If you’ve ever dreamed of pulling a warm, crusty loaf straight from your own oven, this Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe is your golden ticket. It’s a hands-on, rewarding baking adventure that fills your kitchen with the most incredible aroma and delivers a loaf bursting with tangy flavor and perfect texture. Trust me, once you make sourdough from scratch, store-bought bread just won’t compare!
Why You Should Make This Recipe
- Incredible Flavor: The natural fermentation process develops complex tangy and slightly sweet notes you can’t get from commercial yeast.
- Artisanal Texture: Enjoy a crust that’s delightfully crispy on the outside, with a soft, open crumb inside — a texture that shows off true bread craftsmanship.
- Simple Ingredients: It uses just flour, water, salt, and your starter, proving that magic comes from humble basics.
- Hands-On Experience: Making sourdough connects you to centuries-old baking traditions — it’s as therapeutic as it is tasty!
Ingredients & Substitutions
This Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe relies on a handful of essential ingredients, each playing a crucial role in the dough’s rise, taste, and texture. Using unbleached bread flour gives your loaf strength and structure, while sea salt brings out the flavor and controls fermentation.
- Active sourdough starter: The magic leavening agent that ferments the dough naturally; make sure it’s bubbly and active for best results.
- Unbleached bread flour: Provides the perfect protein content for gluten development, resulting in that signature chewy crumb.
- Water: Use filtered or bottled water if your tap water is heavily chlorinated to keep your starter happy.
- Sea salt: Adds flavor and regulates fermentation; fine sea salt is easiest to dissolve evenly.
How to Make Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe
Step 1: Prepare the Levain
Start by mixing your active sourdough starter with water and bread flour to form the levain — a thick batter that will awaken your dough’s flavor and rise potential. Cover it and let it rest overnight at room temperature to develop those signature tangy notes.
Step 2: Mix Your Dough
Dissolve salt in a portion of water, then combine the levain with the remaining water. Stir in the bread flour until it forms a loose dough. Cover and let it rest for 45 minutes to hydrate and mellow.
Step 3: Incorporate Salt and Begin Folding
Add the salt water to your dough and mix it by hand. It will still feel very wet—that’s perfect! Using a folding technique, gently fold the dough over itself in four directions, then rest for 30 minutes. Repeat this folding and resting sequence six more times, building strength and structure in your dough.
Step 4: Bulk Fermentation
After the folds, cover the dough and let it continue resting at room temperature for one hour. This crucial bulk fermentation step allows the gluten network to strengthen and flavor to deepen.
Step 5: Divide and Pre-Shape
Turn your dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently divide it in half using a bench scraper. Carefully shape each piece into a loose ball without deflating the air pockets. Cover with a towel and let rest for 30 minutes before the final shaping.
Step 6: Final Shaping and Proofing
Line two bowls with floured kitchen towels, then dust the dough balls generously with flour. Flip them over so the floured side faces down, and repeat gentle folding motions to create tension on the surface. Flip the dough to rest seam side up in the bowls, cover, and refrigerate overnight for a slow, cold proof.
Step 7: Bake with Dutch Ovens
Preheat your oven to 500°F with two Dutch ovens inside to get piping hot. Carefully transfer the dough seam-side down into each Dutch oven. Score the tops with a sharp blade to allow for expansion, cover with lids, and bake for 30 minutes.
Step 8: Finish Baking
Lower oven temperature to 425°F and continue baking covered for 10 minutes. Remove the lids and bake for another 25-30 minutes until the crust is a deep golden brown and wonderfully crisp. Cool the loaves completely on a wire rack to set the crumb.
How to Serve Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe
Garnishes
A simple brush of high-quality olive oil or a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on warm slices can elevate your sourdough experience. You can also enjoy it with fresh herb butter or a smear of garlic-infused cream cheese for an extra special touch.
Side Dishes
Homemade sourdough pairs beautifully with almost anything — think hearty soups, creamy cheeses, or an assortment of fresh dips. It also shines when served alongside a colorful salad or a rich bowl of stew.
Creative Ways to Present
For a charming presentation, slice your loaf into thick pieces and serve in a rustic wicker basket lined with a linen napkin. Or transform a boule into an edible bread bowl filled with your favorite soup — it’s as lovely to look at as it is delicious.
Make Ahead and Storage
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover sourdough bread at room temperature in a paper bag or wrapped loosely in a clean kitchen towel to maintain its crust. This will keep it fresh for 2-3 days without turning soggy.
Freezing
If you want to save your loaf for longer, slice it and freeze the slices in an airtight container or bag. This way, you can pull out just what you need and keep the rest deliciously fresh.
Reheating
To revive the crust, toast slices directly or warm the whole loaf in the oven at 350°F for 10-15 minutes wrapped lightly in foil. This refreshes the crumb and brings back that freshly baked aroma.
