Try my Same Day Sourdough Bread—Beginner-friendly, quick, and easy with the same delicious flavor and texture. No special tools are needed!
- ½ cup (4 oz/115 g) active sourdough starter
- 325 grams (less than 1 ⅓ cups/10 oz) lukewarm water
- 3 ⅓ cups (16 ½ oz/469 g) bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
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Feed your starter as you normally would and put it in a warm place until doubled in size, about 4 hours.
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In a large bowl add the active starter, water, flour and salt and mix briefly to combine. Let rest for 20 minutes.
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Complete one round of stretch and folds: Wet your hands to prevent sticking, then grab an edge of the dough and pull it out and over the ball of dough. Turn the dough a quarter turn and pull and fold the next side. Do this two more times, then turn the dough folded side down and let rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
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Repeat the stretch and folds two more times, giving a 20-minute rest in between for a total of three sets.
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Cover the bowl with a shower cap or tightly with cling wrap and allow to bulk ferment in a warm spot for a minimum of 6 hours. (See notes about bulk fermenting for a longer period)
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Once the dough has doubled, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, pull and fold all four sides, then turn the dough, folded side down and roll into a smooth ball.
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Place the dough in a proofing basket or bowl lined with a floured kitchen towel. Over with cling wrap and another kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm spot for about 1 ½ - 2 hours, or until doubled.
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Towards the end of the rising time, preheat to 425°F (220°C).
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Carefully turn the dough out of the basket onto the counter. Dust the top of the loaf with flour, score with a razor blade or sharp, thin knife. Place the lid back on and bake for 20 minutes.
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Lower the oven temperature to 400°F (200°C), remove the lid of the Dutch oven and continue to bake for another 25 minutes. The loaf should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
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Let cool completely before slicing. Store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, slice and freeze.
- In order to achieve the proper rise with minimal time, you will need a warm place to activate the starter and rise the dough. Some ovens have a proof setting, so if yours does, use that setting or follow the oven warming method that described in the steps.
- If you need to use your oven for other baking during the day, put your dough on a high shelf in the kitchen. Because heat rises, it will be the warmest part of your kitchen.
- If you have an electric heating pad, set it on the low setting and place your bowl of starter or dough on it to keep it warm.
- During the long starter activation and bulk ferment, check every now and then that it is still barely warm in the oven. If not, remove the dough, turn the oven on for 1 or 2 minutes again, turn it off, and return the dough to the oven.
- If you are not working with a mature starter, it may be sluggish, and your rising times might increase by an hour or two, so be sure to factor in this time.
- The bread must cool completely before it's sliced, or the moisture and structure of the bread can be compromised.
- If you are new to sourdough, try our Sourdough for Beginners recipe, and be sure to read the article The Last Sourdough Starter Guide You’ll Ever Need and Sourdough Q & A.
- If you have the time to make this bread over two days, I recommend it. This extended time will benefit the bread in both flavor and texture. And some people find it easier to use this method when it's split over two days.
- This loaf freezes beautifully. But before I freeze it, I slice it and put the whole lot in a bread bag in the freezer so I can just grab bread when I need it for toast or sandwich bread.