This post has been a long time in the works but I finally have a complete step-by-step guide to the process of baking sourdough bread ready to share!
A few notes before we get started…
- Don’t be intimidated! My dad encouraged me for years to bake my own sourdough bread but the process just seemed overwhelming and out of reach. He would send me home from Florida with two loaves of sourdough every time I visited and I’d ration them out until my next visit. I’m so glad he finally sent me home with starter instead of fresh bread and all the info I needed to try it myself. While the process is rather long, I promise it’s simple and straightforward. I’m going to do everything I can to help you.
- Be sure to check out my post on must have and nice to have sourdough bread tools before you start. I have outlined everything you need to bake bread.
- Reminder…you must have a kitchen/food scale. I will not be providing standard measurements.
- This guide will walk you through every step of the process without getting too technical or scientific. I like to think of it as the “guide to sourdough for home hobby bakers.” I’m not going to be getting in to dough hydration levels here or percentages of protein in flour or anything like that. I’m just going to show you in a very real and unedited way how I bake sourdough bread at home that tastes amazing. I seriously don’t know if I can ever go back to store bought.
Let’s get started! I’m going to walk you through with photos, videos and descriptions in a step-by-step guide fashion. I’ll most likely go in later and actually type this all out in more of a recipe format and add it to the bottom of the post.
Sourdough Bread: A Step-By-Step Guide for Home Bakers
It all starts with your starter. You’ll want to take your starter out of the fridge a couple days before you want to bake. When you take it out of the fridge it will appear flat and dormant and there may be some liquid pooled on top of it. I recommend stirring that back into your starter. Let it come to room temperature and then start to feed it about every 12 hours. The point of feeding your starter is a) to get it active and ready for baking and b) to build it so that you have enough to bake. You only need an ounce or two of starter to begin the process.
(source)
This is an awesome image from King Arthur that shows the starter feeding process from out of the fridge to ready to bake. Check out their blog post about the process here.
So, for the feeding…I like to work in fours so I measure out 4 ounces of starter (and trash the rest of my fridge stash, you’ll have more starter at the end of the process) and feed it 4 ounces of spring water and 4 ounces of unbleached all-purpose flour. After a few good feeds, your starter will really begin to come to life. You’re going to need 405 grams of starter for the bread so make sure you have at least that plus enough leftover to go back in the fridge for next time.
You’ll know your starter is ready to go when you’ve achieved the volume of starter you want (it basically doubles every time you feed it) and it’s bubbly and active.
Start with 554 grams of spring water
You can do a “float test” with your starter to see if it’s active and ready to go. If it floats, you’re good. If not you may want to do a couple more feeds. (FYI: I have totally baked successful loaves with sunken starter but there is no guarantee!)
You’ll end up adding 405 grams of starter to the water mixture and then whisking it together so that it’s fully incorporated. It will have a milky appearance.
Weigh out 1,020 grams of unbleached all-purpose flour.
Make a well in the flour.
Pour in the starter/water mixture and begin to stir, first with your whisk and then with your hands to start bringing the dough together.
Here’s a video where I walk you through this process. You want to turn the bowl in a clockwise direction while you move the whisk in a counterclockwise direction. Once dough gets sticky and hard to whisk, switch to your hands. Continue with the clockwise, counterclockwise turns but also start squeezing the dough together with your hands.
At this point we are ready to let the dough take its first rest for what is called autolyse. You are going to leave the dough in the bowl you mixed in and pour 23 grams of sea salt on top of it. Don’t mix in the salt. I know it seems like a lot of salt but trust me, you need it! Resist the urge scale back. Leave the dough at room temp. You can place a towel over it if you’d like.
After a 25-30 minute autolyse, your dough is ready to be kneaded. I use my KitchenAid Stand Mixer with the dough hook attachment. Knead on a speed of 2 for 2 minutes. Kneading with a KitchenAid mixer for 2 minutes is equivalent to kneading 10-12 minutes by hand. The dough ball should be smooth and elastic.
