This simple Sourdough Bread is a delightful recipe born from a homemade sourdough starter. This crusty, chewy bread is perfect for sandwiches or as a side to any dinner. If you don’t have a sourdough starter ready, don’t worry, check out our recipe for simple rustic bread.
Simple Homemade Sourdough Bread
The hardest part about making sourdough bread is packing enough patience to wait for it to fully rise. After mixing, the dough needs to rise for about 3 hours. The dough then gets folded and rotated a few times before a second rise again, usually for a couple of hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Baking the Perfect Loaf
After shaping the dough, place it on parchment paper and score the top. Preheat a Dutch oven in the oven at 450°F, then carefully transfer the dough into the hot pot and bake covered for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped.
Serving and Storing
Once baked, allow the bread to cool for 20 minutes before slicing. this bread typically keeps for 4-5 days at room temperature, stored in a breathable covering or a bread box. For freezing, ensure the bread is completely cooled before sealing in a freezer bag, labeled with the date, for up to 6 months.
Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 4-5 cups (500-625g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups (355g) warm water
- 3/4 cup (170g) active sourdough starter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook.
- Turn the mixer on low and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough will be sticky and doesn’t quite form a ball. (If making by hand, knead for about 10 minutes.)
- Add the dough to a large greased bowl, cover, and set aside for about 3 hours while the dough rises.
- After 3 hours, turn the dough and gently start folding up the sides. Grab the dough at the side of the bowl and lift up and towards the center of the bowl. Press down, turn the bowl 90 degrees and repeat this several times.
- Cover again and let it rise for an additional 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size.
- Add the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Press the dough down with your fingers then start pulling up the sides and pressing into the center. You may need to add more flour as this can be a loose dough. Keep pulling up the sides and pressing into the center then flip the dough over. The top should be smooth. Dust with more flour and set the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Score the dough with a sharp knife.
- Place a Dutch oven with a lid, into a cold oven and heat it to 450°F with the pot inside. Once heated, carefully remove the hot Dutch oven and remove the lid. Use the parchment paper to lift the dough with both hands and carefully place it inside the Dutch oven. Carefully replace the lid.
- Place into 450°F oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, carefully remove the lid and bake an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the top is nicely golden brown. The bread should sound hollow when tapped.
- Rest for 15 minutes before sliceing.
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