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Sourdough Beginner Bread

Beginner Sourdough Bread Recipe

5 from 9 votes
This homemade beginner sourdough bread recipe makes the most delicious soft on-the-inside, lightly crusty loaf of fresh sourdough bread. It's made with healthy ingredients like whole wheat flour and is naturally fermented with sourdough. So not only is it incredibly delicious but it's a microbiome superfood too! You'll love making this bread for healthy sandwiches, avocado toast, breakfast, and so much more!
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Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:40 minutes
Fermentation Time:18 hours
Total Time:18 hours 50 minutes
Author: sourdoughjesha

Ingredients

Sourdough Starter

  • 20 g Sourdough starter
  • 80 g flour
  • 80 g water

Bread Dough

  • 500 g Bread Flour Optional: If you'd like to add a little bit of whole grains to your bread you can reduce the bread flour quantity to 450g and add 50g of whole wheat flour.
  • 375 g Water 75%
  • 100 g Sourdough Starter 20%
  • 10 g Salt 2%

Instructions

  • Feed your sourdough starter: Feed your starter about 8-12 hours before you plan to mix your bread dough. Since this recipe calls for 100g of active, bubbly starter, I recommend reserving 20g of active starter and feeding it 80g of water and 80g of flour so that you have enough starter for this recipe plus additional to maintain your starter going forward.
  • Mix and Initial Stretch & Fold Set: Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix with your hands for a few minutes until all ingredients are incorporated. If using a dough mixer, you can mix the dough on low for 2 minutes. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, and then perfect stretch and folds for 1-3 minutes or until the dough feels smooth and it becomes difficult to stretch out. This process helps your dough keep its form through the bulk fermentation.
    To perform one set of stretch and folds: Start by splashing some water on your hands so they are damp. Then, grab one side of the dough with your hand, stretch it up and fold it all the way over the other side of the dough. Rotate the bowl and repeat this process with the next side. Once you've completed this process with all four sides, cover the dough.
  • Bulk Fermentation: Bulk fermentation is simply the process of letting your dough ferment at room temperature until it nearly doubles in size. It usually takes about 4-7 hours depending on the temperature of your home and the strength of your starter. For this step, you’re going to perform 3-5 sets of stretch and folds every 1hr throughout the duration of the bulk fermentation.
    You do not need to be perfect with timing when it comes to stretch and folds! It's most important to get a couple of sets in during the beginning of the bulk.
  • Shape: Now before shaping, you’ll want to prepare your proofing basket. Line your proofing basket with a kitchen towel or liner if you have one, and lightly dust with flour. Lightly flour your work surface, and sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough as well.
  • Flip the dough over, laying the flour side down on the counter. Your dough should look like a long rectangular-ish shape.
  • Grab the bottom edge of the dough and fold it up and over the middle to form a one-third fold.
  • Now grab the bottom two corners and fold them towards the middle so they overlap.
  • Now fold the top edge towards the middle about halfway.
  • Now, stitch the dough by taking the top corners and folding it over itself. Repeat this fold until you reach the bottom – it’s sort of like rolling up a sleeping bag. When you’re done, pick up the dough and place it in the proofing basket, upside down, with the newly created seam facing up. Here’s a great shaping video for reference.
  • When you’re done, pick up the dough and place it in the proofing basket, upside down, with the newly created seam facing up.
  • Overnight Rise:
     Now it’s time to lay your dough baby to rest and pop her in the fridge. Cover with plastic wrap or an elsatic plastic cover. After you’ve covered the dough, place it in the fridge and let it hang out there for anywhere from 12 to 24 hours. 
  • Preheat Oven + Cast Iron: The next day, Preheat your oven to 500 F and place your dutch oven/cast iron pan with the lid inside for 30 minutes - 1 hour. When you're ready to bake, remove your dough from the fridge. Cover your Tupperware/bread basket with a piece of parchment paper, and then place a cutting board over the parchment paper. While holding the parchment paper and cutting board against the Tupperware, flip it over and allow the dough to turn out. 
  • Score Bread: Using a scoring knife, gently score your bread at a 45-degree angle, cutting just below the skin that has formed on the outer layer of the dough. This step will allow gases to escape while the bread bakes and prevent it from cracking in unpredictable ways. By scoring, we have greater control of the final product. 
    (tip: you don’t need to do a full cross-section like they do in the video. I just do one straight line).
  • Bake: Quickly remove your Dutch oven from the oven while being mindful of letting as little heat escape as possible. Lifting from the parchment paper edges, place your dough in the Dutch oven, add the lid, and bake at 500 for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the lid, and lower the temp to 450. Continue baking for another 15– 20 minutes. The bread is done when the crust is a beautiful golden brown and the internal temp is about 208-210 degrees.
  • Cool and Enjoy: Allow the bread to fully cool (at least one hour) before slicing into it. Or, don’t wait and cut into after 15 minutes. Slather with butter and serve with fried eggs. Cutting into it right away will yield a slightly gummier loaf, but NOTHING is better than fresh baked bread straight out of the oven!

Notes

  1. What flour is best for this recipe? A high protein flour is needed for bread making. You can use a white or whole wheat bread flour. King Arthur has a great bread flour that is usually widely available. I use this stone ground partially sifted whole wheat flour. I recommend using a blend of white bread flour and whole wheat flour. If using 100% white bread flour, reduce the total water in the recipe to 74-75%. A good DIY formula I would recommend is using 80% White Bread Flour and 20% Whole Wheat Flour (the whole wheat flour does not have to be "bread flour". If you'd like to use alternative flours too like Spelt flour, use 80-90% High Extraction or Bread Flour with 10-20% Spelt, Rye, or Buckwheat Flour. Start with 76 hydration for your first loaf and then work your way up.
  2. When is bulk fermentation done? The best way to tell if bulk fermentation is done is when the dough has doubled in size, air bubbles form on top, and air pockets on the sides and bottom. The dough should feel airated.
  3. Why do you do an overnight proof too? The proof is really where the magic happens. At this point, the dough has risen sufficiently, so we're ready to slow that process down. The cold temperature of the fridge will drastically reduce yeast activity, and your dough will likely rise a tiny bit overnight. But the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) will work all through the night, converting simple sugars into lactic acid and breaking down gluten proteins. This microbial activity develops flavor, improves texture, and enhances the nutritional value and digestibility of bread.
  4. Is an overnight proof optional? I do not recommend omitting the overnight proof because the myriad of the health benefits listed above and improved texture/flavor of the final bread.
  5. Can I autolyse the bread dough? Yes, definitely! Most of the time I don't autolyse for the sake of simplicity but It's a great way to build structure in your dough prior to adding sourdough starter.
  6. How do I autolyse my bread dough? In a large bowl or Tupperware, combine just flour and water in a bowl. Using your hands, mix the ingredients together until the dough fully absorbs the water. This will only take a couple of minutes, and there should be no dry patches left when you're done. When you're finished mixing, cover with a towel, plastic wrap, or use a lid if it's in a plastic or glass Tupperware. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours. Once your autolyse is done, add starter and salt on top of your dough. First, perform 4 sets of stretch and folds to distribute the salt and starter. Then using your fingertips, gently pinch them in until it's the salt is dissolved into the dough. Lastly, end with another 4 sets of stretch and folds to ensure salt and starter are thoroughly distributed.