How to Bake Sourdough Bread on a Grill

I love using my grill as the weather warms up for delicious dinners and eating outdoors. And guess what – you can bake sourdough bread on a grill too! If you’ve wondered about adapting sourdough bread for the summer, then you’ve come to the right place. This guide will tell you all you need to know about how to bake sourdough bread on your grill in the summertime.

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Summer is a GREAT time to Make Sourdough

Summer is one of the best times to work with sourdough. The wild yeast and bacteria are happy and active because the temperatures are typically warmer. Your dough proofs faster, and I feel like I always have active starter on hand—ready to use in a recipe. The only hangup: the oven! It can be HOT. I tend to bake early in the morning or late in the evenings in the summer before the heat of the day hits, but sometimes I just don’t want to turn my oven on. Can you relate?

Enter: the GRILL! Grilling your sourdough bread instead of baking it in an oven takes a little bit of practice. The goal in baking any loaf of sourdough is getting a nice oven spring, a beautiful crumb and a crispy crust. We typically do this by steaming our oven or using a dutch oven, but you can also do this on the grill.

How to Bake Sourdough Bread on the Grill

Two Methods

To bake sourdough bread on the grill, you have a couple options – just like you do in a traditional oven.

1. Bake the bread in a dutch oven on the grill
2. Bake the bread on a baking stone or steel on the grill

Let me put a little disclaimer here: if you want picture perfect, “Instagram worthy” sourdough bread with blistering crust and a beautiful score – you may want to stick to your regular oven or try the dutch oven method. There is a learning curve to baking on a grill – so prepare yourself! If you just want really good sourdough bread to eat that’s baked outside and are only concerned about the taste, then the bread baked without a dutch oven will work great for you.

Dutch Oven Method

This method of baking sourdough on a grill requires a dutch oven. The timing assumes the dough being baked is around 800-900 grams in weight.

1. Place the dutch oven on the grill.
2. Preheat the grill and dutch oven to 500ºF.
3. Place your dough inside the dutch oven.
4. Turn the burners off that are directly underneath the dutch oven, keeping the other burners on. This will provide indirect heat to bake your dough and keep the bottom of the loaf from burning. You may have to increase the temperature of the other burners to compensate for loss of heat on one side. If your grill has more space between the rack and the heat, you may not need this step.
5. Put the lid on the dutch oven and bake for 25 minutes, maintaining the heat of your grill right around 450ºF throughout the bake.
6. After 25 minutes, take the lid off the dutch oven and continue baking for another 20 minutes. The inside of the dough should register 205-210ºF when baked completely.

Baking Stone/Steel Method

This method of baking sourdough on a grill requires a baking stone or baking steel. The timing assumes the dough being baked is around 800-900 grams in weight.

1. Pre-heat your stone/steel to 500ºF on the grill.
2. Prepare a pan of warm water to place on the grill next to the baking stone.
3. Place your dough on a piece of parchment paper. Score the dough.
4. Sprinkle a little rice on the bottom of the baking steel or stone (this helps keep the bottom crust from burning).
5. Place the dough on the baking stone/steel. Place the pan of water next to it. Close the grill.
6. Turn the grill off on the side of the grill the bread is baking on. Leave the grill turned on for the other side. This produces indirect heat which will keep the bottom of your loaf from burning.
7. Bake for 25 minutes with the grill closed. Monitor the heat carefully – do your best to keep the temperature of the grill right around 450ºF.
8. After 25 minutes remove the pan of water from the grill. Close the grill and continue baking the bread for 20 more minutes. The inside of the dough should register 205-210ºF when baked completely.
9. If the bottom of your dough is pale and you want it more crispy, throw it on the flame/burner side of the grill to crisp it up for a few minutes.

Whatever method you choose, don’t let a hot summer keep you from making sourdough bread. It’s one of the best times of year to work with a sourdough starter!