This Easy Sourdough Bread recipe is perfect for beginning bakers and old sourdoughs alike! Recipe makes a long-rise dough, and requires only sourdough starter: no added yeast.

This Basic Sourdough Bread recipe is easy and straightforward, and it consistently bears excellent results (even when I forget it for an extra hour or five). Moreover, the bite is amazing: chewy and tender, with a mild, pleasant sourdough tanginess. In a nutshell, it's one of the best all-round breads I've ever made.
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What's the Story on this Sourdough Bread Recipe?
Some years ago, when I first embarked my own sourdough baking journey, I took a deep-dive into the science of sourdough. I studied as much as I could, and got a feel for the process by testing out all the best beginner bread recipes I could find.
From that experience, plus advice from experts and lots of trial and error, I created this easy sourdough bread recipe for beginners - one that can be easily repeated over and over again with consistent, delicious results. Compared with some artisan sourdough bakers, my skill level barely scratches the surface, which is probably why I keep going back to this recipe over and over again. It never fails me!
If you fall in love with sourdough baking, this may not always be your forever-sourdough recipe: you may find bigger, better, crustier loaves to bake. Artisan loaves. Breads with Attitude. But this recipe is a wonderful, forgiving beginner recipe with a high rate of success - Everything you want in your first loaf!
What is True Sourdough? ( And Why Do I Care?)
This bread is a true sourdough bread, which means that it does not rely on the addition of any extra yeast. It depends solely upon the natural yeast in the Starter for leavening.
True sourdough bread is significantly slower to rise than dough that relies on added traditional yeast to do the heavy lifting. For example, from the time you stir first the ingredients through the final post-baking rest time, this Easy Sourdough Bread takes a minimum of nine hours to make.
Don't stress about the time element, though. Sourdough is both easy to work with and very forgiving. Once you get the rhythm and flow of the sourdough baking process, you'll be able to throw a loaf of this bread together with only about 20 minutes of actual hands-on time. The rest of the time, you'll just be waiting around for it to do its thing.
Rising Times for this Recipe
When you stir up a batch of sourdough bread dough, your dough goes through a number of phases on its way to becoming bread; most notably, the bulk fermentation (first) and proofing (second) rise times.
BULK FERMENTATION: This bread recipe requires a minimum 6-hour bulk fermentation (1st rise); however, I personally recommend allowing it to rise at least 8 hours before moving on to proofing (2nd rise), when you form your loaf or boule. A longer rise will yield a chewier crust, and intensify the sourdough flavor in your bread.
PROOFING: Proofing (2nd rise) can take anywhere from 2-3 hours on the countertop to 12 hours overnight in the refrigerator.
I prefer to proof overnight in the fridge and bake my bread first thing in the morning. This gives me a house that smells like fresh bread all day, and I don't have to heat the kitchen up during the day.
What Goes into this Sourdough Bread Recipe
★ Sourdough Starter [100% Hydration: Feed your healthy starter 12-24 hours before beginning the bread making process.
★ Lukewarm Water: Water should be 105°-110°F (40°-44°C). The live culture in sourdough, like all yeast, is a living thing and is killed off at higher temperatures.
★ Flour: We recommend using bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour for this recipe.
★ Maple syrup: Honey is a good substitute for maple syrup in this recipe.
★ Kosher salt: Use kosher salt. If using table salt, reduce the amount to 1¼ teaspoons.
How to Make Easy Sourdough Bread (Step-by-Step)
Feed your healthy starter 12-24 hours before beginning the bread making process.

Step 1: Autolyse (Mix the Dough)
In a large stand-mixer bowl, mix together water, flour, syrup or honey, starter, and salt thoroughly with wooden spoon. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes, and up to an hour.
How to measure the Starter: The vigor of your Starter will affect its density. Stir Starter down before measuring, especially if use a measuring cup. (I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to get more consistent results.)

While dough is resting, lightly coat a medium-sized bowl with olive oil. The bowl needs to be a big enough to allow the dough to double in size.
I use about two tablespoons of oil to coat the bowl the first time.

Step 2: Knead Dough
Put the mixer bowl on the stand-mixer. Knead dough with bread hook for 10 minutes.

