Beginner Sourdough Loaf

This beginner sourdough loaf recipe is what started it all. It helped me find my sourdough footing and rhythm, which is why it makes two loaves. It has just four ingredients and has been a successful recipe for many, many beginner bakers. I hope you love it.

❤️ Why You’ll Love Sourdough Artisan Loaf

This recipe has turned into a successful first loaf for so many beginner bakers. It uses 4 ingredients, has a flexible time frame, and makes two loaves so you can have one in the fridge ready to bake whenever you want, after just one prep session.

🍲 Ingredients

Sourdough Starter – Fed, active bubbly sourdough starter that has been fed 4-8 hours prior to putting together bread. This is what will make your bread rise, and every great loaf of sourdough bread starts with a strong, healthy starter.

Water – Room temperature, filtered water.

Salt – I like pink Himalayan salt but use whatever you have one hand!

👩🍳 How to Make Beginner Sourdough Loaves

• In the evening: whisk together water and bubbly sourdough starter. Add flour and salt, mix until the flour is well incorporated. The dough will be sticky and shaggy. Let rest for 45 minutes – 1 hour. After resting, shape the dough into a fairly smooth ball by pulling the sides towards the middle until the dough begins to tighten. About 30 seconds.
• Bulk rise: let your dough rest on the counter for 8-12 hours. During the bulk rise perform 1-4 stretch and folds anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hour in between.
• The next morning: Transfer dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide dough into 2 equal parts and shape into rounds. Flip over your dough and with floured hands pull toward you in circular motions to tighten its shape. Place seam-side up into your proofing basket and cover with a tea towel.
• Let rest for 1 hour or place into your fridge for up to 3 days. Before baking, place your Dutch oven into the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Once preheated, transfer loaf onto parchment paper, score, and place into the Dutch oven with the lid on. Bake for 23 minutes.
• Remove the Dutch oven lid and bake for an additional 23 minutes.
• Let rest for 1 hour before slicing and serving.

🪄 Tips and Tricks

• Feed your starter at a 1:3:3 ratio – 1/3 cup starter + 1 cup flour + 1 cup water
• Wet your hands when you do your stretch and folds to avoid the dough sticking to your hands.
• Dampen your bowl cover when covering during bulk fermentation. This will keep the top of your dough from drying out.
• Leave one of your unbaked sourdough loaves in the fridge for up to 4 days so you have a loaf ready for the week to bake for a friend, or need dinner in a pinch!

🗒 Variations

This is a great base recipe; add whatever inclusions you like! Which is one of my favorite parts about sourdough baking 🙂 Here are a few or our favorites –

• Blueberry + Cinnamon Sugar Loaf
• Pesto + Mozzarella loaf
• French Onion Sourdough Loaf

🗒 Substitutions

This is a fantastic base recipe to use as a starting point for your sourdough journey. If you want to add a depth of flavor the easy way, substitute a portion of all-purpose flour for whole-wheat flour. Instead of 1,000g of all-purpose flour, do 900g of AP flour + 100g of whole-wheat flour.

• Country loaves

🗒 Best Served With

• Soup
• Sandwiches
• Avocado Toast
• Butter and Honey

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store your leftover sourdough bread in a brown paper bag either on the counter or in a bread box. Fresh sourdough bread will stay fresh for only 2 or 3 days.

🤔 Common Questions