I was intimidated to make my first loaf of sourdough bread. I’d heard others talk about flat and dense loaves—dough that never rose. It wasn’t until I read a sourdough book cover to cover and painted it with post-it notes, highlights, and dog-eared pages that I felt ready to put my newborn sourdough starter to work. I bought flour. I filtered water. I measured. I mixed and kneaded. I folded ever-so-gently while I held my bread until, hours later, I pulled my first sourdough from the oven.
I had my wife taste it. “Pretty good,” she said. “Yeah, pretty good bread.” Only later did she fess up that it was “actually just okay, to be honest.” But all-in-all the bread had a nice rise, a crunchy and well-colored crust, and it did taste great considering it was my first loaf of any kind of bread. And you know what? We ate the entire thing.
This Beginner’s Sourdough Bread post has several videos where I walk you through each step of the sourdough bread-making process. Be sure to see the end for a complete video walkthrough of me making this recipe!
As the new obsession set in, I started making fresh sourdough bread for every meal. There was something about the whole bread-making process that I found captivating. It was–and still is–exciting to mix such elemental ingredients and to see them produce beautiful, life-giving sustenance: it is modern-day alchemy. It’s such a simple thing, and yet it brought me so much joy to see my family and friends tear into a freshly baked loaf that I wanted to bake every day of every week.
This recipe will give you confidence as you take your first steps in baking sourdough bread from your home kitchen.
Starting to make your first loaf of sourdough bread can be daunting. That’s why I’ve put together this beginner’s sourdough bread tutorial and recipe—it will give you confidence as you take your first steps in baking sourdough bread from your home kitchen. This how-to guide starts with explaining baking terms and definitions so that we will have a common vocabulary once we get to the recipe.
And then, each step of the process has lots of information to ensure you understand what is happening and what to do. But, before we go on this beginner’s sourdough bread recipe, let’s first take a look at what sourdough bread is.
What is Sourdough Bread?
Sourdough is a specific type of bread created through a natural fermentation process involving suitable bacteria and wild yeasts in the environment (i.e., the air and even a baker’s hands) and, most importantly, on the grain itself. A sourdough starter culture is used to seed fermentation in new dough when making sourdough bread.
Generally speaking, bacteria are primarily responsible for producing organic acids (lactic acid and acetic acid) that contribute to sourdough bread’s flavor, texture, and storage qualities. The wild yeasts produce carbon dioxide gas and ethanol during fermentation. When this gas becomes trapped in the dough’s airtight gluten matrix, the dough begins to rise, resulting in a final loaf of bread with a light and airy texture.
All recipes on The Perfect Loaf are naturally leavened; in other words, you won’t find any commercial yeast or instant yeast here. There’s nothing inherently wrong with commercial yeast, but I prefer to make bread this way because of the wonderful flavor and texture, the health benefits like increased bioavailability of minerals and nutrients, increased keeping quality thanks to the acids generated during natural fermentation, and the fact that it requires so few ingredients (just three!) to make something so delicious.
For a high-level look at each step of the sourdough process, read through the Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough Bread →
Creating a Sourdough Starter
It all begins with a sourdough starter. Before we look at how to make sourdough bread, you need to create a healthy sourdough starter that shows consistent signs of fermentation each day. Creating a sourdough starter is easy: mix flour and water for a few days in succession, and eventually, thanks to the bacteria and wild yeasts on the grain, natural fermentation will begin.
If you’d like to look at how I feed my starter daily, look at my sourdough starter maintenance routine. In this guide, you will see the visual and aromatic cues to look for when your starter is ready for refreshment (feeding).
While waiting for your sourdough starter, let’s look at some terms bakers often use to discuss the various parts of the bread-making process.
Baker’s Terminology
Sourdough starter
A starter is a mixture of flour and water you allow to ferment naturally. You’ll refresh (feed) the starter indefinitely to keep the fermentation active and healthy, and you will wait for it to become fully ripe before you use any of it to make bread.
When you want to make bread, you take a small amount of your starter to create an off-shoot called a levain (see below). See my post on starter creation to read more about the starter and learn how to make one.
Levain (or leaven)
A levain is made by mixing a small off-shoot of your ripe starter with water and flour and allowing it to ferment before mixing it into a dough. You can always use your starter directly to make sourdough bread, but a levain is a small off-shoot that allows you to adjust the flour, hydration, and ripening schedule (which have implications on the bacteria and wild yeast balance).
Also, unlike your sourdough starter, which lives on as its own entity, the entirety of the levain goes into the dough and has the same fate as the bread itself: to be baked in the oven. See my post on what a levain is and how it’s different from a sourdough starter for more information.
Autolyse
Some recipes utilize a step called autolyse (“auto-lease”). It occurs at the beginning of bread baking and is a step in which only flour and water are mixed together and left to rest. The goal of autolyse is to initiate enzymatic activity in the dough to help draw out sugars from the flour. Additionally, it helps increase dough extensibility (the ability for the dough to stretch out without tearing).
In most cases, increased extensibility is good as it helps the dough expand and fill with gasses, resulting in a light and airy loaf. See my in-depth post on the autolyse technique for more information.
Bulk fermentation
The dough’s first rise is called bulk fermentation. After mixing the flour, salt, and levain into a dough, you put it all into a bowl or container, cover it, and let it rest. The dough will undergo a fermentation process during this critical step. Bacteria and yeast begin to generate organic acids and alcohols and leaven the dough, which will translate to flavor and rise in your final bread.
For more on this critical step in the bread-making process, see my in-depth guide to bulk fermentation.
Proofing
The proof is the dough’s final, or second, rise after the dough has been divided and shaped and lasts until the dough is finally baked in the oven. During this time, the dough continues to ferment, further strengthening and leavening it. I typically proof at a cold temperature in the refrigerator (also called “retarding”).
In my ultimate guide to proofing, I talk about how to spot when the dough is finished rising and ready to bake, plus a whole lot more.
Final Dough Temperature
The final dough temperature (FDT) is the dough’s temperature after mixing all ingredients. The dough’s temperature is important because it’s the main factor that affects fermentation strength: a warmer dough will ferment faster than a cooler dough.
Naturally, each component (levain, the flour, the water, and the ambient environment) has a temperature. While most of these are out of our control, we can easily adjust the water temperature, which enables us to change the FDT of the entire dough to meet whatever the recipe calls for.
