Easy Sourdough Bread
My husband grew up with fond childhood memories of fresh homemade sourdough bread, and we really wanted to create similar memories for our children. Unfortunately, it took years for us to actually try it out, because whenever we got interested, we would look up recipes online and there were always so many seemingly complicated steps. Feed the starter, make the dough, let it rise, stretch the dough, fold the dough, let it rise, let it rest, stretch it, and on and on. We finally decided to try it out in 2023, and it doesn’t have to be nearly as complicated as most people make it out to be. Don’t be intimidated! I’ll show you how I make sourdough the simple and easy way. My kids beg for this bread weekly and devour it before it’s cold.
If you don’t have an active sourdough starter, you’ll need to make one first. Don’t worry, it’s not hard! You can find a guide here. If you have an active starter, but it isn’t bubbly, feed it with these instructions.
Once you have an active sourdough starter you are ready to begin breadmaking. To begin you will need to start at least 7 hours before you plan to bake the bread. First gather a large mixing bowl and kitchen scale. This recipe calls for 625 grams of bread flour, 31 grams of olive oil, 13 grams of salt, 188 grams of starter, 313 grams of water.
First grease your mixing bowl with olive oil and then set it on your kitchen scale and tare to zero grams. Next pour in 188 grams of sour dough starter into the bowl and tare to zero again. Then pour in 313 grams of water in the bowl and tare to zero. Add your 31 grams of olive oil and then mix in a mixer or by hand. Tare and add 625 grams of bread flour. Last tare and add the 13 grams of salt to the bowl then you are ready to mix the dough. I like to use a Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook. My Kitchen Aid stand mixer has been going strong for nearly 12 years and is a staple of my kitchen.
After your dough is thoroughly mixed shape the dough into a ball. The dough should not be too sticky. If it is sticky go back to the mixer and add a little more flour. Let the dough rise in a warm place covered for 5-12 hours. After the first rise gently stretch and fold the dough over itself to make a ball of dough, also called a boule, and then cut a design in the top. Some people like to get really fancy with this part even going so far as using a special scoring lame to make intricate designs, or you can use a sharp kitchen knife or a clean blade to make a simple X design like I generally do. Place the boule in a greased enamel Dutch oven with a lid like the one I use and love all the time and let rise a second time for 1-4 more hours.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and place the Dutch oven in it then turn the temperature down to 400 degrees for 20 minutes, and bake with the lid on. The high heat will encourage the dough to rise. Bake another 25 minutes with the lid off and enjoy the delicious smell of homemade sourdough bread wafting through your kitchen! Your bread is done at 200 degrees. I like to use a kitchen thermometer like this one.
I know it will be hard, but allow it to cool for at least 15-20 minutes before you cut into it. If you cut it too soon, all of the escaping steam will make the inside gummy. Enjoy with lots of butter!
Easy Sourdough
Ingredients
- 313 grams water I always use water from my gravity filter.
- 188 grams active sourdough starter
- 31 grams olive oil
- 13 grams salt
- 625 grams bread flour
Instructions
Initial Prep
- Measure the sourdough starter, olive oil, salt, and water and put in the mixing bowl. Starting with warm (but not hot) water can help with rising.
- Mix with a dough hook on a medium-low speed. (It won't mix super well until you start adding some flour, but that's okay!)
- Measure flour in a separate container while the wet mixture is mixing.
- Slowly pour about a third of the flour into the mixing bowl and allow it to mix thoroughly for about 30 seconds to one minute.
- Slowly add the remainder of the flour and allow it to mix completely until a ball of dough forms in the mixer. You may need to stop and scrape the sides with a spatula a time or two to ensure all flour is mixed in.
- The dough may be slightly sticky, but this is okay. As long as you can handle the dough with your hands without too much sticking to your hands, you're ready for the next step. If the dough is too sticky, add 1/2 to 1 tbsp of flour and mix again.
- Remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer, scrape and dough off the dough hook, and form the dough into a ball with your hands.
- Place the ball of dough back into the mixing bowl for the bulk rise. It can be helpful to lightly oil the bowl with butter or extra olive oil to allow for an easier release when the bulk rise is done.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or preferably a damp cloth and set the bowl in an area it won't be disturbed. Make sure your bowl is large enough so the dough won't touch the cloth after rising.
Bulk Rise
- If you would like a faster rise, place the mixing bowl somewhere warm.
- Room temperature rises work best with about 8-12 hours, but this will vary based on your location and the time of year.
- You can delay the rise by 1-2 days by placing the dough in the fridge.
Stretch and Fold
- Once your dough has risen, prepare a clean flat work surface. This can be a large cutting board or directly on your countertop.
- Sprinkle a small amount of flour over your work surface.
- Dump the dough onto the work surface. If your dough is especially sticky, you may need to help coax it out.
- Dust your hands with a small amount of flour.
- Begin working the dough by grabbing a portion, stretching it out, and then folding it over the center of the dough.
- Repeat this "stretch and fold" process all the way around the dough.
- Pick up the dough and flip it over to show the "pretty" side.
- Work the dough with your hands to form it back into a nice round and uniform ball
- Place it in the center of your buttered dutch oven and place the lid on.
- Wait 1-2 hours for the second rise.
Baking
- Preheat the oven to 450 c.
- Place the dutch oven in the oven with the lid on and set the time for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid, and set it somewhere safe.
- Set the temperature to 400 °F and set the timer for about 25 minutes. Depending on your oven you may need a few more or less minutes.
- When the timer beeps, check the temperature. You want it to be about 200 °F in the center of the loaf.
- When the bread is done, remove the bread from the oven and place the bread on a cooling rack or cutting board.
- Allow the bread to rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting. Cutting too soon will make the inside of the bread gummy.
- Cut and enjoy!