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I’m often asked if I have an easy sourdough bread recipe—a hands-off recipe so simple that all you need to do is mix the dough, let it rest while you’re at work or going about your day, and shape and bake the loaf when you get home. This Easy Sourdough Bread is that recipe. It doesn’t get any easier, resulting in a delicious, crusty loaf of homemade bread.
This recipe will change your mind if you think sourdough doesn’t fit into your busy life. You can enjoy fresh, naturally leavened sourdough bread at home and say goodbye to store-bought loaves. Trust me—it’s so much better!
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Recipe
- So Easy – This is an easy sourdough recipe similar to my Beginner Sourdough Bread that will result in a delicious sourdough loaf in just a few simple steps. Or if you’re looking for a quicker discard version – try my 3 hour Easy Discard Sourdough Bread.
- Crispy Crust and Soft Middle – You’ll love how this bread has a crisp crust and soft middle similar to my more advanced Sourdough Artisan Bread recipe.
- Versatile – Get creative with adding inclusions to your bread, making this master recipe a keeper!
- Flavorful – There’s nothing better tasting than a hearty loaf of sourdough bread. This loaf has a slight tang to it or you can adjust the sourdough flavor to make it more or less tangy.
Why This Recipe Works
Easy Sourdough Bread is made with a ripe, bubbly, and active sourdough starter instead of instant or dry active yeast. Make your own sourdough starter, purchase one, or find a friend who will share some with you.
This is an easy, uncomplicated, beginner-friendly sourdough recipe. It uses a smaller percentage of starter in the dough than my Beginner Sourdough Bread which allows the long fermentation time to rise throughout the day (or overnight if you prefer). This sourdough recipe produces a loaf with a closed crumb that is soft and tender. It requires little to no hands-on time.
If you are a complete sourdough newbie, I recommend learning a little about how sourdough works with my FREE Sourdough Beginner Guides and starting with my Beginner Sourdough Recipe that will help you understand how sourdough works and teach you simple sourdough techniques.
From there, I would branch out and try this Easy Sourdough Recipe. Or if you REALLY want to learn the art of sourdough with a more open-crumb and beautiful scoring, this Sourdough Artisan Bread recipe is my go-to, the one I make the most in my home. You may also be interested in my online sourdough course that goes at your own pace, includes a Q&A forum, and gets you making incredible sourdough quickly!
This easy sourdough recipe works because it is mixed in a matter of minutes and left to rise throughout the day (or overnight). Once it doubles in size it is shaped, rises and puffs up a little bit more and then is baked. You can mix the dough in the morning and shape and bake it when you get home in the evening. It is simple. And it can fit into your life. I honestly believe that you deserve to be eating incredible bread – you can do it!
Important Ingredients
With only FOUR ingredients, this sourdough bread is better for you than any store-bought version with many more ingredients – not to mention the benefits from the sourdough fermentation process!
- Active Sourdough Starter – Make your own, get some from a friend, or purchase one.
- Bread Flour – I use good quality bread flour with 12-12.5% protein content. All-purpose flour can also work in this recipe if that’s all you have.
- Water – Use warm water to warm up your dough or cool water to cool it down so it can stay in the 76-78ºF temperature range.
- Salt – I use table salt.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Substitutions
There’s not much in the way of substitutions when you are working with only a few ingredients!
- All-Purpose Flour: I like the chewy, fluffy crumb bread flour produces, but all-purpose flour can work well too.
- Sourdough Starter: If you want to make this recipe with instant yeast instead of sourdough starter, you can substitute about 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast for the sourdough starter in this recipe and add an extra 30 grams of flour and 30 grams of water.
- Mix-Ins: This loaf is delicious with a little fresh rosemary or other herbs sprinkled in after the first rise and right before shaping the dough. Or check out my Top 10 Sourdough Add-Ins for more mix-in inspiration.
Sourdough Baker’s Timeline
Because working with a sourdough starter can be unfamiliar and new at first, I include sourdough sample schedules in my sourdough recipes. These schedules are not meant to be followed exactly but rather give you an idea of a timeline – which is very dependent on the temperature of your dough/starter and the activity of your starter.
