Artisan Sourdough Bread

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A beginner’s guide on how to make a gorgeous loaf of Artisan Sourdough Bread! Complete tips for a homemade white bread baked in a dutch oven.

Table of Contents
  1. What is different about sourdough bread?
  2. How do you make a sourdough starter?
  3. Tools for Making Sourdough Bread
  4. How do you know when sourdough is ready for bread?
  5. Pro Tip: Try the float test
  6. Low Hydration vs. High Hydration
  7. How to Make Sourdough Bread
  8. Let rest one last time.
  9. Do you have to use a dutch oven to bake sourdough bread?
  10. What can I use sourdough bread for?
  11. Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe Recipe
  12. Sourdough Recipes We Love
  13. Sourdough Discard Recipes

This post has been in the works for about 2 years now. When we originally started learning about sourdough from sifting through my grandma’s old cookbooks, her sourdough starters used yeast and the recipes often called for leavening agents other than just the sourdough. I didn’t know any better…but I was enjoying working with and learning about sourdough starters.

As the past 2 years have gone by I’ve realized that a “real” sourdough starter doesn’t begin with yeast. And sourdough bread recipes don’t normally have yeast. This has been fascinating for me to learn, and with the current state of shortages in supplies, it was the perfect time for me to fill in the gaps.

slice of sourdough bread with holes

So…today I introduce to you our beautiful artisan sourdough bread. This has been a rollercoaster of a ride in learning, but we’ve been through the failures and testing so you don’t have to.

We promise that if you step through our process, you’ll end up with a gorgeous loaf of homemade bread without yeast!

What is different about sourdough bread?

Most breads use commercial yeast to give rise to bread doughs. They are quick, easy and generally no nonsense. But what happens when you don’t have yeast on hand?

Sourdough bread uses a “starter”, a naturally fermented mixture of flour and water that will give a beautiful rise to your baked goods…without the use of yeast. The process takes longer but is so, so easy once you get started with it. It’s really a lot of hands off time.

Because of the natural fermentation, the bread has a “sour”, tangy flavor that is just amazing. The longer you keep your sourdough starter going, the better the flavor it will have!

loaf of artisan sourdough bread

How do you make a sourdough starter?

We have an entire post dedicated to making homemade sourdough starter. It takes about a week. Start at that article, then once you have an starter that is bubbly and active, come back here to make bread.

Tools for Making Sourdough Bread

There are a few things you’ll need to have on hand if you want your bread to turn out in the best possible way.

  • kitchen scale – You can measure by volume, but for the best results, we recommend investing in a kitchen scale. It’s worth it.
  • glass bowl – We have several of these large glass bowls. You’ll be able to see the bulk fermentation if you use a glass bowl.
  • banneton basket – For higher hydration breads, these baskets give your dough a beautiful shape.
  • parchment paper – So your bread doesn’t stick to the baking dish.
  • bread lame – Make gorgeous designs in the tops of your breads with this tool!
  • dutch oven – Dutch ovens are necessary for those gorgeously golden brown, crispy crusts.

How do you know when sourdough is ready for bread?

This is one of the most important questions when making sourdough bread. If your starter is not active and bubbly, it won’t give any rise to a loaf of bread. And no one wants to waste ingredients.

You should feed your starter a few hours before you are ready to bake bread. When it has doubled and is really bubbly, it’s time to bake with. You want to bake with it before the starter deflates. This is important!

Pro Tip: Try the float test

Drop a little bit of starter into a glass jar. If the starter floats, it is ready to bake with. See the picture below.

sourdough starter floating in a glass of water

Low Hydration vs. High Hydration

You may hear about “high hydration” and “low hydration” breads. High hydration breads means there is more water in the dough. The doughs will be stickier, may spread more (not hold their shape well) and will have larger holes in the bread once it is baked.

Low hydration breads are tighter in texture (not big holes) and will hold a nice round dome before baking.

