Beginners Sourdough Bread Recipe Step-By-Step

This beginners sourdough bread recipe is the one I wish I had when I first started, plain language, a forgiving 80% hydration dough, and a Dutch oven bake that gives you a tall, open crumb on your very first loaf. If you don't have one yet, my sourdough starter guide walks you through making one from scratch in 7 days, or grab some active starter from a friend and bake tomorrow.

A few months ago I knew nothing about making sourdough. I only knew that I liked to eat it and that I wanted to make it from home. At first, I was horribly overwhelmed by words like "hydration" and "levain." I got a migraine the first day I tried to make sense of a recipe. But like most things, once I actually MADE the sourdough bread, I found the steps to be pretty simple and pretty flexible. The first time I ate a slice of sourdough that I had made from scratch, I almost cried. I haven't bought store bread since. If you've been intimidated by sourdough, this is the recipe that gets you across the finish line

What Is Sourdough Bread?

Sourdough is bread that gets its rise from a fermented mixture of flour and water (the starter or levain), instead of from commercial baker's yeast. The wild yeast and bacteria in a sourdough culture produce gas more slowly than packaged yeast, which gives sourdough its characteristic tang, its longer rise times, and the chewy, open crumb you can't get from a same-day loaf.

A few terms worth knowing before you start:

• Sourdough starter. A live culture of flour, water, wild yeast, and lactic acid bacteria, kept alive with regular feedings. See my sourdough starter guide for how to build one.
• Levain. A portion of starter mixed with fresh flour and water and used at peak rise. Technically a starter IS a levain, but in this recipe "levain" means the offshoot you build the morning of bake day.
• Peak. The highest point a levain reaches before it starts to fall back. This is when it's strongest.
• Autolyse. A 30-minute rest where flour and water sit together before salt or levain joins. The flour fully hydrates, which makes the dough easier to stretch later.
• Hydration. The ratio of water to flour. This recipe is about 80% hydration (400g water for 500g flour), which is high for a beginner loaf but makes the stretch-and-fold method work better.
• Bulk ferment. The first long rise, where the dough roughly doubles in size and the yeast does its main work.
• Stretch and fold. How we build gluten in a high-hydration dough without kneading.
• Cold ferment / cold proof / retard. Overnight rest in the fridge after shaping. Develops flavor and makes the dough easier to score in the morning.
• Scoring. Cutting the loaf with a blade right before baking so it can expand in a controlled way (and so you get that beautiful ear).

What Makes This Beginner's Sourdough Bread So Good

There are dozens of beginner sourdough recipes online and most of them assume you already know something. This one assumes you don't, and the technique choices reflect that:

• 80% hydration, on purpose. Most beginner recipes go 65 to 70% to make the dough easier to shape, but lower hydration makes stretch-and-folds harder and the crumb tighter. The 80% here is a little wet but it forgives mistakes (a wet dough recovers from a missed fold; a dry dough doesn't).
• A blend of three flours. Bread flour for chew, all-purpose for tenderness, and whole wheat for flavor and fermentation activity. You can play with the ratios, but starting with this blend gives you a flavorful first loaf without sourcing specialty flour.
• Levain on the morning of bake day. Many recipes have you build the levain the night before. Doing it the morning of means you can watch it peak in real time, learn what an active starter looks like, and time your bake more reliably.
• A book fold + cinnamon roll shape. The two-step shaping move builds tension on the surface of the loaf so it rises tall instead of spreading flat. This is what separates a "blob" loaf from a "bakery" loaf.
• Cold proof straight from the fridge into the Dutch oven. No tempering, no second room-temp rise. Cold dough scores cleaner and the temperature shock when it hits the hot Dutch oven creates massive oven spring.

Beginners Sourdough Bread Ingredients

Five ingredients, all flour and water. I always recommend weighing your ingredients with a digital kitchen scale for the most accurate results, especially with sourdough where small ratio changes matter.

