easy sourdough bread

This sourdough cheese bread requires no starter required and is so easy! It tastes like it&#x27;s from a fancy bakery! Who can resist homemade cheesy bread?!

Easy Cheddar Sourdough Bread

bread flour (I use King Arthur)

salt,

yeast

cheddar cheese, diced

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted...

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or use a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon and your hands), add the flour, Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup sour cream, salt, and yeast.

Turn mixer on low speed and allow it...

Turn mixer on low speed and allow it to knead dough for about 5 to 7 minutes (about 7 to 10 minutes by hand using a wooden spoon and then switching to your hands). Add sour cream as needed to form a very moist and wet dough. If it’s at all dry or crumbly, add more sour cream (or Greek yogurt) until it comes together. I used one-17.6 ounce tub of Greek yogurt and almost 1 cup lite sour cream. Dough will be seem like it’s almost too wet and it’s very heavy, but this is what you want. Err on the side of wetter than drier because flour and yeast love moisture when rising.

Remove dough from the mixing bowl, spray a...

Remove dough from the mixing bowl, spray a large bowl with cooking spray, pat dough into a round ball, place it in the bowl, and flip it over once so it’s lightly oiled on both top and bottom. It will look like a dimply head of cauliflower.

Cover bowl with plasticwrap (spray it with cooking...

Cover bowl with plasticwrap (spray it with cooking spray in case dough rises high enough to touch it) and place bowl in a warm, draft-free place to rise for about 6 to 8+ hours (I did 9 hours), or doubled in size. If you want to start this before work or before bed and made as an overnight dough and it’ll go 8-10 hours, that’s fine (I started it before bed and finished in the morning). There’s really no harm in letting it rise for up to 18 hours and the longer you let it go, the more of a classic sourdough/fermented flavor that will develop. If you suspect you’re going to allow it to rise on the longer side (12-18 hours), reduce yeast to about 1/2 teaspoon so dough doesn’t get too puffy and overflow the bowl.

After 6+ hours of rising, turn dough out...

After 6+ hours of rising, turn dough out onto a floured surface (without punching it down to preserve the air pockets and bubbles that have been created) and knead lightly for about 2 to 3 minutes.

With your fingers, make a flat 8 to...

With your fingers, make a flat 8 to 10-inch oval, evenly sprinkle with cheese. Tuck in sides so cheese is fully contained and pat into a round mound. Make sure cheese is fully enclosed and contained or it will burn.

Place mound back into large mixing bowl, seam...

Place mound back into large mixing bowl, seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 60 to 120 minutes, or until doubled in size (I did 75 minutes; I suspect the longer you let the second rise go, the more ‘holey’ the bread will be). Placing the bowl on the stovetop is a nice spot for this rise because you’re going to turn on the oven and the residual heat emitted helps with rising.

Shortly after dough begins the 60-120 minute rising,...

Shortly after dough begins the 60-120 minute rising, turn oven on to 450F and place a covered Dutch oven (empty) or heavy-bottomed skillet into the oven and allow it to heat for about 45 minutes. Dutch ovens are so heavy and take so long to get truly hot, and when you’re ready to bake the bread, you want the Dutch oven screaming hot.

After about 60-90 minutes or dough has doubled...

After about 60-90 minutes or dough has doubled in size, remove Dutch oven from oven (careful, it’s screaming hot, use two pairs of hot mitts) and carefully place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of Dutch oven to prevent bread from sticking.

Carefully transfer dough from rising bowl to Dutch...

Carefully transfer dough from rising bowl to Dutch oven, cover it, and bake covered for 30 minutes. Don’t open the oven door or the Dutch oven lid to peek; you want to seal in the steam.

After 30 minutes, uncover the Dutch oven, and...

After 30 minutes, uncover the Dutch oven, and allow bread to bake uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes (I did 8 minutes) or until it’s as browned as desired. Traditional sourdough has a darker crust than most bread (sometimes almost burnt-looking, but I prefer mine on the lighter side).

Remove Dutch oven from oven, and remove bread...

Remove Dutch oven from oven, and remove bread from Dutch oven. Place it on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. As tempting as it is, don’t slice too early because the cooling process is important and should be considered an important extension of the baking process.

Slice or break off hunks, and serve with...

Slice or break off hunks, and serve with butter, jam, hummus,  cheese, cheese spread, dip, etc.

Bread is best fresh, but will keep airtight...

Bread is best fresh, but will keep airtight at room temp for up to 3 days. Older bread may be better toasted or make as grilled cheese.

