Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe in 4 Simple Steps
If you’ve been wanting to bake sourdough bread but feel overwhelmed by complicated methods, endless stretch and folds, and long schedules, this recipe is for you.
This easy sourdough bread recipe skips the autolyse and most of the stretch and folds while still producing a beautiful artisan loaf with excellent flavor, a crispy crust, and a light, airy crumb. Instead of spending hours managing the dough, you’ll simply mix everything together, develop the gluten in a mixer, let the dough ferment, shape it, and bake it the next day.
The secret is using a higher percentage of active sourdough starter—50% of the flour weight—which speeds up fermentation and makes the process more predictable and beginner-friendly.
Before making this recipe, prepare your sourdough starter the night before.
What to Expect From This Bread
Before we begin, it’s important to understand the goal of this recipe.
This is not a high-hydration sourdough designed to chase giant holes or an extremely open crumb. The goal here is to make a delicious, reliable loaf of bread with minimal effort and excellent flavor.
At 70% hydration, the crumb will naturally be slightly tighter than what you might see in some bakery-style sourdough loaves, but don’t mistake that for a dense bread. With proper fermentation, this dough produces a light, airy interior, beautiful oven spring, and a lovely ear when scored correctly.
I created this recipe for bakers who want great sourdough without spending the entire day performing stretch and folds or managing a complicated schedule. The result is a loaf that’s easy to make, easy to handle, and perfect for everyday baking.
Sometimes the best bread isn’t the one with the biggest holes—it’s the one you’ll actually make again and again.
Ingredients
- 210 g water
- 260 g bread flour
- 40 g whole wheat flour
- 150 g active sourdough starter
- 7 g baking salt
Baker’s Percentages
- Bread flour: 87%
- Whole wheat flour: 13%
- Water: 70%
- Sourdou’h starter: 50%
- Baking salt: 2%
Step 1: Mix and Develop the Dough
Combine the water, flour, active sourdough starter, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. If you don’t have sourdough starter, learn more here
Mix on low speed until all ingredients are incorporated, then knead for 5–7 minutes until the dough becomes smooth, elastic, and moderately developed.
The dough temperature at the end of mixing should be approximately 24°C (75°F).
Because we’re developing the gluten during mixing, there is no need for an autolyse or multiple rounds of stretch and folds.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled square container and cover.
Why I Switched to a Spiral Mixer
For years I made bread with a traditional home stand mixer, and it certainly gets the job done. But after baking with the Halo Pro Spiral Mixer, I honestly don’t see myself going back.
The biggest difference is how the dough develops. Traditional planetary mixers, like a KitchenAid, spin the dough hook around a stationary bowl. Bread dough often climbs the hook, requiring you to stop and scrape it down, and the dough tends to warm up fairly quickly during mixing. As the dough temperature rises, fermentation becomes harder to control, especially during long sourdough fermentation.
A spiral mixer works differently. The rotating bowl and spiral hook gently stretch and fold the dough as it mixes, developing gluten much more efficiently while keeping the dough cooler throughout the mixing process. Maintaining a lower dough temperature gives you better control over fermentation and helps preserve dough strength.
What impressed me most was how quickly the Halo Pro developed the gluten. In just a few minutes, the dough became smooth, silky, elastic, and incredibly strong—something I never consistently achieved with a regular home stand mixer. The dough also remained cooler, making it much easier to hit my target dough temperature and achieve consistent results.
Can you make great bread with a KitchenAid? Absolutely—I did for many years. But after experiencing a true spiral mixer, I realized how much easier bread baking can be. The Halo Pro develops stronger gluten in less time, keeps the dough cooler, and produces bakery-quality dough with far less effort. For someone who bakes bread regularly, it’s one of the biggest upgrades I’ve ever made in my kitchen.
Step 2: Bulk Fermentation
Keep the dough at approximately 28°C (82°F).
After about 2 hours, perform one gentle stretch and fold.
Continue fermenting until the dough has doubled in volume and looks airy and puffy. Depending on the strength of your starter, this usually takes around 4 hours total.
Look for visible bubbles along the sides of the container and a dough that feels light and active.
Step 3: Shape and Cold Proof
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.
Pre-shape into a round and let it rest uncovered for 15–20 minutes.
Shape the dough into a tight boule or batard and place it seam-side up in a proofing basket.
Cover and refrigerate overnight for 12–16 hours.
The overnight cold proof improves flavor, makes scoring easier, and helps create better oven spring.
Step 4: Bake
Place your Baking Steel on the middle rack and preheat the oven to 260°C (500°F)
Remove the dough from the refrigerator, invert it onto parchment paper, and score as desired.
Transfer the loaf onto the preheated Baking Steel and immediately cover it with a cold Baking Shell.
Bake for 15 minutes covered.
Remove the Baking Shell, reduce the temperature to 235°C (450°F), and continue baking for another 20 minutes, or until the crust is deeply golden brown.
Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing.
Tips for Success
Use an Active Starter
Because this recipe relies on a relatively high percentage of starter, make sure your starter is at or near peak activity before mixing the dough.
Keep the Dough Warm
Maintaining a dough temperature around 28°C (82°F) during bulk fermentation will help achieve the timing described in this recipe.