This normally is a very sticky, soft dough. However, depending on the actual hydration of your starter, you may find that you need to add a little more flour to get things started.
I often end up adding an extra ½ cup during the kneading step. Try not to add more than ½ cup of flour, though. You can work in a little more flour during the folding process if you need to.

Step 3: Bulk Fermentation (1st Rise)
Remove dough from mixer, place on a well floured board, knead by hand a couple of times, and shape into ball.
After you form the ball, it should kind of slowly settle onto the board, like an old man into a lounge chair. It won’t hold its shape for a long time, but it also shouldn’t just melt into a puddle. You need to find a happy medium.

Put dough ball into the oiled bowl, smooth-side down first. Then flip it smooth-side up so that all sides of the dough are covered with oil.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place.

Allow dough rise at least 6 hours, folding every 30 minutes for the first 2 to 2½ hours.
To fold, turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat down to remove most of the air bubbles. Fold as illustrated and return to bowl, smooth side up.

Cover and proceed with the rising process.
Re-oil the bowl with a tablespoon of oil the first two times you fold the dough.
The folding at the beginning of this step helps to align those long gluten strands, and create those lovely sourdough bubbles.
You should notice a discernible change in the texture of your dough after folding the first couple of hours. By the end of this step, your dough should feel more "stretchy" and less "sticky" than when you started.
TIP: Sometimes, because this dough is so sticky, it works easier to "fold-and-stretch" your dough right in the bowl, instead of folding it on the countertop. If that works better for you, go for it.
Step 4: Proof (2nd Rise)
After the dough has risen for at least 6 hours (folding every 30 minutes for the first 2-2½ hours), form bread dough into a boule* and place it on a square of parchment paper.
Place the dough, parchment and all, back into the bowl.
*A boule is a round bread loaf.

Cover loosely with a damp towel and allow to rise for 1½- 3 hours, or until it has approximately doubled.
TIP: If it is late in the day and your bread needs more time to rise, you can slow the process by allowing it to rise in the refrigerator overnight, and then baking it first thing in the morning.

In the last 30 or 40 minutes of the last rise, move your oven rack to the bottom third of oven.
Put an empty cast iron Dutch oven with lid in the cold oven. Preheat to 500°F [260°C] for 40 minutes.

Step 5: Slash & Bake
Remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven. Remove the lid from the Dutch oven and put the boule in by picking up the corners of the parchment and gently setting it in.
Be very careful - the Dutch oven and lid are very hot!
With a wet, serrated knife, cut a couple of slashes on the top of the boule. (I often forget to do this step, and everything still turns out just fine.)

Put the lid back on the Dutch oven. Put the Dutch oven back into the oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 450° [232°C]. Bake for 13-14 minutes with the lid ON.

If you don't have a cast iron Dutch oven, you can use a baking stone. If you use a baking stone, cover the boule with a big roaster lid or something like that. The idea is to create some steam for the first part of the baking process- this is what gives it that awesome chewy crust.
Remove the lid and bake for another 13-14 minutes with the lid OFF.

