Name: Easy Sourdough Bread
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1 cup active, bubbly sourdough starter; 2 tsp salt; 3 1/2 cups flour; 1 cup water

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This easy sourdough bread is a delicious, mildly tangy bread full of health benefits and simple, basic ingredients. This bread can be made overnight or within one day’s time without any folding and stretching at all!

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I absolutely love sourdough. The flavor, the health benefits, and the fact that I’m able to have yeast without actually buying it all are really amazing to me! Sourdough is something that has been around for a long time. It was a traditional way to create bread and other leavened foods without the availability of the instant yeast that we’re used to today. I’m always excited about making something that I know my ancestors also made. In some way, it makes me feel a connection to them. The fact that I am doing something that my great-great-great grandmother might have done, in the same way, is really special to me.

It feels like many people are making sourdough this really scary hard-to-do thing. It’s really not! I promise you that the early pioneers weren’t spending their entire day glued to the kitchen folding and stretching one loaf of bread. There just wasn’t time for such nonsense, and there isn’t on my homestead either. This recipe for sourdough bread is simple and easy and gives you delicious bread without all the fuss.

The Most Important Ingredient for Easy Sourdough Bread
Supplies
Process
Uses for easy sourdough bread
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More sourdough posts to check out:

The Most Important Ingredient for Easy Sourdough Bread

The most important ingredient you’ll need for this easy sourdough bread is an active sourdough starter.

An active sourdough starter is referring to a starter that is bubbly and doubled in size. It is known as being active because the bacteria and yeast organisms living within the starter are actively working and feeding off off the flour. Their breathing and eating activities create gases, which then form the air bubbles. Isn’t that crazy!? You’ll know your sourdough is active if a spoonful dropped into water floats up to the top.

Now, you can purchase sourdough starters that are already active and happy, which I think is really quite cool! There are options available on Etsy or Amazon, or I suggest finding someone local to see if they’d be willing to sell some of their starter. If you’re in my neck of Wisconsin, I sell my starter in 4 ounce containers for $5.

The other option is to create your own sourdough starter from scratch. Now, this really isn’t as difficult as you might think- it’s literally just flour and water! That’s it! Sourdough starter is formed through a fermentation process that’s super simple. It does take a little while to get a colony of yeast started, but once you’ve got it established, the maintenance is pretty low key.

I have a whole post that I put together here about starting a sourdough starter. Check it out if this sounds like something you’d like to try!

Supplies

Sourdough bread is a traditional food and has been around for a long time. People have been making this bread for thousands of years! With that in mind, know that there really aren’t a lot of necessary supplies to make this easy sourdough bread. All you really need is:

Large bowl
Rubber Spatula
Dutch Oven
Parchment Paper
(optional) Apron– I just think this one’s really cute!

Process

active sourdough starter for sourdough bread

The process of making sourdough bread is a bit longer than if you’d just bake a bread using commercial yeast. The natural yeast in the air take a little bit longer to work! However, I think you’ll find yourself in amazement once you see that dough begin to rise for the first time!

There are four main steps to this easy sourdough bread: dough mixing, bulk rise, kneading/shaping, and baking. That doesn’t sound too bad, does it?!

Step One: Mixing the dough

To begin, you will mix all of your ingredients together (which is just your sourdough starter, salt, sweetener, water, and flour- cup by cup). This is the first step!

You’ll want to mix your dough together until it is tacky, but doesn’t stick to your hands. In my opinion, this is the hardest part of the whole process. Experienced bread makers go by feel, and the more often you make bread, the easier it will be to feel when the dough is ready! You’ll keep adding cups of flour until you reach this desired consistency. Too much flour, and your bread will be tough and dry. Too little flour, and it will be too sticky to shape. This is the reason you add your flour one cup at a time.

As it starts to thicken and form a less sticky dough, remove it from the bowl and place on a clean countertop covered with flour.

Knead the dough, adding more flour, a little at a time, if the dough becomes sticky. Knead the dough by pushing down on the ball firmly with the palm of your hand, and then folding over the “higher” spots that have not been pushed down to shape it into a ball. Flip the ball over and repeat the process. The dough should be smooth, tacky yet not stick to your hands, and easy to shape. When you get to this point, you’re ready for step two!

Step Two: Bulk Rise

Once you’ve formed your dough into a ball, grease your mixing bowl that you had just used and return your ball to the bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel, and set aside for rising. You will want it to double in size, which should take between 4-8 hours. Placing it in a warm spot will help this process go faster. Cold will slow it down.

Step Three: Shape the Dough

Now that you have a beautiful, airy, risen dough, it’s time to punch it down! Yes, this seems counterproductive, but it’s not. Punching it down gives the yeast more time to do its important work.

Punch down the bread dough and form it into a ball. Knead the dough by stretching it out, then folding it back in around the ball. Press down on the dough with the palm of your hand, building resistance by pressing it firmly against the countertop as you stretch the dough. Repeat for at least 5 minutes. If it gets sticky, add a little flour to your hands and the dough.

Form the dough back into a ball and score a line down the middle. You can add other fancy designs too if you’d like! Place it on parchment paper and get ready to bake!

Step Four: Baking

Now it’s time to bake! Place your bread into the Dutch oven with the cover on. Then, place the Dutch oven into the not-preheated oven. Turn on your oven, setting the temperature to 450 degrees. By placing the unbaked bread into the cold oven and allowing it to warm up as the oven warms, you’re giving the yeast a little more time to work before it gets too hot and kills them.

Once the oven has been preheated, set your timer for 30 minutes. Remove the cover from the Dutch oven and continue to bake an additional 10-15 minutes. Your bread will be done when it is golden brown on top and sounds hollow when you tap the top of it. It should have an internal temperature of 205-210 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brush your warm bread with butter and allow it to sit in the pan for 15-30 minutes. Then, remove it from the pan and place on a cooling rack to prevent condensation from causing a soggy bread bottom!

Uses for easy sourdough bread

We use this bread any way you’d use store bread (though it is so much better). It is great as a side to casseroles, hotdishes, soups (like this Creamy Potato Chowder), and stews, and makes great sandwiches. My favorite way to eat this, though, is as toast! It is just so delicious that way! If it gets stale, it can be turned into stuffing, croutons, or French toast.

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Yield: 1 loaf