• Mature sourdough starter. Has to be at least 7 days old, doubling in size within 4 to 5 hours of a feed, and active. See my sourdough starter guide for how to build one from scratch.
• Bread flour. Higher protein (about 12 to 13%) than all-purpose. The extra protein builds the gluten network that traps gas and gives you the chewy crumb. I use organic bread flour from King Arthur.
• All-purpose flour. Lower protein than bread flour, adds tenderness to the crumb. You can swap this for more bread flour if you want a chewier loaf.
• Whole wheat flour. Adds flavor, fiber, and feeds the wild yeast more aggressively (whole wheat has more natural yeast on it than refined flour). Spelt or rye works too.
• Water. Any kind, doesn't have to be warm for the dough itself, but warm filtered water (around 90º F) is best for building the levain.
• Salt. I use pink Himalayan sea salt because I like the flavor, but any fine sea salt works. Salt slows the yeast and tightens the gluten, both good things.

Before You Begin

Sourdough is a technique recipe more than an ingredient recipe. Get these set up before you start:

• An active starter. Feed your starter the night before and again the morning you build the levain. If it doubles within 4 hours of a feed, it's strong enough. If it takes longer than 6 hours, give it a few more days of feedings before attempting a loaf.
• A Dutch oven (or a workaround). A 4 to 6 quart cast iron Dutch oven is the gold standard because it traps steam around the loaf for the first half of the bake, which is what gives you the tall rise and crisp crust. No Dutch oven? See the Notes section for alternatives.
• A lame, sharp paring knife, or razor blade. For scoring. The blade has to be sharp; dull blades drag the dough.
• A banneton or a bowl + flour-dusted tea towel. Either works for the cold-proof. The point is to hold the shaped loaf so it doesn't spread.
• Parchment paper. Cut a 10x10 inch square. This is what you'll use to lower the loaf into the screaming-hot Dutch oven without burning yourself.
• Time and a quiet weekend. This is a two-day bake. Day 1 has 4 to 6 hours of active windows (mostly waiting between folds). Day 2 is 90 minutes from oven preheat to a cooled slice.

If you want a softer, not-too-tangy daily bread for lunches and toast, my sourdough sandwich loaf bakes in a standard loaf pan with the same starter you built here, no scoring or Dutch oven needed.

Once you've mastered a boule, my homemade sourdough english muffins are the next direction to take your starter, no scoring, no Dutch oven, the whole bake happens on the stovetop.

How To Make Beginners Sourdough Bread Step-By-Step

Before you start, preheat your kitchen if it's under 72º F (oven light on with the door cracked makes a great proofing box). Most of this recipe is waiting; you just need to be home for the hourly fold windows on Day 1 and the bake window on Day 2.

1. Day 1: Build the levain in the morning. Combine 50g of your unfed starter with 50g whole wheat flour and 50g warm (90º F) water in a jar. Mark the level with tape. Set in a warm spot (72 to 95º F) until doubled in size, usually 3 to 5 hours.

2. Autolyse while the levain rises. Combine 300g bread flour, 100g AP flour, 100g whole wheat flour, and 400g water in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until no dry flour remains. Cover and let it sit for the next few hours while the levain peaks.

PRO TIP: Pop the levain in the oven with the oven light on and the door cracked. The light bulb keeps the cavity at a steady 80 to 85º F, perfect for a fast peak. If your kitchen is cold, this is the move.

3. Mix the dough. When the levain has doubled and floats in water (the float test), scoop 140g into the autolyse bowl. Add 11g salt. Squish, fold, and squeeze with wet hands until the levain and salt are fully incorporated. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
   

4. Stretch and fold, 3 to 4 rounds. Every 60 minutes, wet your hands, pull one side of the dough up until it almost tears, and fold it over the top. Rotate the bowl 45° and repeat on all four sides (that's one round). Cover and wait 60 minutes between rounds. The dough should get smoother and stronger with each round.

PRO TIP: Wet hands every time you touch the dough. This is the single biggest tip for a sticky 80% hydration dough. Dry hands = the dough rips off and sticks to you = frustration.

5. Bulk ferment until doubled. After your last fold, cover the dough and let it rise until it has clearly doubled in size, looks jiggly, and has bubbles forming on top. This usually takes 1 to 2 more hours in a warm room, longer in a cool one. See the "Reading Your Dough" section below for how to tell when it's actually done.
   

