My simple Sourdough Bread recipe is perfect for enjoying on its own or using for sandwiches! I’ll be walking you in detail through every step so you can learn how to make perfect sourdough like a pro. Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Best Sourdough Bread Recipe
This homemade sourdough bread is the only bread we eat in my household anymore. In fact, I make 2-3 loaves a week and keep a stockpile in my freezer at all times! And once you try it… well, I think you will, too.
That’s because there’s a lot to love about sourdough bread. First and foremost, it has a high nutritional value and none of the additives (no added sugar, either) you’ll find in most store-bought breads. It also tastes amazing: classic, hearty bread (that’s not overly sour) with a thick, crusty exterior and a soft, springy interior.
But what I think you’ll love most about my recipe is how wonderfully versatile it is. It’s ideal both for dipping in soup, serving as a side with a salad, or using as a sandwich; it also makes an awesome grilled cheese that pairs beautifully with my tomato soup!
Homemade Bread is Easier Than You Think!
Making sourdough bread at home is shockingly easy, especially if you use the sourdough starter I shared last week. It is time consuming and you must have patience, but the work itself is very approachable.
There’s no kneading involved; instead, we’ll use an easy process known as stretching and folding, which develops the gluten much like kneading would, but is better suited for higher hydration dough like sourdough. There’s also no mixer or fancy equipment needed with my recipe — you don’t even need a banneton or a Dutch oven, just a pair of bread pans!
I’m so excited to share this one with you (and I’ve been teasing it long enough on Instagram, haven’t I?!), so let’s get started.
What You Need
My sourdough bread recipe has perfect flavor, especially considering there are so few ingredients. You will need:
- Sourdough starter. This can be homemade or store-bought. Obviously, I recommend making your own by using my sourdough starter recipe (this does take over a week to prepare, but it’s worth it!).
- Bread flour. I really recommend bread flour over all purpose for this recipe. Bread flour has a higher protein content and produces a better-crumbed sourdough bread, in my opinion.
- Olive oil. A bit of olive oil helps make the bread perfectly chewy and soft. I also find it keeps my sourdough softer longer.
- Salt. Salt is critical for flavor (unsurprisingly) but it also plays some other important roles in sourdough bread. It helps balance the acidity from our starter, strengthens the gluten in the dough (important for shape and texture), and it even helps extend the shelf life of the bread by acting as a natural preservative.
- Water. The water called for in my recipe will yield a sourdough loaf that is about 70% hydration. I love this hydration level; it produces a crumb that’s neither too dense nor too open, that’s not too sour but is still flavorful, and that is easy to shape and extremely versatile — we use it for everything from dipping in pot pie soup to eating sandwiches. Once you’re comfortable baking a bread at this hydration level, you can experiment with increasing the water if you’d like. More water usually yields a bread with a more open crumb, a more tangy flavor, and a crumb that’s less suitable for sandwiches but good for dipping.
I wrote this sourdough bread recipe with weights because I find it’s the easiest way to make it (just like with my macaron recipe); however, I have included cup measurements as well.
SAM’S TIP: While some people like to bake their sourdough bread in a dutch oven, I like to use a pair of bread pans. It doesn’t look as rustic this way, but it’s much more practical for my family to have a loaf of bread rather than a round of it. If you’re team Dutch oven, don’t worry–I provide instructions for how to make sourdough bread in a Dutch oven below.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Sourdough Bread
Make the Dough
- Combine sourdough starter, water, and oil in a large bowl. Make sure your starter is active and bubbly before adding it.
- Add the bread flour and salt.
- Stir until mostly combined (your dough will still look shaggy). Do not over-mix!
- Cover and let sit at room temperature for one hour.
Stretching & Folding
- Form your dough into a ball using your hands, the run your hands under cool water.
- Stretch the top of the dough up and over the bottom, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. I demonstrate this in the video below if you need a better visual.
