This is the bread that disappears in about 30 minutes every time I make it, even though I suggest waiting an hour before cutting it. In fact, I have made this easy sourdough recipe so many times, I have the easy sourdough bread recipe memorized.

There is nothing like sourdough bread out of your own oven. The outside is crispy, crunchy and chewy, while the inside is spring. The tang of a fermented loaf promises a satisfaction that is hard to beat.

ANYONE CAN MAKE SOURDOUGH if they use this recipe.

I am reposting this because I’ve made three loaves in the last week and tweaked my recipe once more. My family noticed the difference and say it’s the best bread I’ve ever made and better than we buy at the Farmer’s Market.

EVERYONE loves this bread. It’s above average and the recipe is so easy and straightforward, you will be able to bake a sourdough loaf that your family loves.

Most of the sourdough recipes I have made here have come from my favorite sourdough book. This recipe is an adaptation of one of the recipes I’ve used most often.

I decided that I would share it, because this is for the everyday person who hasn’t devoted a lot of time to baking sourdough and might be a bit intimidated.

This loaf, while delicious, had sporadic holes, which led me to add more water and change the flour. The point is that I’ve never made a bad sourdough loaf, but some were better than others.

What is Sourdough Bread?

In basic terms, it’s made with flour and water and leavened with a sourdough starter (fermented mix of flour, water, wild yeast), not using commercially sold yeast. It has a delicious aroma and tang due to the fermentation. It should have a crusty crust and a springy inside with lots of holes.

In complex terms, there are hundreds maybe thousands of ways to combine flour, water, and salt to get a of loaf of bread and there are volumes written about it.

There are so many opinions on water to flour ratio, temperature of water, temperature of room, how long to bulk rise, final rise, refrigerate, etc. and how to handle the dough. I have seen spread sheets on making sourdough that take a genius to decipher. You don’t need to do that.

This is why I’m sharing this. If you’re new to sourdough, this is a great place to start and you will have a way to make sourdough bread without intimidation for the rest of your life.

This is a high hydration recipe, meaning a more water in the recipe. High hydration results in bigger holes and we want bigger holes (a more open crumb) in our sourdough. I used to follow the book’s exact high hydration recipe, but I wasn’t getting the bread I wanted. It was a very good loaf of bread, but didn’t have the exact interior I was looking for.

While the loaf on the left is good, the loaf on the right is bigger and turned out better, as I made a few changes that I’m sharing here in the recipe. The loaf on left was over-proofed; the loaf on right perfectly proofed. See below to know how to test.

Tips on Proofing Sourdough

There is a window for perfectly proofed sourdough, but the timeline on this recipe will help you reach that without too much fretting. I have never had a proofing issue with this recipe.

Perfect Proof Time: Press finger lightly into dough and if it slowly springs back, it’s ready to bake. Don’t wait.
Under-Proofed: The dough springs back too fast and disappears. Continue proofing, while heating oven 30 mins. Check in 30 minutes.
Over-Proofed: The dough doesn’t spring back at all. You missed the baking point. Do not slash. Bake right away. Your bread will not rise as much, but will still taste good.

What Constitutes a Perfect Sourdough Bread Recipe?

Good Spring – The bread rises up in the oven, is not dense.
Tangy, fermented, put pleasant taste and flavor.
Crusty on outside.
Stretchy interior texture, not pillow like dinner rolls.
Open crumb or demonstrated by large holes (airy, not dense)

Sourdough should take a little time to chew! You want a thick crust and a stretchy inside, which is extremely satisfying.

My issue has always been the holes and the spring. I would get some big holes, and then whole sections with no holes. If this happens to you, don’t worry, as it will still taste good and disappear fast. However, there are a few things I did to the after a few years of sourdough baking to get my perfect sourdough loaf.

What is a Good Spring in Sourdough Bread?

A good spring means your bread got off to a good rise in the oven before it began to crust and you will have an even loaf. Not flat. Not dense.

My Secret to a Good Spring

One of the things I have discovered after years of baking sourdough bread is a combination of bread flour and a 00 all-purpose flour. The soft wheat combined with the bread flour for some reason gives my bread just the right amount of stretch and spring. We have noticed the difference.

However, if you don’t have 00 flour, following these directions will still result in a great loaf of sourdough bread. The bread below is made with traditional all-purpose flour and still has the holes.

My Tips for Baking Sourdough with a Good Spring

High hydration.
A good strong starter with lot of lactobacillus and wild yeast.
Mix bread flour with some all purpose flour (I used to use 100 % bread flour, now I use 80/20 ratio to get a wetter, softer dough. A wholewheat loaf won’t result in a very high rise.
Don’t overproof. See tips.
Hot enough oven.

Make Easy Sourdough Bread from Spinach Tiger

My Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe Process

You will need about 20 hours before you can bake your bread.

Morning Dough Option – Following Day Bake Anytime

Make dough in morning and after rising 10-12 hours, refrigerate overnight. You can bake the next day anytime.

Evening Dough Option-Following Day Afternoon Bake

Make dough in evening. Leave on counter in warm place to rise overnight. Refrigerate in the morning. Bake in afternoon.

Make sure starter is bubbly.
Add starter to warm water (about 80-85 degrees F.) Mix. If your starter doesn’t float, it’s not active enough. Feed your starter and wait until it’s bubbly.
Mix Bread flour and all purpose flour, salt together.
Add flour to starter/water mix.
Mix with hands. Allow to sit ten minutes.
Shape into rough ball of dough.
Cover with damp towel or plastic.
Sit overnight on counter in warmest spot. Or if you start in morning, allow to sit on counter and then, refrigerate at night.
Replenish starter with 25 grams flour, 25 grams water.
After dough is in refrigerator for at least 6 hours, take dough out and place on counter.
Dimple all over.
Shape into a dough ball, pulling edges of dough over, like a wrapping, securing a firm ball. Do so gently.
Gather the dimpled dough to form the final bread.
GENTLY, pull dough from edges over dough ball, rotating and pulling, until the dough resists.
Turn into floured proofing basket upside down, meaning seam side up. This is important, as bubbles rise up to seam side which will be the bottom when baked. Those bubbles will help the dough rise.
When ready to bake you need a hot oven. Preheat to 500 degrees F. Reduce to 450 to bake. Take out of the refrigerator while oven is heating up.
Bake covered for 20 minutes. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes more.
Bread is done inside when the internal temperature reaches 208 degrees F.
Once baked, cool for one hour, prior to slicing. We rarely wait.

Starter, 8-12 hour Bulk Rise, Dimple

You do not need a proofing basket, and can use a deep glass bowl, but I like the shape it gives.

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