Alternatively, knead dough by hand for about 10-12 minutes (but you’re going to have to find another Internet resource for this as I have not yet done it!).
This is what your kneaded dough should look like.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl (I usually just use the KitchenAid mixing bowl that I’m already working with and just hold the dough up while I spray the sides of the bowl) and start the proofing process. The bread will proof for 2.5 hours with one break for folding at the halfway mark. Place a towel over the bowl, set a timer for an hour and 15 minutes and leave the bread at room temp.
Once your timer goes off, it’s time to fold the dough. Here’s a video demonstration on how to do this. It helps redistribute the yeast.
Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on the counter. I like to put a tiny bit of flour on the counter so it doesn’t stick. You can also work with wet hands. Fold the dough like a letter by bringing both ends towards each other. Then rotate the dough 90 degrees and make that same fold. It will look like a little package. Flip the dough upside down and place it back in the bowl with the fold side down.
Set a timer for another hour and 15 minutes and then you’ll have this! As you can see, my dough has grown and risen quite a bit since the start of proofing. It’s now time to shape our loaves.
Divide your dough into two equal portions. This recipe makes two loaves of bread! Flour your counter top and working one dough ball at a time, begin to shape your loaves. You do this by kind of cupping your hands under it and pulling it towards you on the counter. Then you’ll kind of rotate it and do the same thing. As you pull it across the counter and towards you, it’ll start smoothing out and coming into a ball shape. It takes about 45-60 seconds.
I made a video because this was so hard for me to grasp when I first started.
Lightly dust your proofing baskets with flour and tap out the excess. If you don’t have proofing baskets, I have also used mixing bowls lined with kitchen towels and a dusting of flour. Place the shaped dough rounds flat and smooth side down into the proofing bowls and then either cover with plastic wrap or place each bowl in a plastic bag (like a grocery bag) and tie off the ends. Place the baskets in the fridge. The dough needs an overnight rest before it’s ready to bake.
The next morning you will get your oven all set up to bake your bread. Place a baking stone on the bottom rack of your oven (it’s okay if you don’t have this) and place a heavy duty pot in the oven on top of it. You want to preheat the stone and the pot with the oven. Preheat to 450 degrees.
Once your oven is preheated, VERY CAREFULLY pull out the shelf you’re working on and lightly dust the pot with cornmeal or a coarse flour.
Gently work your dough out of the proofing basket (they can come straight out of the fridge, don’t bring them to room temp first!) and place it in the pot, round and pretty side up. You need to score your dough before you put the lid on it so that it doesn’t bubble and burst. I just quickly use a sharp knife to either make three horizontal strikes or a crisscross pattern in the dough. You can also use a razor blade.
Bake with the LID ON for 20 minutes and then CAREFULLY remove the lid. Remember, it’s 450 degrees. Don’t grab it with your hand!
Bake another 12-15 minutes with the lid OFF, depending on your oven. The sourdough bread is ready when it’s reached an internal temperature of 190-205 degrees. You’ll also know it’s ready when you can tap on it and it seems a little hollow and firm. Repeat the baking process with the second loaf.
Let the sourdough loaves cool completely on baking racks. Try to resist the urge to cut into them. (I know it’s hard.)
Use a super sharp knife to slice your bread. Slicing sourdough is no joke as it’s an extremely crusty bead. I usually work up quite a sweat.
My preferred method of storage is placing the sliced sourdough in gallon sized plastic bags and immediately placing them in the freezer. I take a slice out and heat it at 50% power in the microwave for about 30 second when I want to eat it or make toast with it. It stays super fresh this way. I don’t recommend keeping it out on the counter for multiple days. Basically, you have the window of that first cut to eat it fresh and then it needs to go in the freezer.
I like to keep one loaf of sourdough and gift the second one. It just seems like a friendly/give back thing to do and it keeps me baking more regularly and my starter more active.
