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Recipes » Bread Recipes » Sourdough Bread Recipe

Sourdough Bread Recipe

Posted on April 29, 2020 By Chef Billy Parisi

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Learn how to make an absolutely delicious sourdough bread recipe every single time using my foolproof easy to follow steps.

I’m a huge homemade bread fan and perfecting the art of making it is incredibly fun.  If it doesn’t matter if I’m making Naan or a Kamut Flour Loaf, it’s always so rewarding.

sliced bread loaf

Sourdough

Just like I say for homemade pasta, there is nothing like homemade bread, nothing.  Sourdough is essentially the original leavened bread recipe using a natural yeast starter.  It has a unique slightly sour taste and when made correctly is packed with beautiful air pockets and an amazing outer crust.

While you may immediately think of San Francisco when it comes to sourdough bread, Egypt is the early creators of this.  Wild yeast would get into the dough mixes and when it baked, it rose to make it a leavened loaf.

What Make’s It Sour

The sour flavor in the bread comes from the fermentation process that takes place when preparing your starter.  When you incorporate that sour starter into the bread it also bulk ferments for several hours making it a tad sourer.

If you love that flavor and want it to be more intense than do not go through the starter discard process, simply add it in the morning straight to your bread after it autolysis.

Health Benefits of Sourdough Bread

There are incredible health benefits to making and eating it.  First and foremost, you use a few ingredients that are all-natural, which is always better than the bread from the store that has 27 things in it you can’t pronounce.

Sourdough is jam-packed with daily vitamins and minerals such as iron and Vitamin B.  To me the most important part is the natural probiotics that are in the bread to aid in digestion.

During the bulk fermentation process, the good bacteria that have been created in your starter will break down the gluten in your autolyzed dough making it easier to digest.  The result is a delicious bread that isn’t going to leave you bloated, and my personal belief is the gluten intolerant could most likely be able to eat and digest this.

What’s In It

There are only 3 ingredients in this recipe consisting of flour, water, and salt, that’s it.  With that being said, you will need to have an active starter before making this sourdough recipe.

What Do You Cook It In

The best thing to cook it in is a cast iron pan that has a very tight lid.  The tight lid is key to help to keep moisture in the pan when it is cooking which will assist in the crust, tenderness, and moistness in the loaf.

I am a huge fan of the Challenger bread pan as it is designed specifically for baking amazing bread.  Here are a few other things you can use:

  • Dutch oven pot with a lid
  • Lodge combo pan
  • High-temperature pot with a lid
  • Pizza stone with a pan of water on a separate rack
  • Cookie sheet pan

Tools Needed to Make It

Here is what you will need to make this sourdough:

  • Gram Scale
  • Large Bowl
  • Banneton
  • Kitchen Towel
  • Plastic Containers
  • Pot and Lid

How to Make It

Follow these foolproof steps to make delicious sourdough bread:

  1. Feed your starter and activate it by placing it in the oven, with only the oven light on and leaving the oven door cracked for about 4 hours or until it has at least doubled in size and is beginning to fall. (See chef notes below)

mixing together a sourdough starter in a plastic container

  1. Once the starter begins to fall begin the autolyse process by mixing together your flour and filtered water. Cover with a damp towel and place it in the oven next to your starter and autolyse for 30 minutes.

mixing together bread and water in a bowl to autolyse

  1. Add your starter to the dough and mix in, which takes about 90 seconds. Cover with a damp towel and place it in the oven and autolyse for 30 minutes.

mixing in sea salt to sourdough bread dough in a bowl

  1. Measure out and add the salt to the dough, wet your hands with bottled water, and mix it in until combined, which takes about 90 seconds. Cover with a damp towel and place it in the oven for 60 minutes.

mixing in sourdough starter to autolyse dough in a bowl

  1. Perform a series of folds to the dough for about 90 to 120 seconds to strengthen the gluten in the dough so that it will eventually hold shape. Cover with a damp towel and add it to the oven with the light on for 60 minutes and repeat this process 3 more times.

folding sourdough in a bowl

  1. After the last fold to the dough Cover with a damp towel and place it in the oven for only 30 minutes this time.

bowl of sourdough bread dough covered with a towel

  1. Remove the dough and place it directly on your countertop. Rub a little flour to the top using your hand and curl in the bottom of it using a bench knife to make it taught and tight on top.

