Basic Sourdough Bread

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Crusty, rustic sourdough bread with a creamy, airy crumb is one of the most rewarding bakes you will ever pull out of your oven. The process takes about 2 days and although there may be a lot of steps involved, this guide will show you exactly how to make a basic sourdough bread with a sourdough starter in your own home kitchen.

Sourdough bread with wheat scoring on wood cutting board

I don’t think I can count how many loaves of bread I’ve created since I published the first version of this recipe in 2018. I was a new baker and writing the blog post helped me make sense of the bread baking process. Since then, I’ve baked a loaf of sourdough every week (sometimes multiple times a week) and each loaf taught me a different lesson, helping me improve my understanding of baking and the magical world of fermentation.

I thought it was finally time to update this recipe and share those lessons with you! In most instances I’ve simplified my process, and in every case I’ve gained a deeper understanding of the purpose behind every step.

There’s lots to know about sourdough, feel free to jump around:

What is sourdough bread?

Sourdough bread is a type of bread made using a sourdough starter.

All yeast-raised bread is created through fermentation, however, sourdough bread uses a wild yeast culture instead of commercially available yeast. Commercial yeast is much more efficient at metabolizing sugars, so while dough leavened using commercial yeast can usually proof (ferment) in an hour, using sourdough can take upwards of 4 hours.

During this long fermentation process, yeast and bacteria metabolize the sugars in flour and convert them into carbon dioxide and organic acids (lactic acid and acetic acid). CO₂ causes dough to rise, giving bread its characteristic light and airy texture. While lactic acid and acetic acid impart the unique, tangy, pleasantly funky flavor of sourdough bread.

hands holding a jar of active, bubbly sourdough starter

The benefits of fermentation extend beyond flavor and texture, it also gives the microorganisms present in sourdough the time to predigest flour. This makes flour more easily digestible and unlocks nutrients in wheat that our bodies cannot normally absorb. This makes sourdough bread naturally more nutritious than other types of bread.

Why I love this recipe

This recipe is great for beginners because it has a relatively low hydration level. Hydration level is the amount of water in a recipe relative to the amount of flour (this includes the water and flour in the sourdough starter as well). So if you are making this with a 100% hydration sourdough starter, this recipe is about 71%. This results in a dough that’s not too slack or sticky and is very easy to work with.

If this is your first bake, or you’re new to sourdough, stick with recipes that have 75% hydration level or less.

What you need

Ingredients

Bread flour - Bread flour has a protein content of 12 to 14% and is made out of hard wheat varieties. This makes it “stronger” than other types of flours and allows it to form stronger gluten networks which is essential for bread with a soft, creamy crumb and crispy crust.
Whole wheat flour - Whole wheat flour adds a lovely nuttiness and earthiness to bread. I always add between 20 to 30% which is enough to impart a mild nuttiness but will not weigh down your bread. If you don’t keep any in your pantry, feel free to use all bread flour instead. You can even substitute the same amount of ancient grains like Kamut, einkorn or spelt.
Water - If possible try to use filtered, well or bottled water. It’s commonly thought that the chlorine and chemicals in tap water can negatively affect or even kill the microorganisms in sourdough.
Salt - Not only does salt add flavor to your bread, it also helps strengthen the gluten network in your dough. Leave it out and your bread may collapse as it bakes.

Equipment

Must have tools

Mixing bowls: a large mixing bowl with lots of room to make your dough
Dutch oven: steam is essential when baking sourdough bread. The easiest way to add steam in your oven is by using a Dutch oven.
Spatula or wooden spoon
Kitchen scale: precision is key with bread baking, measuring by weight is much more accurate than volume measures

Tools that are nice to have

Lame and razor blades: a specialized tool for scoring bread, if you don’t have one, use a sharp paring knife
Banneton: proofing basket, wicks excess moisture away from the dough as it proofs
Rice flour: prevents the dough from sticking to your proofing vessel and will not scorch in the oven
Proofing Box: a temperature controlled kitchen appliance that maintains a consistent temperature where fermentation can occur at an optimal level

mixing shaggy sourdough dough with wooden spoon

Schedule for baking a loaf of sourdough bread — Treat this as a guide. Your timeline could be different depending on the strength of your starter and the conditions in your kitchen.