This no-fuss, easy sourdough bread has a lacey crumb, the perfect amount of tang, and a crispy crust. Enjoy step-by-step instructions for beginners &amp; experts alike.

Easy Sourdough Bread

warm water (about 90°F)

sourdough starter

bread flour (Note 1)

salt

brown rice flour (for dusting)

Feed the starter 8-12 hours prior to making the bread dough. You need a nice and ripe starter. Test the starter by dropping a small amount into a water. If it floats, it’s ripe and ready to use!

Before you start:

In a large mixing bowl, combine warm water and ripe starter. Mix until most of the starter is broken up and mixed into the water.

Add flour and salt.

Use a silicone spatula, or your hand, or the dough hook attachment, knead the dough until all the flour is incorporated, about 2 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes.

Then knead it again for 5 minutes, if using a stand mixer, or about 8 minutes, if kneading by hand. (Note: Don’t be alarmed by soft and sticky dough. It’s exactly as it should be, and it’ll get easier to handle.) Cover the dough with plastic wrap (or shower cap) and rest for 30 minutes.

To mix the dough:

Turn the dough out onto a clean counter, lightly sprayed with water. Gently stretch the dough out as far as it can go. Then lift the bottom end and fold it over the center of the dough. Then do the same with the top side of the dough. Now, lift the sides of the dough and fold it over onto the center as well. Then tuck the corners to form a nice smooth ball. Using a bench scraper, turn the dough into tight ball to create a surface tension. Please watch my video demonstration for better understanding. (TIP: Lightly dampen your hands with water. It minimizes the dough sticking to your hands.)

Put the dough back into the bowl, cover and bulk ferment for 5-6 hours at room temperature (around 70°F). (Note: If you have time, I also encourage you to do additional 1-2 lamination about 1 hour apart. It helps to strengthen the gluten structure and promotes nice open crumb.)

To laminate &amp; bulk ferment the dough:

Turn the dough out onto a clean counter, lightly sprayed with water. With lightly dampened hands, stretch and fold the dough again as described in step 6. Form the dough into a tight ball and let it rest for 10 minutes, covered. Resting allows the dough to relax and it’ll be easier to shape it.

Flip the dough smooth side down and stretch the top portion slightly and fold it over the center. Do the same thing with the bottom portion. You should now have a log shaped dough. Then from the short end, roll the dough as if you’re rolling a burrito. Tightly pinch the seams.

Generously dust the banneton basket with brown rice flour and put the bread dough into it, seam-side up.

To pre-shape:

Cover the banneton with plastic wrap, or the same shower cap. And let it proof for 1 hour at room temperature, then place it in the fridge for overnight, 8-10 hours, for cold proofing. OR proof the dough for 2 hours at room temperature and bake right away. (Note: Slow cold proofing helps to develop more flavor. But in my experience, it didn’t affect the oven spring.)

To proof the dough:

Preheat the oven with bread cloche to 425°F (218°C) for at least 1 hour. (If using Dutch oven, you may or may not preheat it. I’ve tried either way and didn’t see significant difference.)

Poke test: Poke the dough in the banneton with your finger about half an inch deep. If the dough springs right back, then it’s under-proofed. If the dough doesn’t spring back at all, it’s over-proofed. You want your dough spring back slowly and leave a small indentation.

Carefully invert the proofed bread dough onto the hot cloche. Spritz the top of the bread with water and score it to your desired pattern. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. (TIP: Spraying water helps to create more steam and encourages a good oven spring. The bread crust also gets nice blisters from water sprays.)

Then remove the cover and bake the bread for another 15 minutes.

Carefully transfer the bread onto a wire rack and cool completely for at least 3 hours before slicing into it. (TIP: If sliced too soon, the bread will be unpleasantly gummy.)

To bake the bread:

A sourdough bread perfect for beginners. This delicious recipe has a soft chewy crumb and crusty exterior. All you need is a few ingredients, some time, and patience.

Beginners Sourdough Bread

all-purpose flour (3 1/2 cups)

starter (active and bubbly (1/2 cup))

water (1 1/3 cups)

salt (2 teaspoons)

Feed a sourdough starter 4-12 hours before starting the dough, ensuring it is active and bubbly.

Combine warm water, active starter, salt, and flour with a wooden spoon or even just your hands in a large mixing bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and allow to rest for 30 minutes for the water to hydrate the flour.