Using the parchment corners, carefully remove bread from the Dutch oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.
DO NOT slice the bread until it has set for 30 minutes - this resting time is part of the baking process.
Top Tip: Fold, Don't Punch
This Sourdough Bread recipe calls for you to "fold the dough" a couple of times during the bulk fermentation (first rise), and I thought it might be helpful to some people if I explained what that means. (If you are a seasoned dough-folder, you can skip this section.) The folding helps to encourage those long gluten strands, and create those lovely sourdough bubbles.
Many, if not most, bread recipes call for you to punch down the dough after rising. Punching down the dough does a number of things. Most importantly, it removes some of the gas bubbles from the dough and redistributes the yeast cells, sugars, and moisture so that they can ferment and rise again during the proofing stage.
Folding yields similar results: it too expels the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation, strengthens the dough by stretching the gluten strands, and redistributes cells, sugars, moisture and heat spots in the dough to even out the rising.
Punching dough down will result in a fine crumb, which is desirable when making sandwich breads or pastries. Folding, on the other hand, will give you a loftier rise and a looser crumb - resulting in all those lovely little air pockets in our sourdough and artisan breads that we love so much.
FAQ
Who is Kaylen, and Why is this Her Bread?
The original spark that set off my interest in sourdough baking was ignited by my BFF, Jenny. Jenny has an amazing daughter, Kaylen, who has some medically serious digestive issues. Gluten is not at all Kaylen's friend, but she missed real bread "that does not taste like sand" [Kaylen's words]. Jenny asked me about sourdough bread after reading that it might be able to help those who are gluten-intolerant.
One study using sourdough bread made with specific strains of bacteria found that it could reduce gluten intolerance in people sensitive to wheat gluten. While that doesn’t mean that people diagnosed with gluten intolerance can eat sourdough bread with impunity, it does suggest that the bread is more easily digested than other breads made with wheat flour. (Reader's Digest)
Remember that long rise I mentioned earlier, when I explained what true sourdough is? Well, it is during that long rise that the wild yeast and bacteria in a sourdough starter break down some of the carbohydrates and proteins in the flour, which (in theory) makes true sourdough bread more tolerable for folks with gluten sensitivity than bread leavened with traditional yeast.
When Jenny asked me to bake some sourdough bread for Kaylen, I was all in. (I've known Kaylen since she was six and love her like my own daughter: of course I'm going to bake her bread.) After developing a new Sourdough Starter and working out the kinks in my recipe, I carefully made Kaylen a loaf, using a minimum 14-hour rise and not adding any additional flour (during folding) after Hour 4.
After I dropped off her first loaf of bread, here's what I found on Facebook when I got home:

Made me cry. You just don't get a better feeling than that, you know?
Sourdough References
The references I used to develop this recipe include:
- How to Make Sourdough Bread
- Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread
- How to Make Rye Sourdough Starter
- The Art of Baking with Natural Yeast: Breads, Pancakes, Waffles, Cinnamon Rolls and Muffins (Caleb Warnock & Melissa Richardson, 2018)
If you have additional questions about this recipe, just leave a comment and I'll reply asap. Be sure to check out the comments below, too. We've had so many people share their sourdough knowledge here, and there is a lot to be learned from their experience. Like most of us, I'm here to learn, too.
Share Your First Loaf!
Since this post was first published in 2013, I've received hundreds of pictures and messages from excited new sourdough bakers who have made my bread recipe. I am so proud of and honored by everyone who has shared pictures of their "first loaf" with me over the years!
Happy baking, and I hope you love this bread as much as we do!
P.S. If you make a loaf of Kaylen's Bread, be sure to tag it with #thegoodheartedwoman #GHWfirstloaf #KaylensBread

More Sourdough Recipes
If you love heirloom bread baking, be sure to try our German Dark Rye Bread!
- Spiced Pumpkin Sourdough Scones
- Double-Crumb Sourdough Coffee Cake
- Mom's Sourdough Hotcakes (Sourdough Pancakes)
- Rye Sourdough Spaetzle (Spätzel)

