Easy Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe
Easy Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe
This rustic sourdough bread is soft and chewy with a very mild flavor. It comes out of the oven delicious and makes for a delicious sandwich.
Are you intimidated by homemade bread recipes? If so – don’t! Sourdough bread is one of the easiest sourdough breads to make (after baguettes and dinner rolls) and tastes great with any soup recipe.
Easier than it looks!
I’ve always thought making sourdough bread is time-consuming and extremely challenging, so I’ve never tried it at home. I was wrong. most. While it does take a fair amount of time to make sourdough bread, most of the time is hands-off. And it’s definitely not challenging!
The key to that rich flavor is the start of the sourdough. You can make your own or even buy it. If you’re lucky, you can get it from a friend, which is what I did.
Before you start, you want to make sure your yeast is starting to be nice and bubbly. Mine is usually the consistency of the muffin batter before it rises (pictured left), but yours may be thinner or even thicker. It’s important that it’s active and bubbly when you’re ready to bake (like the photo on the right).
How to Make Sourdough Bread
Making sourdough bread is actually easy once you have a batch of live, active starter.
dough. Combine the starter, a little honey, warm water, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add a few cups of all-purpose flour. Let the mixture sit for 15-30 minutes, then add enough flour to make a soft dough.
rise. Pour the dough out on a floured counter and knead a few times. Wash the bowl and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Return the dough to the bowl. Cover and let the dough rise for at least 6-8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
The longer it sits, the more sour your bread will be. We like mild sourdough so I let mine sit for 8 hours.
bake. Form dough into round loaves and place on greased cookie sheet. Let it rise to double, usually one to two hours. Cut a slit at the top. (If you want, you can cut a slit before letting the loaf rise.)
in a dutch oven
Alternatively, you can place the dough in a heavy-duty Dutch oven dusted with cornmeal. Baking in a dutch oven results in taller, rounder loaves because the sides of the pan keep the dough from spreading.
While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 425°. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. You can cook longer if you like a darker crust. If desired, brush the top of the bread with melted butter.
(If you are baking in a dutch oven, leave the lid on the pan for the first 15 minutes, then remove the lid and bake until the bread is browned.)
When the bread is done baking (whichever method you use), move the bread to a cooling rack. Works best if cooled for at least 30 minutes.
you have it. Making sourdough bread isn’t an exact science, so you may have to try a few times to make your family’s favorite bread.
You can make it more or less sour, with a softer or crispier crust, by tweaking a few steps. have fun!
for storage and freezing, be sure to wrap tightly with plastic wrap or foil. You can also add it to a Ziploc bag after wrapping to help keep it fresh longer or freeze it for longer.
We like to serve it:
Almost any soup will go with this soup, but here are some of our favorites.
You can also make spinach artichoke bread or even cheesy garlic bread with this recipe.
For more delicious bread recipes, try:
course bread
American food
Prep time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Rise time 8 hours
Total time 8 hours 40 minutes
Serving Size 12
Calories 152 kcal
by Lil’ Luna
- Âľ cup yeast to start (ripe and active)
- 1 1/4 cups warm water (non-chlorinated)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
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In a large mixing bowl whisk together the starter and water. Add honey, salt and about 2 cups flour. Blend together until smooth; rest 15-30 minutes.
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Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Transfer to a floured counter and knead a few times.
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Place the dough in a large bowl sprayed with nonstick spray. Cover and let rise for at least 6-8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
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On a floured countertop, shape dough into rounds and place on a greased baking sheet. Let it rise to double, usually one to two hours. Cut a slit at the top.
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While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 425°. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. You can cook longer if you like a darker crust. If desired, brush the top of the bread with melted butter.
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Let the bread cool on the cooling rack. It slices best if it is allowed to cool for at least 30 minutes.