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If you love fresh sourdough bread with a golden, crispy crust and a light, airy crumb, this recipe is for you. It’s one of the easiest ways to make sourdough at home—and one of the most delicious.
Jump to RecipeCrafting Sourdough: My Journey
My sourdough journey began out of necessity. I had been dealing with ongoing gastrointestinal issues—mainly bloating and intermittent constipation—and eventually realized that regular bread was contributing to the problem. I tried everything from cutting bread out completely (which didn’t last long because I truly love bread!) to experimenting with alternatives like rice, chickpea, and potato-based breads. But nothing satisfied me the way traditional wheat bread did. When I finally gave sourdough a try, I noticed the difference almost immediately. My bloating eased up, and I felt so much more comfortable after eating it. For about a year, I happily bought sourdough from the store… until one day I looked at the price—six dollars in Canada for half a loaf—and decided there was no way I was going to keep paying that! That was the moment I became determined to learn how to bake my own sourdough bread from scratch.
How Do You Make Sourdough Bread?
Homemade Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Recipe
Course: StarterCuisine: BakingDifficulty: ModerateServings
14
servingsCooking time
50
minutesCalories
137
kcalBeginner friendly, crispy crust with light airy crust homemade sourdough bread recipe. Let’s dive in and get started.
Ingredients
100 g (1/2 cup) bubbly, active sourdough starter
375 g (1 2/3 cups) warm water
500 g (4 cups) flour
10 g (2 teaspoons) salt
Directions
- Mix the dough:
In a large bowl, whisk together the starter and warm water using a fork. Add the flour and salt and continue to mix with a fork, then switch to a dough scraper or spatula to bring the dough together. The dough will be sticky – this is normal.
Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes. If your home is cool, place the bowl in the oven with only the oven light on to gently warm the space. This will help your dough to rise. - Stretch and fold – 4 rounds:
Repeat this step every 30 minutes, for a total of 4 rounds (2 hours). Wet your hand, grab one edge of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it toward the center. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat until you’ve done four folds.
Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes before repeating a total of 4 times.
- Bulk rise:
After the final stretch and fold, cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise at room temperature or in the oven with the light on only for 2½ hours.
Your dough is ready when it has increased in size by about 50% (not doubled), shows small bubbles on the surface and jiggles when you move the bowl. - Shape the dough:
Gently turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Stretch it into a rectangle and fold the sides toward the center. Stretch again into a rectangle and roll it into a log. Place the log into a lightly greased bread pan (olive oil works well). Cover with parchment paper and a damp cloth. Let the dough rest a couple of hours, until it rises slightly.
You can also use a dutch oven instead of a bread pan, see notes at the bottom of this recipe.
- Cold fermentation: Leave the covered pan in the refrigerator overnight. You can refrigerate the dough for up to 48 hours, but baking it the next morning gives the best texture and flavor.
- Baking the sourdough:
Prepare the oven by placing a baking sheet with a lip on the bottom rack of the oven (this will be used to create steam). Preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
Take the sourdough out of the refrigerator, remove the parchement paper and cloth and score the top of the dough using a sharp knife or a scoring blade. You can do a simple straight line or two vertical lines. Scoring allows the bread to expand properly as it bakes. I use a small scoring tool that you can purchase here.
- Create steam and bake:
Place the bread pan on the middle rack. Carefully pour 1 cup of water onto the preheated baking sheet on the bottom rack, then immediately close the door to trap the steam. Bake for 35 minutes. - Finish the bake:
Remove the baking sheet (to stop the steam). Reduce oven temperature to 375°F (190°C). Bake for another 15 minutes. - Cooling & storage:
Remove the bread from the oven and from the pan. Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Store at room temperature in an airtight bag or container for up to 3 days. Sourdough also freezes beautifully—just wrap tightly and freeze.
Notes
- Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, rising times will vary. A warmer kitchen will shorten rising time while a cooler kitchen will increase rising time.
- Baking time and temperature may vary depending on your equipment. You will have to test and adjust. The bread should have a nice dark gold crust and the bottom should also be light to dark gold.
- I do not use a dutch oven, I use a bread pan. If you use a dutch oven, you will have to modify this recipe accordingly by not using the baking sheet to produce steam.