We call this bread recipe a medium hydration. It is the perfect mix between the two for our family. Try using less water (or more flour) as you tweak this recipe to be the perfect bread for your family.

How to Make Sourdough Bread

You’ll want to plan about a day and a half for making artisan sourdough bread. Here’s the timeline I usually follow. They are somewhat flexible based on temperature and humidity, but it gives you an idea.

  • 3:00 PM – Feed Starter
  • 7:00 PM – Mix Dough
  • Overnight – Bulk Fermentation
  • 7:00 AM – Shape Dough
  • 9 or 10:00 AM- Bake Bread

I plan my artisan sourdough bread this way because I don’t want to be up late baking bread. I’d rather let it rise overnight. You can tweak this if you’d like, but as you can see it will take almost 24 hours to make. Thankfully, most of that is hands off time.

Measure and Mix.

Turn on your kitchen scale. Place the glass bowl on top. Press “tare” so that it isn’t using the bowl weight, but only the ingredients you’ll add. Also make sure it is set to grams.

A note about how much starter to use for a loaf of bread: You can use as little as 25 grams of starter in this recipe. However, know that it will take longer for the bulk fermentation stage. If we are running low on starter, we’ll use 50 grams. We normally have a nice amount of starter on hand so using 90 grams of starter simply allows the whole process to go a little more quickly for us.

Add 90 grams of active sourdough starter to the bowl. Then add 350 grams of warm water. Use a whisk to whisk the ingredients together.

Then add 500 grams of a high quality, unbleached bread flour. This is the type of flour that will give you the best results. We have not tested other flours, only unbleached bread flour.

flour in a bowl on a scale

Lastly, add 9 grams of salt.

Mix these ingredients together until they form a rough, shaggy dough.

half mixed sourdough bread dough

Let rest.

Allow the dough ball to sit for 30 minutes. This will help the gluten strands form. It’s an important step for the texture of the dough.

Form dough ball.

After the 30 minutes is over, use your hands to form a dough ball. This should only take about 15 seconds and isn’t necessarily “kneading” the dough, but just forming a smooth ball.

ball of unfermented sourdough ball

Let rest.

Place the dough ball back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Now it is time for bulk fermentation. That starter is going to make all of your bread dough bubbly and light textured. Watch it do it’s magic! Or do like me and go to sleep while it works. 🙂 This step normally takes about 10-12ish hours for us. It really depends on temperature and how active your starter is. The dough should be nearly doubled in size though.

You should see pretty bubbles of all sizes in the dough. That’s why we love to use a glass bowl!

Shape the dough.

Now that the dough has fully fermented, it’s time to shape it! If the dough feels super sticky, dust it lightly with flour. It’s important to note that through this shaping the dough will naturally deflate, but you don’t want to press down on it hard or knead it. Hold it gently and work with it lightly.

Start on one side and fold the dough over. Then turn the dough slightly and fold over the next section of dough towards the center. Turn the dough again and fold again, then do it again until you’ve gone all the way around the circle. This process creates a surface tension on the outside of the dough for a nice shape.

sourdough bread in a banneton basket

Let rest one last time.

Place the dough ball, smooth side down, into a floured banneton basket. Allow the dough to sit again for another 1-3 hours. You want the dough to look light textured and not dense at all. It won’t fully rise to double again….just watch for the texture to lighten. Don’t let this stage go too long because you want that “oven spring” during baking, which is the final rise before the crust forms on the outside of the bread.

Bake.

  • Preheat the oven to 450º Fahrenheit.
  • Turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper.
  • Score the top of the bread with a bread lame. (designs here)
  • Place the bread with parchment paper into a large dutch oven. Place the lid on top.
  • Place the dutch oven in the oven and lower the temperature to 425º Fahrenheit.
  • Bake for 40 minutes.
  • Then remove the lid of the dutch oven and bake without the lid for an extra 10 minutes. This will get the crust beautifully golden brown.
round artisan sourdough bread loaf

Do you have to use a dutch oven to bake sourdough bread?