Grab the edge of the dough and pull up stretching it out as you pull upwards. This may be difficult and you may need to kind of bounce the dough to get it to stretch. Place dough that is in your hands back into the center. Turn the bowl about a quarter turn and complete another stretch and fold. Repeat two more times. This is considered one round.

Thirty minutes later, complete another round of stretch and folds. Cover and allow the dough to rest another 30 minutes.

Complete one last stretch and fold round.

Cover with a lid, damp towel, or plastic wrap. Let the dough bulk ferment in a warm place until it has doubled in size. This could be anywhere from 6-12 hours (or longer) depending on the temperature of your kitchen, maturity of your starter, etc. Be careful not to let it over ferment.

Stretch And Fold

Place the dough on a clean work surface that has been lightly dusted with flour. Fold the dough onto itself and roll up. Then shape into a ball by gently spinning it toward you.

Optional - Let the dough sit out for 15-20 minutes uncovered. This prevents the dough from sticking to the tea towel during the overnight rise.

Turn over and shape. I do this by folding the two sides over to meet in the middle, pinch together and then repeat on the other two sides. This creates surface tension which helps give it more oven spring (a good rise).

Transfer to a floured banneton or bowl with a floured tea towel (typically floured with rice flour, this is not necessary and all-purpose will work just fine) seam side up.

Cover with plastic or place in a plastic bag and tie the ends. Let the dough rest for 12-15 hours in the refrigerator. You can also let the bread rise at room temperature for 3-4 hours. I like using the longer rise time in the refrigerator because it is easier to score and feel like the oven spring is better.

Shape

Preheat a dutch oven to 500 degrees for 1 hour.

Remove dough from the fridge right before baking. Place dough on a piece of parchment paper.

Dust with flour, if desired, and score with lame or razor blade. I like to do one large score (called an expansion score) and then a cute design for the other score.

Carefully, transfer the piece of parchment paper with the dough into the hot dutch oven. Careful not to burn your fingers.

Place the lid back on and place the dutch oven into the hot oven. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the lid with oven mitts, turn the oven temperature down to 475, and bake an additional 15-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Bake

Ugh this comment is for the everyday sourdough discard recipe by the way!

Used my bread machine on the dough setting and it turned out perfectly mixed, kneaded and proofed. After the cycle is finished I continued with the rest of the recipe (even proofed my bread on my screened in porch to get a really great second rise in our crazy heat!) Hands on time is probably a total of 10 minutes. This is a great way to use up alot of discard! Such a great recipe!

So good, once I got my starter strong enough...this recipe is my go to to this day. I strayed and tried a few other options but...came righhht back. Thank you!

First time making true sourdough! It was a crazy day in my kitchen so I know I missed a lot of the timing on folding and stretching…I did the overnight refrigerator rise and it came out fabulous! I was hosting a big grad party so I doubled the recipe, only had one Dutch oven so I baked one in it and the other on a stoneware baking sheet. I added water in the oven for steam. The bread came out perfectly. My foodie son called it “next level sourdough”. It is a very forgiving recipe and quite easy once you get past the initial shock at all the steps! Thank you!

You're directions are very clear! Thank you for the details. I am encouraged to be a life time bread baker! The making of the bread is as satisfying as the partaking and gifting others to partake!

Oops.  After my last stretch and fold I proceeded to fold the dough and roll into a ball.  I'm going to let it bulk ferment on the counter top now.  Hopefully I didn't ruin my loaf.  This will be my third time making a loaf (and following your recipe!) My first loaf was great, second was a bit chewy.  I think my starter wasn't active enough so kept it out for a couple days feeding it and even did a dry feed that really seemed to help.  I'm not giving up! Quickly learning sourdough can be lots of trial and error.

Perfectly soft in the middle and just the right amount of crunch on the outside. I’ve always been intimidated by baking sourdough and this recipe is super easy!!

Sourdough newbie here and this recipe was super easy to follow and execute. My bread came out so amazing that people didn’t believe it was my first one. In the process of baking my second now!

Love this recipe and have given everyone I know a loaf. Any way to cut the loaf in half and make two breads? I'm pregnant and the sourdough is my ick, my poor husband is struggling to get through the loaves alone

Top 3 easy sourdough bread recipes from across the web

The most viewed easy sourdough bread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

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Easy Cheddar Sourdough Bread

Easy Sourdough Bread

Beginners Sourdough Bread

Top 3 easy sourdough bread recipes from across the web

The most viewed easy sourdough bread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy Cheddar Sourdough Bread

Easy Sourdough Bread

Beginners Sourdough Bread

The most viewed easy sourdough bread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine