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Sourdough Baguettes via @theperfectloaf

Baking Recipes

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This page is a roll-up of all our naturally leavened sourdough bread baking recipes, plus anything else we’ve managed to concoct in the kitchen. Below, you’ll find baking recipes using fruit/nut/seed mix-ins, freshly milled flour, and recipes utilizing various grains (rye flour, Sonora wheat, spelt, Khorasan, and more). If you’re looking for something very specific, use the search button in the top right of the page to get right to it. Happy baking!

Baking Guides

Head over to the Baking Guides page for in-depth guides on creating your own sourdough starter, maintaining your starter, starter storage, tips on steaming a home oven, building a dough retarder, and much more.

Sourdough Starter Creation & Maintenance

Beginner Baking Recipes

Sourdough Starter Discard Recipes

Cookies and Brownies

Biscuits and Scones

See all the sourdough starter discard recipes →

Mostly White Flour Recipes

Mostly Whole-Grain Recipes

100% Whole-Grain Recipes

Recipes with Specialty Grains

Rye Flour Recipes

Freshly Milled Flour Recipes

Recipes with Specialty Ingredients (Nuts, Seeds, and More)

Recipes with Sprouted Grains and Cereals

Porridge Sourdough Recipes

Baguettes

Specialty Bread Shapes

Buns and Rolls

Enriched and Sweet Dough Recipes

Sourdough Pizza, Calzone, and Focaccia Recipes

See the guide to all things sourdough pizza for more →

Flatbreads and Other Food

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416 Comments

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  2. Thank you so much @maurizioleo:disqus for the information, tips and tricks in this website of yours. Your work is truly amazing! Helped me alot in my baking. Lately I have lost strength in my starter. 4 weeks ago it was fine, and I followed each step you as you described, it tripled in size and I was so happy with my baking. But lately it only doubled in size. The climate in my country is fairly hot lately ( 28-30C) , could this be the cause? I used a 1:5:5 feed ratio, and also tried 1:7:7 but the results were just the same. Or should I feed my starter more frequently. Please advise. Thank you so much for your time.

    Reply

    1. You’re very welcome, Sakty! That’s warm, but not excessive. You might need to do more feedings, perhaps up to 3x per day, to keep it vigorous. But, I’d say as long as your bread is still turning out ok, it might be fine to do as you’re doing (and your adjustments are good ones).

      A few more things you can try:
      – reduce the percentage of whole grains used to refresh your starter
      – use cooler water to refresh your starter
      – add a very small percentage of salt, perhaps 0.5% to start, at each refreshment to help temper fermentation

      Let me know what route you end up going with!

      Reply

  4. You are the baker, can you substitute a sour dough starter for the dry yeast? What would be the ratio? IT must be possible!

    Reply

  5. I don’t have time to read all of the information. IS THERE A BREAD MACHINE RECIPE USING WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR & the starter? How much Sour dough starter do I need to put into the bread machine? I have a great recipe with uses 1 3/4 teaspoons of yeast. It would be great if I could just substitute the sour dough starter for the dry yeast and place the starter in the small well in my bread machine reservoir. Is it that simple? thanks for your reply

    Reply

  6. I’ve used your Simple Weekday Sourdough recipe a couple of times with great success and much happiness. I just tried this 95% Whole Wheat recipe and my dough was such a sloppy gloppy mess that it wasn’t possible to do stretch and fold. It was more like grab and mush. I added another half cup or so of flour but it didn’t make much difference. I used 100 g of bread flour and the rest was whole wheat flour. What could be the problem? I baked two loaves at the same time and one rose reasonably well (though not as much as I’d expect) but the other resembles a frisbee. Any advice? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. It sounds like your dough is most likely over hydrated. Try reducing the hydration by 10% and give it another go — the reduced water should bring a lot of strength to the dough and you’ll feel it immediately. Once you find a suitable hydration, you can try to push it back up, 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.

      Try to keep everything else as consistent as possible and let me know how the next attempt It sounds like your dough is most likely over hydrated. Try reducing the hydration by 10% and give it another go — the reduced water should bring a lot of strength to the dough and you’ll feel it immediately. Once you find a suitable hydration, you can try to push it back up, 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.

      Try to keep everything else as consistent as possible and let me know how the next attempt goes!