I have a handy water temperature calculator you can use to quickly figure out what you need to warm or cool your mixing water to get the dough to the right temperature.
Or, so you don’t have to do any calculations, here’s a quick cheat sheet for this Beginner’s Sourdough bread recipe:
| If your kitchen temperature is | Warm or cool the mixing water to |
|---|---|
| 68°F (20°C) | 98°F (37°C) |
| 70°F (21°C) | 94°F (34°C) |
| 72°F (22°C) | 90°F (32°C) |
| 74°F (23°C) | 86°F (30°C) |
| 76°F (24°C) | 82°F (28°C) |
| 78°F (25°C) | 78°F (25°C) |
| 80°F (26°C) | 74°F (23°C) |
If your kitchen is outside of these temperatures, my guide on the importance of dough temperature in baking will walk you through calculating exactly what to warm (or cool) your mixing water to so your dough meets the FDT for any recipe.
Baker’s Percentages (Baker’s Math)
Baker’s math, or baker’s percentages, helps bakers adjust the actual quantity of the ingredients up or down, depending on how much bread they want to make. I write all the formulas on The Perfect Loaf in baker’s percentages, where all ingredient weights are a percentage of the total flour weight, which always adds up to 100%. Read through my introduction to baker’s percentages for a more in-depth explanation (including how to scale up and down a bread recipe).
TPL Members (the baking community here) have access to all the recipes here at The Perfect Loaf in spreadsheet form, making scaling up and down recipes as simple as changing a few numbers.
Baking Tools
There are a few necessary tools for baking your first loaf of this beginner’s sourdough bread. The following might look like a long list, but you probably already have many of these in your kitchen—There are a few tools necessary for baking this beginner’s sourdough bread. Note that one item is absolutely necessary: a kitchen scale. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, please consider buying one. Measuring flour with cups and scoops is entirely inaccurate!
- combo cooker like a Lodge 3qt. cast iron combo cooker or a Le Creuset Dutch oven that can withstand 500°F (260°C) in the oven and has a well-sealing lid
- large mixing bowl to mix your dough by hand
- two medium kitchen bowls to proof your dough
- two kitchen towels or a tea towel to line the proofing bowls
- bench knife to cut and shape the dough
- plastic or silicone bowl scraper
- kitchen scale that measures in grams
- instant-read thermometer
- white rice flour for dusting proofing bowl
- blade for scoring your dough (a “lame”), or a razor blade, sharp knife, or scissors
- fine-grain sea salt
- parchment paper
- pizza peel (or cutting board)
- heavy duty oven mitt
- the best bread knife for cutting your sourdough bread
You can find a full list of all the tools I use when baking on my baking tools page.
The Importance of Dough Temperature
When I first started baking, I didn’t quite grasp how important temperature is in the bread-making process. I always like to say: Treat temperature as an ingredient, just as flour, water, and salt are ingredients. What I mean by that, practically, is that if one day you mix with water that is 70°F (21°C) and then a week later mix with water that is 80°F (26°C), you will get drastically different outcomes.
Temperature determines the amount of fermentation activity you’ll see. Lower temperatures generally mean less activity; therefore, things will take longer. Higher temperatures generally mean more activity; therefore, things will take less time. Working with consistent temperatures will ensure consistency in your bread baking, and you’ll get the desired results in terms of flavor, rise, texture–well, everything.
Treat temperature as an ingredient, just as flour, water, and salt are ingredients.
If it’s cold where you’re baking, see my tips on how to bake sourdough bread in the winter. And conversely, if it’s warm where you are, see my post on how to bake in the summer. These guides will help ensure your loaves have the best flavor and volume.
Flour For Baking Bread
I used commonly available supermarket flour for this recipe: Bob’s Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour, Bob’s Red Mill Whole Wheat Flour, and Bob’s Red Mill or Arrowhead Dark Rye Flour. These are great flour choices, but any of King Arthur’s offerings are equally suitable. I chose “bread flour” as it has a higher protein percentage than all-purpose flour, which helps bring significant strength to the dough so that less mixing and kneading is required–it also makes things a bit easier for your first loaf of bread.
As you’ll hear me mention throughout this site, I do like to use as little high-protein flour in my recipes as possible as I find it leads to a slightly chewier, gummy interior—or be sure to use it in the correct way.
Baking Schedule
This beginner’s sourdough bread is a two-day-long process where the bread is mixed and prepared on day one, cold-proofed (retarded) in the fridge overnight, then baked on day two.
I love the convenience of this type of schedule: most of the work is done on the first day, then the dough can be left in the fridge until the next day, when it can be baked in the morning, afternoon, or even the evening.
The baking schedule to the right shows you a high-level view of what step takes place and when.
Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Formula
Now we get to the formula for the beginner’s sourdough bread formula. I start every recipe with two tables: Vitals and Total Formula. The Vitals table gives you a high-level view of the contents of the dough, as well as how much the recipe makes (in this case, two loaves). The Total Formula table lists the ingredients needed for the entire recipe and their respective amounts.
Vitals
| Total Dough Weight | 1,800 grams |
| Pre-fermented Flour | 7.5% |
| Levain in final dough | 20.3% |
| Hydration | 72.0% |
| Yield | Two loaves |
Total Formula
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 811g | Bob’s Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour | 80.0% |
| 152g | Bob’s Red Mill Stoneground Whole Wheat Flour | 15.0% |
| 51g | Bob’s Red Mill Dark Rye Flour | 5.0% |
| 730g | Water | 72.0% |
| 18g | Fine sea salt | 1.8% |
| 38g | Ripe sourdough starter, 100% hydration | 3.8% |
Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Method
1. Levain – 8:00 a.m.
| Weight | Ingredient | Baker’s Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 38g | Ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) | 50.0% |
| 38g | Bob’s Red Mill Stoneground Whole Wheat | 50.0% |
| 38g | Bob’s Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour | 50.0% |
| 76g | Water | 100.0% |
Remember: the levain is an off-shoot of your continually maintained sourdough starter and is likewise composed of bacteria and yeasts. You make this levain well before you mix the dough, so it has time to ferment, and eventually, it’s added to the dough to seed fermentation.
