Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

delicious no-knead bread

Recipe by
Reviewed by Arturs Arnicans
Prep Time: 9h 4m
Cook Time: 45m
Total Time: 9h 49m
Temp.: 425 °F
Servings: 18
Difficulty: Easy
5.0 (21 Reviews)
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Ingredients

Adjust servings:

Nutritional Information

100
Calories
0mg
Fat
20g
Carbohydrates
3g
Protein
0mg
Cholesterol
195mg
Sodium
Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

Recipe Description

Now that you have got your sourdough starter going, it’s probably time to start thinking about baking bread. Enter my recipe for Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide. This is one of my favorite bread recipes for this main reason – no kneading required! A no-knead sourdough bread recipe like this one is an essential in any baker’s repertoire.

To make this overnight sourdough bread, start by combining sourdough starter with water, bread flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Leave the dough to rest for about 30 minutes. Take a minute to stretch and fold the dough in the bowl before covering and leaving to rest overnight. The next morning, turn the dough onto a floured work surface and shape into a loaf. Bake in a hot oven for 40-45 minutes and leave to cool completely before cooking.

To make the Sourdough Bread, you will need the following ingredients:

Ingredients for Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

Cuisine

No specific cuisine for this recipe

Steps to make

  1. 1

    Combine the ingredients

    30 min
    Step 1 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

    Combine the starter with water, bread flour and salt by mixing briefly with your hands. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave the dough rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

  2. 2

    Leave at room temperature

    8h
    Step 2 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s GuideStep 2 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

    Stretch and fold the dough in the bowl for about a minute before covering the bowl again. Leave the dough out on the counter overnight until it has doubled in size.

  3. 3

    Heat oven

    30 min
    Step 3 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

    Preheat the oven to 475 °F. Place a Dutch oven or another oven-proof pot with a lid inside to heat up.

  4. 4

    Shape into a loaf

    2 min
    Step 4 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

    Place a large piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and dust with flour. Transfer the dough to dusted parchment paper carefully, don’t punch down the dough to preserve the air bubbles.
    Catch the outside thirds of the dough and pull them into the center and shape the dough into a ball.

  5. 5

    Leave to rest

    30 min
    Step 5 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s GuideStep 5 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

    Cover the dough loosely with a piece of oiled plastic wrap and leave to rest for about 30 minutes. Do not overproof the dough. Remove the plastic wrap and slash the top of the bread with a sharp knife.

  6. 6

    Place bread in heated pot

    2 min
    Step 6 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s GuideStep 6 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

    Remove the heated pot from the oven and take off the lid. Lift the dough by the edges of the parchment paper and place the whole thing into the pot. Be careful that you don’t burn yourself - the pot will be very hot! Replace the lid and place in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 425 °F.

  7. 7

    Bake

    45 min
    Step 7 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

    Bake the bread with the lid on for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake for 20-25 more minutes.

  8. 8

    Cool

    Step 8 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

    Remove the bread from the pot immediately once cooked. Place the cooked loaf on a wire rack and leave to cool completely before slicing.

  9. 9

    Serve

    Step 9 - Sourdough Bread: A Beginner’s Guide

    I love to serve thick slices of this bread with butter and jam.

This Sourdough Bread: A Beginner's Guide is a perfect recipe for beginner bread makers. All you need to make an amazing loaf is bread flour, water, salt and sourdough starter! Just don’t forget to post your sourdough instagram updates with the #CookMeRecipes hashtag.

About the author

Lilly Mathuse

Lilly is an enthusiastic and cheerful young mom. She knows as well as any parent that children can be really picky when it comes to food. And she’s had plenty of experience trying to cook meals that are both tasty and nutritious, and able to satisfy the tastes of a fussy kid right away! To save you some precious time, Lilly's going to share with you all the tricks she learned the hard way, so you don’t have to! She has a wealth of recipes for quick and easy meals for kids and families on a budget.

Recipe Reviews

Have you made this recipe? Share your experience and help other cooks!

★★★★★
★★★★★
5.0 out of 5 (21 reviews)
Zaria Vinette
June 13, 2020
Verified

Really is the perfect beginners guide now i'm going to try the sourdough crackers next.

Lindsay Caracoza
June 12, 2020
Verified

Affordable and simple recipe its exactly what I was looking for.

Ayana Sadkowski
June 5, 2020
Verified

WOW delicious i'm not vegan but the bread is really tasty and i made it in a bread machine instead too so it didnt take that long either.

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