      Reply

      1. Hi, Maurizio! thanks so much for your reply! I’ve been reading a lot about wet dough and I agree it must have been over hydrated. The bread actually tasted good so I’m looking forward to trying the recipe again soon with your suggestions. I made the simple weekday sourdough again last weekend (50-50 whole wheat and bread flour) and forgot the stretch and folds, but did a couple after the bulk fermentation and ended up with my best sourdough yet! Thanks for all your baking help! I’ll let you know how my next attempt goes.

        Reply

  7. Where can I find your recipe for the sourdough pull-apart rolls pictured at the bottom of this page?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  8. Hi!
    Have you ever made a green chile sourdough loaf? If so, do you have any tips/tricks/bakers percentages that you can share?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  9. Looking for a good Sourdough English Muffin recipe . Made various versions, but never can achieve the coveted “Nooks and Crannies”. Love THEPERFETLOAF Maurizio and many great tips and recipes. Hope you, or one of your readers can help me.

    Reply

    3. I made the King Arthur version with sourdough starter and yeast. They were amazing, but I would love to do it without the yeast.

      Reply

  10. Hi Maurizio, I have experimented so far with: simple sourdough recipe and perfect sourdough recipe. everything is perfect, texture, flavor… but my crust is soft… kind of crispy when out of the oven but after two hours becomes kind of chewy . Im baking inside of stainless steel heavy pots (I dont have a dutch oven yet and dont have stones yet either… but the pots work pretty good!… I preheat the oven and the pots to 500 F and then bake at 460 F for 25 min, the remove the lids of the pots and then bake 30 more minutes … for you to have an idea how my breads looks…my profile in instagram is nuria_villacis, actually you gave me 2 likes in two of my posts 🙂 any suggestions for better crust?
    Thank you so much for all the work you do your are amazing!!!! every single recipe is a work of art.
    Im a pastry Chef – and was a pastry teacher for 4 years- by the way… so from my professional point of view I want to congratulate you! you are wonderful baker and teacher!!

    Reply

    1. Recognizably, you probably want to hear from Maurio, but for what it’s worth, I have found that stainless steel pots don’t hold or conduct heat the same way as cast iron, so I’d guess you aren’t getting as much steam effect, resulting in a softer crust. I debated purchasing a cast iron pot, but settled on one made by a Lodge (ceramic coated), which I purchased from Walmart for about $40 last year. It’s been one of my best investments! Diastatic malt powder (available on Amazon) also makes a world of difference in crust texture and adds a bit more oven spring. Happy baking!

      Reply

    2. I agree with what @lonni_williams:disqus said below. You could also try to take the dough out of the stainless steel pots once the crust has mostly set (when you can lift it without collapsing), probably around 25 minutes into the bake, and finish baking it directly on the oven rack. This should help it bake with full heat all around.

      Appreciate the kind words and happy baking!

      Reply

  11. Maurizio, can I write to you in Italian? Ever since I discovered your site I have sent people to it for a reference. I made a culture from scratch a couple-3 years ago from grapes in my garden in Portland, Oregon. I gave away the culture (on Nextdoor!) to more than 20 people. So I read a thread on your blog somewhere about Vollkornbrot. But I can’t seem to find the recipe. Can you help me with that? Also, I would be interested to know your take on the Life Changing Bread craze. Because I made it once and liked the concept, but thought could be improved upon with the addition of rye flour and sourdough…

    Reply

    1. Sorry, Anna, I am not fluent in Italian (bummer, I know, believe me!). I don’t have my vollkornbrot recipe posted here yet, but it’s something I am still working on! Progress has been going well, it’s an amazing bread. In the meantime, I do have a rye recipe here that’s delicious! Hope that helps and happy baking 🙂

      Reply

  12. I am trying to make your sprouted whole wheat bread and the dough is like pancake batter. It sticks to the counter, my hands, and is almost liquid. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.

    Reply

    1. It sounds like your dough is most likely over hydrated. Try reducing the hydration by 10% and give it another go — the reduced water should bring a lot of strength to the dough and you’ll feel it immediately. Once you find a suitable hydration, you can try to push it back up, 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.

      Sprouted flour can be tricky to use sometimes, but I think a reduction of the mixing water will help you quite a bit!

      Reply

      1. Thank you so much. The flavor of the recipe is superb! I will reduce hydration. Also, do you have a recipe anywhere for hard red whole wheat? I ordered some from an artisanal mill. thank you for your great page and help.

        Reply

  13. Hey Maurizio,
    Have you ever come across a multigrain sour-dough bread? I have a multigrain flour with lots of different seeds. Could I just substitute the whole wheat in a whole wheat recipe with the multigrain?

    Reply

    1. Just saw you message to Cheryl Wilson. I’ll try it an cut back on the water. I still have to perfect the basic recipe before experimenting.

      Reply

  14. i tried your seeded sourdough recipe (with lemon zest) and the results were SO good. I woke up this morning craving it instantly. Now i want to try other recipes! Just thought I would pop here and express my gratitude. Also, I would love if you had more sourdough recipes like dinner rolls, bread basket rolls, things like that. Thank you so much for your thorough and excellent content!

    Reply

  15. Hi! I’m really enjoying your site. I’m on day 3 of your sourdough starter instructions, taking advantage of the lock down. two questions: on day three can I use the (very lively) discarded starter to make pancakes? Also, as I don’t have a suitable basket, when I eventually make and prove my dough, can I use a bowl?

    Reply

    1. I like to wait until my starter is rising and falling predictably each day (indicating it’s properly fermenting) before using the discard to make pancakes or waffles. Yes, you can certainly use a bowl: line it with a kitchen towel or tea towel so the dough cleanly removes from the bowl.

      Reply

      1. Thank you, it is rising and falling well now (day 8) so – pancakes tomorrow. Thank you for all the really detailed instructions, I really appreciate it!

        Reply

  16. Hi! Thank you very much for this excellent resource! My sourdough starter is done and I am excited to try it out. However, I currently only have all purpose white flour and dark rye flour. I couldn’t find any recipes here blending these two. Any tips on modifying one of your existing recipes to fit the rye/all-purpose blend? Probably something with <25% of rye. Thanks again!

    Reply

    1. If you keep the rye percentage low you could use it anywhere I call for whole wheat flour here, for the most part. I’d say up to 10% would be just fine, but the higher you go the more dense the resulting loaf will be as rye doesn’t have the same gas-trapping capabilities as wheat flour. Also, check out my beginner’s sourdough bread, that uses AP and rye (leave out the whole wheat, and use AP or a little rye in its place).

      Reply

  17. If the flour is already premixed with seeds, can I follow the same Flour weight as the recipe given?

    Reply

    1. You’ll have some error there, as the weight of the seeds will mean less flour compared to my recipe. I’d say just go with it, perhaps holding back a little extra water because there will be less flour.

      Reply

  19. Ciao Maurizio,

    Love your website – you’re the one that got me into sourdough baking. I read your about section, and I feel that I understand where you’re coming from with regards to food bringing up back to people and places of our past. My childhood was full of trips to Italy and an abundance of good food – sometimes I catch a whiff of something that resembles a dish I had with family over here and I’m immediately transported back to those simpler days.

    I had a quick question – I’ve been using your best sourdough recipe and while I’m getting a nice, open crumb and great browning on the crust, my crumb is a bit “wet” or “doughy.” I used to do the dutch oven method, but recently I’ve been using a pizza steel instead. I preheat my oven to 500 then bake at that with steam (a sheet pan full of boiling water on the bottom rack and a few ice cubes tossed into a carbon steel pan next to it) for 20 minutes and then drop it down to 450 for another 30. It seems to me that I just need to bake it longer, but I’m already pushing the crust to the point of almost burnt – how would you recommend rectifying this.

    Reply

    1. Ciao, Luca! Thanks, I appreciate the kind words — food certainly creates the strongest memories!

      A wet/gummy crumb can come from a few things but it sounds like yours might either be simply over hydration or it’s not fermented sufficiently. If you’re getting a nice and open, irregular interior on your loaves without any dense spots then it’s likely over hydration. You could try reducing the water in the recipe just 5% to see if that helps.

      Also, you could try dropping the temperature of the bake so you start at 450F and then leave it there the entire bake, perhaps dropping the last 10 minutes to 425F or so. If it’s too hot, it could be burning the exterior before the interior is fully baked out (which is critical!).

      I hope that helps and happy baking!

      Reply

  20. Hello! I’ve enjoyed making your breads and have always hated the amount of waste that comes with the discard. Recently I was introduced to sourdough crackers made from discard which tastes amazing and also solves the problem of not wanting to throw out the discard. My favorite are rosemary sea salt sourdough crackers. Was curious if you ever tried these and, if so, your take on recipes, flavors, etc.