Mix the ingredients in the table above in a clean jar (I use the same sourdough starter jars) and leave it at warm room temperature, 74-76°F (23-24°C), for 5 to 6 hours. When it’s ready, it will be expanded, bubbly on top, inside, and at the sides, and have a slightly sour aroma. The photo below shows my levain before it goes into my dough mix.
2. Autolyse – 12:00 p.m.
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 773g | Bob’s Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour |
| 114g | Bob’s Red Mill Stoneground Whole Wheat Flour |
| 51g | Bob’s Red Mill Dark Rye Flour |
| 603g | Water (this has 50g less than the overall formula, reserved for Mix step below) |
The desired dough temperature (DDT) for this dough is 78°F (25°C). As described in the temperature section above, we will try to get the dough to this temperature right at the end of mixing (which is also at the beginning of bulk fermentation).
Warm or cool the autolyse water so the mixed dough reaches the FDT for this recipe. Place the flour and the water called for in the table above in a large bowl. Use wet hands to mix until no dry bits remain; the dough will be shaggy and loose. Use a bowl scraper to scrape down the sides of the bowl, keeping all the dough in one area at the bottom. Cover the bowl and place it near your levain for 1 hour.
Note that the autolyse stage does not incorporate salt or the levain in any way since the autolyse is a long one hour. Adding the levain to the autolyse would mean fermentation would begin, which could end up overproofing the dough. Salt is rarely added to an autolyse because the salt would diminish enzymatic activity during this time, which is precisely why we are doing an autolyse. The autolyse and levain are two separate entities that will be mixed together later in the process.
3. Mix – 1:00 p.m.
| Weight | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 50g | Reserved water (this water was held back in the Autolyse step) |
| 18g | Fine sea salt |
| 190g | Ripe, 100% hydration levain (from Levain, above) |
Use your instant-read thermometer to take the dough’s temperature and compare it to the FDT for this recipe. If it is higher, use cold water for the reserved water; if it is lower, use warm water.
At this point, your autolyse is complete and your levain is ready—it’s time to mix and strengthen the dough. If the dough feels very wet and shaggy, do not use all of the reserved 50g of water; use only a splash to help incorporate the salt and levain. If the dough feels good to you, use all the reserved water.
To the autolyse, add the ingredients in the table above (salt, reserved water to help adjust dough hydration and consistency, and levain). I like to spread everything on top of the dough and use wet hands to pinch all the ingredients together. Transfer the dough to a container or thick-walled bowl for bulk fermentation.
Take the temperature of the dough to get your final dough temperature. If your FDT is below 78°F (25°C), next time use warmer water, and conversely, if it’s above 78°F (25°C), use cooler water. Cover the dough.
4. Bulk Fermentation – 1:10 p.m. to 5:10 p.m.
At 74-76°F (23-24°C) ambient temperature, bulk fermentation should go for about 4 hours. Perform 3 sets of stretches and folds during bulk fermentation, spaced out by 30 minutes.
Each set of stretches and folds consists of 4 folds: one each at the North, South, East, and West sides. Wet your hands with a little water to prevent sticking, and then lift one side (North) of the dough with two hands. Stretch the dough high enough so you can fold it completely over to the other side. Rotate the bowl 180° and do the other side (South). Finish the other two sides (East and West) to complete the set. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, covered, between sets.
In the video below, you can see how I stretch and fold this dough during bulk fermentation.
After the third set of stretch and folds, let the dough rest for the remainder of bulk fermentation. During this time, fermentation aerates the dough (making it rise), continues to strengthen it, and further develops its flavor.
At the end of bulk fermentation, your dough should have risen by 20% to 50%. It should show some bubbles on the top and sides, and the edge of the dough where it meets the bowl should be slightly domed, which indicates strength. In the photo above, you can see all these signs. If you don’t see these signs, leave it for another 15 minutes in bulk fermentation and check again.
5. Divide and preshape – 5:15 p.m.
Lightly flour a work surface. Using a bowl scraper, gently scrape the dough onto the work surface and use your bench knife to divide the dough directly in half. Using your bench knife in your dominant hand, and the other hand wet (or floured, if you prefer) to reduce sticking, turn each half of the dough on the counter while lightly pulling the dough towards you. This gentle turning and pulling motion will develop tension on the dough’s top, forming a circle.
Preshaping bread dough is an often overlooked step, but it sets the stage for successful shaping later. See my guide to preshaping bread dough for more information.
Let the dough rest for 25 minutes, uncovered.
In the video below, you can see how I preshape this beginner’s sourdough bread dough:
6. Shape – 5:35 p.m.
If you’re new to shaping bread dough, check out my guide to shaping a boule (a round) in addition to the steps below.
Lightly flour the top of your dough rounds and the work surface. Working with one round at a time, flip the round so the floured top is now down on the floured work surface.
As seen in the image below, with lightly floured hands, grab the bottom of the round and stretch it lightly downward towards your body, and then up and over about 2/3 of the way to the top.
Then, grab the left and right sides of the dough and stretch them away from each other. Fold one side over toward the other and repeat with the other side.
Then, grab the top of the circle, stretch it away from your body, and then fold it down to the bottom of the dough. You’ll now have a tight package that resembles a letter.
Finally, flip or roll down the dough so the seams are all on the bottom. Using both hands, cup the top part of the round and drag the dough gently towards your body to create surface tension on the dough. The angle of your hands will gently press the dough’s bottom on the counter. This dragging helps create surface tension on the dough, which helps keep it in shape during proofing.
Let the dough rest on the bench for a few minutes to help the bottom seam seal.
In the video below, you can see how I shape bread dough into a boule shape.
Meanwhile, prepare your proofing baskets. Line two proofing baskets, kitchen bowls, or bannetons with clean kitchen towels. Dust lightly and evenly with plain white flour or white rice flour. Gently transfer each piece of shaped dough to a proofing basket, seam-side-up.
You can also top this dough with sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pepitas, and much more—see my guide to topping bread dough for more ideas and instructions.
7. Rest and proof – 5:40 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. (next day)
To prevent your dough from drying out overnight, place your bowls containing your shaped dough into reusable plastic bags and seal. I usually puff up the plastic bag around the bowl by opening it wide and then quickly closing it.
