Easy sourdough bread recipe for beginners that is so uncomplicated you don’t need to be intimidated! The best homemade sourdough bread is simple to make, always turns out and tastes absolutely amazing! No fancy equipment, or dictionary needed, this sour dough bread recipe will have you making bread in no time!
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Why Try Sourdough Bread?
Let me count the ways… Easy Sourdough Bread for Beginners recipe is so non-fuss that there is really no reason not to try baking sourdough! Okay, if you don’t have an oven, or have no flour or ingredients this recipe may not be for you. Otherwise, here are some reasons to try baking sourdough…
- Has a distinct flavor that takes it a step above yeast breads!
- Sourdough bread is chewier, making it perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches, garlic bread and french toast!
- Healthier than yeast breads with less gluten and many other health benefits!
- Slower to break down in your body, so better for blood sugar!
- Smells heavenly when baking!
- Did I mention the taste? 🥰
I will simplify baking sourdough so that even those of us who have no culinary degree of any sort can bake an amazing loaf of homemade sourdough bread!
Making bread with sourdough starter is very forgiving. You do not need to weigh out all of the ingredients or read a 50 page manual to bake this easy sourdough bread recipe! You really go more by instinct and feel, touch, see, and smell than intellect when baking sourdough bread. If you don’t believe me, just try it and you will eventually realize that sourdough bread making is something that you get a feel for.
Sourdough Bread Made in Loaf Pans?
For this bread recipe, I use loaf pans. I do also use Easy Sourdough Bread For Beginners recipe, and shape the loaves into French bread or round loaves and bake on an insulated cookie sheet. This recipe will work with whatever shape you want the loaves to be, but the baking time will change depending whether you use loaf pans or bake the loaves on a baking sheet. Just go more by temperature and look to tell when your bread is finished baking. I like to use loaf pans most of the time because then the slices of sourdough bread are the perfect size and shape for toasting or making French toast!
What is Sourdough?
Sourdough is a bread that is made using a fermented starter. Then, when the sourdough starter is mixed with other ingredients, the gases from the slow fermentation is what causes the bread to rise. Sourdough bread does not require yeast, but uses a live culture. The bread has a slightly tangy, almost nutty flavor and can be made into any kind of bread product. You can also use sourdough starter in a variety of recipes from pancakes, to muffins etc. The live bacterial culture helps break down the gluten in flour, causing bread made with sourdough to be easier to digest.
Okay, so Tell Me The First Step to Baking Easy Sourdough Bread For Beginners!
First of all, you need a good starter. I got mine from my sister, who was on a healthy diet and into making sourdough! So, if you know anyone who is into sourdough, this is the easiest way to obtain a starter! If not, it really is easy to make your own starter. You could use this great tutorial from King Arthur Baking. My sister did use Rye flour for her starter, which really is recommended. Apparently, the whole grain flours have more of the natural flora and fauna that will grow your very own friendly bacteria in a jar! Once the starter is active, you can switch to all purpose flour for the feeding and maintaining of your new little life. The third option for obtaining a good starter is to buy some. There are multiple people selling dried sourdough starter on the internet.
Important to Keep Your Starter Alive!
Yes, you need to feed your starter, just like a little pet, only less messy! Some people do name their starter, this is totally up to you… I don’t since I might get devastated if I actually destroyed it! 😏I am super relaxed about this step, since my sourdough starter doesn’t bark or meow to remind me to feed it, and just sits quietly in the refrigerator.
If I am baking often, I will leave the starter on the counter and feed it once or twice every day. Usually about 1/4 cup of flour with an equal amount of water. Sometimes I throw some sugar in it as well. If, on the other hand, You’re not going to bake for a week or more, store the starter in the fridge. Still feed it every few days when you remember.
Some recipes tell you to dump off half of the starter before feeding, this is not necessary. You can do this step if you want but the only reason they say this is so that you don’t end up with a huge amount of starter. You can also use the discard sourdough starter in multiple recipes, pretty much any recipe that has flour in it.
Oh No, I Neglected My Sourdough Starter, Now What?
Like I said, Sourdough is very forgiving! It is easy to revive your sourdough starter, as long as it doesn’t have mold growing on it! Just start feeding, and feed every few hours, until it is looking and smelling good again. If there is a brown watery layer that smells like vinegar, you may want to dump that before reviving, to make the restoration of healthy sourdough starter quicker.
When Your Sourdough Starter is Ready.
You can tell the sourdough starter is ready to use once it has become bubbly and doubled in size. It should smell yeasty. The cooler your house is, the longer it’ll take for the starter to activate and grow. There is a float test you can do to test your starter: When your starter is bubbly, drop about 1 tsp into a glass of water. If it floats it’s ready.
💌Please note-My pictures show multiple loaves and this recipe is for only 2 loaves. I always make large batches of sourdough bread because my large family can chow down a LOT of bread!!
Ingredients for Easy Sourdough Bread for Beginners
- Sourdough Starter, either homemade, borrowed or purchased.
- Water
- Milk, for this bread recipe, I do use milk and butter for the yum factor!
- Sugar, just a tablespoon, again, a flavor thing. Adding sugar also speeds up the development of yeast. This bit of sugar does counteract the sour of the sourdough so if you prefer a more sour loaf of bread, just omit the sugar.
- Salt
- Melted Butter, I use salted butter. This just gives the finished sourdough bread a slightly buttery flavor which I absolutely love!!
- Flour, I use all purpose, but you can use whatever kind of flour you prefer. It may change the rising time, but you are going by looks and feel more than the clock anyways.