- Repeat the stretch and fold process a total of four times, then cover and place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.
- Let your dough rise until increased in size by 80%, repeating the stretch and fold process every 30 minutes.
Assembling
- Deflate and form your dough into a rectangular shape on a lightly floured surface.
- Lift the right side of the dough, fold it over to the center, then repeat with the left side (like folding a paper in thirds).
- Roll into a tight log starting with the short end of the rectangle, then tuck the ends under.
- Place in a greased bread pan, cover loosely, and place in the fridge to rest overnight.
SAM’S TIP: I recommend proofing your dough in the refrigerator overnight rather than baking right away (I also provide instructions for baking right away, though). Proofing overnight will help develop the flavor, help the bread rise better, and encourage more fermentation. That being said, I don’t like to let my dough sit in the fridge for longer than 48 hours (absolute max) before baking. Letting it sit too long can cause over-proofing and can compromise the final texture of your sourdough bread. I also don’t freeze my dough before baking, so I can’t advise on that.
Baking
- Let the dough rest at room temperature while your oven preheats.
- Score the bread about ¼″ deep down the center.
- Cover with another bread pan or an aluminum foil tent.
- Bake at 450F for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for 20-23 minutes or until the bread reaches 206-208F.
- Let the bread cool in its pan for 15 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the pan (carefully, it’s still hot!) and place on a cooling rack. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t cut into the bread while it’s still warm (I know, so hard, so tempting!). Doing this can make your loaf gummy and dense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sourdough is definitely one of the more nutritious types of bread. It’s a prebiotic-rich food made by fermenting dough with wild yeast and bacteria (sounds gross but in reality is delicious) and is more digestible than your standard white bread. It also has a lower glycemic index and less gluten than normal bread.
While a traditional sourdough bread recipe is obviously not gluten free, sourdough bread is sometimes tolerated by people who are gluten sensitive (but not people with Celiac Disease). This is because some of the gluten is consumed during the fermentation process, which makes the bread more easily digestible.
Follow my recipe through the rolling and tucking step, then place in a lightly floured banneton (I use my Kitchenaid mixer bowl lined with a lightly floured kitchen towel, because I don’t actually have a banneton). Cover and let rise overnight in the fridge.
The next day, carefully turn out your dough onto a large piece of parchment paper and carefully lower this into a 4.5qt Dutch oven (a larger one would work, but your bread will be flatter and will likely cook faster). Allow the dough to sit uncovered while the oven preheats, then score, cover with a lid, and follow recipe instructions for baking.
I know that there are many sourdough bread recipes out there and so many different ways to make it, but this is my personal favorite version that I’ve carefully developed over the past year. I can’t wait to hear how you like it, I hope you’ll always want to keep a loaf in your house, too! ❤️
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Sourdough Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup (150 g) active starter bubbly, active, fed
- 1 ⅓ cups (315 g) warm 90F water
- 1 ½ (18 g) Tablesoons olive oil
- 3 ⅔ cups (450 g) bread flour
- 2 teaspoons (13 g) table salt
- Oil for greasing pan
- Additional flour for dusting work-surface
Recommended Equipment
- Bread lame (optional, or use sharp knife)
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sourdough starter, water, and olive oil. Stir until combined.⅔ cup (150 g) active starter, 1 ⅓ cups (315 g) warm, 1 ½ (18 g) Tablesoons olive oil
- Add bread flour and sprinkle salt overtop. Use your (clean) hands or a wooden spoon to stir together until dough is mostly combined. It will still be a bit shaggy and should not be cohesive (don’t over-mix) but no dry patches of flour should remain.3 ⅔ cups (450 g) bread flour, 2 teaspoons (13 g) table salt
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit undisturbed for one hour (this is the “autolyse” period).
Stretch & Fold
- Form dough into a ball with your hands.
- Run your hands under cool water (prevents sticking!) and grasp the top of the dough and stretch it over the bottom. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Turn 90 degrees and repeat again, then once more (four total stretch & folds).
