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!
3,324 Comments
Following your recipes and having better success now my starter is improved. Curious though, what is the benefit of adding the salt at the very end of the dough making process, after the starter has been mixed in
?
I find when hand mixing, delaying the salt helps make mixing a little easier as salt firms the dough once it’s added. However, you can add it whenever you’d like, it’s a personal preference thing!
Hi Maurizio! How are you mixing the dough at Step 3? I was wondering if you use a slap and fold method to help develop strength, or some other method? Thanks!
Because this dough is so strong (due to the hydration and flour) there really isn’t a need to knead (hah!) this dough using the slap and fold technique. If you find the dough is very slack and weak, you can certainly do that, though! To sum up, for this dough I only do stretch and folds during bulk fermentation.
Hi Maurizio,
This is my second attempt at the beginner loaves. I’m new to making sourdough bread and find your guidance to be most helpful. My loaves seem to be more dense with a larger air pocket at the top of my dough. How can I make the my loaves more airy. I followed the recipe exactly using the same flour. My starter is about 3 months old and and was used at peak. My FDT was 77 degrees. I would appreciate any pointers you can give me.
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.
Hi there!
Thanks for this recipe. I’m new to baking sourdough and have gone through this recipe only twice now. Both times have been fairly successful, at least in my pretty amateur eyes. I was wondering, do you think instead of dividing to make two boules, the dough could be divided into three? I’m thinking of trying to make smaller boules that could be used for “bread bowls” for soups. If so, any recommendations on adjusting baking time or anything else? Thanks so much!
Super glad to hear it’s going well, Tori! Yes, you could absolutely divide this into three smaller loaves. As you guessed, you’d have to likely reduce the bake time. I would follow the same bake times and temperatures I have listed above, but be ready to cut the total bake time toward the end. It’s hard to say how much, my initial guess would be 5-10 minutes or so. Just pull them out when deeply colored, are crunchy if squeezed, and feel light in the hand. Happy baking!
Thank you Maurizio for this beautiful recipe!! Its my 8th time baking sourdough, but this was the second time i was successful. My loaves came out incredibly beautiful, crispy crunchy crust and a fairly open but delicious crumb. I’m so happy to have stumbled on your blog, it keeps me excited to bake every week.
I want to specifically mention that your recipes and techniques and instructions are pretty much no BS, straight to the point, which i like!
Thank you again and best of luck!
Super glad to hear it worked well for you, Anuj! Baking is definitely an exciting pursuit, especially when the result is buttered toast 🙂 Happy baking!
Hi Maurizio,
I got behind schedule in my prep today because my levain just looked slow to grow. I delayed everything about 2 hours. My question: How strict is the 16 hour retard in the fridge? My schedule will only permit 12 hours this time. My idea is to let it rise longer on the counter (like an hour or more) before I pop it in the fridge for the night. Is this ok? Thank you.
That’ll work just fine, Gina!
Hey Maurizio!
Thank you for sharing your recipes, I’ve followed it along twice now but I am finding that the crumb is super gummy and dense, I have some larger pockets but not many and my loaves don’t seem to rise much when I’m proofing them. I did notice whilst maturing my starter that it didn’t really seem to rise when I fed it whole wheat flour (it goes nuts when I feed it 50% Rye and 50% AP flour though?), which is the same wholewheat flour I used for this recipe. When I made the leaven it didn’t rise much at all or get that bubbly. Do you think the flour might be too old perhaps? I followed the recipe exactly, so I’m not sure what else it could be. Any tips?
Thanks!
Hey, Insa. Yes, sound to me like under proofed dough (which is typically dense with scattered large holes). It’s possible the flour is at fault, I’d try to pick up another bag of that ww and see if that solves the issue with your starter. You definitely should see strong activity in your starter! You could also go to 100% white flour for your starter, just be sure to keep it warm so it’s nice and active.
The most important thing is to have a strong and lively starter 🙂 Keep me posted!
Are you cooling the bread on a wire rack? The loaf needs air circulation around the entire crust (even the bottom) while it cools!
Try turning off the oven and cracking it open and leaving the loaf to cool inside the oven for 20 minutes. Or cook the loaf longer, almost to the point of burning the crust. I’d also use 500F for the first 20 minutes, then reduce to 450F. I think the temperatures posted in the article are too low to get a great crust.
