Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe

This easy sourdough bread recipe is simple to make and has a crisp crust and soft middle, making it anything but basic! Made with only 5 ingredients, this bread is the perfect beginner sourdough.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Exceptional bread with only 5 ingredients. This bread is light, airy, and has a crisp crust! It is made with only five ingredients, and it is perfect as a sandwich bread or just for snacking!
• Perfect introduction to sourdough baking. Guided step-by-step instructions and a full video tutorial for an easy sourdough loaf. It is a great bread to start off your sourdough journey. 
• Easy straight forward recipe with no excessive temperature checking. Yes, controlling the temperature of your water and final dough creates the most consistent and accurate bread. But I am here to tell you that you can make sourdough bread at home at any temperature with time, patience, and observation.

Sourdough is a labor of love. The whole process starts several days before you even want to eat your sourdough bread. 

But that moment when you cut into the crisp crust and bury your nose deep into its pillowy center, inhaling the comforting scent of fresh bread, that moment makes it all worth it. 

And, once you’ve got your crispy, naturally leavened bread ready, you’ve opened yourself up to a billion possibilities, including some apple sausage stuffing from scratch! As a side for some dutch oven pot roast! Or using your discard for some fun sourdough discard recipes like this sourdough pizza dough recipe or sourdough pancakes!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• All-Purpose Flour: I use all-purpose flour to feed my starter and also to make this sourdough bread recipe. Bread flour can be used, and the gluten will develop faster due to its higher protein content.
• Water: I use tap water for this sourdough bread, but you can use filtered water if you prefer or if you know your water is hard. Gluten develops faster in warm conditions, in addition to giving the yeast a jump start. Starting with a warmer dough means faster gluten development and more rise in less time. 
• Rye Flour: Rye flour adds a nutty flavor to this bread but does not contribute to gluten structure. I would not recommend increasing the amount without swapping out the all-purpose flour for bread flour. You can also omit the rye flour and replace it 1 to 1 with the AP. 
• Kosher Salt 
• Liquid Levain: You will need an active sourdough starter that consistently doubles in volume within 12-14 hours, depending on the temperature of your room. If you don’t have a starter, start here with my sourdough starter recipe, or if yours is simply uncooperative, begin with my how to feed sourdough starter post, which covers all aspects of feeding, storing, and troubleshooting.
• Rice Flour: I use rice flour to prepare the proofing basket for this and my same-day sourdough bread. Additionally, I use it to flour the bottom of my shaped and proofed loaf so it doesn’t stick to the parchment. You could also use cornmeal.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations for Easy Sourdough Bread

• Add some herbs. After the gluten is developed, mix in or fold in some fresh or dried herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, or oregano. Try adding some spice mixes, like Italian seasoning or Cajun seasoning. 
• Mix in some flavor! During the folds or while the dough is in the mixer, add some olives, toasted nuts, chopped jalapenos, and cheddar (yum!) or even some dried fruit like in this cherry sourdough bread or this cinnamon raisin sourdough bread! 
• Change the shape. You choose the shape for your final loaf according to your needs. This same recipe can be shaped into dinner rolls, tiny bâtards, a loaf, or a large boule (round). For rolls, you can divide and shape the sourdough following the steps in my sourdough rolls.

Professional Tips

• Preheat the Dutch oven! For the best oven spring and most open crumb and crust, bake in a preheated Dutch oven or Challenger bread pan. A cold Dutch oven will take time to heat up in the oven, stealing all the heat from your loaf. This will result in a slow rise, and the crust will form before the bread is fully risen. 
• Control the steam. This is more complicated and important than it seems! The first part involves controlling how the steam escapes from your bread, which you do by scoring. Cutting the dough in several places dictates where the steam escapes from your bread and allows for maximum volume in your loaf. The score needs to be deep enough and not too close to the top or bottom of the loaf. This continues with controlling the steam in the oven. 
• Steam in the first half of the baking process keeps the crust soft and allows the bread to rise as much as possible in the oven before the yeast dies. If the crust forms too soon, then the loaf will never reach its full potential.
• Don’t skip the preshape! A successful crumb is dependent on ensuring the dough retains the desired shape while proofing and baking. You need to organize the gluten strands to trap as much steam and gas as possible, resulting in large, beautiful holes in the crumb. This begins with the preshape. The preshape allows the gluten to become accustomed to its final shape. Think of it like easing the bread into its final home. Then the bench rest allows the gluten to relax so that you can final shape without tearing or aggravating the gluten.
• Use a kitchen scale. Bread is a delicate balance of flour, water, salt, and natural yeast. Adding just an extra tablespoon of one will change the whole recipe. Even when it comes to feeding your starter, always use a kitchen scale!