Note: The schedule assumes a dough temperature of 76-78ºF. I hope it’s helpful to you.
| Day 1 | |
| 8:00 PM – 8:00 AM | Feed your Sourdough Starter Let Rise Overnight at 78ºF |
| Day 2 | |
| 8:00 AM | Mix the Dough |
| 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM | First Rise or Bulk Fermentation (76-78ºF) |
| 6:00 PM | Shape Dough Proof (Second Rise) at 78ºF |
| 8:00 PM | Bake |
How to Maintain Sourdough Temperature: If you are having issues keeping your dough or starter warm enough for it to activate, try a bread-proofing mat, bread proofer or use some of the ideas in my guide on how temperature affects sourdough. You can also increase the amount of starter in your dough to help with colder temperatures. For warmer ambient temperatures, use cold water, your refrigerator and less starter in your dough.
How to Make Easy Sourdough Bread
Feed Your Starter
Step 1: Feed Your Starter. This recipe requires a ripe, active starter that has doubled in size. Feed your starter before you want to use it by mixing together flour, water, and starter. (Images 1 & 2)
Note: The ratios of flour, water, and starter can be adjusted so that your sourdough starter will double in the timeframe that works for you. If you want to feed your starter overnight, mix together 5-10 grams of ripe/over-ripe starter with 50 grams of flour and 50 of grams water. IF kept at a warm 78ºF temperature, the starter will be doubled in 10-12 hours. If your temperature is colder, you will need to feed a larger amount of starter to have your starter double overnight.
Mix the Dough
Step 2: Mix the Dough. Combine ripe sourdough starter, water, salt, and flour (Images 3 & 4). Mix together with a dough whisk or your hands until a shaggy dough forms (Images 5 & 6).
Amy’s Note: This recipe doesn’t call for traditional kneading. Gluten strands form just by mixing flour with water. This makes this sourdough loaf HANDS OFF with no kneading. If you’d like to add some traditional stretch and folds (kneading), make my Beginner Sourdough Bread and learn how to knead a sourdough loaf.
First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
Step 3: Bulk Fermentation: Cover dough and let rise in a warm place for 10-12 hours until it has doubled in size (Images 7 & 8).
Note: Your dough should be kept at 76-78ºF to be ready in 10-12 hours. You want your dough to double in size here, but not start to fall back down. If your temperature is warmer or cooler than 76-78ºF, you will need to add more time to allow for a rise or shape the dough a little earlier – right after it doubles in size.
Shape and Proof the Dough
Step 4: Shape the Dough. Get your hands slightly damp. Dump the dough on the counter and your hands to gently roll the dough into a round ball, using the counter and a bench scraper if needed to help shape your dough into a ball. (Images 9 & 10). Place the ball of dough on a piece of parchment paper. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a larger kitchen bowl and let the dough rise for 1-2 more hours until puffed up and risen a little.
Score and Bake the Loaf
Step 5: Score & Bake. Score your loaf by making two slashes on top of the bread with a sharp knife (Image 11). Prepare to bake by preheating a Dutch oven at 500ºF for 20 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 450ºF and place the dough in the Dutch oven (including the parchment paper). Bake the bread for 25 minutes with the lid on, and then for 20 minutes with the lid off (Images 12 & 13). Remove from the Dutch oven to a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing and enjoying (Image 14).
Do I have to use a Dutch Oven? I find a Dutch Oven the easiest way to trap steam in your home oven for beginner sourdough bakers. Alternatively, you can let your dough rise until almost doubled and bake on a baking sheet with a pan of ice cubes underneath the loaf for the first half of the bake as detailed in my guide to baking sourdough. Or use one of my new favorite ways – baking your sourdough bread in a loaf pan.
How to Store Leftovers
Store leftover sourdough bread in an air-tight container or bread bag at room temperature for a day or two. After that freeze the loaf or bread slices (put a piece of parchment in between each slice if desired) for best results. Bread can stay frozen for up to a couple of months.
Amy’s Recipe Tips
How You Maintain Your Starter Matters: Good sourdough starts with a good sourdough starter. A well-maintained sourdough starter that is frequently refreshed will give you the best loaf of bread.
Use Active Starter: Sourdough starter that has doubled in size, peaked and is just starting to fall back down is going to have the most wild yeast and least amount of acid carryover into your bread – which will result in the best loaf of sourdough.
Temperature Matters: The temperature of your dough (and starter) will affect how quickly your dough will rise. It’s okay to stick a thermometer in your dough so you know exactly what your temperature is – it may surprise you!
Use a Scale: I know, I know. You don’t want to use a scale to measure your flour, water and salt. I get it! I grew up using cup measurements too. BUT, sourdough has taught me how inaccurate cup measurements really are.
