The Easiest Sourdough Bread Recipe: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
If there is something I know can drive me crazy, is the smell of a freshly baked bread. Especially, sourdough bread.
Sourdough bread has become a treasured staple in the home-baking world, intertwining simplicity and complexity to create a loaf with a distinctive tangy flavor, crunchy crust, and chewy interior. Venturing into sourdough baking can seem daunting with its talk of starters, hydration levels, and fermentation times. However, it’s possible to craft a homemade sourdough bread recipe that’s straightforward and forgiving for beginners.
As you can see by this graph below, the search for sourdough bread is constantly on the rise. We even passed the peak it reached during the COVID quarantine.
There is an endless list of YouTube videos, recipes, Instagram scoring patterns, you name it.
However, most people still shy away from it because it is perceived as too complicated and hard to make.
The truth is actually the opposite. This is one of the easiest things to make. It requires around 10 hours to be ready but only 10 minutes of work.
Imagine pulling out a beautiful, artisanal-style sourdough loaf from your own oven with a process that requires minimal hands-on time and basic ingredients. The key to easy sourdough bread lies in understanding the essentials—flour, water, salt, and starter—along with simple techniques to nurture the dough during its journey from mixing bowl to bread oven. By focusing on the basics, you can achieve a delightful and hearty loaf that’s perfect for everything from your morning toast to a savory sandwich base.
With patience and a few tried-and-true tips, you’ll be able to create a simple sourdough bread that rivals those found in boutique bakeries. Embrace the process as you watch your dough transform and bloom into a golden, rustic round of sourdough, all from the comfort of your home. Whether you’re a first-time baker or looking to streamline your current method, the easiest sourdough bread recipe awaits to fill your kitchen with the warm, irresistible aroma of freshly baked bread.
The Basics of Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe
Unlike many other recipes and videos out there, my recipe is so simple you will not go back to any other recipe after you try it.
There are only 5 ingredients: whole wheat flour, bread flour, sourdough starter, water and salt.
There is no fancy way to combining them. I just put them in the mixer for a few minutes, let it go for about 6 hours, make the shape, find something else to do for 3 hours, score it and bake it.
How simple is that?
And the results? Well, you either need to take my word for it or try it yourself and see.
YOU DON’T NEED FANCY STEPS!!
The sourdough starter
As you can imagine, the core of the bread is the starter. It is what gives it its flavor and rise. So it is important you have a good starter.
I am using the same starter for over 10 years now so the taste is fabulous.
If you don’t know how to start your sourdough starter, check my guide here.
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour – Very healthy for you!
Bread flour – I tried many ratios but the one I found to be the most balanced is the 50/50 between whole wheat and bread flour.
Starter – Some people recommend you will use one you fed a few hours before you make the bread. While this is better, I found that using it an hour after you took it from the fridge is also pretty good.
Water – Lukewarm
Salt – I use the granulated sea salt
How To Make The Easiest Sourdough Bread: Step-By-Step Instructions
This is a simple, no sophistication recipe. I don’t pull and fold (because it is an easy recipe), I don’t use Dutch oven (same reason as before). The result will be better if you do, but it is pretty good even without.
Making the dough
Mix two cups of whole wheat flour and bread flour in a mixing bowl with one cup of sourdough starter and two cups of water.
Run the mixer slow at first to avoid flour spreading everywhere.
Add two tbsp of salt and continue mixing on medium speed for 6-8 minutes.
Shape the dough into a ball, cover it and let it rest for about 6 hours.
Shaping the loaf
After 6 hours, take the dough into a floured surface. I use this amount to make two medium size loaves of bread.
Let it rest, covered, for about 3 hours.
Then heat the oven to 450F.
Scoring the dough
This is one of the places where things can go wrong but they don’t have two.
On your first few attempts making sourdough bread, don’t go for fancy scoring.
Just run a few line across the loaf, it should be just fine.
Don’t be afraid to use a lot of flour.
Bake
Insert the tray to the oven and reduce the temperature to 350F.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Cool down
It is important that when you take it out of the oven, you will place it on a cooling wire rack.
Otherwise, it will become soggy.
Also, don’t try to slice it right away. It will be too hot. You have to let it cool down to a reasonable temperature that is not too hot but still nice and warm.
What to Eat the Sourdough Bread With?
This really goes with almost everything. You can make sandwiches, eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner.
Nothing will be as good as it will be with some butter while the bread is still warm.
I like to use it for the spicy shashuka, Greek Salad, babaganosh, etc.
Variations and Flavors
The bread will be with a lot of flavors. Still if you are interested in adding some twists, here some suggestions:
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Caramelized onions
- Olives
- Nuts and seeds
Easy Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 cup sourdough starter
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp sea salt
Instructions
- Add the whole wheat flour, the bread flour, the sourdough starter and the water into the mixer bowl.
- Mix for 2 minutes and add the salt.
- Continue mixing for another 7-9 minutes.
- Form into a ball and let it sit, covered, for 6-7 hours.
- Split the dough into two. Shape each part to your desired shape and let it sit for another 2-3 hours.
- Heat the oven 450 F.
- Once the oven is ready, score the bread anyway you want (but you must score it otherwise it will just explode).
- Put the bread in the oven and reduce the heat to 350F. Bake for 45 minutes.
- After 45 minutes, carefully take the bread out and put it on a wire cooling rack so that air can circulate and prevent the crust from becoming soggy. Let the bread cool completely before cutting or wrapping it.
