Easy Sourdough Bread

5 from 5 votes

An easy no-knead sourdough bread recipe perfect for beginners, this bread uses unfed sourdough starter (sourdough discard) and can be made in one day.

Prep Time5

Cook Time55

Resting time9

Course: Bread, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Easy sourdough bread, quick

Servings:

Calories: 196kcal

Author: Amy

Equipment

Dutch Oven

Ingredients

500 grams bread flour
175 grams unfed sourdough starter
300 grams water*
10 grams salt

Instructions

Place a large bowl on a kitchen scale (if using) and add all the ingredients.
Mix until all the flour is hydrated. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 6-8 hours or until doubled in size. This will depend on how healthy your starter is and how warm your home is. The warmer it is, the less time it will take.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and shape into a boule. Create tension against the countertop by pulling the boule towards you, turning it, and then continuing the pulling motion.
Place the dough on parchment paper and cover with a towel. Allow to sit at room temperature for about an hour.
Score the dough, place in a cold Dutch oven, cover with a lid, and place in the oven. Set the oven to 425 F.
Allow to bake for one hour, then remove the lid and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until the crust is golden brown.
Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before slicing.

Notes

*Depending on the hydration of your sourdough starter will determine how much water you should use. A thicker starter may need more water, and vice versa. The dough should be on the drier side, but all the flour should come together in a ball.

Use a healthy and active starter. A new starter will not work for this recipe.
The amount of water you need may change based on your environment and how thick or thin your starter is.
You need a Dutch oven for this recipe. It may work without one, but you will need to add steam. This can be accomplished by placing a baking dish of water on the rack below the bread if using a baking sheet.
Watch the bread dough to make sure it doesn’t over-ferment.
If at any point you need to pause this recipe, you can stick it in the fridge.
To get more beautiful scoring patterns, place the shaped dough in the fridge for 12-15 hours. Score and place right in the cold oven, baking according to the directions.

Nutrition