- Allow dough to rest, covered, in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Repeat step 2 above every 30 minutes as dough rises.
- Allow dough to rise (stretching and folding every 30 minutes as indicated) until dough has increased in size about 80% (how long this takes depends on the temperature of your kitchen, typically mine is ready within 4-6 hours).
Forming the Dough
- Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan (with olive oil or butter) .Oil for greasing pan
- When dough has risen sufficiently, turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured surface.Additional flour for dusting work-surface
- Use your hands to gently deflate the dough and pat it into a rectangular shape. Lift the right side of the dough and fold it into the center (almost as if you were closing a book). Then, lift the left side of the dough and fold it over the first fold (use a bench scraper if the dough is sticking to your counter).
- Starting with a skinny end, tightly roll the dough, as if you were rolling up a cinnamon roll. Tuck the ends under and carefully transfer to prepared bread pan. Don’t worry if the bread doesn’t fill the pan right now.
- Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to rest overnight/for 12-24 hours.
Baking
- Remove sourdough from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 450F. Let oven preheat and dough rest (covered or uncovered) for at least 30-35 minutes before proceeding.
- Once oven has preheated, uncover bread, make a clean slice (about ¼” deep) down the center with a sharp knife or bread lame (to score it) then cover with another 9×5 pan (if you don’t have a second pan, you may instead make a makeshift oven using aluminum foil; tent it as high as the bread pan is deep).
- Transfer to center rack of preheated oven. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes then remove the lid and continue to bake another 20-23 minutes/until golden brown and the center of bread reaches 206-208F (97C).
- Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes before gently turning it out onto a cooling rack (careful, the pan will still be hot!) to cool for at least 1-2 hours (until it no longer feels warm) before cutting into it.
Notes
To bake the same day:
Follow recipe through step 4 under the “Forming the Dough” section. Immediately after transferring dough to pan, preheat oven to 450F (230C). Allow dough to rest uncovered while oven preheats, at least 30 minutes. Once oven is preheated, follow directions in recipe starting with step 2 under the “Baking” section. Note that bread will not be as flavorful or nutritious & texture will not be as great if it is not allowed to sit in the fridge overnight.Storing & Freezing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. You may also freeze this bread. Freeze the whole loaf by wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and then wrapping in foil. When ready to thaw, keep covered completely and defrost at room temperature before unwrapping. We prefer to freeze pre-sliced: Cut bread into slices and storing in a plastic Ziploc bag (remove as much air as you can before freezing). If you struggle with freezer burn or plan to freeze the bread longer than a few weeks, you can individually wrap each slice in plastic wrap before closing in the plastic bag.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Monica
Hi there! Another first timer here. When making mini loaves at what point would we separate the dough for each loaf?
Sam
Hi Monica! Personally I would probably do it right at the end before I do the final fold. 🙂
Rebecca Doberstein
My goodness! I can’t believe how perfect this recipe worked out. My first ever sourdough loaf, and it turned out perfect and beautiful! I am still in shock.
I was so intimidated to make my first loaf, but the instructions here were broken down and explained so well that even a newbie like myself can make a sourdough loaf. Thank you so much for this recipe! My new go to!
Sam
Congratulations on your first loaf, Rebecca! I’m so happy it was such a success! Thank you for the kind words and for trying my recipe, I really appreciate it! ❤︎
Amber
I LOVE your recipes!!!! I am so excited to try this one. my only question is, I have 2 XL bread pans. they measure 13 x 5. what changes do I need to make with larger pans?
Sam
Hi Amber! I think you would have to increase the recipe by 50%. I’m not sure what the bake time would be though.
Noelle
Thank you for this recipe! Like you, prefer the loaf shape for sandwich making. So pleased that the bread turned out great. Will definitely keep this recipe!!
Shamera
Hello. I am making this recipe for the second time today. Can I make it in mini loaf pans vs one 9×13?