Everyone measures a cup of flour differently and when you are working with a higher hydration (more water) dough, it can be difficult to go by “feel” until you have quite a few loaves under your belt. I do include cup measurements in this recipe if you don’t have your scale yet, but I highly recommend using a scale for best results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! See my post for how to make artisan sourdough bread in a loaf pan. It’s become one of my new favorite and easy ways to bake sourdough.
Sourdough typically requires gentle strengthening through coil folds or stretch and folds, but it doesn’t have to! This recipe is specifically developed for anyone who wants to make sourdough fit in with their busy life. It produces a tasty loaf with all the fermentation benefits of sourdough and without all the time. Just mix it, let it rise, shape it, another short rise and bake it!
This could happen for a couple of reasons:
1. This is a higher hydration dough – that means it has a lot of water in it. It is supposed to be a little bit sticky. To help with that, use damp hands when shaping the dough. It will take a little bit of practice, but you will get the hang of it. A bench scraper in one hand also helps in shaping the loaf into a ball. Avoid adding extra flour to the dough if possible. The wet dough produces a soft crumb and crispy crust.
If you still find your dough too sticky, decrease the water by about 10-20 grams the next time you mix your dough.
2. The dough may have over-proofed. If your dough doubled in size and then started to fall back down, it may be over-proofed. I sometimes think of my dough as one big sourdough starter. Once the dough reaches its doubled height, you want to shape it. If it continues to ferment without being shaped, it will produce acid which will make the dough difficult to shape and very sticky. At that point, I would turn it into focaccia bread with some oil on the bottom of a pan OR shape it and bake it – it may turn out a little flat but should taste delicious.
Even though this dough is a high hydration dough (it has more water than a sourdough sandwich bread), it isn’t quite high enough hydration to produce an open/airy crumb. I developed this loaf to be an easy way to get sourdough on your table for someone who thinks they don’t have time for homemade bread. If you want to be able to score your loaf and have an open crumb, you’ll want to use my recipe for traditional sourdough bread.
This is my version of an “un-loaf” or a loaf that doesn’t follow all the “rules” of sourdough. But the thing is, it actually does follow the rules! You just have to make the sourdough rules work for you. There are many ways to make a great loaf of sourdough bread and if you understand a little bit of the science behind it, which I go over in my sourdough beginner guide, you will learn how to troubleshoot and make the bread that you want to make.
And as far as an “un-loaf” goes, I don’t ever advocate using sourdough discard as the leavening agent in a loaf of bread. If you are making a long-fermented sourdough loaf, you’ll get the most consistent results by feeding your starter and using it when it’s active. Save the discard for the chocolate chip cookies, crispy sourdough crackers and other favorite sourdough discard recipes.
More Easy Sourdough Recipes
If you tried this Easy Sourdough Bread or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!
Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe
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Equipment
- bowl with cover
- kitchen scale optional, but recommended
- bench scraper optional
Ingredients
- 60 grams sourdough starter, ripe, bubbly and active, see recipe notes, about 1/4 cup
- 340 grams water, about 1 1/3 cup plus 2 Tablespoons
- 10 grams salt, about 1 1/2 teaspoons
- 500 grams bread flour, or all-purpose flour, see recipe notes, about 3 2/3 cups
Instructions
- Feed Your Starter: If you already have active, bubbly sourdough starter, you can use it directly in this recipe. If your sourdough starter is not ripe, active and bubbly, it needs to be fed. I like to feed my sourdough starter overnight so it will rise while I'm sleeping and is ready to use in the morning. You can change up the ratios of flour, water and starter so your starter is ready when you want it to be.Here's an example: Take 5-10 grams of ripe or over-ripe starter and feed it 50 grams flour and 50 grams water. Set it in a warm 76-78ºF place and let it ferment for 10-12 hours until ripe, bubbly, active, doubled in size and ready to be used in a recipe.
- Mix Dough: In a large bowl, mix 60 grams of bubbly, active sourdough starter with 340 grams of water, 10 grams salt and 500 grams bread flour. Mix together with a wooden spoon, a dough whisk or your hands until a shaggy dough forms and all the flour is incorporated.
- First Rise/Bulk Fermentation: Cover the dough and set in a warm 76ºF place for 10-12 hours. During this time the dough will strengthen, rise and double in size.Note: You can change up this schedule to make your dough overnight instead of during the day if that helps your timeline.