forming bread dough on a countertop with a bench knife

  1. Flip the dough over and stretch out as much as you can to a rectangle shape.

stretched out dough on a countertop

  1. Fold the right side to the left side over to cover about 2/3 of the dough.

dough folded over

  1. Now fold the left side as much as you can over the right side.

folding dough overtop

  1. Starting from the bottom roll up the dough to the front pulling gently making it as taught and as tight as possible.

rolling sourdough into a loaf

  1. Transfer the dough seam side up into a lightly floured banneton.

adding formed sourdough bread dough to a bannetton

  1. Pinch together the seams to help create more air pockets in the bread and to aid in the rising process.

pinching together dough at the seams

  1. Cover in plastic, a towel or in a large plastic zip bag and refrigerate for 12-16 hours or up to 24 hours.

adding dough in a bannetton to a large plastic zip bag

  1. The next morning preheat your pan in the oven at 500° for 30 minutes and then remove the lid and sprinkle cornmeal onto the bottom of the hot pan and then also on top of the dough.

sprinkling cornmeal onto a hot preheated pan 

  1. Immediately flip the dough in the banneton over to the center of the hot pan.

adding the bread dough to the hot pan 

  1. Score the bread using a razor, sharp knife, or bread knife.

scoring sourdough bread 

  1. Place the lid onto the pan and bake for 20 minutes.

  1. Remove the lid and bake for 15 more minutes to help with brown the bread.

cooking the bread without the lid in the oven

  1. Cool on a rack to room

resting cooked bread on a rack

Recipe Chef Notes + Tips

The water temperature should be between 30-33° C or 87-93° F and can be warmed up in a pot or in the microwave.

Make-Ahead: You can make this bread up to 1 day ahead of time.

How to Store: Store this bread wrapped in parchment paper and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.  You can cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

To make a proofing environment if you don’t have a bread proofer, simply turn the light on in your oven and leave the door cracked.  It will be between 78° and 84° in there which is perfect.

What Is Autolyse: This is the process of mixing your flour with your warm water until combined and let the natural starches and sugars start to work before adding in your levain or yeast.  This helps the rising, forming, and overall bread-making process.

You will know when it’s time to begin the autolyse process when your starter begins to fall from its peak volume.

It’s important to use filtered water in making bread as too much chlorine in tap water will kill the starter.

The reason for using all-purpose flour in the recipe is because it is more commonly used and acquired in households, plus during the stay at home orders, it’s hard to get bread flour.

If you want to use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour, increase the amount of water by 5-10%.

When performing the folds be sure not to pull so hard you tear the dough.  Watch the video below to see how to properly do it.

Here are some affiliate links to the products I used in this video:

  • Plastic containers for starter
  • Bowls
  • Scale
  • Banneton
  • Kitchen towel
  • Challenger bread pan
  • Bench knife
  • Hefty bags
  • Bread scorer
  • Resting rack

sliced cooked sourdough bread and a whole loaf

More Amazing Bread Recipes

  • Artisan Bread
  • Boule
  • Dinner Rolls
  • White Loaf
  • Pita

Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest, and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!

Video

Whole loaf of sourdough bread with a bread towel
Print Recipe
5 from 14 votes

Sourdough Bread Recipe

Learn how to make an absolutely delicious sourdough bread recipe every single time using my foolproof easy to follow steps.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time35 mins
Resting Time21 hrs
Total Time21 hrs 55 mins
Course: Appetizer, bread
Cuisine: French
Servings: 4
Calories: 445kcal
Author: Chef Billy Parisi

Ingredients

For the Starter:

  • 75 grams of active starter
  • 55 grams all-purpose flour
  • 20 grams whole wheat flour
  • 75 grams warm water

For the Bread:

  • 350 grams all-purpose flour
  • 50 grams whole wheat flour
  • 75 grams fed starter
  • 14 grams sea salt
  • 275 grams warm water + extra for dipping