Timeline

Although it takes a long time to make sourdough bread, the entire process takes about 2 days from start to finish, a lot of it is very hands off.

The first day is the most involved, you'll spend about 8 hours activating your starter, mixing and strengthening your dough, then finally you'll shape it and let it rest in the fridge overnight. But don't worry you'll only be handling the dough 5 to 10 minutes at a time during this period, the rest of that time you'll let the dough rise untouched as it ferments.

On the second day, you'll score the dough and bake it. Letting the dough rise in the refrigerator over night slows down the yeast, but not bacterial activity so your dough will continue to develop richer, deeper flavors. You can even bake straight from the refrigerator so it also adds a bit more flexibility to the process.

It’s very important to make sure you commit enough time to working with your dough and letting it proof. Remember that proofing is what makes delicious, light and airy bread. If you don’t let your dough rise for enough time you’ll end up with a dense gummy loaf, frustration and lots of wasted time and ingredients.

Step-by-step instructions

There are quite a few steps involved in making sourdough bread and while it may seem daunting and confusing now, if you work at it, the process will begin to feel like second nature. You’ll develop a feel for your dough, and while your first few loaves may not be perfect, with each bake you’ll learn new lessons, gain expertise and improve your skills.

Activate your starter: Feed your starter at least 4 hours before you are ready to mix your dough. Ideally, you should use your starter when it is at its peak once it has doubled in volume, and before it sinks.
Mix the dough: Combine the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and stir until no traces of dry flour remain. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 1 hour.
Strengthen the dough: Complete a series of folds in 30 minute intervals. Let the dough rest for 1 hour after you’ve completed your last fold.
Shape the dough: Shape the dough into a boule or a batard and place it into your proofing basket.
Cold proof: Place the dough into the refrigerator overnight. This will slow down fermentation, and intensify the flavor of your bread.
Preheat the oven: Preheat your oven to 500 F with the Dutch oven inside
Score the dough: Cut a large gash on your dough, about ¼-inch deep. Scoring creates a weak point in your dough where steam can escape, this allows your dough to rise in the oven without bursting in random places.
Bake with steam: Bake your bread for 25 minutes covered and 10 to 15 minutes uncovered, depending on how dark you want your crust.

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Bulk fermentation

Bulk fermentation is the most important step in the bread making process. This is when the yeast digests the sugars in the flour and transforms it into carbon dioxide, resulting in fluffy, airy bread. It's important that you give the microorganisms enough time to complete this process or you'll end up with gummy, dense bread.

The amount of time it takes to complete this step in the process will depend on your environment. If it's too hot your yeasts will be overactive and fermentation will occur quickly, too cold and they'll be sluggish and it will occur slowly. Fermentation occurs at an optimum level between 78 to 80 F. I use a proofing box, which keeps my dough at a constant temperature of 78 F. In these ideal conditions, my bulk fermentation usually takes about 4 to 5 hours. This may be different for you depending on the conditions in your kitchen.

Signs of fermentation

I'll be giving timed cues in this recipe but remember that fermentation is highly dependent on temperature, so times may be differ for you. Pay attention to the signs of fermentation instead of depending on the clock.

Noticeable increase in volume
Dough looks bubbly
Build up of air bubbles in your dough
Dough is no longer overly sticky
Edges of the dough look domed and not flat

How to strengthen your dough

Yeast and bacteria do most of the work in creating a really good loaf of bread. Our jobs as bread bakers is simply to create the right conditions to take advantage of their hard work. This mainly involves creating a strong and organized gluten network. Since this dough is quite wet, it will be quite difficult to knead. Most sourdough recipes are no-knead, instead you’ll complete a series of folds.