- Shape: Once the dough has doubled in size, dump it on a clean countertop. Use lightly damp hands and a bench scraper (if desired) to shape the dough into a round ball by gently dragging the dough on the counter, one hand on each side, as you shape it. The dough may be a little bit sticky – that is normal. Place the dough ball on a piece of parchment paper.Note: It's important to shape the dough right after it doubles in size. If your dough has doubled in size and started to fall back down, it may be over-proofed and feel overly sticky and wet. At this point you can do your best to shape it and proceed with the recipe (it may bake up a little flat) OR turn it into focaccia bread – oiling a metal pan and stretching the dough, letting it rise and then dimpling and baking it.
- Proof (Second Rise): Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a larger kitchen bowl upside down on top of the dough. Let rise for 1-2 hours until relaxed and puffed up.
- Score and Bake: Place a Dutch oven into your oven. Preheat the oven and Dutch oven to 500ºF for 20 minutes. Score the top of your bread with a sharp knife with one or two slashes.Take the dutch oven out of the oven. Warning: This is a VERY HOT dutch oven. Keep those oven mitts on and be very careful not to burn yourself. Take the top off the dutch oven and place the dough and parchment paper into the dutch oven. Place the top back on the dutch oven and close the oven door. Immediately decrease the baking temperature to 450ºF and bake for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, take the top off the dutch oven and continue baking for 20 more minutes. The internal temperature of the bread should be 205ºF when finished baking.Note: This dough is not meant for intricate scoring. A few simple slashes will suffice. If you want to make a loaf with intricate scoring, try my more advanced sourdough bread recipe.
- Pull the bread out of the oven and place on a cooling rack. Wait until cool to cut into it. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My go to sourdough bread recipe that’s simple and easy to follow!
It’s a great go-to recipe! Enjoy!
Amazingly easy and the fastest way to get into this sourdough bread making business
It really is easy an delicious!
Hi Amy can I make this into a loaf..?
In a loaf pan instead of a Dutch oven? Yes – I’d follow the steps in this guide for how to bake sourdough in a loaf pan. Happy baking!
This is a good recipe for the beginner baker. Having never baked bread of any kind before, I found the instructions easy to follow and was blessed with beautiful and tasty bread. I am on my 5th loaf now and perfecting the process. I am really enjoying the journey.
I’m glad it was easy and delicious! Thanks for the review.
Can this dough be used for baguettes? I’m not fond of the round pot shape. Normally, I use a clay bread baker in the loaf shape, but have been trying to use your recipes as written.
You can definitely shape this into an oval shape. I like to use an oval shaped banneton and bake in a large round Dutch oven. I prefer that shape for slicing (I find it’s better for sandwiches, etc.). If you are looking for a baguette recipe specifically, try this Sourdough Baguette Recipe.
Hi Amy,
I am looking for advice. I want to get into making sourdough but all that I read says whole wheat is important for sourdough. I can’t have wheat. Are there any other healthy types of flours that would be gut beneficial and work in your recipe but not hurt my stomach like the wheat?
Appreciate your thoughts and love your articles!!
We don’t have gluten free recipes, and that isn’t our expertise. I’ve heard other bakers that have made and maintain a gluten-free starter with brown rice flour or King Arthur’s gluten free flour, but I haven’t tried it myself. Good luck!
I made this today! Absolutely love it!!
The recipe was very easy to follow. I also liked that it was not complicated to make. I will be making this often. Thank you for so many great recipes.
Thanks for the review! I’m glad your bread turned out great.
I was given this recipe and starter from my daughter.
I reread the recipe several times and had a huge success with my first loaf.
thank you for sharing
I’m glad your first loaf turned out great. Enjoy!
Just took the bread out of the oven it looks great. I wanted to know if you could just swap out the bread flour with whole wheat flour I’m interested in making a whole wheat loaf any suggestions?
You can try this Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread or this Half Whole Wheat Artisan Bread or this Honey Whole Wheat Sourdough Artisan Bread. But yes, you can experiment with swapping out half or all of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. Keep in mind that whole wheat flour moves faster through the bulk fermentation, so it is easy to overproof a whole wheat loaf. Happy baking!
loving this bread! it’s been a great recipe to learn about sourdough! For the salt, it references 10 g or 1.5 tsp…but 1.5 tsp isn’t even close to 10 g? Can you clarify if 10 g of salt is correct to weigh out? I’ve just been measuring the 1.5 tsp (I weigh all other ingredients) and its still been tasty. Thanks!
Most kitchen scales struggle with smaller gram measurements (unless you have a really nice and really precise kitchen scale). I’d use the teaspoon measurement for the salt if that is working for you!
This was perfect. So thankful for the video you posted. My family loved the loaf and I looked like a star! So easy. So good. Can’t wait to try more. Thanks Amy!
Thanks for the review! I’m glad it turned out great!