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# Sourdough Bread Recipe

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collage of sourdough bread, top image is a close up of bread loaf with sliced, bottom image of bread slices photographed from above

My simple Sourdough Bread recipe is perfect for enjoying on its own or using for sandwiches! I’ll be walking you in detail through every step so you can learn how to make perfect sourdough like a pro. Recipe includes a how-to video!

Sourdough bread loaf with a slice resting against it.

## The Best Sourdough Bread Recipe

This homemade sourdough bread is the only bread we eat in my household anymore. In fact, I make 2-3 loaves a week and keep a stockpile in my freezer at all times! And once you try it… well, I think you will, too.

That’s because there’s a lot to love about sourdough bread. First and foremost, it has a high nutritional value and none of the additives (no added sugar, either) you’ll find in most store-bought breads. It also tastes amazing: classic, hearty bread (that’s not overly sour) with a thick, crusty exterior and a soft, springy interior.

But what I think you’ll love most about my recipe is how wonderfully versatile it is. It’s ideal both for dipping in soup, serving as a side with a salad, or using as a sandwich; it also makes an awesome grilled cheese that pairs beautifully with my tomato soup!

Slices of homemade bread after being cut off a loaf.

## Homemade Bread is Easier Than You Think!

Making sourdough bread at home is shockingly easy, especially if you use the sourdough starter I shared last week. It is time consuming and you must have patience, but the work itself is very approachable.

There’s no kneading involved; instead, we’ll use an easy process known as stretching and folding, which develops the gluten much like kneading would, but is better suited for higher hydration dough like sourdough. There’s also no mixer or fancy equipment needed with my recipe — you don’t even need a banneton or a Dutch oven, just a pair of bread pans!

I’m so excited to share this one with you (and I’ve been teasing it long enough on Instagram, haven’t I?!), so let’s get started.

## What You Need

Overhead view of ingredients including olive oil, bread flour, sourdough starter, and more.

My sourdough bread recipe has perfect flavor, especially considering there are so few ingredients. You will need:

- Sourdough starter. This can be homemade or store-bought. Obviously, I recommend making your own by using my sourdough starter recipe (this does take over a week to prepare, but it’s worth it!).
- Bread flour. I really recommend bread flour over all purpose for this recipe. Bread flour has a higher protein content and produces a better-crumbed sourdough bread, in my opinion.
- Olive oil. A bit of olive oil helps make the bread perfectly chewy and soft. I also find it keeps my sourdough softer longer.
- Salt. Salt is critical for flavor (unsurprisingly) but it also plays some other important roles in sourdough bread. It helps balance the acidity from our starter, strengthens the gluten in the dough (important for shape and texture), and it even helps extend the shelf life of the bread by acting as a natural preservative.
- Water. The water called for in my recipe will yield a sourdough loaf that is about 70% hydration. I love this hydration level; it produces a crumb that’s neither too dense nor too open, that’s not too sour but is still flavorful, and that is easy to shape and extremely versatile — we use it for everything from dipping in pot pie soup to eating sandwiches. Once you’re comfortable baking a bread at this hydration level, you can experiment with increasing the water if you’d like. More water usually yields a bread with a more open crumb, a more tangy flavor, and a crumb that’s less suitable for sandwiches but good for dipping.

I wrote this sourdough bread recipe with weights because I find it’s the easiest way to make it (just like with my macaron recipe); however, I have included cup measurements as well.

SAM’S TIP: While some people like to bake their sourdough bread in a dutch oven, I like to use a pair of bread pans. It doesn’t look as rustic this way, but it’s much more practical for my family to have a loaf of bread rather than a round of it. If you’re team Dutch oven, don’t worry–I provide instructions for how to make sourdough bread in a Dutch oven below.

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

## How to Make Sourdough Bread

### Make the Dough

Collage of four photos showing sourdough starter being combined with flour and water to create a dough.

1. Combine sourdough starter, water, and oil in a large bowl. Make sure your starter is active and bubbly before adding it.
2. Add the bread flour and salt.
3. Stir until mostly combined(your dough will still look shaggy). Do not over-mix!
4. Cover and let sit at room temperature for one hour.

### Stretching & Folding

Collage of four photos showing dough being lifted and folded while rising.

1. Form your dough into a ball using your hands, the run your hands under cool water.
2. Stretch the top of the dough up and over the bottom, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. I demonstrate this in the video below if you need a better visual.
3. Repeat the stretch and fold process a total of four times, then cover and place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.
4. Let your dough rise until increased in size by 80%, repeating the stretch and fold process every 30 minutes.