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Easy Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- 1 Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
Sourdough Bread Dough
- ¾ cup Sourdough Starter (100% Hydration) 6 ounces; unfed & room temperature
- 1⅛ cup lukewarm water 9 ounces; 105°-110°F (40°-44°C)
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
Additional Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons extra-light olive oil or other neutral cooking oil, for oiling bowl
Instructions
- Feed your starter 12-24 hours before beginning.
AUTOLYSE (Mix Dough)
- In a large stand-mixer bowl, mix together water, flour, syrup or honey, starter, and salt thoroughly with wooden spoon. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes, and up to an hour. Measuring the Starter: The vigor of your Starter will affect its density. Stir Starter down before measuring, especially if use a measuring cup. (I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to get more consistent results.)
- While dough is resting, lightly coat a medium-sized bowl with olive oil. The bowl needs to be a big enough to allow the dough to double in size. I use about two tablespoons of oil to coat the bowl the first time.
KNEAD
- Put the mixer bowl on the stand-mixer. Knead dough with bread hook for 10 minutes.
- NOTE: This normally is a very sticky, soft dough. However, depending on the actual hydration of your starter, you may find that you need to add a little more flour to get things started. I often end up adding an extra ½ cup during the kneading step. Try not to add more than ½ cup of flour, though. You can work in a little more flour during the folding process if you need to.
BULK FERMENTATION (1st Rise)
- Remove dough from mixer, place on a well floured board, knead by hand a couple of times, and shape into ball.After you form the ball, it should kind of slowly settle onto the board, like an old man into a lounge chair. It won’t hold its shape for a long time, but it also shouldn’t just melt into a puddle. You need to find a happy medium.
- Put dough ball into the oiled bowl, smooth-side down first. Then flip it smooth-side up so that all sides of the dough are covered with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place.
- Allow dough rise at least 6 hours, folding every 30 minutes for the first 2 to 2½ hours. To fold, turn dough out onto a floured surface and pat down to remove most of the air bubbles. Fold as illustrated and return to bowl, smooth side up.Cover and proceed with the rising process. Re-oil the bowl with a tablespoon or two of oil the first two times you fold the dough.
The folding at the beginning of this step helps to align those long gluten strands, and create those lovely sourdough bubbles. You should notice a discernible change in the texture of your dough after folding the first couple of hours. By the end of this step, your dough should feel more "stretchy" and less "sticky" than when you started.Sometimes, because this dough is so sticky, it works easier to "fold-and-stretch" your dough right in the bowl, instead of folding it on the countertop. If that works better for you, go for it.
PROOF (2nd Rise)
- After the dough has risen for at least 6 hours (folding every 30 minutes for the first 2-2½ hours), form bread dough into a boule* and place it on a square of parchment paper. Place the dough, parchment and all, back into the bowl. *A boule is a round bread loaf.
- Cover loosely with a damp towel and allow to rise for 1½- 3 hours, or until it has approximately doubled. If it is late in the day and your bread needs more time to rise, you can slow the process by allowing it to rise in the refrigerator overnight, and then baking it first thing in the morning.
- In the last 30 or 40 minutes of the last rise, move your oven rack to the bottom third of oven. Put an empty cast iron Dutch oven with lid in the cold oven.Preheat to 500°F [260°C] for 40 minutes.
SLASH
- Remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven. Remove the lid from the Dutch oven and put the boule in by picking up the corners of the parchment and gently setting it in. Be very careful - the Dutch oven and lid are very hot!With a wet, serrated knife, cut a couple of slashes on the top of the boule. (I often forget to do this step, and everything still turns out just fine.)
BAKE
- Put the lid back on the Dutch oven. Put the Dutch oven back into the oven.Immediately reduce oven temperature to 450° [232°C], and bake for 13-14 minutes with the lid ON. If you don't have a cast iron Dutch oven, you can use a baking stone. If you use a baking stone, cover the boule with a big roaster lid or something like that. The idea is to create some steam for the first part of the baking process- this is what gives it that awesome chewy crust.
- Remove the lid and bake for another 13-14 minutes with the lid OFF.
- Using the parchment corners, carefully remove bread from the Dutch oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. DO NOT slice the bread until it has set for 30 minutes - this resting time is part of the baking process.
Notes
UNFED Starter is Starter that is due to be fed right before you begin making the bread. It should have been fed in the last 12-24 hours. Unfed Starter is mature, active, and hungry for food. For comparison, FED Starter is Sourdough Starter that has been fed very recently compared to when you begin making the bread recipe. It isn't as hungry.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
Originally published September 17, 2013. Post updated with new content, images, and instructions to improve reader experience.