Sam
Hi Shamera! This could work in mini loaf pans, just note the bake time will be different than the 9 x 5 pan that I bake mine in. 🙂
Shamera
So an update. I did a bit of research and reduced the time by 25% on the two baking times. I used a pampered chef mini loaf stone but only made three loaves. And I did a foil tent for the first baking segment. It was absolutely perfect! Thanks for the great recipe.
Sarah
Love this recipe! I’ve been using it for months with tin foil as a tent. I finally got another bread pan, do you grease the pan you use as a lid??
Sam
I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying it so much, Sarah! I do not grease the top pan. 🙂
Mary
I’ve been using this recipe for months and have excellent results each time. I switched bread flours though and using Azure brand. Was wondering if proportions change since this has some bran? The bread came out well and is soft even though dough seemed more compact when folding. However, it caused some reflux and I’m wondering if adding more starter will help?
Sam
Hi Mary! I have never used a flour with bran in it so I can’t say for sure if you’d need to change anything. 🙁
Lindsay
Hi, I enjoyed this recipe the first time and I’m making it again. Can you please share why you use salt during autolyse? My understanding is that you typically add salt after autolyse. Either way it’s good, and I’m a new-ish sourdough baker.
Sam
Hi Lindsay! I’ve done a lot of testing and this is how I get the best results and flavor. There’s not very much salt so it’s not going to harm the process.
Krista Sao
10/10 recipe! Thank you so much. I appreciate the photos too. Thank you for converting to cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons too! I normally don’t like sourdough and only learned to bake it for my partner. This recipe was so delicious!
Jeannette
I made this bread today in a loaf pan and covered it with another loaf pan when baking. It was delicious! The crust was soft! I only did the stretch and fold 4 times due to my schedule. I let it rise in the oven with the light on during this whole process. I have fed my starter already to make another loaf.
Kimberly
Do I have to use a loaf pan?
Sam
Hi Kimberly! I actually have instructions for making this in a dutch oven in the post. 🙂
Suzann
OMG thank-you. finally a loaf to be proud of!!! hubby love’s it. tutorial was concise and easy to follow. I’m so proud of Cid right now!
Stacy
I just started making sourdough bread, this recipe is so easy and the bread comes out perfect! I actually can’t stop making bread! I’m starting to use add ins to the bread and was wondering if you had a recipe for making this as a cinnamon raisin sourdough.
Sam
Hi Stacy! I don’t have a recipe for it yet. I think you’d probably want to stir in cinnamon, and potentially a little bit of sugar when mixing. I would fold the raisins in while you are doing the stretch and fold process. 🙂
Cote
Hello! I’m going to make this within the next few days but I was a little confused about the amounts of stretch and folds. Do I do a set every 30 mins the entire 4-6 hour rise period? Or just 4 total in the beginning (every 30 mins) and then let the dough rise for 4-6 hours. Thank you!
Sam
Hi Cote! You will want to do the stretch and fold process every 30 minutes for the entire rise period. 🙂
Carol Crandall
This was a great recipe. I’ve been making sour dough bread for a couple of years Ii rated this recipe a 5 star as it was so good from a great recipe with step by step directions to a wonderful tasting bread. I used the 2 bread pan version first time ever an it baked well.
Sharon Shatto
Hi Sam – First time with sourdough. I am at about knead number 5 or 6 after letting my dough rest 30 minutes each time. Unfortunately I am not seeing much of a rise? I have hyper focused on the steps you have given us. Thoughts?
Sam
Hi Sharon! Do you mean the stretch and fold process? Is it cold in your kitchen?
S
I made this recipe using a dutch oven and had wonderful results! This does make a very large loaf with very wet dough. I heated my dutch oven in a 450*F oven, then dropped the temp to 400*F and baked the loaf for 25 min lid on, and about 30 min lid off. It came out perfectly golden.