Let the dough rest on the counter for 20 minutes. Then, retard (a baker’s term meaning place into a cold area to proof) in the refrigerator at 38°F (3°C) for 16 hours (overnight).
During this time, overall fermentation will slow (especially yeast activity), but bacterial activity will continue at a reduced rate, resulting in a more complex flavor and, ultimately, deeper crust coloring.
8. Bake – Next morning: preheat oven at 8:30 a.m., bake at 9:30 a.m.
Now, it’s time to bake your sourdough bread. It’s not a difficult step, but there are some things to know. The oven needs steam for the best crust and tallest rise. I like to use a Dutch oven or combo cooker, which is very easy. These pots trap the steam released from the dough and provide the right environment for it to rise optimally.
See my full guide to baking sourdough bread for tips on scoring your dough, pots, and steaming.
Place an oven rack in the bottom third of the oven with no rack above it. Put your combo cooker or Dutch oven on the oven rack, and preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C) for at least 30 minutes. If you’re using a combo cooker, place the shallow side face up on one side and the heavier, deep side face down on the other.
When your oven is preheated, remove one of the proofing baskets from the fridge, uncover it, and place a piece of parchment paper over it. Place a pizza peel, cutting board, or inverted baking sheet on top of the parchment and, using both hands, flip everything over. Gently remove the basket; your dough should rest on the parchment.
Using a razor blade, sharp knife, or baker’s lame, score the dough at a 90° angle between the blade and the dough. I chose to make a “box” pattern. If using scissors, snip the dough a few times at a very shallow angle between the scissors and the dough, forming a set of ridges down the dough’s center.
While wearing your heavy-duty oven mitt, and with caution, pull out your shallow side of the combo cooker and place it on a heat-safe rack or stovetop. Slide the dough into the combo cooker or Dutch oven. Place it back into the oven and cover the shallow side with the deep side, or put the lid on the Dutch oven. This sealed environment helps trap the moisture (escaping steam) from your dough to steam the loaf exterior as it bakes, which encourages maximal rise and a crunchy, shiny crust.
Bake for 20 minutes. Vent the oven of steam: use your oven mitt to very carefully remove the top of the combo cooker or Dutch oven. Leave the large side of the combo cooker in the oven to the side. Close the oven door and bake for 30 minutes more. When done, the loaf should have an internal temperature of around 208°F (97°C), and the crust should be a deep mahogany color and crackle/crunch when squeezed.
Use your oven mitt to transfer the bread to a wire rack carefully. Cool for 1 to 2 hours before slicing into your beginner’s sourdough bread. For the second loaf, preheat the combo cooker or Dutch oven for 15 minutes and repeat.
Follow my guide to storing bread to keep your loaves fresh for as long as possible.
Once you get the hang of this beginner’s sourdough bread process and formula, you can endlessly modify it with add-ins like walnuts, cranberries, seeds, and a host of other ingredients bound only by your imagination. But the most important thing is to bake and have fun. Remember that sometimes bread doesn’t come out as you intended–but stick with it, and you’ll be rewarded time and time again.
And of course, buon appetito!
Watch me make this Beginner’s Sourdough Bread from start to finish
In my YouTube video below, you can see how I make my Beginner’s Sourdough Bread, from creating the levain to slicing the final loaves.
Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Prep Time: 23 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 24 hours
- Yield: 2 loaves
- Category: Main course
- Cuisine: American
Description
The perfect bread to get started baking sourdough bread at home. This crusty, crunchy, and absolutely delicious loaf of bread is perfect for any lunch or dinner table.
Ingredients
Levain
- 38 grams stoneground whole wheat flour
- 38 grams bread flour
- 76 grams water
- 38 grams ripe sourdough starter
Main dough
- 773 grams bread flour
- 114 grams whole wheat flour
- 51 grams whole grain rye flour
- 653 grams water
- 18 grams fine sea salt
Instructions
- Levain (8:00 a.m.)
In a small container, mix the levain ingredients and keep at 74-76°F (23-24°C) for 5 to 6 hours. - Autolyse (12:00 p.m)
In a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour and 603 grams of water (reserve 50 grams until the next step). Cover and let rest for 1 hour. - Mix (1:00 p.m.)
To the mixing bowl holding your dough, add the salt, ripe levain (from step 1), and reserved 50 grams water. Mix by hand or with a dough whisk until incorporated. Transfer your dough to a bulk fermentation container and cover. - Bulk Fermentation (1:10 p.m. to 5:10 p.m.)
Give the dough 3 sets of stretch and folds at 30-minute intervals, where the first set starts 30 minutes after the start of bulk fermentation. - Divide and Preshape (5:10 p.m.)
Lightly flour your work surface and scrape out your dough. Using your bench knife, divide the dough in half. Lightly shape each half into a round shape. Let the dough rest for 25 minutes, uncovered. - Shape (5:35 p.m.)
Shape the dough into a round (boule) or oval (batard)—place in proofing baskets. - Rest and Proof (5:40 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. the next day)
Cover proofing baskets with reusable plastic and seal shut. Let the dough sit out on the counter for 20 minutes. Then, place both baskets into the refrigerator and proof overnight. - Bake (Preheat oven at 8:30 a.m., bake at 9:30 a.m.)
Preheat your oven with a combo cooker or Dutch oven inside to 450°F (230°C). When the oven is preheated, remove your dough from the fridge, score it, and transfer to the preheated combo cooker. Place the cooker in the oven, cover with the lid, and bake for 20 minutes. After this time, remove the lid (you can keep it in the oven or remove it) and continue to bake for 30 minutes longer. When done, the internal temperature should be around 208°F (97°C). Let the loaves cool for 1 to 2 hours on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
While the recipe calls for 16 hours of total proof time, you could extend this time and bake the loaves in the morning, afternoon, or even the evening on day two. Leave the proofing dough in the fridge until ready to bake.
Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Frequently Asked Questions
Why is sourdough bread good for you?
Sourdough, and its lengthy natural fermentation process, can help break down the gluten in grain, which helps aid in the body’s digestion. Additionally, fermentation helps “unlock” the nutrition inherent in the grain, allowing for better absorption.
Is sourdough bread sour?
Sourdough isn’t super sour in the traditional sense—it’s not sour like taking a bit of a lemon. But it does have tanginess which is the byproduct of lactic acid fermentation. Sourdough bread will have more sourness than one made with 100% commercial yeast due to the acids created by natural fermentation.