Wow! That was a lot of information. Let me know if you have any questions. I am here for you and I know you can do this! Every time you bake you’ll get more comfortable and confident with the process. I think I’ve now done something like 10+ test rounds to get ready to share this with you guys. I have made my fair share of mistakes but I have found the sourdough to be very forgiving. You will learn every time!
Have fun with it!
Hi Jen, this post is awesome! Thank you so much for the tutorial. i just have two questions, how long will the starter keep in the fridge between bakes? and have you ever experimented with adding whole wheat pastry flour (not to the starter but to the actual bread you are baking.
This is great! I just pulled out my old starter and will bring it back to life. Thanks for all the videos tutorials. I struggle with the shaping part of a loaf but this makes it seem easier. I can’t wait to see the end result!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU for sharing this recipe. I know many of your loyal readers have been waiting for this post. Sourdough bread has been on my baking bucket list for years and I never mustered the courage to do it. I’m going to be ordering my supplies soon. I love the idea of gifting the other loaf!
This is awesome! Sourdough is my weakness. Do you have any recommendations on where to find/buy starter?
Wow!!! What an amazing tutorial Jen! I need to get a few things and try this out!
Could you please tell me what “starter” is. Thanks!!!!
I can honestly say I’ve never felt the urge to make my own bread until I started seeing this sourdough on your blog. Now I feel like I simply MUST bake this — how did you do that?! I really appreciate you sharing this tutorial, along with the tools you shared in the other post (that was super helpful!). I can’t wait to try this. As crazy as it may sound, this process looks like it would be a wonderful stress reliever. 🙂 Thank you!!!
THANK YOU so much for doing this! So excited to give this a try!
I am obsessed with sourdough bread and I cannot wait to try this method. I tried making sourdough last year and it didn’t turn out that great. That is also a good tip to slice up and freeze right away, I never thought of that and my sourdough definitely did not taste as fresh after a couple of days.
cannot wait to try this! you always make it look so good!!
Thank you for sharing a great tutorial, so cool that your Dad is such a great baker and cook. I always love kitchen time when I visit with my parents.
dang that is a beautiful loaf of bread.
Thanks! My daughters love sourdough bread! I’m going to try this! Did you make your starter using the recipe on the King Arthur website?
No, my dad ordered it from King Arthur and then gave me some of his starter.
Hi Jen! I’m so excited to make this recipe. Two questions – would King Arthur bread flour work well in this recipe or is there a reason you use plain all purpose? Also, how long can the dough stay in the fridge overnight? Thank you!
This is my weekend project ☺️ I’m going to do it just as you’ve said, but does it work if you half it? Just so I know. I’m so glad you posted this!!
Have you ever done this using GF flour – would you say it is safe to use instead of regular flour?
No, never and I would say no it wouldn’t work but I don’t have experience working with gluten-free flour.
THANK YOU!!! Did your way yesterday/today and this is BY FAR the best it’s ever turned out. I had been following the KAF recipe on their website – yours is much better. Now I just want it to cool off so I can make some avocado toast!!!
I followed your recipe to a tee, and it’s just beautiful! My standmixer caught on fire, so I may have to get a new Kitchenaide out of the deal, too 😉 I will definitely make this time after time! Thanks for sharing. I can’t wait to share my extras with friends.
I’m glad the recipe turned out but what happened to your mixer!?
Thank you for the detailed tutorial, photos and videos! I just made my first two loaves of sourdough bread. They taste pretty good, but are a little flat on top. It’s like the center didn’t rise quite right or fell somehow.
Any suggestions on where I went wrong? Could my starter not be ripe enough? What gives the bread that nice round rise?
Hmmmm…I’ve never had that issue. Did you do the float test with the starter? And what did you use to shape the loaves in and rest overnight?