Instructions

  • Feed your starter and place in a warm place for 4 hours or until it has at least doubled in size and is beginning to fall. (See chef notes below)
  • Once the starter begins to fall being the autolyse process by mixing together your flour and filtered water. Cover with a damp towel and place it in the oven next to your starter and autolyse for 30 minutes.
  • Add your starter to the dough and mix in, which takes about 90 seconds. Cover with a damp towel and place it in the oven for 30 minutes.
  • Measure out and add the salt to the dough, wet your hands with bottled water, and mix it in until combined, which takes about 90 seconds. Cover with a damp towel, and place it in the oven for 60 minutes.
  • Perform a series of folds to the dough for about 90 to 120 seconds to strengthen the gluten in the dough so that it will eventually hold shape. Cover with a damp towel and place it in the oven for 60 minutes and repeat this process 3 more times.
  • After the last fold to the dough, cover with a damp towel and place it in the oven for only 30 minutes this time.
  • Remove the dough and place it directly on your countertop. Rub a little flour to the top using your hand and curl in the bottom of it using a bench knife to make it taught and tight on top.
  • Flip the dough over and stretch out as much as you can to a rectangle shape. Fold the right side to the left side over to cover about 2/3 of the dough. Now fold the left side as much as you can over the right side. Starting from the bottom roll up the dough to the front pulling gently making it as taught and as tight as possible.
  • Transfer the dough seam side up into a lightly floured banneton and pinch together the seams to help create more air pockets in the bread and to aid in the rising process.
  • Cover in plastic, a towel or in a large plastic zip bag and refrigerate for 12-16 hours or up to 24 hours.
  • The next morning, preheat your pan in the oven at 500° for 30 minutes.
  • Next, quickly sprinkle cornmeal into the bottom of the pan. In addition, sprinkle cornmeal to the top of the dough just to make sure it doesn’t stick.
  • Immediately flip the dough in the banneton over to the center of the hot pan and score the bread using a razor, sharp knife or bread knife.
  • Place the lid onto the pan and bake for 20 minutes.
  • Remove the lid and bake for 15 more minutes to help with brown the bread and cool on a rack to room temperature.

Notes

Chef Notes:
  • The water temperature should be between 30-33° C or 87-93° F and can be warmed up in a pot or in the microwave.
 
  • Make-Ahead: You can make this bread up to 1 day ahead of time.
 
  • How to Store: Store this bread wrapped in parchment paper and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
 
  • To make a proofing environment if you don’t have a bread proofer, simply turn the light on in your oven and leave the door cracked. It will be between 78° and 84° in there which is perfect.
 
  • What Is Autolyse: This is the process of mixing your flour with your warm water until combined and let the natural starches and sugars start to work before adding in your levain or yeast. This helps the rising, forming, and overall bread-making process.
 
  • You will know when it’s time to begin the autolyse process when your starter begins to fall from its peak volume.
 
  • It’s important to use filtered water in making bread as too much chlorine in tap water will kill the starter.
 
  • The reason for using all-purpose flour in the recipe is because it is more commonly used and acquired in households, plus during the stay at home orders, it’s hard to get bread flour.
 
  • If you want to use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour, increase the amount of water by 5-10%.
 
  • When performing the folds be sure not to pull so hard you tear the dough. Watch the video below to see how to properly do it.

Nutrition

Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 93g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1360mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 5mg
Sourdough Bread Recipe was last modified: June 24th, 2020 by Chef Billy Parisi

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joan says

    December 12, 2020 at 5:00 am

    Hi there, I will be trying your recipe today. I have tried several but yours seems to hit the mark. Just a question, if I wish to add caraway seeds at which stage should I do so?

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      December 12, 2020 at 6:42 am

      during the last fold

      Reply
  2. Lucy says

    December 11, 2020 at 6:15 am

    First time making sourdough bread, just want to clarify. Does the dough go straight from the fridge onto the hot pot?

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      December 11, 2020 at 6:26 am

      correct

      Reply
  3. Trish Kernen says

    September 28, 2020 at 12:37 pm

    5 stars
    I am new to sourdough baking and have not found success so far with respect to the rise or any luck with getting that traditional “ear”. With your recipe, everything came together so nicely, the starter was very active and the process right up to scoring the loaf was straight forward. I did switch out the whole wheat flour for ferdinand flour which is a stronger flour and only because I ran out of WW. The results were instagram worthy and I have two more in the autolyse stage! Thank you for making this a success for me and for giving me the confidence to keep baking. This recipe is a keeper.

    Reply
  4. Linda says

    September 17, 2020 at 2:59 am

    I have a lot of rye flour (which I feed my starter with). Would it be ok to substitute the 50g of whole-wheat flour in the recipe with 50g of rye flour?
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      September 17, 2020 at 8:34 am

      Yes!

      Reply
  5. Amy C says

    July 30, 2020 at 10:10 pm

    5 stars
    Great success with your recipe, the instructions were clear and helpful. I would be happy to see your folding technique for a round loaf.