How to Make This Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe

Use these instructions to make a perfect sourdough loaf every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Mix the Liquid Levain:

Step 1: The 12 to 14 hours before you want to mix your dough, build the levain. In a clean container, mix the flour, water, and starter. Stir with a small spatula until the water has hydrated the flour. With this small quantity, it is easier to double the amount of the levain build; you have enough to make your dough and feed the levain. Here is a whole tutorial on building a liquid levain.

If you haven’t been maintaining your sourdough starter daily, then take it out of the fridge at least 2 days before you want to make your loaf. Let it sit at room temperature for 12 hours before you feed the starter. Then start feeding it nightly. You want an active starter for this recipe. 

Make the Final Dough:

Step 2: Combine all ingredients for the final dough in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix until the flour is fully incorporated. 

Step 3: Once the flour has been completely incorporated, let the dough sit for 15 minutes (autolyze) to develop gluten.

Step 4: Switch to the dough hook and increase the mixer speed to medium to develop the gluten. 

With a dough that has this amount of water, it will be difficult to develop the gluten in a home stand mixer. Mix until you see strands forming on top and the dough looks like it is pulling away from the sides of the bowl. This dough will not form a ball around the hook because it is too wet of a dough. 

Proofing and folds: 

Step 5: Scoop the dough into an oiled large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Place in a warm spot for 30 minutes. I like to use the proof setting on my oven. 

Step 6: First set of folds: Fold each of the four sides into the center, pulling the dough up and allowing it to smack down on top of the remaining dough in the bowl. Repeat on all four sides until you have a nice packet. This is developing more gluten! Cover and proof for an additional 15 minutes.

Step 7: Final set of folds: Repeat the process as with the first set of folds. By this point, the dough should hold together very well and stay in a ball in the center after you’ve completed your folds. 

If it immediately relaxes out to the sides of the bowl, you don’t have enough gluten, and you should repeat this process. It just means that you didn’t develop as much gluten in the mixer. This isn’t a bad thing! It’s just a process! You need just enough gluten to create a structure that will support the ingredients of the dough and also trap the gas that is released by the yeast. The perfect balance will yield a tender crumb. 

Step 8: Bulk Ferment: Cover the dough and return it to the warm spot to proof. Check the dough every 45 minutes. This will take about 2.5 hours. You want to oil or flour your hand and feel the dough. It should feel light and airy and not stiff or dense.

Shaping: 

Step 9: Pre-shape: Dust the top of the dough in the bowl with flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold each of the four sides towards you into the center, turning the dough after each fold. This will create a little packet. Flip the dough so the seam is on the counter. Shape it into a round by using both hands to pull the dough towards you. Once you have a round ball with a smooth top, allow it to sit and bench rest for 15 minutes.

Step 10: Final Shape: Repeat the same process as with the pre-shape until you have a tight round ball. Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper or flip it seam-side up into a proof basket that has been dusted with rice flour. Cover with plastic wrap.

To bake the same day: Place the basket back into the warm spot and allow to rise another 2.5 to 3 hours or until it feels light and airy and has doubled in volume in the basket. The volume will be tough to tell if you are proofing it on parchment because it doesn’t contain or control the shape of the sourdough. Proceed to the baking step below.

Step 11: To bake the next day: Place the covered basket into the refrigerator to retard or cold proof the dough overnight. This will slow the proofing of the yeast, allowing you to bake 12-18 hours later.

Baking:

Step 12: Preheat the oven to 450°F convection or 470°F non-convection with the Dutch oven or baking pan inside. Meanwhile, cut a piece of parchment a little larger than the loaf. 

Step 13: Covered bake. When your oven is ready, toss a little flour onto the dough, then turn the dough out of the basket onto the parchment paper. [If you proofed your dough on parchment, skip this step] Score the dough using a lame, razor blade, or paring knife. You want to score midway between the bottom and the top. With this bread in a round shape, I prefer to make it square so that it rises straight up and maintains its original round shape.

Step 14: Finish baking. Take the preheated Dutch oven from the oven, gently lower the dough into the pot, and cover it with the lid. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. 

Step 15: Remove the lid and continue baking for 25 minutes or until the loaf is a dark golden brown and the internal temperature reads 210°F.

Step 16: Remove the loaf from the Dutch oven, carefully remove the parchment, and then cool completely. This allows the crumb to set.

Recipe FAQs

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this basic homemade sourdough recipe. Check out our other sourdough bread recipes, like these sourdough cinnamon rolls or sourdough hot cross buns!