    Reply

    1. Hey Scott! I have tried making sourdough crackers and it’s something I’ve worked on here and there. I’ll definitely be working on a recipe for these! Thanks for sharing, there are so many good ways to use up that discard and if you haven’t yet seen my post on reducing starter discard waste you might be interested in that approach. Happy baking!

      Reply

  21. Hi Maurizio I have been using several of your recipes over the past 10 months and have been somewhat successful except one area. I am not able to achieve the huge “holes” in the crumb as compared to the photos you have posted. I followed your recipe pretty closely but just not able to obtained the huge holes! Been feeding my matured starter twice a day prior to using it. Used same amount of water as listed on your recipe as I understand hydration impacts the result. So where else have I gone wrong??! I have taken a photo of the malted wheat sourdough that I’d baked just over the weekend but not sure how I can post the photo for your review.

    Reply

    1. Flai — unfortunately there isn’t a single thing that leads to a more open interior in a baked loaf of bread. First, the flour used is very important, it needs to be strong enough (protein) and have the proper gluten properties to trap the gasses produced during fermentation. For example, no matter how hard you try with rye flour, the gluten properties in the grain just won’t lead to an open interior.

      From there, a very strong and well-fed starter is important — it all begins there. Fermentation in general is so critical, it’s worth spending some time really stepping back to look at how your starter is performing and how well-fermented your dough is during bulk fermentation and the final proof. Without strong fermentation your loaf will never rise to its full potential.

      Sufficient dough strength through mixing, and also organically through fermentation, is also important. Think of your dough as a balloon: you want it strong enough to trap gasses and expand in the oven, but not so strong that it won’t relax and expand out. Finding this sweet spot takes some practice.

      A full and complete bulk is also very important. Cutting bulk fermentation short before the dough is sufficiently fermented will hinder the development in final proof.

      I also find that, and this depends on the dough you’re working with, a very gentle preshape and shape are key to maintaining an open interior. If you’re rough with the dough during these times the delicate interior will quickly break down and become more dense. That said, the dough does still need enough strength through shaping to hold its shape during baking.

      Sorry for the long winded answer but really all of these things are important! Each part plays into the next and overall what we’re searching for as bakers is balance. Balance between the extremes in each phase of the process.

      Reply

        1. You’re very welcome and your bread looks delicious. I’d say try reducing the hydration just a bit, perhaps 5%, and it might help you eek out a bit more rise and structure. Otherwise I’m confident it tasted fantastic!

  23. Definitely the best recipes I have ever seen. Do you have some gluten-free recipes as well? Would love to see some gluten-free alternatives.

    Reply

  25. Hey, thanks again for the great site! I can’t really bake in the summer, but now that it’s winter I’m back into it. I always bake fresh for dinner at people’s houses, potlucks etc. But that means I need to set aside almost 2 full days. I can’t always do that. I’m starting to experiment with freezing whole loaves. I’ve seen you mention that your freezer is often full of bread. Can you add a post to the “Guides” page on how you approach freezer storage? Do you undercook, then finish cooking when it comes out of the freezer? Cook completely, then reheat? Thaw first, or straight into the oven? Etc.
    I always slice and freeze the bread I bake for myself. What I’m curious about is taking whole loaves to people’s houses, or for having people over to my place for dinner, without having to bake from scratch. I’d like to have a few whole loaves in the freezer for when I’m short on time, and have them be as close to fresh-baked as possible when I share whole loaves with friends. Thank you!

    Reply

    1. I usually use a bread box to store my bread after it’s been cut. If I’m using a bread box I won’t place the bread in anything — just straight into the box. The purpose of the box is to keep just enough humidity in there to keep the bread soft but not too soft. If I’m not using my bread box then I’ll either be sure to keep the crumb side of the loaf down on the cutting board so the crust naturally surrounds the entire loaf. Imagine cutting a loaf directly in half and then turning those halves down.

      When freezing, I’ll wrap an entire loaf several times in plastic wrap and then place it into a freezer ziplock. When I want to eat it I’ll take it out the night before and let it thaw in the fridge. Then, you could pop it into the oven to warm up the next day or slice and toast the slices.

      If you plan to eat it somewhat in the near term, you could slice the entire loaf then place the slices in a freezer ziplock bag. Using a toaster (like this awesome toaster from Breville) you can thaw and toast the slices in one step and they come out fantastic.

      I’ll add this to my list of Guides to write!

      Reply

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