    Reply
  6. yvette c conklin says

    July 27, 2020 at 11:06 pm

    5 stars
    I have a qn regarding your starter recipe which i made and then froze and then tried to reuse the other day after leaving it out for awhile and then feeding it to activate it….long story short, it just didn’t happen so I am starting from scratch. The starter I left in the refirdgerator and used a week later was great and responded well to being fed. Is freezing not ideal?

    Reply
  7. yvette c conklin says

    July 04, 2020 at 3:48 pm

    5 stars
    So I made this bread for the 2nd time and I feel it came out better than the first one…however, I noticed how your bread had lots of big air spaces, whereas mine had a few big ones and medium ones spread throughout …does that matter? Also how deep do you make your cut on the bread before putting in oven? Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Tabli says

      July 13, 2020 at 8:34 pm

      Hi Yvette
      Not sure if it will be a help afte a few days gone you posted this question. The cut doesn’t have to be deep. Its main function is to let gas pass with nice presentation. And I have found the cuts at an angle is better than the straight cut. I am still a novice bread baker and dont have answer for a slant vs straight :-).
      Enjoy your sourdough

      Reply
      • yvette c conklin says

        July 28, 2020 at 10:00 am

        Thank you so much for your response. Yes, it’ll help for sure!

        Reply
  8. Vivian says

    July 02, 2020 at 11:40 am

    5 stars
    Hi Chef Billy,
    Delicious sourdough recipe!! Thanks for making it easy for me making sourdough for the first time and i did it successfully. The only thing that didn’t out right was the bottom crust burned and black, i just cut it off before i ate it and it was still delicious. The only thing I didn’t do from your instructions was that i used rice flour instead of cornmeal and i used an enameled cast iron. Could i maybe lower the temperature a bit or lessen the time of baking, so as to not burn the bottom crust

    Reply
  9. Vivian says

    July 02, 2020 at 11:18 am

    5 stars
    Hi Chef Billy,
    Love this sourdough recipe thanks for teaching step by step instructions, amazing. I was able to make delicious sourdough bread for the first time. I followed your instructions and recipe exactly, except i used rice flour instead of cornmeal and used enameled castiron. The bread held its shape a little similar to yours except the bottom crust burned and black. What do you think happened, could it be that the temperature was too high for the dutch oven i used or could i bake it less time than what you indicated? Thanks

    Reply
  10. Ellen B says

    June 30, 2020 at 8:57 pm

    Well, I baked 3 loaves today and made sure I did all the steps as instructed. Used the same oven, pots, etc. but they did not rise much, and were heavy and did not brown. The crusts were not crispy , unlike the first batch.
    They seemed abit uncooked inside but chewy and tasty. Is there a way to salvage these? Rebake? Help! Thanks, Chef!

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      July 01, 2020 at 6:09 am

      If they’ve been sitting out for a while probably not, but if you just pulled them out of course.

      Reply
  11. Ellen b says

    June 28, 2020 at 10:17 pm

    5 stars
    My first time making sourdough and my family is begging for more! For more loaves, do I just double the recipe then divide in half when golfing or before going into the refrigerator? I’d love to make several loaves!
    Thank you so much for your clear instructions. The bread was fabulous!

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      June 29, 2020 at 6:33 am

      Yes you can double, just be sure to do a few extra folds to strengthen the gluten, or divide all the dough before performing your folds.

      Reply
  12. yvette says

    June 25, 2020 at 12:56 am

    HI from California,
    I am into day 3 of making your starter for sour dough bread and my question is once I use some of it for the bread, how much starter should I leave in the container and what are the amounts of flour/H20 to be added to it each time I feed it? I am using your starter dough recipe.

    Thank you!!
    BTW your Artisan loaf is terrific as are several of your other recipes I am making. Please keep them coming!!!

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      June 25, 2020 at 6:46 am

      you feed the starter the same every day with the same measurements of day 5.

      Reply
  13. Lisa says

    June 24, 2020 at 9:31 am

    5 stars
    Hi Billy,
    I’ve tried many sourdough recipes during this covid period and have had the most success with your recipe and instructions. Thank you! Could you please explain why you mention placing your dough next to the remaining starter through much of the process. And then what do you do with the starter afterwards? Thank you.
    Lisa

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      June 24, 2020 at 12:58 pm

      not sure what you mean, could explain a little more?

      Reply
      • Lisa says

        June 24, 2020 at 11:00 pm

        Step 3 mentions adding your starter to the dough, then placing the dough next to your starter in the oven. Could the remaining starter instead be refrigerated? Thank you.

        Reply
        • Chef Billy Parisi says

          June 25, 2020 at 6:45 am

          I must be losing it haha, I don’t see that?

