sourdough loaf

Try making our easy sourdough loaf and fill your home with a gorgeous aroma as it bakes. You need to have a sourdough starter which you can make yourself

Wholemeal sourdough loaf

strong white flour

strong wholemeal flour

wholemeal flour

fine salt

sourdough starter (see above)

To make a sourdough starter: whisk 50g of the strong white flour and 50g of the strong wholemeal flour with 100ml slightly warm water until smooth. Transfer to a large jar or plastic container. Leave the lid ajar for 1 hr or so in a warm place, then seal and set aside for 24 hours. For the next six days, you will need to ‘feed’ it. Each day, tip away half the original starter, add an extra 25g of each flour and 50ml slightly warm water, and stir well. After a few days you should start to see bubbles on the surface, and it will smell yeasty. On day seven, the starter should be bubbly and smell much sweeter. It is now ready to be used.

To make the sourdough bread: tip both the flours, 325ml warm water, the salt and the starter into a bowl, or a <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/top-five-food-mixers">mixer</a> fitted with a dough hook. Stir with a wooden spoon, or on a slow setting in the mixer until combined – add extra flour if it’s too sticky or a little warm water if it’s dry. Tip onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins until soft and elastic – you should be able to stretch it without it tearing. If you‘re using a mixer, turn up the speed a little and mix for 5 mins.

Place the dough in a floured bowl and cover with cling film. Leave in a warm place to rise for 3 hrs. You may not see much movement, as sourdough takes much longer to rise.

Line a medium bowl with a clean tea towel and flour it really well or flour a proving basket. Tip the dough back onto your work surface and knead briefly to knock out any air bubbles. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and dust it with flour.

Place the dough, seam-side up, in the bowl or proving basket, and leave at room temperature for 3 hrs, or in the fridge overnight, until risen by about a quarter.

Place a large baking tray in the oven and heat to 230C/210C fan/gas 8. Fill a small roasting tin with water and place in the bottom of the oven to create steam. Remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle with flour, then tip the dough onto it.

Slash the top a few times with a sharp knife to make a pattern, then bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown. It should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Leave to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

This pumpkin sourdough bread is soft, buttery, and has a tender crumb. These delicious pumpkin pull apart rolls are made with mashed pumpkin, butter, active sourdough starter! 

Soft Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

pumpkin

eggs (about 3 large eggs)

water

active starter

unsalted butter (softened)

bread flour

sugar

sea salt

active dry yeast

Add dough to mixing bowl

Mix: Leaving out the butter, add the rest of the ingredients into the mixing bowl attached to a stand mixer. Make sure the yeast and salt don&#039;t touch. Using a dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until all the dry flour is incorporated.

Add the butter

Add butter and beat: Next add all the butter and increase the speed to high until a smooth  ball forms. The sides of the bowl should be clean and the dough should no longer be sticky.

Check gluten development

Windowpane test: Check the dough for proper gluten development using by stretching it between your fingers using the &#039;windowpane test&#039;. You should be able to stretch it thin enough for the dough to be translucent without tearing.

Bulk Fermentation

Bulk Fermentation: Take out the dough, form it into a loose ball, and put it into a large bowl. Proof in a warm, humid place until it doubles in volume (it took me about an hour). See Notes below on how to proof at home.

Divide, shape, bench rest

Divide and shape, then bench rest: Divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll them into even balls, making sure the surface is smooth. Dust the board and surface of dough balls with flour. Lightly cover so they don&#039;t dry out and let it rest for 15 minutes - called step is called bench rest.

Final shaping

Final shaping: Dust your board with flour. Flip over the pre-shaped dough balls so the smooth surface is facing down. Roll each ball into a long oval shape then fold the bottom ⅓ up and the top ⅓ down to make a letter fold. Then roll up the dough and pinch the seam closed. See step by step photos in post for more details.

Final proof

Final proof: Line your pan with parchment paper. Add three rolled up dough balls into each loaf pan. Press down firmly to spread dough to corners. Proof until volume increases by 50%. About 30 to 45 minutes. Preheat your oven at this time to 338°F or 170°C.

Bake

Bake:  Bake at 338°F or 170°C for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

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:

This simple sourdough bread recipe only requires a few basic ingredients. The result is a loaf of bread with a chewy interior and a golden brown, crusty exterior.

Sourdough Bread Recipe

(227 g) filtered water

(100 g) sourdough starter (active)

(240 g) all-purpose flour

(60 g) bread flour

Rice Flour (for dusting bowl)

In a large bowl, whisk together the bubbly, active sourdough starter and the filtered water. Add the all-purpose flour and bread flour. Use a sturdy spoon or spatula to combine. The mixture will be wet and sticky. Sprinkle it with salt, and gently pinch it with your fingers. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, leave the dough in the bowl, and complete 4 sets of &quot;stretch and folds.&quot; These will be completed in 30 minute intervals.

Stretch and Folds:Wet your hands with water, and grab a piece of dough near the top of the bowl. Pull it straight up to stretch making sure not to tear the dough. Fold it over to the center of the dough and press down lightly. Repeat this on each side of the bowl and the bottom. You&#39;ll do this 4 times (think of the bowl in fourths or quarters). After completing a stretch and fold in each quarter of the bowl, that is a &quot;set.&quot; Complete 3 more sets of stretch and folds at 30 minute intervals over the next hour and a half, and cover with plastic wrap between each.

After completing all 4 sets of stretch and folds, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours or up to overnight. When you're ready to work with the dough again, remove it from the refrigerator, and allow it to come to room temperature, about 1 to 2 hours.

When the dough has warmed a bit, pour it from the bowl onto an unfloured work surface. Lightly flour the dough, and wet your hands. Place your hands on opposite sides of the dough and gently turn to tighten the dough and form a ball. The dough should stick to work surface and provide traction. Let it sit for 20 minutes to rest. It will spread some, but if it flattens out, repeat the process to tighten it into a ball. Let it rest for an additional 20 minutes. While the dough rests, prepare a cloth lined banneton or glass bowl lined with a lightweight kitchen towel. Dust the banneton or bowl lightly with rice flour then set aside.

After the dough rests, wet a bench scraper and gently wedge it under the dough. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and transfer to the refrigerator to double in size. This usually takes about 2 to 4 hours depending on how lively the yeast is.

When the double has doubled in size, adjust an oven rack to the bottom third of the oven. Place a large Dutch oven with lid on the rack, and preheat the oven to 450°. Cut a large piece of parchment paper and remove the dough from the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap from the bowl and lay the parchment paper over the top of the bowl. Carefully flip the bowl upside down, so the dough is now on the parchment paper. Use a bread lame or sharp knife to score the dough if desired.

Very carefully place the parchment paper and dough into the hot Dutch oven. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing, about 1 hour.

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Wholemeal sourdough loaf

Soft Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

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Sourdough Bread Recipe

Top 4 sourdough loaf recipes from across the web

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

Top Tags

Wholemeal sourdough loaf

Soft Pumpkin Sourdough Bread

Easy Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Bread Recipe

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