Don’t Rush Bulk Fermentation
A properly fermented dough should feel light, airy, and nearly doubled before shaping.
Cold Proof Overnight
The overnight rest develops flavor and better qualities of bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this recipe without a stand mixer?
Yes. Mix until combined and perform several rounds of stretch and folds during the first 2 hours of fermentation to build gluten strength.
Why does this recipe use so much starter?
Using 50% starter speeds up fermentation, simplifies the process, and allows us to reduce the number of folds while still achieving excellent dough strength and flavor.
Can I replace the whole wheat flour?
Yes. You can replace it with bread flour for a loaf made entirely with white flour. Also you can use any other flour you’d like.
How do I know when bulk fermentation is complete?
The dough should be roughly doubled in volume, feel light and airy, and show visible bubbles along the sides of the container.
Can I bake it the same day?
Yes, but the overnight cold proof significantly improves flavor, crust development, and scoring.
Will I still get an open crumb?
Yes. While this recipe is not designed for an extremely open, high-hydration crumb, proper fermentation will produce a light, airy interior with excellent texture and flavor.
Final Thoughts
This is one of my favorite sourdough methods because it removes many of the complicated steps often associated with artisan bread baking. By developing the gluten in the mixer and using a generous amount of active starter, you can make beautiful sourdough bread with minimal hands-on time and consistently great results.
Simple, reliable, and delicious—that’s exactly what everyday sourdough should be!
Easy Sourdough Bread in 4 Simple Steps
Ingredients
- 210 g Water
- 260 g Bread flour (87%)
- 40 g Whole wheat flour (13%)
- 150 g Active sourdough starter (50%—prepared the night before at peak activity)
- 7 g Baking salt (2%)
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or a Halo Pro Spiral Mixer
- Square Container (Lightly oiled)
- Baking Steel
- Baking Shell (Cold, for covering the loaf)
- Sharp Scoring Lame or razor blade
Method
- Combine the 210g of water, 260g of bread flour, 40g of whole wheat flour, 150g of active sourdough starter, and 7g of baking salt directly in the bowl of a stand mixer or a spiral mixer.
- Mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Increase the speed slightly and knead for 5 to 7 minutes until the dough becomes completely smooth, elastic, and moderately developed. (The target dough temperature at the end of mixing should be approximately 24°C / 75°F).
- Transfer the kneaded dough into a lightly oiled square container and cover with a lid.
- Keep the covered dough container in a warm environment at approximately 28°C (82°F).
- After about 2 hours of resting, perform exactly one gentle stretch and fold to help organize the gluten structure.
- Cover the container again and continue fermenting until the dough has doubled in volume and looks light, airy, and puffy. This total bulk fermentation stage usually takes around 4 hours total. (Look for visible bubbles along the clear sides of the container and a dough that feels light and active).
- Turn the fermented dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
- Pre-shape the dough into a clean, uniform round ball and let it rest uncovered on your counter for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Shape the dough tightly into a boule or a batard, then place it seam-side up into a well-floured proofing basket.
- Cover the basket and place it into the refrigerator to cold proof overnight for 12 to 16 hours. (This slow overnight rest improves complex organic flavors, stiffens the dough to make scoring significantly easier, and helps create better oven spring).
- Place your Baking Steel onto the middle rack of your oven and preheat the oven to 260°C (500°F), ensuring the steel saturates thoroughly with heat.
- Remove the cold dough from the refrigerator, gently invert it out of the proofing basket onto a sheet of parchment paper, and score the top as desired with a sharp lame.
- Carefully transfer the scored loaf along with the parchment paper directly onto the preheated Baking Steel. Immediately cover the dough completely with a cold Baking Shell to capture the natural escaping steam.
- Bake for exactly 15 minutes covered.
- Carefully remove the hot Baking Shell from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 235°C (450°F), and continue baking completely uncovered for another 20 minutes, or until the crust turns deeply caramelized and golden brown. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing!
Nutrition
Notes
- Why This Recipe Uses So Much Starter: Utilizing a high 50% sourdough starter ratio dramatically speeds up the overall fermentation timeline, simplifies the handling process, and allows us to completely cut out hours of traditional manual folding intervals while still achieving exceptional dough strength and rich flavor.
- What to Expect From the Interior Crumb: Sitting at a manageable 70% hydration, the interior crumb will naturally turn out slightly tighter than what you might see in advanced, open-hole bakery sourdoughs. This is intentionally designed to be a delicious, highly reliable daily bread with a light, airy texture that is incredibly easy to slice for sandwiches.
- Swapping the Whole Wheat Flour: If you prefer a completely white artisan loaf, you can easily replace the 40g of whole wheat flour with an equal amount of standard bread flour. Alternatively, you can use any other specialized rustic flour you prefer.
- Baking Without a Stand Mixer: If you do not own a stand mixer or a spiral mixer, you can still easily make this recipe by hand. Simply mix the ingredients in a bowl until fully combined, then perform several rounds of stretch and folds during the first 2 hours of fermentation to build up your core gluten strength manually.
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Discover more from Natasha's Baking
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.