### Assembling

Collage of four photos showing dough being folded and formed into a loaf being being placed in a bread pan.

1. Deflate and form your dough into a rectangular shape on a lightly floured surface.
2. Lift the right side of the dough, fold it over to the center, then repeat with the left side (like folding a paper in thirds).
3. Roll into a tight log starting with the short end of the rectangle, then tuck the ends under.
4. Place in a greased bread pan, cover loosely, and place in the fridge to rest overnight.

SAM’S TIP: I recommend proofing your dough in the refrigerator overnight rather than baking right away (I also provide instructions for baking right away, though). Proofing overnight will help develop the flavor, help the bread rise better, and encourage more fermentation. That being said, I don’t like to let my dough sit in the fridge for longer than 48 hours (absolute max) before baking. Letting it sit too long can cause over-proofing and can compromise the final texture of your sourdough bread. I also don’t freeze my dough before baking, so I can’t advise on that.

### Baking

Collage of four photos showing bread dough being scored before covering and baking.

1. Let the dough rest at room temperature while your oven preheats.
2. Score the bread about ¼″ deep down the center.
3. Cover with another bread pan or an aluminum foil tent.
4. Bake at 450F for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for 20-23 minutes or until the bread reaches 206-208F.

Two photos showing a loaf of bread in its pan after baking before being removed to a cooling rack.

5. Let the bread cool in its pan for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the bread from the pan (carefully, it’s still hot!) and place on a cooling rack. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

SAM’S TIP: Don’t cut into the bread while it’s still warm (I know, so hard, so tempting!). Doing this can make your loaf gummy and dense.

Overhead view of a loaf of homemade bread in a bread pan on a cooling rack.

## Frequently Asked Questions

Is sourdough bread healthier than normal bread?

Sourdough is definitely one of the more nutritious types of bread. It’s a prebiotic-rich food made by fermenting dough with wild yeast and bacteria (sounds gross but in reality is delicious) and is more digestible than your standard white bread. It also has a lower glycemic index and less gluten than normal bread.

Is sourdough bread gluten free?

While a traditional sourdough bread recipe is obviously not gluten free, sourdough bread is sometimes tolerated by people who are gluten sensitive (but not people with Celiac Disease). This is because some of the gluten is consumed during the fermentation process, which makes the bread more easily digestible.

How do I make this recipe in a Dutch oven?

Follow my recipe through the rolling and tucking step, then place in a lightly floured banneton (I use my Kitchenaid mixer bowl lined with a lightly floured kitchen towel, because I don’t actually have a banneton). Cover and let rise overnight in the fridge.

The next day, carefully turn out your dough onto a large piece of parchment paper and carefully lower this into a 4.5qt Dutch oven (a larger one would work, but your bread will be flatter and will likely cook faster). Allow the dough to sit uncovered while the oven preheats, then score, cover with a lid, and follow recipe instructions for baking.

Slices of sourdough bread on a wood cutting board.

I know that there are many sourdough bread recipes out there and so many different ways to make it, but this is my personal favorite version that I’ve carefully developed over the past year. I can’t wait to hear how you like it, I hope you’ll always want to keep a loaf in your house, too! ❤️

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook

Sourdough bread loaf with a slice resting against it.

## Sourdough Bread Recipe

This 5-ingredient sourdough bread recipe is perfect for sandwiches. My recipe explains every step so you can learn how to make sourdough like a pro!

Recipe includes a how-to video!

4.99 from 187 votes

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 2 hourshours

Cook Time: 50 minutesminutes

Rising Time: 16 hourshours

Total Time: 18 hourshours50 minutesminutes

Servings: 1loaf

Calories: 1820kcal

### Ingredients

- ▢ ⅔cup(150g)active starterbubbly, active, fed
- ▢ 1 ⅓cups(315g)warm90F water
- ▢ 1 ½(18g)Tablesoons olive oil
- ▢ 3 ⅔cups(450g)bread flour
- ▢ 2teaspoons(13g)table salt
- ▢ Oil for greasing pan
- ▢ Additional flour for dusting work-surface

### Recommended Equipment

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

### Instructions

- In a large mixing bowl, combine sourdough starter, water, and olive oil. Stir until combined.