Homemade bread bakes best when it has steam or moisture to allow it to form and rise correctly. Baking bread in a dutch oven traps that moisture and works beautifully to allow the inside of the bread to bake before the exterior dries out. It gives the crust a crispy exterior that you know and love in a sourdough bread.

So yes, we 100% recommend using a dutch oven to bake artisan sourdough bread.

What can I use sourdough bread for?

Sourdough bread is perfect for sandwiches, paninis, French toast, breakfast casseroles or grilled sandwiches.

Our favorite is simply when we slice it and slather it with butter and honey. So, so good!

inside a loaf of artisan sourdough
inside a loaf of artisan sourdough

Artisan Sourdough Bread Recipe

4.79 from 47 votes
A beginner's guide on how to make a gorgeous loaf of Artisan Sourdough Bread! Complete tips for a homemade white bread baked in a dutch oven.
Servings 16
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Resting Time 17 hours

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Ingredients
 

  • 90 grams active sourdough starter
  • 350 grams warm water (non-chlorinated water)
  • 500 grams unbleached bread flour
  • 9 grams sea salt
  • extra flour for dusting (about ½ cup)

Instructions
 

  • It is best if you use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients. It works best if it is measured by grams.
  • Place a large glass bowl on a kitchen scale and set to "0".
  • Add 90 grams of active sourdough starter to the bowl.
  • Add 350 grams of warm water. Use a whisk to mix the starter and water.
  • Add the flour and salt.
  • Use a sourdough spoon (or a rubber spatula) to mix the ingredients together to form a rough, shaggy dough.
  • Allow this dough to sit for 30 minutes. (This is the autolyse stage.)
  • Work the dough into a ball, which should only take about 15 seconds. Place the dough back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place the bowl in a warm spot to rise. This could be in indirect sunlight or in an oven with the light on. Or you can just let it sit on the counter if you keep your house warm.
  • Allow the dough to rise until the dough has almost doubled. This usually takes about 8 hours for us, but it will depend on how active the starter is and the temperature of the ingredients. (Most people plan for anywhere from 4-12 hours for this bulk fermentation.) If you have your dough in a glass bowl you should be able to look through to see bubbles forming all in the dough.
  • Carefully pull the dough out of the bowl. If it feels really sticky you may want to sprinkle the counter lightly with flour. The dough will gently deflate which is ok. You want to be careful not to punch it down or work the dough too much at this point.
  • Start on one side and fold the dough over. Then turn the dough slightly and fold over the next section of dough towards the center. Turn the dough again and fold again, then do it again until you've gone all the way around the circle. This process creates a surface tension on the outside of the dough for a nice shape.
  • Place the dough smooth side down in a floured banneton basket.
  • Allow the dough to rise one last time. This last rise will take anywhere from 1-3 hours. The dough should look slightly "puffy" again and light textured (not dense), but does not have to be doubled. It will rise nicely in the oven.
  • Preheat the oven to 450º Fahrenheit.
  • Cut a piece of parchment paper and lay it on the counter. Turn out the dough onto the parchment paper.
  • Place the dough ball (with parchment paper) into a dutch oven. Place the dutch oven cover on.
  • Turn the oven down to 425º Fahrenheit. Then bake the bread in the covered dutch oven for 40 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.
  • Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely on a wire rack.
  • This bread will have the best flavor when it is served the next day, but it is also so good fresh from the oven. For the best texture you'll want to wait at least an hour before slicing the bread with a strong serrated knife.
  • Store the bread in an airtight container.

Notes

*If the dough is too sticky for the environment you live in, reduce the water by 25 grams and/or increase the flour. 99% of the time, we make the recipe as written, adding in up to ½ cup more flour for kneading, as stated. It is definitely a sticky dough which is the way we like it, but you can totally add more flour if you’d like.
The calories shown are based on the bread being cut into 16 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of bread. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**

Nutrition

Calories: 118kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 219mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Calories 118
Keyword comfort food

Sourdough Recipes We Love

We’ve had so much fun working with sourdough and creating all the things! Try one of our favorite recipes, both with discard and active starter.

Sourdough Discard Recipes

These discard recipes use other leavening agents (baking powder, baking soda or yeast) to get a rise in the baked good. See some of our favorite recipes using sourdough discard here:

About JulieJulie Clark

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Anonymous
3 years ago

5 stars
Most detailed and clearly explained recipe I have seen. Thank you.

Rita
3 years ago

I have no clue about grams and don’t own a scale. Could you break it down using cups and tsp

Audrey
3 years ago

5 stars
Baking my 4th loaf today following your recipe, however I do find I need more flour so it’s not too sticky. I live in the desert and at about 4k elevation. I also find that sometimes it’s more sour tasting than other times (using the same starter) any idea why?

Lyn Jessee
3 years ago

5 stars
First time in 25 yeas making sourdough bread. Thank you for a great recipe. I still have my Grandmother’s dutch oven. It is well over 100 years old! Should I cool the bread in the dutch oven or take it out immediately to place on cooling rack?
Thanks again for a great recipe.

Chris Tweedy
3 years ago

Thanks for the recipe! I made my first loaf yesterday. Kind of a fail because the dough was really sticky and stuck to the basket (I must have been too stingy with the flour), so the loaf deflated and came out about as thick as foccacia, but it still tasted great! Good crunchy crust, and the taste of San Francisco. We must have good wild yeast in Minneapolis. Next time I’ll flour the basket really liberally, and maybe use a bit more flour in the dough. I forgot to feed the starter four hours before making the dough, but I… Read more »

Laura from San Diego
3 years ago

5 stars
Great recipe! My dough overproofed on the counter last night. Great flavor, just a shapeless loaf for breakfast. I read a recipe that said to do 1st proof overnight in the fridge- do you have any experience with that?

Mike
3 years ago

5 stars
I want to thank you for this recipe and instruction on making Sourdough bread! 🙂 I have been successful in making 4 loaves through your process, which came after 1 failure with a different method.

My question that I have, is that this recipe makes a fairly large loaf. Can it be widdled down to make a smaller loaf? And if so, does this change the baking time?

Robin
6 months ago

I followed this recipe and instructions exactly and have had several fails from starter that went bad to bread that came out hard as a brick on the outside and undercooked on the inside. Ive used the dutch oven, everything according to the recipe and cannot figure out what I’m doing wrong. Im going to keep trying though. I really want this to work.

Linda
9 months ago

Do you have the artisan recipe in cups etc? I am 75 I know cups tablespoons etc.

Nancy
11 months ago

5 stars
This is the best bread. I make your regular bread weekly for sandwiches but this one is for special occasions or company or when it’s cold outside with soup or spring is in the air or…

Barbara S
1 year ago

5 stars
This bread is easy, and delicious! I am a newbie and found it easy to follow. It turned out fabulous with amazing flavor. Definitely a favorite! Now to master cutting in beautiful designs. 🙂 Thank you!

Katariina
3 years ago

Hello! Just starting the bread and I was thinking that can the bulk fermentation go over 12 hours? Because right now it’s 12pm and that means I should bake my bread at midnight. Can I proceed in the morning?

Anonymous
3 years ago

5 stars
Thank you for this recipe and how-to guide. I’ve made it several times, and it came out perfectly each time. Please keep the recipes coming! Incidentally, if you haven’t tried the Lizzy T sourdough biscuits, you’re truly missing out!

Catmk
3 years ago

5 stars
I’ve made this several times now, always comes out great! Thanks!

JJ Best
3 years ago

5 stars
If I normally feed in am should I feed twice the day I want to bake or wait till 3pm?