The Best Homemade Sourdough Bread

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This is the best homemade sourdough bread! My all time favorite recipe, it tastes delicious and has a soft and tender crumb with a chewy crust! Whether you are a beginner or seasoned sourdough baker, this recipe is easy to follow!

Why Sourdough?

I have loved sourdough bread my entire life. The tangy taste and the chewy crust are so delicious! There are other benefits to sourdough aside from the taste though! This is the best homemade sourdough recipe!

Although my husband isn’t a fan of sourdough, my kids love it! They love helping with the process and baking their own bread! Sourdough is healthier for you than regular bread. Even some gluten-intolerant people (such as myself) can tolerate it without negative side affects! (I also have a gluten-free sourdough recipe for those who cannot tolerate gluten what-so-ever.)

Why is sourdough a healthier alternative to regular bread? The flour has been fermented, which breaks it down and makes it easier to digest. Sourdough is also less likely to spike blood sugar, and is full of beneficial bacteria from the fermentation process.

Another great thing about sourdough is there is no need for commercial yeast! You can make sourdough with simple ingredients: flour, water, and salt. Who needs yeast anyways? You can make all kinds of different breads and many other things using a sourdough starter!

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The Art of Making Sourdough

Making sourdough can be an intimidating process, but I promise you it’s pretty simple! While it does take some time, it’s pretty forgiving, and you can let it be while you do other things, you could even run to the store if you wanted to!

All you need for making the best sourdough is flour, water, salt, and sourdough starter. There are many different variations of sourdough starter, including different types of wheat flours, but with this recipe I have successfully used an unbleached flour starter. I’m sure it would work just fine with any type of wheat flour!

Tools needed for making sourdough:

• Mixing bowl
• Dough whisk
• Banneton baskets (or these baskets work great as well)
• Parchment paper or silicone sourdough slings
• Kitchen scale
• Tea towels
• Dutch Oven
• Spray bottle of water
• Sharp knife or bread lame

Sourdough Timeline:

8am:

Feed sourdough starter. Wait until it is active and bubbly to begin baking. This could be anywhere from 2-8 hours. (Feel free to do this on your own timeline. This timeline is just an example. Sometimes I start my dough in the evening and let it bulk ferment overnight.)

11Am:

If your starter is active and ready by now, (it should be if your house is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit.) you can start mixing the dough! Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Cover with a tea towel and allow to sit on the counter for 2 hours.

1pm:

Return to your sourdough and do 2 sets of coil folds. Let it set for 30 minutes. With each set of coil folds, it will start to resemble a ball of dough.

1:3opm:

Repeat the previous step 2 more times. Once that is done, let it set on the counter to bulk ferment. This can take 6-12 hours depending on the temperature of your house.

How to tell the bulk ferment is done:

When the dough loses it’s shiny sheen, has doubled in size, isn’t very sticky to the touch, and has large bubbles throughout, the bulk ferment is done.

8:30pm:

It’s time to shape the dough! Once the dough has been shaped, line your baskets with tea towels, and lightly dust them with flour. Put the shaped dough into the basket, and make sure the bottom seam is stitched together well. Leave in the fridge overnight, or 12-15 hours. (If it’s still not done bulk fermenting and you don’t want to wait up, just throw the whole bowl in the fridge. This will slow down the fermentation process, and you can take it out in the morning to let it continue bulk fermentation.)

8:30am:

Once the dough has finished the cold ferment, you can preheat your oven to 450 Fahrenheit. While you are waiting for the oven to preheat, flip the dough seam-side down onto one of the dough slings, or a sheet of parchment paper. Use a really sharp knife, or a bread lame to score the dough. (Do so by holding the knife or lame at a 45 degree angle and slicing all the way across the bread. You can get fancy with your designs if you’d like, but it’s not necessary.)

8:45am:

Lift the loaf into the preheated Dutch oven, and spray the top a few times with the spray bottle of water. Cover with the lid and set a timer for 30 minutes.

9:15am:

Remove the lid of the Dutch oven, and set the timer for 15 minutes.

9:30am:

Remove the bread from the oven, and lift it out on to a cutting board to cool. Do not cut into the bread until it has fully cooled, or it will be gummy inside.

Once your bread has fully cooled, it is ready to enjoy! I slice mine and put it into these reusable bread bags for later. I invested in this bread slicer and it makes perfect slices. Sourdough can be hard to slice evenly because of the thick crust, so this slicer has been a game changer! 100% worth the investment.

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