⅔ cup (150 g) active starter, 1 ⅓ cups (315 g) warm, 1 ½ (18 g) Tablesoons olive oil

- Add bread flour and sprinkle salt overtop. Use your (clean) hands or a wooden spoon to stir together until dough is mostly combined. It will still be a bit shaggy and should not be cohesive (don’t over-mix) but no dry patches of flour should remain.

3 ⅔ cups (450 g) bread flour, 2 teaspoons (13 g) table salt

- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit undisturbed for one hour (this is the “autolyse” period).

#### Stretch & Fold

- Form dough into a ball with your hands.

- Run your hands under cool water (prevents sticking!) and grasp the top of the dough and stretch it over the bottom. Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Turn 90 degrees and repeat again, then once more (four total stretch & folds).

- Allow dough to rest, covered, in a warm place for 30 minutes.

- Repeat step 2 above every 30 minutes as dough rises.

- Allow dough to rise (stretching and folding every 30 minutes as indicated) until dough has increased in size about 80% (how long this takes depends on the temperature of your kitchen, typically mine is ready within 4-6 hours).

#### Forming the Dough

- Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan (with olive oil or butter) .

Oil for greasing pan

- When dough has risen sufficiently, turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured surface.

Additional flour for dusting work-surface

- Use your hands to gently deflate the dough and pat it into a rectangular shape. Lift the right side of the dough and fold it into the center (almost as if you were closing a book). Then, lift the left side of the dough and fold it over the first fold (use a bench scraper if the dough is sticking to your counter).

- Starting with a skinny end, tightly roll the dough, as if you were rolling up a cinnamon roll. Tuck the ends under and carefully transfer to prepared bread pan. Don’t worry if the bread doesn’t fill the pan right now.

- Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to rest overnight/for 12-24 hours.

#### Baking

- Remove sourdough from the refrigerator and preheat oven to 450F. Let oven preheat and dough rest (covered or uncovered) for at least 30-35 minutes before proceeding.

- Once oven has preheated, uncover bread, make a clean slice (about ¼” deep) down the center with a sharp knife or bread lame (to score it) then cover with another 9×5 pan (if you don’t have a second pan, you may instead make a makeshift oven using aluminum foil; tent it as high as the bread pan is deep).

- Transfer to center rack of preheated oven. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes then remove the lid and continue to bake another 20-23 minutes/until golden brown and the center of bread reaches 206-208F (97C).

- Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes before gently turning it out onto a cooling rack (careful, the pan will still be hot!) to cool for at least 1-2 hours (until it no longer feels warm) before cutting into it.

### Notes

### To bake the same day:

Follow recipe through step 4 under the “Forming the Dough” section. Immediately after transferring dough to pan, preheat oven to 450F (230C). Allow dough to rest uncovered while oven preheats, at least 30 minutes. Once oven is preheated, follow directions in recipe starting with step 2 under the “Baking” section. Note that bread will not be as flavorful or nutritious & texture will not be as great if it is not allowed to sit in the fridge overnight.

### Storing & Freezing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.

You may also freeze this bread. Freeze the whole loaf by wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and then wrapping in foil. When ready to thaw, keep covered completely and defrost at room temperature before unwrapping.

We prefer to freeze pre-sliced: Cut bread into slices and storing in a plastic Ziploc bag (remove as much air as you can before freezing). If you struggle with freezer burn or plan to freeze the bread longer than a few weeks, you can individually wrap each slice in plastic wrap before closing in the plastic bag.

### Nutrition

Serving: 1loaf | Calories: 1820kcal | Carbohydrates: 364g | Protein: 59g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 4678mg | Potassium: 459mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 9IU | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

### Related Recipes

## Reader Interactions

### Comments

1. carolyn

September 04, 2024 at 4:01 pm

i used a regular metal loaf pan. I’ll try the baking stone, thanx!!

2. Dermott

August 24, 2024 at 8:40 pm

5 stars

Excellent!!

3. DermottC

August 21, 2024 at 5:25 pm

This was the first sourdough snadwich loaf I made! Followed the recipe and procedures to a tee.. when I removed the top pan, it looked great. I let it run for another 20 minutes but it got quite dark on top.. and the IT read 178C.. so I put it back for another 10 minutes.

After it got close to temp, I pulled it and let it cool. While it was not the prettiest, it tasted great; nice taste and very good texture!!

The next one is in the fridge getting ready for tomorrow

Perhaps I’ll leave it in with the cover a little longer this time to get it to temp and then keep an eye on the browning?