6. Shape with a book fold + cinnamon roll. Wet the counter, tip the dough out, pop any big bubbles. Stretch into a rectangle the size of a sheet of paper.
   

7. Fold the right side to the center, then the left side over the top (book fold).
   

8. Rotate 45° and roll up like a cinnamon roll, seam side down. Pinch the seams closed.

9. Bench rest 15 minutes, then final shape. Cover with the bowl and let the dough relax for 15 minutes. Flip seam-side-up, gather all the edges into the center and pinch them tight, then lift the shaped loaf into a floured banneton (or a flour-dusted tea towel in a bowl).
   

10. Cold proof overnight. Slide the banneton into a plastic bag (or cover loosely) and put it in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours. The dough won't rise much in the cold but the flavor develops dramatically. The longer the cold proof, the more sour the bread.

9. Day 2: Preheat the oven and Dutch oven to 500º F. Put the Dutch oven (with the lid) on the middle rack and a sheet pan on the bottom rack (the sheet pan acts as a heat shield so the bottom doesn't burn). Preheat at least 30 minutes.

10. Score the cold dough. Cut a 10x10-inch parchment square. Pull the banneton out of the fridge, lay the parchment on top, flip the basket over, and gently lift the basket off. Brush off excess flour. Use a lame or sharp blade to cut a deep "C" on one side, ¼ to ½ inch deep. Add decorative shallow scoring on the other side if you want.
    

11. Bake covered, then uncovered. Lift the parchment by the corners and lower the loaf into the hot Dutch oven. Put the lid on, reduce oven to 450º F, bake 30 to 40 minutes covered. Remove the lid and bake another 20 to 25 minutes uncovered until the crust is deep amber and the internal temperature reads 205 to 210º F on an instant-read thermometer.
    

12. Cool fully before slicing. Lift the loaf onto a wire rack. Wait at least 1 hour (2 is better) before cutting. Sourdough finishes baking as it cools; cutting hot gives you a gummy interior even on a perfectly baked loaf.

Mix-ins

Add these at the salt-mixing stage (step 3 of the recipe) so they get folded in evenly:

• 100g crumbled aged cheddar + 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 cup chopped Kalamata olives + 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 100g toasted walnuts + 50g dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoon everything bagel seasoning + 2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Scaling

This recipe makes one 8-serving loaf. To make two loaves, double everything and divide the dough after the bulk ferment for the shaping step. A standard 4 to 6 quart Dutch oven holds one loaf comfortably; you'll need two Dutch ovens or two bake sessions for a double batch.

Reading Your Dough: When Is Bulk Ferment Actually Done?

This is the part 95% of beginner failures come from. The recipe says "bulk ferment until doubled," but "doubled" is harder to see than you think. Here's what to actually look for:

• The volume test. The dough should be visibly bigger, ideally 1.5x to 2x its starting size. Mark the starting level on the side of the bowl with a piece of tape so you can compare.
• The dome test. A finished bulk ferment domes upward. Underproofed dough is flat across the top; overproofed dough is concave (sunken in the middle).
• The bubble test. Look at the surface. You should see at least a few small bubbles popping through. No bubbles = underproofed. A surface full of huge bubbles = overproofed.
• The jiggle test. Tip the bowl side to side gently. Ready dough wobbles like a thick jello; underproofed dough barely moves; overproofed dough sloshes loosely.
• The poke test. Wet your finger and poke the dough about ½ inch deep. The dimple should spring back slowly (5 to 10 seconds), not snap back instantly (underproofed) and not stay sunken (overproofed).
• The pull-away test. Look at the edges of the dough where it meets the bowl. Ready dough has started to pull slightly away from the sides; underproofed dough is still smushed against the wall.

When in doubt, slightly underproof rather than overproof. You'll get more oven spring on an underproofed loaf than on an overproofed one. An overproofed bulk is much harder to recover from (see the Rescue section below).

Bulk Ferment Temperature-to-Time Matrix

Sourdough rises at the speed of your kitchen. Here are realistic windows from "dough finished mixing" to "ready to shape":

Use these as starting estimates only. Watch the dough, not the clock. The volume and dome tests above always beat the timer. If your kitchen swings 10° during the day (heating cycles, sunny afternoons), the dough is responding to that.

