven, using your parchment paper lift the loaf into the baking vessel. Cover with the lid and place in the oven to bake at 450°F for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid after 30 minutes, bake at 410°F for 15 minutes without the lid.
Pro Tip: Put the lid or a baking sheet on the rack below the dutch oven to prevent the bottom of the loaf from becoming too hard
Cool & Enjoy
Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing. This cooling time helps the crumb set and enhances the flavor.
Conclusion
Making sourdough bread at home is a rewarding process that fills your kitchen with irresistible aromas and offers a delightful end product. Whether you’re enjoying it fresh with butter or using it for sandwiches, your homemade sourdough will be a highlight of your baking repertoire. So gather your ingredients, roll up your sleeves, and enjoy the art of sourdough baking!
Beginner Sourdough Loaf
Ingredients
- Active Sourdough Starter: 50g
- Water: 350g
- Bread Flour: 500g
- Salt: 10g
Instructions
- Depending on your schedule you can either feed your starter in the morning or the night before you plan to bake.
- The key is to create enough starter to use for the recipe and to have some left over.
- When I plan to bake I feed a 1:2:2 early in the morning or 1:3:3 ratio the night before I bake. You can feed a 1:1:1 if you are in a pinch and need your starter to rise quickly. Read my Understanding Starter Feed blog for more information on this!
- Your starter is ready to use when it has doubled in size and there are lots of bubbles on the sides of the jar and big bubbles on the surface.
- Here’s a feeding example: 15g starter + 30g flour + 30g water = 75g starter. You’ll have roughly 25g left over after making this recipe.
- In a large bowl, add active starter and water. Use a dough whisk to mix until starter is dissolved.
- Add bread flour and salt. I use a silicone baking spatula to mix at this point but you can use a dough whisk.
- You will want your dough to look like a shaggy mass at this point. It has not taken on the shape of a dough ball and some of the flour will look like it still needs incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with a reusable cover, wet tea towel, or plastic wrap for 30-60 minutes. I usually try to let it rest for an hour but this step can be a little flexible based on your schedule.
- Uncover your shaggy mass and begin to work it into a ball in the bowl by stretching and folding the dough over itself.
- Start on one side, pull the dough up gently so it stretches and fold it over itself.
- Rotate your bowl a quarter turn or 90° and repeat the same process.
- Do about 18-20 stretches.
- Once you have finished forming the dough cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Repeat the stretch and fold process above but only do 4 stretches. You will end up rotating your bowl in a complete circle or 360° for one complete set. Repeat this every 30 minutes for 2 hours, for a total of 4 sets in 2 hours.
- I prefer to preform coil folds for this step instead of the same stretch and folds.
- The timing of this step largely depends on the temperature of your kitchen and dough. Warm temperatures, your dough will ferment/rise faster. Cooler temperatures, your dough will ferment/rise slower. Timing can range from 5.5 hours to 16 hours.
- My kitchen and dough typically stay around 73°F and I bulk ferment my doughs for 5.5 to 7 hours.
- Please read my A Guide to Bulk Fermentation for a complete explanation on this step.
- Once dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently stretch the dough into a small rectangle. Fold the left side to the center, fold the right side over the left, then roll the dough up starting at the bottom. Work the dough into a ball by pushing and tucking the dough.
- Let the dough bench rest for 20-30 minutes, then perform a final shape, tightening the surface of the dough by pushing and tucking again.
- Place the dough, seam side up, into your floured proofing basket. Stitch the seam together to help the dough hold its shape. If you don't like stitching the seam you can pinch it together before placing it in the proofing basket.
- Cover and place in your refrigerator for 8-36 hours. The longer you let your dough cold ferment the more complex the flavor will become. (I typically do 12 hours)
- Place your dutch oven with lid in your oven and preheat them at 500°F for 30-45 minutes.
- Place parchment paper down on your work surface and turn your dough out onto it. Lightly brush away excess flour. With a sharp scoring lame or sharp knife, cut in your desired design, this will allow steam to escape and your loaf to expand.
- Carefully remove your hot dutch oven, using your parchment paper lift the loaf into the baking vessel. Cover with the lid and place in the oven to bake at 450°F for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid after 30 minutes, bake at 410°F for 15 minutes without the lid.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing. This cooling time helps the crumb set and enhances the flavor.
Tips & Notes
Slightly wet your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands during the stretch and fold process.
For help with bulk fermentation, please read my A Guide to Bulk Fermentation blog post.
- For intricate scoring designs, place your proofing basket and dough into the freezer for 15 minutes. This will stiffen the dough slightly so it will not pull as you cut your intricate designs.Slightly wet your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands during the stretch and fold process.
- While baking for the last 15 minutes, put the lid or a baking sheet on the rack below the dutch oven to prevent the bottom of the loaf from becoming too hard.