How to stretch and fold

Pick up one side of the dough and stretch it upward

Fold the dough over itself, give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until all sides are folded

How to coil fold

Pick up the middle of the dough and pull up until the ends release from the container

Tuck the ends of the dough under

Windowpane Test

A good way to determine whether you've developed enough strength and achieved sufficient gluten development is by conducting the "windowpane test."

To do this, gently pinch a portion of your dough with damp fingertips. Then try to stretch it as thin as possible without ripping. Once you're able to stretch the dough out until it appears translucent and you can see the silhouette of your fingertips through the dough, you've passed the windowpane test and you no longer have to perform more folds.

How to shape sourdough

Shaping coaxes your dough into its final form, and allows it to rise up instead of spread out. It also creates surface tension which results in a crispy crust. You can use this shaping method for either a boule (round) or batard (oval).

1 Turn your dough out on to a clean surface. Flip the dough over. Lightly flatten the dough out into a rectangle.

2 Working with the longer side of the rectangle, fold the bottom of the dough towards the middle and the top over that (like you’re folding a letter).

3 Pick up the shorter sides of the cylinder and gather them towards the center. Gently place the dough inside your proofing basket, seam side up.

4 Pinch the seam shut. Wrap the towel over the top of the dough.

Importance of scoring

In addition to adding a decorative flair to your bread, scoring serves a very practical purpose.

The water in your dough will quickly evaporate as it bakes in the hot temperatures of your oven. Scoring creates a weak point in your dough, this directs where steam can escape from. If you don't score your dough, water vapor will exploit the weakest point in your dough, causing your bread to burst in unwanted places.

To score your dough, cut a large gash in your dough about ⅛ to ¼-inch deep, using a lame (if you have one) fitted with a sharp blade.

You can score your dough with decorative elements, but remember to create a gash large and deep enough to let steam escape.

Baking with steam

Adding or capturing steam while your dough bakes is an extremely important part of baking crusty bread. During the first few minutes of baking, the extremely high temperatures of the oven speed up fermentation, causing yeast to produce a large of amount of CO₂ before they eventually die off. This results in a dramatic rise called oven spring. Without steam, the crust of your dough will harden before your dough can rise fully, resulting in a flat, dense loaf.

There are many ways to create steam in your home oven, the easiest way is by using a Dutch Oven.

I don’t have a Dutch oven, how can I add steam to my home oven?

You can bake your loaf on a baking sheet or a preheated pizza stone (if you have one).

Preheat your oven with a baking tray on the bottom rack of the oven. Once you're ready to bake, load your dough into the oven and pour boiling water into your baking tray. This will create steam. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, then remove the tray and continue baking your bread for another 10 to 15 minutes depending on how dark you like your crust.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is sourdough bread healthier for you?

Absolutely, the long fermentation process allows the microorganisms in sourdough to predigest flour making the nutrients in wheat easier for our bodies to absorb.

Can I use all whole wheat flour for this recipe?

No, here’s why: whole wheat flour absorbs water at a different rate than white flour, and needs a lot more water. Substituting it for the bread flour here would make your bread heavier and tougher.

What if I don’t have bread flour?

Although not ideal, you could substitute all-purpose flour. I would not substitute a whole wheat, ancient grain or pastry flour in this recipe.

Why is my sourdough dense and gummy?

Dense and gummy bread is usually the result of under-fermenting. This is usually caused by using a starter that’s either immature or too weak. Before using it to make bread, make sure your starter has matured, is healthy and is rising dependably over the course of 4 to 6 hours.

If you don’t think your starter is the problem, it may be because you did not let your dough ferment for a long enough period of time. Try adding an hour or two to your bulk fermentation and making sure your dough has risen before shaping it.

How can I stop the bottom of my sourdough bread from burning?

After baking with steam, transfer your bread to a parchment-lined baking sheet and continue baking until your bread reaches your desired browness.

Sourdough Bread Recipe

Basic Sourdough Bread

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Crusty, rustic sourdough bread with a creamy, airy crumb is one of the most rewarding bakes you will ever pull out of your oven. This step-by-step guide will show you how to make a loaf of sourdough in your home kitchen.

Author: Hannah @ Make It Dough
Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 18 hours