Common Sourdough Bread Problems To Avoid

• Bread is flat and didn't rise. Underdeveloped starter, underproofed bulk ferment, or weak gluten from skipping folds. Verify your starter doubles in 4 hours, do all 3 to 4 stretch-and-folds, and let the bulk go until the dough has actually doubled.
• Crumb is dense and gummy. Either underbaked (pull the internal temp test, should be 205 to 210º F) or sliced too hot (wait at least 1 hour to cool). Underbaked is the more common one.
• No oven spring, loaf came out short and dense. Overproofed bulk ferment, weak scoring, or you didn't preheat the Dutch oven long enough. The dough needs the temperature shock against the screaming-hot pot to get the oven spring.
• Crust burned, inside underdone. Oven too hot, or the Dutch oven was on a low rack. Move the Dutch oven to the middle rack and add a sheet pan below as a heat shield.
• Loaf spread flat after coming out of the banneton. Underproofed (gluten not developed) or weak final shape. Pinch the seam tight and use the book-fold + cinnamon-roll combo to build surface tension.
• Sour flavor too weak. Short cold proof. Stretch the cold proof to 36 to 48 hours for a more sour loaf. Whole wheat in the blend also intensifies the tang.
• Score didn't open, loaf burst from the side. Score was too shallow, or scored at the wrong angle. Cut at a 45° angle and at least ¼ inch deep for the main expansion score.

Crumb Diagnosis: What Your Slice Tells You

Cut the cooled loaf open and look at the crumb. The pattern of holes tells you exactly what went wrong (or right):

• Tight, even crumb with very small holes. Underproofed. The yeast didn't have enough time to produce gas. Next time, let the bulk ferment go longer.
• Uneven crumb with a few giant holes near the top and dense bottom. Overproofed or under-shaped. The gluten gave out, and the gas migrated. Reduce bulk ferment time or improve your shaping with a tighter cinnamon-roll roll.
• Wet, gummy streak through the middle. Underbaked OR sliced too hot. Bake to 205 to 210º F internal and cool 1 to 2 hours before slicing.
• Beautiful open crumb with irregular holes throughout. You nailed it. The dough was properly proofed, well-shaped, and baked to temperature.
• Crumb is dry and crumbly. Overbaked (took too long uncovered) or the hydration was too low. Reduce uncovered bake time by 5 minutes next round.
• Loaf is dense but flavor is sour and great. Starter was active but the dough underproofed. The flavor came through but the rise didn't happen.

Overproofed Bulk Rescue

If you walk into the kitchen and find your bulk ferment has clearly gone past doubled (the dough is sloshing, bubbly all over, and concave on top), you have three options:

1. Save it as focaccia. Pour the over-fermented dough into an oiled 9x13 pan, dimple it, drizzle with olive oil and flaky salt, let rest 30 minutes, bake at 450º F for 20 minutes. Focaccia is the perfect rescue because it doesn't need oven spring or scoring. (You already know this technique from my lemon blueberry sourdough focaccia.)
2. Bake it flat as a "rustic" loaf. Shape gently (don't expect oven spring), cold-proof for only 2 to 3 hours instead of overnight, then bake. You'll get a denser loaf but still slicable.
3. Restart. If the dough has gone really far past (smells acidic and tears like wet tissue), the gluten has degraded and there's no real saving it. Restart and let it be a learning moment.

Final Thoughts

The first time I ate sourdough bread I had made from scratch, I almost cried. There is something about pulling a tall, crackly-crusted loaf out of a Dutch oven that you mixed by hand the day before that hits different than any other baking project. We haven't bought store-bought bread since. Sourdough takes time, but almost none of that time is active work. The dough does the work; you just need to be home to check on it.

If your first loaf isn't perfect, that's normal. Keep notes (the one time you don't keep notes will absolutely be the best loaf you ever baked, and you won't know why). Each loaf teaches you something the recipe can't.

If shaping and scoring a boule still feels intimidating, my beginner sourdough focaccia skips both steps and bakes in a sheet pan with the same starter you built here.

Beginners Sourdough Bread FAQs

More Sourdough Recipes To Try