Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe
On the hunt for your new go to sourdough bread recipe ? I gotcha covered! This basic sourdough bread recipe is easy to make and delicious dipped in soup, covered in jam or just snacked on as is! Give it a go and let me know what you think!
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I flipping love sourdough. It’s crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and tastes great.
That being said I don’t always love spending ages baking bread just for it to be gone in a day. So I’ve tweaked my recipes a little to come up with the perfect easy sourdough recipe.
This still takes some time, but a lot of it is just waiting around, so use it as an excuse to binge season 2 of Bridgerton!
I’ve also increased the size of this loaf a bit so it’s great if you have a family you’re cooking for or if you just really like bread (like me…).
This recipe is made with mostly white bread flour so it’s a pretty classic sourdough recipe that incredibly versatile.
Why make this sourdough recipe?
- The crumb is soft and slightly chewy, with a little more depth of flavor from the whole wheat and rye flour.
- The crust is crisp and crunchy – perfect for dipping in soups
- Basic recipe – this basic sourdough bread recipe is ideal for anyone who is new to baking or just wants an easy go to!
What do I need to make this recipe?
The beauty of sourdough bread is that you need very few ingredients. All you’ll need is:
- Sourdough Starter
- Bread, Rye and Whole Wheat Flour
- Water
- Salt
If you don’t have a starter, then check out this guide for making your own sourdough starter.
You’ll also need a couple pieces of baking equipment:
- A Banneton or a bowl lined with a cloth
- A Dutch oven or Cloche (like this Lodge cast iron dutch oven* or this Emile Henry Cloche*)
- A lame (blade) to score the bread
How to Make this Recipe
This is a great basic sourdough bread recipe and it follows a few key stages:
Step 1 – Making the Levain:
You’ll start by making a levain using your sourdough starter. This will help you get the best rise for your bread.
Step 2 – Mixing the dough:
Once the levain is ready you’ll mix all of your dough ingredients except the salt and alit bit of water. You’ll let that rest for awhile before adding in the salt and reserved water.
Step 3 – Stretching and folding the dough:
Instead of kneading sourdough I prefer to stretch and fold it. For this step you’ll do 4 sets of stretch and folds in order to develop the gluten in your sourdough bread dough.
Step 4 – Bulk Fermentation:
During this step, you’ll want to let the dough rise for a few hours until it’s grown by about 50%. This is best done at room temperature or in a very slightly warm environment.
Step 5 – Shaping the sourdough bread:
Now you’re ready to shape the dough. Check out my shaping video below for more details on how to do this!
Step 6 – Final Proof:
Now that your bread is shaped and ready to go you’ll let it proof one last time. I like to do this overnight in the fridge because I find the timing works out better and you get a more pronounced sourdough flavor. If you prefer you can absolutely do this at room temperature instead, you’ll want to just leave it for less time.
Step 7 – Baking:
Once the dough is proofed you’ll bake it in a dutch oven until it’s well browned and risen!
The process is reasonably straightforward, but it definitely takes some time. If you’re new to sourdough baking and want a little more help, then I highly recommend you subscribe to my free 5 part sourdough crash course. I go over each of the stages above in a lot of detail and provide plenty of tips and tricks to help you along.
Just scroll down to the bottom of the page and sign up!
Expert Tips
Folding (Not Kneading) the dough
Instead of kneading sourdough, I prefer to fold it. Kneading sourdough can be tricky because of the high hydration content, but you can achieve similar results by carefully stretching and folding the dough every half hour for a couple of hours.
Bake in Dutch ovens
I always recommend baking your sourdough in a Dutch oven because it not only gets very hot, it also traps steam, which will massively improve the oven spring of your bread. Personally, I love this Lodge cast iron Dutch oven, but there are other great options out there !
Slow your rise
In this recipe, I let the dough rise in the fridge overnight. Slowing the rise like that is a fantastic way of improving the flavor of your dough because it gives the sourdough flavor time to develop! If you like an even sourer flavor, simply let the dough rest in the fridge for a little longer.
Recipe FAQs
Can you make sourdough bread in one day?
Yes you can! It’s a little bit more difficult, and you’ll need a very active starter, but I have a great recipe for same day sourdough which is perfect if you’re in a rush!
Can you make sourdough bread without a Dutch oven?
Yes you can! It’s a bit more of a hassle though. You’ll want to bake your bread on a pizza stone or on a cookie sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone.
You’ll also want some kind of baking pan in the oven that you can add water to right as you put your loaf in the oven. In addition to the baking pan with water, you can use a spray bottle to spritz water on the loaf after 5 minutes of baking.
That being said, a Dutch oven has definitely been the most reliable method in my experience.
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Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Lame for scoring the dough
Ingredients
Levain
- 25 g starter
- 25 g whole wheat flour
- 25 g rye flour
- 50 g water
Initial Mix
- 400 g bread flour
- 65 g whole wheat flour
- 35 g rye flour
- 325 g water
Second Mix
- 1.5 tsp fine sea salt or table salt
- 15 ml water
Instructions
Mix Levain (8 AM – Day 1)
- Combine all the ingredients for the levain in a small bowl and mix until roughly combined. Cover the container and set aside for 4 hours, or until the levain is bubbly and doubled in size.
Mix Dough (Noon – Day 1)
- Combine all the dough ingredients listed under initial mix as well as the levain in a large bowl. Ideally, use a glass bowl so that you can see the dough. The mixture will be rough and shaggy at this point, which is fine – it’ll smooth out later on. Cover the bowl and set it aside for an hour.
- After an hour (1 pm) add the ingredients for the second mix (salt and water) and mix using your hands until the water and salt are more or less incorporated. Cover the bowl again and set it aside for half an hour (until 1:30).
Stretch and Fold (1:30 PM – Day 1)
- Every half an hour for two hours, stretch and fold the dough (i.e. 4 sets). To do so, grab the edge of the dough and gently but firmly pull the dough up and out of the bowl so it stretches. Fold the dough over itself, rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat 3 more times.
Bulk Ferment (3:30 PM – Day 1)
- Leave the covered dough to bulk ferment for 2 – 3 hours, or until the dough has risen by about 50% and there are a few visible bubbles. If the dough hasn’t risen enough, give it an extra 30 minutes or so.
Shape (5:30 PM – Day 1)
- Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and carefully pre-shape it into a round. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes before shaping into a boule or a batard. For more details on shaping, refer to the video in this post.
- Generously flour a banneton or a loaf pan lined with a kitchen towel and place your loaf, seam side up, in the floured container.
- Cover the dough with a reusable plastic bag and let it sit on the counter for half an hour.
Final Proof (6 PM – Day 1)
- Place the loaf in the fridge overnight until at least 7 am.
Bake (After 7 AM but Before 6 PM – Day 2)
- Preheat your oven to 450°F with your Dutch oven inside it.
- Once the oven is hot turn your loaf out onto a piece of parchment paper and working quickly score the surface of the dough using a sharp blade. To do so, simply slash the surface of your dough in a straight line about 1/4 inch deep. You can find loads of videos and tutorials for fancy scoring patterns online if you wish!
- Load the dough into your preheated Dutch oven and bake covered for 20 minutes before uncovering and baking for a further 25-30 minutes or until the crust is browned and the internal temperature of the bread reads 208°F