          Reply
  14. eden says

    June 15, 2020 at 5:39 pm

    5 stars
    Wow, this bread was delicious – the most flavorful sourdough recipe i’ve made so far! i used an heirloom sonora flour, which the vendor said i could use in place of AP… since i didn’t quite get the best oven spring, i am assuming this is prob not quite accurate as when i was mixing the flours (i used 20 g wheat as you did), with the water, the dough seemed too dry (almost like a firm pie crust) and i probably should have hydrated it more in retrospect (even though i have no idea how much more water specifically to add 🙂 -you gave the increased ratio for bread flour, but not sure sonora wld be the same?

    Reply
  15. Donna says

    June 15, 2020 at 11:11 am

    5 stars
    I made your bread yesterday and it turned out great. I am wondering why I’ve seen so many recipes where you make the leaven and then throw 1/2 of it away. Can I just use the desired amount from my already fed and active starter, instead? Mine also stayed pretty slack even after all the stretching and folding. Why is that? And can I adapt other recipes to proof overnight in the fridge when the the recipe just calls for a 2-3 hour final proofing?

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      June 15, 2020 at 3:39 pm

      If you don’t throw half of it away you’ll have a ridiculous amount of leaving. I usually add my discard to the freezer and take it out and make a huge batch of sourdough pancakes. Google discard recipes, there are quite a bit out there. The slack dough can be because of a few things, humidity, not enough folds, I mean when it comes to bread it’s hard to know since there are so many varying factors. The best advice I can give it try it, a lot of recipes you’ll be able to adapt to the fridge.

      Reply
  16. Gary says

    May 29, 2020 at 1:34 pm

    Hello Billy, you are an excellent instructor and I greatly appreciate your coaching on the fundamentals. I am in Hawaii and cannot find whole wheat flour now. Also the humidity seems to affect the amount of water my flour absorbs. I have a good/very active starter. I replaced the whole wheat with 50g AP flour. The dough never took shape and seems to wet. Should I reduce the amount of water? If so, how much. Any help is appreciated.

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      May 29, 2020 at 3:13 pm

      Wet sticky dough is ok. Can you send me a picture of it?

      Reply
  17. Gary says

    May 28, 2020 at 8:32 pm

    Thanks for this recipe and process. Could you comment on how you would modify this process to make sourdough rolls?

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      May 29, 2020 at 6:44 am

      I would use my dinner roll recipe and use the starter instead of yeast.

      Reply
  18. El SaDino says

    May 13, 2020 at 9:50 am

    Good morning from North Carolina. Many thanks for the instructions, video, and various notes. I’m on track to bake this loaf tomorrow and was wondering if you recommend letting the dough come to room temperature after removing it from the fridge? If I had the means, I would experiment myself, but… your thoughts will be most appreciated.

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      May 14, 2020 at 6:03 am

      fridge to oven.

      Reply
  19. john says

    April 30, 2020 at 6:34 am

    I love most of your recipes………………………..

    I have made Sour dough bread many times before with a DONOR Dried Yeast for my starter and then form a poolish.

    I DO NOT see any reference to WHERE YOU GET YOUR STARTER YEAST

    Please advise

    Thanx Billy

    John

    Reply
    • Chef Billy Parisi says

      April 30, 2020 at 6:44 am

      There are quite a few links in this post that go to my other recipe of how I made my starter -> https://www.billyparisi.com/sourdough-starter-recipe-levain/

      Reply
    • Susan Keefe says

      August 08, 2020 at 7:27 pm

      Hi Billy
      I’ve been working on my sour dough baking for a few months now and haven’t been able to get a high oven spring/open crumb…I live at 5500 ft altitude in New Mexico would that make any difference or is there an adjustment I should make?

      Reply
      • Chef Billy Parisi says

        August 10, 2020 at 8:17 pm

        great resource at https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking

        Reply
  20. Rehab says

    April 29, 2020 at 7:49 am

    5 stars
    So amazing , beautiful and incredible wow I love it so much thank you chef Billy 🌹
    I’ll do it soon!

    Reply
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I’m Billy Parisi and thanks for checking out my site! I’m a culinary school grad that spent 15 years in the restaurant industry as a line cook, sous chef and executive chef. Now I write recipes, take pictures of’em, shoot some video, occasionally hosting on TV, checking out the latest fashion, hangin with my wife and daughter and watching a whole bunch of college sports. Hope you enjoy my twists on classics as well as new innovations! Read More…

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