Brand you into this. May I bake after a final rest and without refrigerating?
Yes, you can. I’d say let it proof 2-4 hours on the counter (covered) after shaping. You’ll know it’s ready to bake when a gentle poke shows the indentation very slowly fill back in, perhaps not fully.
I love this recipe and the detailed schedule. Each time I build the levain I find myself wanting to ask – “are you sure it’s only 8 g of sourdough starter?” And I add a little bit more. So, is it really just 8 g and what result am I achieving by adding about 10-15 more g of starter? Thanks! Nellie
It will speed you’re initial fermentation just a bit to use more starter. The NYT recommends 20g for 1000g (flour) mix. There’s some argument about the additional acidity and other components introduced by the starter that may have a deliterious affect on the rising dough but I don’t imagine such a small increase will make much of a difference.
Hey, Nellie—I’m not sure where you see 8g, but the starter requirements to build the levain here is higher than 8g (it’s 38g of ripe sourdough starter)! As Guitar Guy said below, the more ripe starter you add the faster fermentation will proceed.
Thanks for the great recipe! The texture was exactly what I was looking for. Growing up on the west coast, I am very used to San Francisco sour dough, which is usually pretty sour and punchy. I was wondering if there was anyway to make this recipe more sour?
Glad to hear that, Natalie! You can try leaving the dough longer in the fridge to intensify the sourness. Also, adding a bit more rye will help, as well as keeping the dough warmer. I’m working on an in-depth post on this topic I hope to have out soon!
Hi there, I am making this recipe for the second time today. I think the first time it was underproofed – the bread was still delicious – but dense with deep air pockets. This time I’m planning to be more patient! But I was wondering – is it ok to stretch the fridge retard a bit longer? I need to go into the office tomorrow morning until about 2pm. If it proofs overnight in the fridge and I’m not baking until the next afternoon, will i then have an overproofed loaf? Or will the fridge slow things down enough that I’ll be ok? Thank you!
The fridge slows things down pretty dramatically. That should work just fine, especially if you think you’ve been on the underproofed side!
Hello there, I’m just trying to understand recipe structures better and wondering why your levain build is different than the Tartine recipe. I just followed the original recipe and it made sooo much levain. Am I missing something here? Thanks 🙂
Hey, April. That’s something I’ve always wondered about the Tartine recipes, there’s a significant excess of levain made in each recipe in the book. I used to think it was done as a sort of an insurance policy to make sure you had enough and some to keep your culture going, but I’m not sure. You can safely reduce the levain build to simply meet the requirement of the recipe (as I do throughout my website).
Do I Have to use rye flour or can more of the other flour be substituted. Budget it tight, I have everything else. Was hoping not to buy another flour. Also could this be cut in half? I only have one bowl to use for proofing the size of my cast iron.
You could go with whole wheat flour for the rye instead. Yes, you can split the recipe in half to make one loaf (as I mention in my post on baker’s percentages). Have fun, Mary!
Hi Maurizio, I tried the beginner sourdough bread. The instructions were perfect. Thanks a lot for the detailed instructions. I did substitute the rye flour quantity with whole wheat, since I did not have Rye Flour.
I however find the crust to be very hard to slice though, even with a good bread knife. To the point I am considering a meat slicer to cut the loaf.
I cooked it inside a dutch oven. The dutch oven has about an inch of space on the sides with the loaf in it.
Which of the following options should I try to make the crust a bit softer
– increase hydration OR
– use the steam method instead of the Dutch oven OR
– adjust temperature ( reduce temperature after opening the lid)
– bake time ( reduce bake time after opening the lid) OR
– are there other adjustments I can make?
Glad to hear it worked out well, Reji! Try to get more steam in your DO if you can, using a handheld spray bottle to mist the dough before you put on the lid will help. You could also play with trying to reduce the overall bake time, which if too long can cause a thick crust. Another thing you can try is removing the fully set (make sure it’s firm!) dough from the DO for the last 10 min or so of the bake and just bake it directly on the oven rack. The DO retains quite a bit of heat and over time can cause a thicker crust.
Finally, I find DO’s work very well to bake, but I get a thinner crust using my home oven steaming method.