Carol Lidstrom says
This is the best sourdough bread I've made. It's reliably delicious. Friends said "This doesn't even need butter!" It's really fun to make, especially with the process of folding it every 30 minutes for the first couple of hours. You just know it's going to be good. I think the best flavor comes out with proofing the 2nd time overnight in the refrigerator. The comments and replies are great. Thank you!
Renée B. says
Comments like yours make my day, so thank you! This recipe has taken on a life of its own, and I've learned so much from the comments people leave; it's truly gratifying.
Katy says
The only thing I don't like is that the bottom of the bread is way too done. How do you avoid that?
Renée B. says
The first thing I would do is check the oven temperature with an oven thermometer. (Check both the front and back temperatures: they can differ.) If that isn't the issue, perhaps the bottom of your Dutch oven is too close to the element.
Try reducing the oven temp to 425°F instead of 450°F, and raise the oven rack one level. Bake the bread only until the internal temperature of the bread registers around 208°F (97°C), and let it cool at least an hour on a wire rack before slicing.
I hope this helps. Let us know how it goes.
KC says
A few things 🙂 if you suggest measuring why not show grams ? And when mixing with hook is it on low ? Mine is rising and I can’t wait to see how it baked up
Thank you
Renée B. says
You can view measurements in grams by simply clicking on "Metric" just below the Ingredients title on the recipe card. And yes, LOW is the proper setting for the dough hook.
Ryan L says
I've made this recipe as a boule before and it turned out great! I have since gotten a batard loaf basket - do you think this would turn out okay in that shape?! Or should I split it into 2 loaves doing it that way? Thanks!!
Renée B. says
It should work fine either way - as a large batard, or two smaller ones.
Kekentia says
Hello!
My first try at this recipe came out HEAVENLY, even my nephew, who eats NOTHING ate it n loved it! It was super light and soft and tangy and wary to make; and the smell while baking??? OMG. Anyway I am trying to again and just have a question. We want to try freezing the dough for bread bowls. Is this possible??? And at what rising should this be done? The final after the six hours?
Thanks so much!
K
Renée B. says
I have to say, your comment made my day! And congrats on feeding your persnickety eater, too!
I've never tried to freeze this particular dough, but I'm sure you can. Always freeze dough after the first rise and after you've shaped it into its final form. Because this is such a soft dough, it may slump a little in freezing, but I'm not sure. I'd love to know how it turns out - please stop back and let us know!
Jess says
Excellent! Thanks for replying! I have 2 hours left on my first rise, will split before it goes in the fridge & will bake in the morning 🙂 I’ll follow your suggestions & update after they are done! Thanks again!
Jess says
Hi! This is my go to sourdough recipe, comes out PERFECT every time! I do have a question though. Have you ever tried to split this recipe into 2 boules? If so do you have the adjusted baking time for that? I’d really like to split this into 2 smaller ones to gift to friends & family in gift baskets 🙂 I wondered if I could make split this when preparing for the second rise, what do you think?
Renée B. says
Thanks so much for the great question! I know I have split it into two boules in the past, but I can't remember the baking time/temp. Definitely do it after the first rise is complete, and before you start the proofing rise. Off the top of my head, I think it would be wise to reduce the oven temp by 25°F in all cases (i.e, preheat at 475°F, and then reduce to 425°F for the bake). I'd also reduce the baking time by about a third, and keep an eye on things so they don't over-bake. Best practices: do a test run with one boule and see how it turns out.
If you can, please circle back and let us know how it went. If things work out, I'll update the post to include the split recipe suggestions so others can have that option as well. ❤︎
Laurie says
Best recipe ever! So easy and turned out wonderful. I put it in the fridge over night. Got it out the next morning and followed directions for heating the dutch oven in the oven. 13 minutes with the lid on and 13 minutes with it off! Whalah!! Beautiful crust with soft chewy bread. I wish I could post a picture! Thanks so much for the great recipe and for all your directions. I’m new to sourdough but you made it easy.
Renée B. says
Your joy is infectious! Thank you so much for circling back to let us know how it turned out: I'm delighted the recipe worked so well for you!
P.S. You made my day!
Johanna says
Super easy bread and it turned out delicious!
Renée B. says
So glad it was a winner for you! Thanks so much for circling back!
Meg says
Can I make this recipe sugar free? Will leaving out the honey or maple syrup compromise the bread?
Renée B. says
Sorry, but you cannot leave out the sweetener. To clarify though, its purpose is not to sweeten. You need to add a little sweetener to encourage the natural yeast into full-out production, which is what makes the bread rise. Just one tablespoon is required for the entire loaf, which works out to about a half-teaspoon per serving. By the time you consume the bread, the sugars have been fully consumed by the lactic acid bacteria in the sourdough.
Meg says
Thank you so much for your reply, that is super clarifying and interesting!! Can’t wait to try it out…will definitely share a “first loaf” pic 🙂