I don’t understand how to achieve enough starter if you keep discarding most of it with feeds. Mine seemed totally ready to go after tripling in 6 hours and all bubbly but there’s no way I have over 400 grams. I kept my discarded starter after feeds, do I use all that together? Help!
Hey Kat – don’t discard it with the feeds! Just keep building it by adding 4 ounces of flour and 4 ounces of water to the starter when you feed. You’ll have tons before you know it!
Thanks so much for clarifying! I made the loaves today and like a previous commenter said they a little flat but so delicious so I don’t care! Thanks for all the tips and encouragement!
How often do you feed your starter? Looks like every 12 hours if you’re getting ready to bake and it’s at room temperature and once per week if it’s in the fridge? Thanks!!
Hey there! I totally love your posts on sourdough; they’re so helpful!
I’ve got one silly question; does a sourdough starter smell? Will it make my apartment smell?
hi!! I just made this recipe last night/baked this morning. didn’t wait until it cooled to try it, because I obviously needed warm bread/butter to go with my coffee! 🙂 so yum! ordering myself a dough whisk now! do you ever top your bread with seeds? I’m in love with the everything mix from Trader Joe’s so I’m wanting to try it on top of my next loaf…any thoughts on when / how I should add it? like before putting it in the fridge overnight…or just after dropping it into the dutch oven?
So glad it turned out well for you! I would add the seeds when you go to bake it after the overnight proof since it rises so much in the fridge. Let me know how it turns out!
Thanks! I did it before the overnight proof last night, but not sure it was a great idea since some of the seeds stuck to my basket…oops!! It came out, though! I will do right before baking next week if we end up liking the seeds! I can’t wait to cut into it…I think baking it before leaving for work is the only way I don’t slice while still hot!!!! thanks girl!
This is a silly question but what do you use to keep/grow your starter in? Thanks!!
I wanted to say thank you for this detailed post. I went to a class on how to make sourdough bread, and tried it their way. Then I tried your way, and have been making two loaves weekly for a couple of months now. I feel like a baking goddess, my husband and daughter love it, and it gives me so much happiness! My baby is almost seven months, we just started solids, and I can’t wait to share it with her.
Do you ever use different types of flour?
Hi Jen! I’m getting ready to make sourdough for the first time and had a quick question. I got the started from King Arthur and have followed the directions for feeding it to reactivate it. When it comes to getting ready to bake (“building” the starter) — do I continue to add 4 ounces of water and 4 ounces of flour to the starter until it reaches the amount I need to bake or do I adjust the quantities based on the new weight of starter? I hope that makes sense! Thanks for your help.
Hey! This does make sense. I always start with 4/4/4 and then keep adding 4 flour and 4 water to whatever amount of starter that has built until I get enough to bake and have some leftover for next time. Hope that helps!
OMG Jen. I cannot believe it took me so long to actually make this, I’ve had the recipe open in my phone tabs for months. I followed your instructions exactly, watched all the videos, and SO appreciate all of the attention to detail that went into this post. My two loaves are the most successful sourdough loaves I’ve ever made. I gifted one to my mama who is a tough critic and she was so impressed. Just finished the most delicious breakfast of avocado toast and had to write immediately.
Unrelated to sourdough but while I’ve got you reading, I’ve followed your blog for years, I’m honestly not sure how I found it. Child birth has always scared me SO BAD and I always thought as I got older I’d just get over it but 30 came and went and can’t say that happened. You sharing your story has been so helpful to me and although I can’t relate directly since I don’t have kids I know some of your guidance and experiences will stick w me and I’ve been wanting to say thank you for sharing.
Love your blog and all the best!!
Hey Sarah – I am SO HAPPY to hear that sourdough baking went well for you! Thanks for trying out my method/tutorial! 🙂
Thank you so much for reading my blog and taking the time to comment and share. TBH, immediately after I had Finn I thought to myself that I would NEVER do that again. Childbirth was one of the craziest, out-of-body experiences of my life. But like many things…now that I’ve had some space from it…I would do it again in a heartbeat.
thank you SO much for this!!! I’m going to use it for my first sourdough bread bake in a few days once my starter is ready!