Hi Maurizio,
I tried your “Best sourdough recipe” but readjusted to 80% hydration. It did make the crust softer. I will stay at 80% for a while tillI get used to the dought consistency before moving to 87%. It does take more effort even with 80% hydration. Thanks again.
Hi! Thanks for the recipe! I’m on my third try and with each try, the dough looks pretty good until it seems to be coming out of the fridge pretty flat. When I go to score the loaves, there seems to be no surface tension, despite following the exact shaping method. The flavor is great, but they are coming out really dense. What might be the problem? Is it over-proofed? Could there be more than one issue?
It could be over hydrated dough, under strengthened dough, or over proofed dough. If the dough felt nice and strong during shaping, it’s likely not over hydration. Be sure to shape it tightly so it holds itself on the counter after you’re done shaping—this strength will keep the dough in shape all the way through proof to bake time.
There are a few signs your dough could have overproofed: sluggish rise in the oven, the score on top of the dough might not open with a nice “ear” and instead just kind of fuse together, the interior will have lots of small holes and perhaps one or two large ones near the top (but no dense areas of unfermented flour), and finally the loaf could be a little on the sour side. Try reducing the proofing period.
Thank you! Giving it another shot today, so hopefully that’ll do the trick!
Hi Maurizio, thank you very much for such detailed instructions. So generous of you! I have a question. I am from UK, so i use different flour. For autolyse stage what consistency the dough should be? I used up all the water and my dough is soft, slightly sticky, but quite dense. Is that how it should be? Thank you
Hey, Natalia. You might need to adjust the hydration to suit your flour (this is common). If the dough feels too stiff for the autolyse, use some additional water to soften the mixture, just be aware you’ll still be adding in the levain later which is a large percentage of water. You can always add water once everything is mixed together before bulk fermentation, if necessary.
Hi, Maurizio,
Thank you very much for your advice. It is definitely more logical to do it that way. With my approach the dough became very soft, sticky. You can call it a bit sluggish. I should be more careful with water next time. But just to let you know-the bread came out absolutely delicious in the endc and the smell was unbelievable. That was my best try so far. Thanks!
Happy to hear that, Natalia!
I make this loaf all the time with great success (thank you!!!!) but today I am 90 mins in to bulk ferment and it doesn’t look the same. Not many air bubbles. Not as “fluffy”. Is there something I can do to salvage it? This happened once before with a different recipe and it didn’t rise much. Is it possible I overworked it when mixing in the levain? Can you even overwork it in that stage? I do feel like I mixed it more than usual…Would hate to not have this turn out great 🙁
Give it more time in bulk fermentation! No, not possible to overwork the levain. Perhaps it’s colder in your kitchen or you used your starter before it was ripe and ready to go.
Hi Maurizio!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I am wondering however why the discrepency between the amount of bread flour in the total formula and the autolyse, one is 811g and one is 760g I believe.
Hey, Magdalena! That’s because some of the bread flour listed in the Total Formula is used in the levain. The total formula lists out all the ingredients needed for the bake, some of that flour is used in the levain, and the rest does into the dough mix (at autolyse time). Hope that helps and happy baking!
Hi! I haven’t tried doing this but was just wondering, isn’t your starter too low with regards to bakers math? I’ve read in a
lot of blogs that starters should be at least 30% in relation to the amount of flour.
Not at all! You can drop your starter/levain percentage incredibly low and still get a wonderful loaf of bread, as long as everything else is inline. Your levain percentage can range from 1% (in an extreme case) all the way up to 50%, and even outside those bounds. I’ve seen quite a bit!
What if I want to do a low hydration sourdough (i’m a newbie). Should i cut down on water or levain? or both?
I’d say check out my sourdough bread recipe with all-purpose flour. It’s a great place to start with a totally manageable dough!
Hi Maurizio! My boyfriend and I are on our 5th attempt making this recipe and it’s improved so much! One issue we can’t seem to figure out is how to get the inside crumb more dry. Ours is consistently very wet. The air pockets in our crumb are also not very uniform. The pockets are large and deep. Do you have any recommendations? We follow your recipe exactly, the bread inside temperature is good, and the outside crust is delicious. Thanks!
Julia, glad to hear you guys are making improvements! 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.
Hi Maurizio,
Thank you so much for the advice! We’ve made this recipe 2 more times since you replied.
