How To Make Sourdough Bread

The easy sourdough bread recipe we use all the time to create the perfect sourdough loaf! This is the perfected lazy method✨

This method is most convenient when you leave all the different processes to happen in the background with minimal work, because that's what we want!

It takes a long time (3 days 😩) but it’s very little actual work on your part!

A few notes before jumping in:

The number one place I think people go wrong is if their starter isn’t mature and happy. After you feed it, it should at least double! We’ve had our starter pop the lid off/overflow the container because it’s so active and happy. You want that energy in your bread!

We have and use all the fancy stuff now, but in the beginning we didn’t have any of it! I’ve tried to include swaps you can use if you don’t have the fancier equipment.

If this is your first time attempting sourdough I would suggest using only bread flour. Using the full 500g of flour as bread flour makes it easier to handle and has a tendency to turn out better.

RECIPE✨

For the starter:

1:1:1 ratio - old starter:water:flour

100g starter

100g water

100g flour (I recommend 90g bread flour and 10g rye flour, but use all bread flour if you don’t have rye on hand)

For bread:

375g lukewarm water

100g fed starter

500g flour (I use 225g bread flour, 225g wholegrain, 50g rye)

10-13g salt

INSTRUCTIONS

DAY 1

The night before, pull your old starter out of the fridge and feed. I recommend using a digital scale to get most accurate results! If you have more than 100g of starter, discard to that amount before feeding.

To feed, simply mix together your 1:1:1 ratio of starter, flour, and water.

Once fed, place the lid on lightly and set on the counter to grow. It will take several hours to double. I like to leave it overnight.

DAY 2

The next morning add 375g water to a bowl, followed by your starter. Mix with your fingers. Add your flour(s) and salt. Mix with a silicone spatula to combine at this point.

Cover with damp towel or baking mat and let rest for 30 minutes.

Perform slap and folds every 20 minutes. Do this by wetting your hand and then scooping down the side of the bowl, grab the dough, stretch it high, the  fold it over to the other side of the bowl. Kind of hard to describe, but I believe in you! Watch the video for examples. The dough will get firmer as you do more stretch and folds.

Do 5-6 sets of these over the course of 2 hours. THIS IS THE HARDEST PART: REMEMBERING! But it is forgiving, and the dough won't hate you for missing one or two or leaving it for an hour.

After the last one, cover the dough and set to rest on the counter until it has doubled. I usually wait until right before I go to bed.

After it has doubled, it’s time to shape the dough! Sprinkle the bench/counter with bread flour and turn out onto the bench. Stretch the dough into a large rectangle and fold into thirds like an envelope. Then roll it up like a cinnamon roll. Next, shape it by turning the dough ball in small, tight circles that curl the side of the dough around and then under itself. I used to do it by hand, but a bench scraper does the job quite a bit better. The dough will be pretty sticky, but it should still hold its shape.

Now place in a well-floured baneton. If you don’t have a baneton, line a bowl with a VERY well-floured towel or cheese cloth. Rice flour works the best, but white flour can also work if you’re very generous with it. There’s nothing worse that pulling out your beautiful dough later and finding it completely stuck to your cloth!

Place the dough into the fridge overnight. This gives it a slow ferment. At this point it won't rise very much.

DAY 3

The next morning turn on the oven to 220°C/500°F. Place your dutch oven and lid in the oven to heat up for about 20 minutes. Pull the dough out of the fridge and turn onto a parchment paper. Trim around the dough leaving two long strips as handles on either side for easy handling.

Score the dough however you want. A scoring knife is nice, but a sharp knife or razor works too.

Pull your hot pot out of the oven and remove the lid. Using the parchment paper handles, gently place the dough into the pot. Replace the lid and place back in the oven.

Cook for 25 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 20-25 minutes.

After this it’s technically done, but I recommend turning the oven off and leaving the door cracked open for another 5 minutes. It helps to make the crust even more crispy and delicious!

Take the bread out of the pot and let cool for 30 minutes - or as long as you can handle not eating your incredible smelling bread!