Thanks for the recipe!!!!

- Sam

  August 22, 2024 at 12:05 pm

  Hi Dermott! I’m glad you were still able to enjoy it! Did you mean 178C not 178F? 178C is quite a bit higher than what it needs to reach. If you find it’s burning too quickly is it possible that your oven could be running a bit hot?

  Reply

  - DermottC

    August 24, 2024 at 8:38 pm

    5 stars

    Thanks for the reply Sam! Yes, it was Farenheit, and you are probably correct on the oven; Friday’s run was at what my oven told me was 440F and I ran it for 33 minutes before uncovering – it was still a little browner than I amined for, but nothing like the first.

    Overall, for sure, a winner, and it’s almost all gone. Another will be made on Monday; waiting for the starter to get lively!!

  - Sam

    August 26, 2024 at 4:36 pm

    I’m so glad you were sill able to enjoy it! 🙂

4. Janet

August 17, 2024 at 12:03 pm

5 stars

New to sourdough but where other recipes have failed me, this one was a great success! Tasty, chewy, delicious! The loaf was gone in seconds, even when I went to reach for a hidden slice…my young teenagers had sniffed it out and ate it! Thank you! btw…toasted…mindblowing!

- Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

  August 19, 2024 at 9:55 am

  So glad our recipe was a winner for you, Janet! Sounds like you might need a new hiding spot 😉 Enjoy ❤️

  Reply

5. carolyn

August 16, 2024 at 12:15 pm

I loved trying the recipe, but the bottom of my loaf burned rather badly, any advice for preventing that in the future?

- Sam

  August 16, 2024 at 3:49 pm

  I’m so sorry to hear this happened, Carolyn! Is your oven temperature accurate? That could cause burning, or potentially it just needed a minute or 2 less. 🙁

  Reply

- Shamera Sturm

  August 30, 2024 at 10:12 am

  Hi there. What type of a pan are you baking it in? I had one loaf do that as well but switched to a baking stone bread pan and it works out perfect. This recipe is the absolute easiest and tastiest ever.

  Reply

6. Emily Peterson

August 15, 2024 at 10:32 am

Hi! Quick question. Just wanted to know, I don’t have bread flour so would it come out too different if i used regular flour?

- Emily @ Sugar Spun Run

  August 16, 2024 at 4:57 pm

  Hi Emily! You can use all purpose flour, but we really recommend bread flour over all purpose for this recipe. Bread flour has a higher protein content and produces a better-crumbed sourdough bread 🙂

  Reply

7. Shelly

August 10, 2024 at 6:29 pm

Hi Sam,

I am new to sourdough baking and would like to try your bread recipe but have a question. Because it takes my starter until afternoon to double, and if I don’t have another 4-6 hours for the first proof before bedtime, can it go in the frig overnight? If so, how would I proceed the next day? Thank you!

- Sam

  August 14, 2024 at 1:51 pm

  Hi Shelly! Is it possible to feed your starter a little earlier? You should really do the stretching and folding throughout those 4-6 hours and then it can sit in the refrigerator overnight. I hope that helps! 🙂

  Reply

8. Aubree

August 06, 2024 at 10:23 pm

5 stars

Sam!! This recipe is soooo very good. I really appreciated your detailed steps and video. it definitely takes a time commitment so plan to be home but WOW, so worth it. Please continue making more sourdough discard recipes. Thank you!!

- Sam

  August 08, 2024 at 3:58 pm

  Thank you so much, Aubree! I’m so glad you enjoy it so much! I am slowly adding more and more sourdough recipes. 🙂

  Reply

- Annie

  September 06, 2024 at 3:04 pm

  5 stars

  Best tasting recipe. I baked this in my Dutch oven and it came out perfect! I will definitely be using this recipe again!

  Reply

9. Teresa Cook

August 06, 2024 at 10:35 am

5 stars

I’m an avid home baker and have made sourdough for years. After trying several recipes and methods, I came across this one and I will never use another recipe again! I’ve been using this recipe weekly for the past year or more and it’s absolutely perfect! I’m convinced the key to success is in the folding. It’s really not a big deal-just plan on making it when you’re home.

4.99 from 187 votes (62 ratings without comment)

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Hi, I'm Sam! I'm dedicated to bringing you sweet, simple, and from-scratch dessert recipes. My life may or may not be controlled by my sweet tooth. Send help (or chocolate). Read more about me.

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Sourdough Bread Recipe - Sugar Spun Run