How to Make Easy Sourdough Bread For Beginners
1.Have the starter at room temperature to begin. In a large bowl, mix the starter, water, milk, sugar, salt and melted butter.
2. Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well. I start with a whisk and then use a spatula or my hands when the dough gets thick.
3. Knead gently until the dough forms a rough looking ball.
4. Then, cover with a clean, damp tea towel, and let rest for 30-60 minutes. This is called Autolyse and it just helps start the formation of gluten, plus will cause a lot of other magical chemical changes. Once the bread dough has finished resting, do a series of folds. Fold about 10 times, then wait 30 minutes, fold again and repeat this for a total of 4 folds. This is not mandatory but gives the bread more strength and a smoother texture.
5. Let the dough sit for a few hours, this is the bulk rise. Cover the bowl of dough with a damp tea towel. (Be sure to wash and then grease the bowl before putting the dough in for the bulk rise.)
6. Grease 2 bread loaf pans. Divide the dough evenly, using a scale.
7. Shape the dough into loaves and place into the loaf pans. This is when you can either let it rise or pop it into the refrigerator overnight. Place saran wrap, then a damp tea towel on top of the loaves.
8. Let the loaves rise at room temperature until doubled. This can take anywhere from 2-7 hours depending how warm your house is and whether you refrigerated the dough.
9. Preheat oven to 400°F with convection setting or 425°F if not convection. Place a pan with water on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F for 10 more minutes and check the temperature with a thermometer. If it is 200°F, your sourdough bread is finished baking. If your bread is not finished yet, bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the temperature is 200°F.
10. Immediately remove the bread loaves to a wire cooling rack.
⏰Sample Timeline of Baking Easy Sourdough Bread for Beginners ⏰
Night before baking: take starter out of the refrigerator and feed it, leave it out on the counter.
6:20 a.m. Mix the dough ingredients, let sit for at least 30 minutes.
7:00a.m. Do the first fold, then every 30 minutes until you have done 4 folds.
9:15 a.m. Place in the greased bowl, covered with a damp cloth for the bulk rise.
1:30 p.m. Shape into loaves and place into greased loaf pans. Cover with a damp towel. This is when you can place the sourdough loaves into the refrigerator overnight! When you get up, take them out of the fridge and let rise before baking.
4:00 p.m. Bake the bread and cool on wire cooling racks.
5:30 p.m. Eat the sourdough bread!!
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Recipes to Eat With Easy Sourdough Bread!
Add in Ideas For Other Flavors! 🤩
When adding optional ingredients, fold them into the dough when you are doing the final fold. Just squeeze them and fold them into the sourdough until well mixed in.
- My absolute favorite add ins are jalapenos and cheddar!
- Cinnamon and raisins is delish too!
- Here are some more amazing ideas I have yet to try! 6 Sourdough Add-In Ideas To Take Your Basic Loaf to the Next Level by Heather Reid!
Ingredients
Instructions
Have the starter at room temperature to begin. In a large bowl, mix the starter, water, milk, sugar, salt and melted butter.
Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well. I start with a whisk and then use a spatula or my hands when the dough gets thick.
Knead gently until the dough forms a rough looking ball.
Then, cover with a clean, damp tea towel, and let rest for 30-60 minutes. This is called Autolyse and it just helps start the formation of gluten, plus will cause a lot of other magical chemical changes. Once the bread dough has finished resting, do a series of folds. Fold about 10 times, then wait 30 minutes, fold again and repeat this for a total of 4 folds. This is not mandatory but gives the bread more strength and a smoother texture.
Let the dough sit for a few hours, this is the bulk rise. Cover the bowl of dough with a damp tea towel. (Be sure to wash the bowl, then grease it before placing the dough in it for the bulk rise.)
Grease 2 bread loaf pans. Divide the dough evenly, using a scale.
Shape the dough into loaves and place into the loaf pans. This is when you can either let it rise or pop it into the refrigerator overnight. Place saran wrap, then a damp tea towel on top of the loaves.
Let the loaves rise at room temperature until doubled. This can take anywhere from 2-7 hours depending how warm your house is and whether you refrigerated the dough.
Preheat oven to 400°F with convection setting or 425°F if not convection. Place a pan with water on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350°F for 10 more minutes and check the temperature with a thermometer. If it is 200°F, your sourdough bread is finished baking. If your bread is not finished yet, bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the temperature is 200°F.
Immediately remove the bread loaves to a wire cooling rack.
Serving Size 1 slice
Servings 28
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 115kcal
- Calories from Fat 34kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 2.99g5%
- Sodium 114mg5%
- Potassium 40mg2%
- Total Carbohydrate 18g6%
- Dietary Fiber 2g8%
- Sugars 1g
- Protein 4g8%
- Vitamin A 5 IU
- Calcium 2 mg
- Iron 6 mg
- Thiamin 15 mg
- Folate 15 mcg
- Phosphorus 4 mg
- Selenium 15 mg
- Manganese 9 mg
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
- If your starter has been dormant in the refrigerator, pull it out and revive it with a few feeds before baking with it.
- Don't be too heavy handed with your sourdough, just do the 10 folds each time, this is not the same as kneading yeast breads.
- For a softer sourdough, just add more water to the dough mixture.
- If at first you don't succeed, try, try again, it can take some practice to master sourdough bread making but it really isn't hard to do!
- Adding sugar will give extra rise to the sourdough.
- If you do discard, use it in multiple recipes to add a tasty touch!