FAQs
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How long does it take to make sourdough bread from start to finish?
A typical timeline for this Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe is around two days from mixing your levain to baking. Most of the time is hands-off fermentation and proofing, so it fits well around a busy schedule.
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Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?
While bread flour is preferred for its higher gluten content, you can substitute with all-purpose flour. Expect a slightly less chewy texture, but your bread will still taste delicious.
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What if my sourdough starter isn’t very active?
Make sure your starter is bubbly and has recently been fed before mixing your levain. If it’s sluggish, give it extra feedings over a day or two to boost its activity before baking.
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Why is folding the dough important?
Folding gently builds the gluten network without deflating the dough, improves its structure, and traps gas bubbles for a light, airy crumb — a key step in this sourdough method.
Final Thoughts
This Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe is such a joyful way to bring a little extra love and craft into your daily routine. The aroma, the taste, and the satisfaction of creating bread with your own hands is simply unbeatable. Give it a go—you’ll be so proud of the delicious results you pull from your oven!
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Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This classic sourdough bread recipe guides you through making a crusty, flavorful loaf using a natural sourdough starter and traditional folding and proofing techniques. With an overnight levain fermentation and careful shaping, the bread develops an open crumb and a rich, tangy taste. Baked in a Dutch oven for a perfect crust, this recipe yields artisan-quality sourdough bread at home.
Ingredients
Levain
- 15 grams active sourdough starter (2 tablespoons)
- 75 grams unbleached bread flour (¼ cup + 3 tablespoons)
- 75 grams water (⅓ cup)
Dough
- 525 grams water (2¼ cups)
- 1 Tablespoon sea salt
- 725 grams unbleached bread flour (5¾ cups)
Instructions
- Prepare the levain: Combine the sourdough starter, bread flour, and water in a bowl. Stir well until fully mixed into a thick batter. Cover lightly and let rest at room temperature overnight to ferment and develop flavor.
- Dissolve the salt: In a small bowl, dissolve the salt in 50 grams (4 tablespoons) of water, stirring occasionally to fully incorporate the salt.
- Mix dough: Add the remaining water to the levain and stir with a spatula until the levain dissolves into the water. Add the 725 grams of bread flour and stir to form a loose dough. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let rest at room temperature for 45 minutes.
- Add salt water and mix: Incorporate the salt water into the dough by hand. The dough will remain very loose and wet at this stage.
- Perform folds: Starting at one side, fold the dough over onto itself, moving clockwise. Repeat this folding action four times. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes. Repeat the folding and resting process six more times to develop gluten structure.
- Bulk fermentation rest: Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest at room temperature for one hour to continue fermentation.
- Divide dough: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper, gently cut the dough in half without deflating it too much.
- Pre-shape dough balls: Shape each dough half into a ball using your hands and the bench scraper. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Prepare proofing bowls: Line two medium mixing bowls with clean kitchen towels dusted heavily with flour, ensuring the entire surface is coated to prevent sticking.
- Final shape: Dust the tops of the dough balls with flour and flip them over so the floured side is on the bottom and the unfloured side is up. Using the folding technique from step 5, fold the dough four times clockwise. On the last fold, flip the ball so the floured surface is facing up.
- Proof in refrigerator: Place the shaped dough balls into the towel-lined bowls, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight for slow fermentation.
- Preheat oven and Dutch ovens: Place two Dutch ovens with lids into your oven and preheat to 500°F (260°C) to get them very hot.
- Transfer dough to Dutch ovens: Carefully remove the hot Dutch ovens from the oven and gently slide each dough ball inside, seam side down.
- Score dough: Using a lame or very sharp knife, score the top of each dough to allow controlled expansion during baking. Replace lids on the Dutch ovens.
- Bake covered: Bake the loaves covered at 500°F for 30 minutes to create steam and crust development.
- Reduce temperature and continue baking: Lower the oven temperature to 425°F (220°C) and bake covered for an additional 10 minutes.
- Finish baking uncovered: Remove the lids and bake for 25-30 minutes more until the crust is golden brown and crispy. Check the progress to avoid burning.
- Final bake extension: Continue to bake for 15-25 more minutes as needed until the bread achieves a deep golden color and crackly crust.
- Cool bread: Remove the loaves from the Dutch ovens and cool completely on wire racks before slicing to allow crumb set.
Notes
- Make sure your sourdough starter is active and bubbly before beginning the levain process.
- The dough is intentionally wet and sticky; avoid adding extra flour to maintain an open crumb.
- Folding the dough repeatedly strengthens gluten without heavy kneading.
- Using Dutch ovens traps steam, which helps form a crispy crust.
- Allow bread to cool completely before slicing to prevent gummy texture.
- Temperature adjustments may be needed based on your oven’s calibration.
- Keep dough covered during resting phases to prevent drying.