How can I make sourdough bread more sour?
To increase the sour flavor of this sourdough bread, add more whole grains (both to your sourdough starter and the dough itself), keep the dough warm (78°F/25°C or warmer), and lengthen the total fermentation time by keeping the dough in the fridge to proof even longer than the 16 hours specified in the recipe—24 hours is a good starting point.
How can I get a more open crumb with my bread?
First, focus on your sourdough starter to get a more open crumb for this sourdough bread: it should be refreshed (fed) often, kept warm, and used when ripe. Next, strengthen the dough sufficiently during mixing and bulk fermentation by using stretches and folds. Finally, your dough must be fully proofed so that when you press a finger into the dough, it slowly springs back about halfway (if it springs back quickly, let it proof longer; if the finger indentation stays, bake immediately).
What’s Next?
After baking this beginner’s sourdough bread, check out my Baking Guides for more in-depth discussions on all parts of the sourdough bread-making process. If you’re looking to add mix-ins to your bread, have a look at my walnut cranberry sourdough bread—it’s one of the most popular recipes here at The Perfect Loaf—and for good reason! Or, have a look at my Simple Weekday Sourdough Bread for a way to squeeze sourdough bread baking into a busy workday.
Finally, now that you have your sourdough starter bubbling away on your counter check out my sourdough starter discard recipes for ideas on how to use leftovers!
3,331 Comments
Hi there, thanks for all the great info. Couple of questions for you:
1) Do you have to cold proof this in the fridge over night? or can you proof at room temperature and proof for a shorter amount of time (a lot of other recipes I see have a proof time of about an hour)
2) Why is the levain not part of the autolyse step? Other recipes have the starter/levain in as well as the flour + water, does this make a difference?
Many thanks!
Paolo
Answers:
1) No, you can proof directly on the counter at warm room temp, for probably 2-3 hours depending on the temperature.
2) If you add your levain to the autolyse mix your dough will begin fermenting and with this recipe, it would overproof. Check out my guide to the autolyse technique where I dig into that!
Hope that all helps and happy baking, Paolo!
Amazing, thanks so much for the reply!!
Mauricio- I have been trying to make sourdough bread in a LoafNest Dutch oven for many months with a little or no knead recipe. It tasted ok but was usually wet with a dense crumb. I received your book for Christmas and tried the basic recipe. Wow. I got two great loaves on the first try and the LoafNest makes them shaped perfectly for slicing.
Ahh so glad to hear they turned out great!
Hi Maurizio! I only recently discovered your website, and after just a taste of the clear and concise information you offer here, I knew I had to order your cookbook! As I wait for its arrival, I went ahead and started the process of creating a new sourdough starter based on your guide. I’m only one day one, but I’m familiarizing myself with the above recipe in the meantime. If I only have one dutch oven and therefore can only bake one loaf at a time, do I just leave the second one in the fridge until the first one is done baking? Thank you!
Yes, leave the second dough in the fridge until ready to bake. I hope you love this recipe and my cookbook!
Hi Maurizio – if I’m trying to adjust the schedule outlined above, is there any reason that I couldn’t prepare my levain the night before baking and then start the autolyse around 9am the next morning? This would then double my time for the levain from 5-6 hours to something closer to 10-12 hours and I’m not sure what the consequence of that might be. Thanks!
You can certainly do that! Though, you’d need the ripe starter in the levain to be only 10% of the total flour (so it’s not too ripe in the morning).
HI! question for high elevation- im at 7,000ft. seems like even when i go for 45 min after the initial 20min steam, i still can’t get the bread temp over 200… should i go for longer? thanks!
At that high of an alt, you likely will never reach over 200F—and that’s okay! Use the other signs for when the loaf is finished: crunchy crust, deep color, and a loaf that’s lighter in the hand.
Check out my guide to high-alt baking for more tips and more explination:
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/guides/how-to-bake-sourdough-bread-at-high-altitude/
Happy holiday, Stacy!
Hi, would it be possible to use white and rye flour only with no wholemeal?
Sure, absolutely. Know that the more rye you add, the more the final loaf will be squatter and more dense—but more delicious! I’d start at 5-10% rye and work up.
Hi! First time sourdough baker. So glad I found your blog – it’s been extremely helpful and educational!! I’m on day 2 of my starter today :). I’m mentally preparing for my first loaf and have a question on the baking process. I see you recommend leaving the dough in the fridge until it’s ready to go into the hot dutch oven, but I have an enameled cast iron dutch oven and thermal shocks (like putting cold dough into the hot dutch oven) can crack the enamel. I’m trying to figure out what I can do instead! I’ve heard that not pre heating your dutch oven compared to pre heating it, has a negligible effect on the outcome of the bread, so I was thinking maybe I could put the dough from the fridge into a non pre heated dutch oven. But do you think it would come out ok? Maybe I just need to get a less high maintenance Dutch oven 😂
Glad to have you here, Gabby! So I’ve never had success baking with a cold oven in that way, my loaves never spring up properly. What you could try, though, is to preheat the oven, take the dough out of the fridge and place it in your cold enameled DO, then into the HOT oven. That will likely work okay.
Another option: take the dough out 30m before baking to warm on the counter, then place it into the preheated oven and DO to reduce thermal shock.
Hope this helps, let me know if either work for you (I’d probably go with #2!).
Hi! Thank you for your help and reply! I’m trying my first loaf today – we have a lodge combo cooker so I’m going to use that first and once I get more familiar with the process, I’ll likely try that second method to see how it comes out! Will report back in a few weeks. Thanks again!!
Hi Maurizio! Baked my first loaf today and I don’t think it could have gone any better if I tried. It came out perfectly!! Thank you thank you! This recipe is so incredibly thorough and easy to follow. Every question I had, you answered, and had a video to show me how. Thanks for making my sourdough journey easier!!
I only want to bake one loaf at a time. Can I store the dough for the other loaf until I need in the frig?? Or is it better to make and freeze one?
Thank you!
I like to freeze one (once it’s completely cooled)!
Hi Maurizio! When prepping the levain, can I use unfed starter that’s been in the refrigerator for a few days or is it best to feed my starter then use that for the levain? Thank you!