I’ve been baking bread with this recipe for the past 2years. Thank you! Question – have you tried creating pizza dough from this? If so, can you please share?
Ahh, thank you! I am so happy to hear that Eddie. The pizza dough is next on my list! Like, I have all the ingredients and I’m working on it this week so funny you should ask!
We’ve made delicious pizza with leftover sourdough starter using this recipe 🙂
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-pizza-crust-recipe
During our coronavirus hibernation, my 11 year and old and I made starter (from a kit). Can’t wait to make bread with him!! Thank you!
Hi! I love your recipe and have made it many times. One question…when I am kneading my dough with the stand mixer it “overflows” and gets all over the part where the dough hook connects to the mixer. Any ideas on why this happens? I have the KitchenAid Artisan. Maybe yours is bigger? The bowl is plenty big enough it’s just the way it works it’s way up the dough hook.
So when you let this sit in the fridge overnight, if you have all of the rest of the process done early in the morning, can you let it sit in the fridge all day and then just bake it late at night? So an eight hour rise time in the fridge?
You can do an eight hour rise during the day. The long overnight rise in the fridge also helps with flavor development and really gives you that sourdough tang!
Great instructions! I’ve been wanting to try this forever and this is the weekend! It’s proofing now. I was surprised that my KitchenAid was struggling badly and it smelled like it was going to burn out.
Does this recipe turnout ok to just make a single loaf with half of the ingredients? Have you successfully frozen the dough to bake one now and one later?
I can’t wait to try it!!
Since hopping on the quarantine sourdough bandwagon, this has become my go-to recipe. I like the level of detail in the instructions, and feel like if I follow them to the tee, it’s foolproof!
Working on batch #2 today, at the request of my son who turns 13 tomorrow and made a specific request for sourdough! Carbs and teenagers….this recipe has become my lifeline, thanks Jen for taking the time to write out the instructions.
Is it possible to half the recipe to do 1 loaf at a time?
I am so excited to try this with my new mixer arriving tmrrw. The pics and videos and descriptions are amazing for the first few tries but do you have a one sheet tutorial That is printable to remind us of steps without having to pull it up online? Thank you!
Followed your recipe exactly as described. My dough was pretty stiff…I was worried as the mixer was mixing that it climbed up the dough hook into the mechanism….first proof now.
Jen,
Trying out your bread tonight! What size KitchenAid mixer do you have? I have a generic 5 qt and I think it was a tad small to mix everything with the dough hook.
Thanks!
I have the professional 600 so it’s a larger capacity. You could always half the recipe and make one loaf if you’re concerned about your mixer capacity, or hand knead!
Thank you so much for this great tutorial! I tried this when you first posted it and gave up. My friend gave me a starter recently and I actually did it!
I don’t have a kitchen scale – can I convert all the measurements somehow? Thank you!
I was wondering, could I knead using the dough cycle on my cuisanart bread machine? (No kitchenaid stand mixer) and I don’t want to knead by hand. Maybe you haven’t tried that but mayI will try. I’ve had many fails with SD bread making. I’m thinking because my starter is never active enough. I’m going to try with your process for starter feedings. Thank you!
I’ve never tried that but I think you should just as an experiment! Sourdough is pretty forgiving!
Jen, thank you for such a detailed recipe. I finally ended up with two beautiful loaves….. on a third try! LOL!!! I think my starter wasn’t as mature the first two tries. Now that it has grown and produced delicious bread- I think it has earned a right to be given a name ?.
I do have one question. Do you have nutrition info on this recipe? I have friends who count calories, and they hesitate to eat it because they don’t know it’s caloric value. Thanks again!
Have you ever added mix-ins to this sourdough recipe? This is my go-to recipe and love the way it comes out! I want to experiment with mix-ins!