The first time, we did a 9 hour bulk fermentation on our dough and let the loaves proof for 12 hours and 16 hours, respectively. The 16 hour loaf had a more even crumb, but was still wet and a bit gummy inside. The appearance of the loaf and crumb was greatly improved compared to our past attempts.
The second time, we did a 7 hour bulk fermentation and let the loaves proof for 20 hours and 24 hours respectively. The 24 hour proof had the best crumb so far, barely any large holes, very even texture inside. The crumb seemed slightly dryer than our previous loaves, but the difference was not very significant. We only add 18 grams of water when we mix the autolisse and levain together.
Do you have any additional advice for us? Also, are we overdoing it on the bulk fermentation? At 7 hours, we notice the bubbles, dough strength, and rise that you describe. We are very happy with our loaves at this point, except for the gumminess of the crumb.
Thank you so much- Julia and Charles
You’re very welcome. Hmm, yes that sounds like a very long bulk fermentation! If your starter/levain were used at the right time, and your dough temperature was around 76-80F, you might actually be going in the other direction and over proofing. If you time your starter/levain right, and the dough comes in at that temperature, you should go for around a 3.5-4 hour bulk.
You can see a gummy texture if your dough is under proofed, over proofed, or over hydrated. I know, hard to nail down there! I’d have to see photos of the exterior/interior to really diagnose this further! I have a contact link on my About page, feel free to send me over a message if you’re still stumped!
Hi Maurizio! Have made this probably 10 times now and it is so good! Love your methodical approach and explanations… I do have two questions for you (or anyone else who might be able to answer, of course) and that is: why, in Step 7, should we wait 20 minutes before putting our dough in the fridge? Does this have to do with moisture or humidity concerns? Also, I haven’t done the plastic bag technique, instead I just cover my plastic mixing bowls (that are lined with a cloth) with a tight fitting dinner plate on top of each; should that be adequate to maintain the humidity, you think? I have had great results but am just curious as I really like to understand the ‘why’ almost as much as the ‘how.’ Thanks!
Glad to hear that, Joe!
For this recipe I like to leave it out a bit before putting it in the fridge to give it additional room temperature fermentation time. If you pop it into the fridge right away you’ll start to slow fermentation as the dough temperature drops to fridge temp. The added room temp time just gives it more time to ferment at a faster rate (to help avoid under proofed dough in the morning).
Yes, an inverted plate will work well!
Happy baking 🙂
Hi Maurizio! Thank you this wonderful site! Sorry if I am re-posting but it looks like like my questions got lost.
My room temp is 28-30 degrees Celsius and humidity is around 84%. I have difficulty achieving FDT of 25 although I use cold water from the fridge. Some questions:
1) can I reduce bulk fermentation by an hour, but do stretch & fold every 20 mins instead?
2) can I reduce the fridge retard because I prefer a less sour loaf? So maybe 8 hours? My fridge is a bit warm, at 8 degrees.
3) if I am only making a quarter recipe (we can’t eat so much bread here and my freezer is full), do I still do pre-shaping?
Thank you for your time!
Hey, Sharon! Answers:
1) Yes, you can drop the bulk time if necessary, especially if your dough is much warmer than the FDT listed in the recipe.
2) Yes, you can reduce that fridge time as well.
3) I almost always like to preshape, it helps get the dough into the right form for shaping. However, it’s not mandatory at all. If you find the dough is gathered up enough to go straight to shaping, go for it!
Hope that helps 🙂
Thank you for your reply! I shall try it. Btw, I saw that you mentioned if the shaped dough lifts up from the baking stone (slightly bowed upwards), that it is a sign of underproofing? It that correct? I’ve been getting that, but all other signs seem to point to ok fermentation :(( how do we tell if the dough is ready?
I have seen this to be the case, but not always! Usually with under proofed dough you get so much upward dough spring when it goes into the oven it lifts the bottom crust up along with the rest of the loaf.
Hi Maurizio, thank you for this wonderful website! I have difficukty getting my FDT to 25 degrees C. My room temp here is 28-30 degrees. So I use cold water from the fridge most times. My question is, can I reduce the bulk ferment time (due to high room temp) and also time in the fridge (for less sour). Also, if I am just making a quarter of the recipe (we cant eat so much bread here) so it is only 1 smaller loaf, so I still need to to preshaping? Thank you 🙂