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Easy Sourdough

Easy Sourdough Bread in 4 Simple Steps

1211kcal
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Prep 15 minutes
Cook 35 minutes
Rise & Rest Time 18 hours 20 minutes
Total 19 hours 10 minutes
If you’ve been wanting to bake sourdough bread but feel overwhelmed by complicated methods, endless stretch and folds, and long schedules, this Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe in 4 Simple Steps is exactly what you need. It 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. By utilizing a higher percentage of active sourdough starter (50% of the flour weight) and thoroughly developing the gluten in a mixer, the process becomes highly predictable, efficient, and beginner-friendly.
Servings 1 loaf
Course Beginner Sourdough
Cuisine Global

Ingredients

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

Method

Step 1: Mix and Develop the Dough
  1. 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.
  2. Mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated.
  3. 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).
  4. Transfer the kneaded dough into a lightly oiled square container and cover with a lid.
Step 2: Bulk Fermentation
  1. Keep the covered dough container in a warm environment at approximately 28°C (82°F).
  2. After about 2 hours of resting, perform exactly one gentle stretch and fold to help organize the gluten structure.
  3. 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).
Step 3: Shape and Cold Proof
  1. Turn the fermented dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
  2. Pre-shape the dough into a clean, uniform round ball and let it rest uncovered on your counter for 15 to 20 minutes.
  3. Shape the dough tightly into a boule or a batard, then place it seam-side up into a well-floured proofing basket.
  4. 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).
Step 4: Bake
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Bake for exactly 15 minutes covered.
  5. 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

Calories1211kcalCarbohydrates246gProtein40gFat6gSaturated Fat1gPolyunsaturated Fat2gMonounsaturated Fat0.5gSodium2732mgPotassium406mgFiber12gSugar1gVitamin A9IUCalcium61mgIron4mg

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.

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