I would use a starter that’s been fed and on the counter for at least two feedings!
Hi Maurizio, I’m a bit confused about timing with the starter. Looking at your starter guide, you use a 1:5:5 ratio and see it peak about five hours later. I’m assuming you don’t refresh your starter at 4am so it’s ready to make the levain at 9am as described above. Can you tell me what I’m missing? Thanks!
Hey, Dominick! For my starter I don’t use such a high percentage of carryover (1:5:5), I keep less in the jar so it ripens in *12 hours* (overnight). So I usually feed it at night, then use it in the morning to make the levain, which ripens in 3, 5, or 12 hours, typically. Hope that makes sense!
Hi, Maurizio.
Thank you for a simple and good recipe. I used the boule-shaping video guide to shape the last two batches I made, but my shaping isn’t satisfactory. Both times, the seal underneath is opening and the loves are quite misshapen (though well risen and cooked). Any tips? I bake often, but am not sure why this happened.
Hey there! It does take practice with that method, so don’t get discouraged. The best tip I can give, other than practice, practice practice, is to really try to shape with even tension along the topside of the dough. If the dough is at all uneven, it’ll bulge and expand in strange ways (it’s also related to the scoring, too, which needs to be even depth). Use the videos I have up in the post and on YouTube as guides and just keep at it!
Hi Maurizio, thank you for posting this and all your help. Could you please help me troubleshoot? I’ve now tried this recipe about 3 times and gotten flat, shiny crusted loaves with little to no oven spring and a sticky, dense interior. My starter doesn’t rise a whole ton, but it goes from sweet to nice and sour in about 15 hours. Do I need to troubleshoot at the starter stage? Or could I be overproofing the bread? I’m used to longer bulk fermentations in the fridge vs. out on my counter, should I try that for awhile and see if it solves my problem?
Hey, Leigh! So sorry for the late reply. It sounds like perhaps your dough was slightly underproofed. There are a few indicators your dough could be under: explosive rise in the oven, dense spots in the interior with potentially scattered large holes, and a gummy texture to the interior. Finally, it’s possible the bottom of the loaf might be slightly bowed upward (like the letter “U” — the top will kind of dome).
Make sure to build your levain from a starter that’s strong and mature (meaning it’s risen to it’s peak height before you take some to use). From there, bulk fermentation is very important! Make sure your bulk fermentation goes sufficiently far, you want the dough to look smooth, it should have risen considerably, and have bubbles here and there — it should look alive. If you tug on the dough a bit it should offer resistance to your tugging, it’ll feel stronger. Give the dough the time it needs in bulk fermentation! If you have to give it another 30m or hour to see these signs, do so. It’s important for this step to go sufficiently far for the dough to have enough fermentation activity before its proof.
2 loaves of bread are too much for us. Can these recipes be divided in half successfully?
Yes, you can absolutely do that, just divide all the ingredients in half!
Thank you!
Hi Mauricio! I’m wondering whether I can extend the bulk fermentation by two hours if I’m not home – can I just decrease the temp?
If you decrease the temp, yes, you can extend bulk. Another option is to put the dough into the fridge in bulk after about 2-2.5 hours, then take it out and proceed with the recipe, giving it more time to warm up.
I tried the beginner’s sourdough bread recipe. Fed my starter and made the levain according to the recipe timeline, however I had to leave right after autolyse so I decided to let the dough sit and it ended up having about a 5 hour autolyse. When I returned I chose to go forward with adding the levain, salt and remaining water, and under the advice of a friend, decided to use my stand mixer for the stretch and fold portion to save time. That took about 20 minutes to get a good windowpane. Left on the counter overnight and let proof until about 3 am and then did a preshape, wait 30 minutes and finished shaping. Put it in a banneton and covered and left on the counter for a second proof. Around 6 am it passed a poke test so in the fridge for 8 hours. I got some good oven spring but there is cracking on my bread. I have not cut the bread yet. Wish I could upload a photo. What caused the cracking?
The cracking could be from insufficient scoring, a dough that’s under-hydrated, or a score that wasn’t deep enough!
Hi Maurizio – I have baked bread from your recipes once a week for the last 2 years almost and they always turn out very well (rise, taste, crumb all perfect) but my question or issue is before the loaves go into the oven, when I take them out of the fridge after their overnight ‘rest’, they have increased in size but are quite clammy and therefore difficult to score. Also when I press with a finger the indentation stays, suggesting over-proofing.
I will try adding 5% less water in my next bake but is there also a baking schedule you can recommend where I can stall an earlier part of the process so the dough only sits in the fridge for say 4 hours the following day and I can test if they are perfectly proofed at that stage? Currently I put them in the fridge at 7pm and bake them at 7am so 12 hours proofing could be too long.
Can’t wait for your book to arrive – not long now!
Sorry for the late reply, Clare! I hope you’re enjoying my cookbook, you should have it now 🙂
If you want to reduce the amount of time the dough is proofing in the fridge, you can leave it out on the counter for some time before placing it in there. Start with 30 minutes: shape the dough, place it into its basket, cover it, and leave it out on the counter for 30m, then retard it to the fridge. That should give fermentation a good start!
Hi Maurizio, first and foremost I’d like to thank you for all your hard work and time you put in to make everyone else’s baking lives so much more enjoyable!
I’ve been baking and following your recipes for a few years and always seem to come back to your beginners loaf (or my version of yours). I follow the basics but play around with the floors. Instead of just using whole wheat, I usually mix in Red Fife & Black Emmer with a little extra hydration because I know the flours can handle it. I like to throw in Nigella seeds for a little added flavor punch. The loaves seem to come out great each and every time. Probably my most requested loaves from family & friends.
Once again thank you for all you do!.
You’re very welcome, Phil! Love the modifications you’re doing (and gosh, I love the flavor of Red Fife). I’ve actually never baked with nigella in bread, but love this idea! Thanks so much for the note and here’s to many more delicious loaves 🙂
Hello Maurizio! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with others 🙂 I can’t wait to receive your book and hope that I can find many answers in it. But until then, I wonder why my breads don’t get close to as good as yours… I follow the recipe exactly, take the temperature every time I refresh my starter, and still, out of maybe 10 times, my breads rose only once. MOstly they come out pretty flat. Besides, from the pictures, your doughs look so much more manageable then mine, kind of drier. Where I live, we have 50-70% humidity in the air, so maybe that is part of the problem? Even if I use under half of the 50 grams of water in the final dough, it just pours out on the table when I take it out of the proofing container. I have to use a lot of flour to be able to shape the loaves. Sometimes they come out almost completely flat from the oven, others they make a peak in the middle. Sorry, this is a lot, but I really want to make good breads!!!! Thank you again!
