How to Make Sourdough Bread in One Day

A Whole-Wheat Bread Recipe

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Life has been unusually busy for me recently. Maybe it’s that suddenly people are socializing again. Maybe it’s that Grad School has been throwing all of the work my way. Either way it’s been a lot. Which is why I’ve been relying on same-day sourdough recipes basically constantly. My last same-day recipe used only white bread flour but recently I’ve been craving a little more wholesome-ness in my life. This recipe is 30% whole wheat and rye flour so it’s still really light but it’s got a bit more going on!

It start’s in the morning around 8 am using your bubbly sourdough starter and it’s ready in time for dinner. To be fair it does take some work during the day, but if you’re home anyways then it’s perfect. The bread it self is soft inside, crisp on the outside and perfectly delicious. Honestly what more could you want in life?

Some Sourdough Bread Tips

A couple little tips and things to think about before you jump in.

What is hydration in bread baking?

Hydration just refers to the amount of water you add to your bread. It’s measured as a percentage of the amount of flour in the recipe. For example if you had a recipe with 100 g of flour and 80 g of water it would be an 80% hydration recipe.

What does adding more water to your sourdough do?

Adding more water can give you better oven spring, a more moist loaf and generally a nicer result. That being said if you add too much water the dough will be too runny and it won’t be able to hold it’s shape. In general I would shoot for 65 – 80 %. If you’re new to baking try a lower hydration but if you’ve been handling sourdough for a while try increasing the hydration a little !

Adding whole wheat flour to your bread:

If you like whole wheat bread (like this loaf!) and if you’ve tried making it before you might have noticed whole wheat flour works a bit differently to white bread flour. For starters whole wheat loaves can feel dry much more easily so you’ll want to make sure you have a high enough hydration (around 80%).  The other issue is that whole wheat flour is a little heavier so it’s important to make sure you have a strong starter to avoid having a heavy loaf!

This same day whole wheat sourdough recipe:

When I was working on this recipe I wanted to fit it all into one day and I wanted to incorporate some whole wheat flour into the dough. This recipe manages to do both of those things and is still super simple. I’ve used 80% hydration to stop the bread feeling too dry and included a bit of rye flour which is great food for sourdough bread!

What you need to make sourdough:

Starter: This is an obvious one, but you’ll need a sourdough starter. If you don’t have one, I recommend you make one following this fantastic guide from The Perfect Loaf.

Flour: You’ll want a mixture of whole wheat bread flour, white bread flour and rye flour for this recipe. If you don’t have whole wheat or rye, you can try my white bread same day sourdough recipe.

Banneton: I use a banneton basket to help my bread hold its shape while it’s raising. I’ve linked a couple I recommend below, but you can also use a kitchen towel in a bowl.

Lame: I use a sharp razor blade, called a lame, to score my sourdough. Again, I’ve linked one that I love below!

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How to make someday sourdough bread:

1) 8 am: Autolyse the flour

Start in the morning to give yourself plenty of time! Your first step is to combine the three flours (whole wheat, bread flour and rye flour) in a large bowl with all but 20 grams of the water.  Mix it all together and then cover it and set it aside.

2) 9 am: Add the sourdough starter

At this point the dough should look a little bit smoother and it’s time to add the sourdough starter. Mix it in by hand by stretching and folding the dough repeatedly until it’s combined. 

3) 9:30 am: Add the Salt and stretch and fold

Add in the rest of the water and the salt and then stretch and fold the dough to combine.  If you’re nervous about how soft the dough is looking you can skip the additional water!

At this point you just want to stretch and fold the dough every half an hour for two hours covering the bowl in between.

4) 11:30 am: Bulk ferment

Let the dough rest for another 2 hours

5) 1:30 pm: Shape the dough and let it rise

Now you’re ready to shape the dough! Pre-shape it on the counter and let it sit for a few minutes before moving on to fully shaping it. At this point you can place it in a banneton (something like this*) or a loaf pan lined with a kitchen cloth. Cover the dough and let it rest for 2 hours at room temperature and then at least another half an hour in the fridge.

6) 4 pm : Bake the sourdough!

Preheat the oven with a dutch oven in it to 450 F while the bread is in it’s last half hour of rising.  Once the oven is very hot turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper, dust with flour and score the dough. You want to work quickly at this point and get the dough into the dutch oven so that it doesn’t deflate. Let the bread bake covered for 20 minutes and then uncovered for 20 – 30 minutes until it’s got a beautiful color to it.

Once it’s baked let it cool at room temperature for at least 45 minutes before slicing which should be just in time for dinner!

Same-day Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread Recipe

Easy sourdough bread recipe that can be made in just one day. Start in the morning and have it ready for dinner in the evening.

5 from 8 votes

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Ingredients

  

• 200 g white bread flour
• 20 g rye flour
• 80 g whole wheat flour
• 240 g of water divided into 220 g and 20 g
• 60 g sourdough starter ideally fed the night before
• 1 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

 

• Around 8 am mix together the three flours and 220 g of the water in a large bowl. Cover and leave at room temperature for an hour.
• Add the starter to the dough and mix by hand until fully combined. Cover and let rest for half an hour.
• After half an hour add the salt and the remaining water. If the dough is already pretty wet you don’t have to add the extra water. Stretch and fold the dough to combine. Let it rest covered for half an hour and then stretch and fold again every half hour for two hours ( 4 more sets of stretches)
• After the last stretch and fold let the dough rest covered for two hours at room temperature. When it’s ready you should see a couple small air bubbles.
• Tip the dough onto a floured counter and gently reshape it into a round. Let it rest uncovered for 10 minutes and prep your banneton by dusting it with flour. If you don’t have a banneton you can place a clean kitchen towel in a loaf plan and dust the towel with flour. Shape the dough into a loaf or a round depending on the shape of your banneton (shape into a loaf for the loaf pan!). Check out my other sourdough recipes for pictures of this. Cover the shaped bread and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours.
• Move the dough to the fridge and preheat the oven with the dutch oven in it to 450 F. If you don’t want to cook the dough in the next half hour you can just let it rest in the fridge for longer and preheat the oven half an hour before you’re ready to bake.
• Once the oven is ready turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper, dust it with flour and score with a sharp knife or a lame. Place the loaf in the dutch oven, cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover after 20 minutes and bake for another 20-30 minutes until deeply golden.
• Let the loaf cool for 45 minutes before slicing!