Temperature makes such a difference. I’ve rigged up one of those mini fridge/heaters with a thermostat to keep my fed sourdough starter at 25°C for at least 30 minutes, and it’s like it’s on steroids! Maybe some kind of warm water bath would help maintain good temperature in your case?
I’ve made this recipe once and had the problem with the final dough oozing out of shape when out of the proofing basket. Until then it was looking great – and a fascinating texture to work with. (I used to make much drier wholemeal sourdough, which ended up quite dense!) My second attempt is looking firmer so far, I used a bit less water. I think the recipe and times just need to be tuned to the environment.
You’re very welcome, Unni! It sounds like your dough is most likely over hydrated—your flour likely isn’t able to take on quite a much water, and that’s ok! Try reducing the hydration by 5% and give it another go—the reduced water should bring strength to the dough and you’ll feel it immediately. Once you find a suitable hydration, you can try to push it back up (if desired), but as you do, take note of how the consistency of the dough changes: the dough will start to slacken out as you add more and more water, this means you’ll likely have to mix more upfront or add another set or two of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation.
Generally, with an increased hydration, you need to mix longer to develop the gluten in the dough to sufficiently support the water added, but this only goes so far. At some point, the flour you’re using just isn’t able to take on any more water and you’ll essentially have a weak and slack dough. It’s always best to start conservatively and work your way up with hydration as you feel out your flour. This is typically why I recommend holding back water during mixing, adding it in as the dough handles it.
Try to keep everything else as consistent as possible and let me know how the next attempt goes!
Thank you very much for this guide! I’ve tried making sourdough bread 4 times before and every time it was a failure. Only after discovering your page I nailed it. But, I realised that my rape sourdough needs more time to proof after taking it out from fridge. I made starter from your recipe and then leave it for a night and not for 4 hours as you mentioned. It worked and bread was really delicious.
I was wandering if you can bake only one loaf by dividing your recipe by half? Every recipe that I found was for 2 loafs. I just don’t know what to do with the other one 😀 I think it better tastes first 24 hours after baking.
Here are my notes for my humble attempt at a cut down recipe. I’m testing it now.
# Tweaked recipe for one loaf:
## LEVAIN.
Mix. Keep at 23-24°C for 5-6 hours.
20 grams stoneground whole wheat flour
20 grams bread flour
40 grams water
20 grams ripe sourdough starter
## MAIN DOUGH.
Don’t mix all yet!
400 grams bread flour
60 grams whole wheat flour
30 grams whole grain rye flour
10 grams fine sea salt
300 grams water (275+25)
## Autolyse.
Save 25g water and salt for later.
Mix flours and water (-25g).
Aim for 25°C dough temperature.
Cover and leave for 1 hour.
## Mix.
Add salt (10g), SOME of the saved water (up to 25g if needed) and levain (100g). Set water temp to get dough to 25°C. Mix.
So glad to hear that, Sasha! You can certainly only bake a single loaf, just cut all the ingredients in half. Check out my guide to baker’s percentages for more explination!
How much do your loaves rise in the fridge for the 16 hrs? Should they double in size?
Thanks, Viki
They don’t rise significantly in the fridge—and that’s okay!
I would love to join in and learn now to make your bread, but I live in an RV traveling and my oven
is inconsistent and the propane is expensive.
Sharon
You could bake bread on a gas grill outside!
If I wanted to incorporate peperoncini into the bread should it just be added in during one of the stretch and folds?
That’s when I’d do it, Andy!
Hello, I just made my first sourdough with your beginner loaf – it turned out great; However, I would like to make it more sour, how do I accomplish this? DO I leave the levain ferment longer and if I do, will it affect the leavening of the bread? I would like to make another loaf for a brunch on Saturday and would love some advice. I appreciate you! Kindly, Joanne
Joanne,
For a sourer flavor profile in your sourdough bread, try these ideas:
– Use more whole grains in your dough mix (whole wheat and whole rye)
– Use your starter when it’s very ripe (it should have a pungent sour aroma), perhaps let it ferment longer than you might otherwise
– Keep your dough warm, 78°F (25°C) or warmer
– Cold fermentation really helps, you can do a cold bulk fermentation (like I do here in this recipe), and then also do a cold proof (retard)
– Use less levain in your dough. It’s counterintuitive, but using less levain (which many of the recipes at my site actually do!) will allow for more total acidity to build up in the dough
– One or a combination of the above will help get you there! Let me know how it goes.
Hey, Joanne! I just replied, here are a few tips:
– Use more whole grains in your dough mix (whole wheat and whole rye)
– Use your starter when it’s very ripe (it should have a pungent sour aroma), perhaps let it ferment longer than you might otherwise
– Keep your dough warm, 78°F (25°C) or warmer
– Cold fermentation really helps, you can do a cold bulk fermentation (like I do here in this recipe), and then also do a cold proof (retard)
– Use less levain in your dough. It’s counterintuitive, but using less levain (which many of the recipes at my site actually do!) will allow for more total acidity to build up in the dough
– One or a combination of the above will help get you there! Let me know how it goes.
Hi! Thanks so much for this great recipe! I have been making this bread quite often now in a ditch oven and I find that the crust especially at the northern is pretty thick and a little on the hard side. I was thinking of reducing the base temperature or maybe experiment with the oven setting from fan to two sided head. Do you have tips for me? Thanks for your great site!
You’re welcome, Gina! Yes, definitely drop that heat if you find it’s baking too intensely, either at the top or bottom. Also, check out my guide to baking in a Dutch oven for lots of tips on how to help with this, too!
Hi Maurizio,
I’ve been meaning to ask you about this for a while because I’ve made your beginners sourdough many times. The original recipe I’ve saved says the weight of the levain to be added after the autolyse stage — 190g (from the first step). After doing this the first time based on your weights for the levain (38/38/38/76), I had nowhere near as much as 190g levain to add. So I began increasing this to 50/50/50/100 to get that much. Just wondering your take on this and why using your quantity of levain ingredients would yield nowhere near 190g?
Hey there! Yes, very common to come in a little short, even if you’re diligent about scraping out. What you did is exactly the way to go, just add a little water, flour, starter in equal amounts. It’s a long story why I don’t do this here, and I’ve gone back and forth over the years, but in practice, as long as the levain doesn’t come in super short, it’ll be just fine.
I love the bowl you use. I think you used to have where its from listed in your baking tools, but I no longer see it. Is the company still around and do you mind sharing?
Hey, Joel! It’s from Heath Ceramics in California, their large serving bowl. I’ve had this one for so many years, it’s a mainstay here in my kitchen.
Hi Maurizio,
One question about bulk fermentation on this recipe: you mention stretch and fold at 1:40, 2:10 and 2:40. You don’t specifically say, but am I to assume that you then just let it just sit until 5:10?
Thank you, love your website!
hey maurizio
i tried this recipe with to types offlour and three times. Most of the times it was 20% higher not more during fermentation. The starter i feed always two times from the fridge, until it gets double. But when i bake your loaf everytime it gets one big hole, or it gets so compact and nearly less than 5% air after bake inside. Maybe i should feed my starter once more??? i tried also with 20% more sourdough inside, but same result, no air inside and heavy. if you read it please help me. i would try it again to feed my starter maybe more, and hope it works one time.
It sounds like perhaps your dough was slightly underproofed. There are a few indicators your dough could be under: explosive rise in the oven, dense spots in the interior with potentially scattered large holes, and a gummy texture to the interior. Finally, it’s possible the bottom of the loaf might be slightly bowed upward (like the letter “U” — the top will kind of dome).
Make sure to build your levain from a starter that’s strong and mature (meaning it’s risen to it’s peak height before you take some to use). From there, bulk fermentation is very important! Make sure your bulk fermentation goes sufficiently far, you want the dough to look smooth, it should have risen considerably, and have bubbles here and there — it should look alive. If you tug on the dough a bit it should offer resistance to your tugging, it’ll feel stronger. Give the dough the time it needs in bulk fermentation! If you have to give it another 30m or hour to see these signs, do so. It’s important for this step to go sufficiently far for the dough to have enough fermentation activity before its proof.
Yes, I’d give your starter one more feeding out of the fridge!
Thanks, it needed at the end one more feeding. And also my bulk fermentation was too long. So now it works actually better. Thanks
Hi there. I’ve tried this recipe a few times before I nailed it. It was a lot to figure out. The taste of the beginning dense loaves was great. Now that I’ve figured out bulk fermentation times and temperatures, my loaves have a lovely, light texture. This has changed my life. No more store bought bread!!
Amazing, so glad to hear this, Marie!
Hello!
I am just getting started with sourdough baking (although have been baking bread with commercial yeast for a while now). I have a double tray deck oven with steam … Would it be ok to put this loaf directly on the oven floor ? As i would like to bake 6-8 boules at a time to use the oven space and optimise energy consumption. Also should I use the steam function for the first 3-5 seconds of the bake?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Yes, absolutely ok to bake direction on the deck. Yes, if you have steam injection, definitely use that at the beginning!
Followed this recipe: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/beginners-sourdough-bread/#tasty-recipes-10711-jump-target
However here is what I changed/noticed:
1. I halved all the qtys because I wanted to make just one loaf
2. My starter was amazing, passed the rise and float test
3. The dough was on the dry side during the autolyse so I added maybe 30g additional water so the flour would encorporate properly. I didn’t reduce the water during the Mix step to make up for the additional I had added during autolyse because I felt the consistency was right at the time.
4. During the pre-shape I noticed the dough was more wet than it was in previous steps. So that was a hint that it was over hydrated so I added a tiny bit of dry flour just to the exterior that I was coil folding and was extremely gentle not to deflate the air bubbles.
5. I bulk fermented for 6 hours instead of 4 because I had dinner plans so when I got back I could see a ton of rise, almost double.
6. I placed it in the fridge overnight and it cold proofed for about 16 hours
7. I baked it in a 1hr preheated Dutch oven, but I added a foil bed to avoid burnt bottoms. The foil was added after the preheating and right before the dough was set to bake. I baked it with lid on for 20 min at 450F as the recipe called for and then an additional 35 minutes open until it registered 208F internally.
Which of the above alternations could have resulted in the dense crumb and low spring?
Good morning Maurizio. I have a question about the rest and proof stage in the refrigerator. Is the bread suppose to rise during this time or is this just to retard it until we can bake the next morning? My loaves were beautiful when I placed them in the baskets and covered them in a bag. Next morning I’m not seeing any rise at all. Hoping all is well when I take them out and bake. My starter was really strong, my dough rose beautifully during bulk fermentation, and responded well during shaping.
Hey, Barbara! So sorry I missed your message here. It’s typical for them to not rise much coming out of the fridge, don’t worry too mucha bout that there!
It was great to have such detailed instructions. My only issue was that my loaf reached 208 degrees only about 30 minutes into baking (20 minutes covered, 10 minutes uncovered). It rose well and has a firm crust, but just did not get that much color. Is it recommended to remove at 208 rather than remove when loaf has reached that deep golden brown color?
I would continue to bake until golden brown and crunchy. The temperature can be misleading depending on your altitude (see my guide to baking at various altitudes, here.
Thanks so much for your recipe! My loaves did not rise well in the oven. I tested my starter and it floated in water (which i thought was the indicator that its ready). I used part rye flour and the rest bread flour. I have done this before and worked out well, could it be that using part rye made it dense?
It’s a very small bit of rye! It shouldn’t cause your loaf to be overly dense at all. It’s possible your dough either over or under proofed, one of those situations would cause a dense interior (and more often than not, it’s from under proofing!).
Hi Maurizio, thank you for your comprehensive recipe. My question is can I make a smaller size loaf, whether reducing the quantity of ingredients twice will not effect the quality of bread?
Also, why after baking, the bread inside is sticky? Thank you in advance
You’re very welcome! Yes, you can certainly halve all the ingredients to make one loaf, or divide the dough into smaller loaves. Just know you’ll have to adjust the bake time to do so.