Welcome! If you’re curious about how to bake a perfect sourdough loaf at home—from starter to slice—this guide walks you through everything step by step.

What Is Sourdough Bread?

Sourdough is naturally leavened bread made with a wild yeast and bacteria culture called a sourdough starter. Instead of commercial yeast, the starter provides:

  • Natural leavening (rise)
  • Complex, slightly tangy flavor
  • Longer shelf life
  • Easier digestibility for some people

If you don’t yet have a starter, you can either:

Tools You’ll Need for Great Sourdough

You don’t need a professional bakery setup, but a few basic tools help a lot:

  • Digital kitchen scale – for accurate measurements
  • Large mixing bowl – glass, stainless steel, or plastic
  • Bench scraper – for shaping and handling dough
  • Proofing basket (banneton) or a bowl lined with a floured towel
  • Dutch oven with lid – creates steam for a great crust
  • Sharp knife or lame – for scoring the dough
  • Instant-read thermometer (optional) – to check doneness (aim for ~96–99 °C / 205–210 °F inside)

If you don’t have a Dutch oven, use a heavy baking tray and add steam (details below).

Basic Sourdough Bread Formula

This beginner-friendly recipe makes one medium round loaf.

Ingredients (by weight)

  • 350 g bread flour (or strong white flour)
  • 50 g whole wheat flour (or rye for extra flavor)
  • 80 g active, bubbly sourdough starter (100% hydration)
  • 300 g water (room temperature, about 75–78 °F / 24–26 °C)
  • 8 g fine sea salt (about 1½ tsp)

Hydration:
\(\text{Hydration} \approx \frac{300}{350+50} \approx 75\%\), which is manageable for beginners but still gives an open, moist crumb.

Step 1: Make Sure Your Starter Is Active

A strong active starter is the key to great sourdough.

  1. Feed your starter 6–12 hours before mixing the dough:
    • Discard most of it, keep about 30–50 g.
    • Add equal parts flour and water by weight (e.g., 50 g flour + 50 g water).
  2. Let it ferment at room temperature until:
    • It doubles in size.
    • It looks bubbly and airy.
    • A spoonful floats in water (the optional “float test”).

If your starter is sluggish or doesn’t double, feed it regularly for a day or two before baking. See this detailed overview for reference: Sourdough Starter Basics.

Step 2: Mix and Autolyse

Autolyse is a rest period where flour and water hydrate before adding salt and starter. It improves dough strength and flavor.

  1. In a bowl, mix:
    • 350 g bread flour
    • 50 g whole wheat flour
    • 300 g water
  2. Stir until no dry flour remains (a shaggy, sticky mass is fine).
  3. Cover and rest 30–60 minutes at room temperature.

This rest helps gluten develop naturally and makes the dough easier to handle later.

Step 3: Add Starter and Salt

  1. Add 80 g active starter and 8 g salt on top of the autolysed dough.
  2. Wet your hand and pinch and fold the dough until the starter and salt are fully incorporated.
  3. When evenly mixed, you’ll have a sticky but cohesive dough.

Cover the bowl and move into bulk fermentation.

Step 4: Bulk Fermentation and Stretch & Folds

Bulk fermentation is where flavor and structure develop.

Time & Temperature

  • Ideal dough temperature: 24–26 °C (75–78 °F)
  • Typical bulk time at this temperature: 3–5 hours

Warmer room = faster rise; cooler room = slower. Don’t rely only on the clock—watch the dough.

Stretch & Fold Routine

During the first 2 hours of bulk:

  1. Every 30 minutes, perform a set of stretch & folds:
    • With wet hands, grab one side of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it over to the opposite side.
    • Turn the bowl 90°, repeat 3–4 times (north, south, east, west).
  2. After 3–4 rounds, stop. Let the dough rest undisturbed for the remainder of bulk.

You’re done with bulk when:

  • Dough has increased about 50–75% in volume (not necessarily doubled).
  • It’s smoother, domed on top, and jiggles slightly when you shake the bowl.
  • Surface may show some small bubbles.

If your room is cool, this can take longer; extend bulk as needed.

Step 5: Preshape and Rest

Preshaping helps build structure so the final loaf holds its shape.

  1. Lightly flour your work surface.
  2. Gently turn out the dough from the bowl.
  3. Using a bench scraper and floured hands, preshape into a loose round:
    • Tuck edges toward the center, flip seam-side down.
    • Use the scraper to pull the dough toward you, creating light surface tension.
  4. Cover with a towel and rest 20–30 minutes (bench rest).

The dough should relax but still hold some shape.

Step 6: Final Shape

You can shape a boule (round) or batard (oval).

For a Round Loaf (Boule)

  1. Lightly flour the top of the preshaped dough.
  2. Flip it over so the floured side is now down.
  3. Fold the top third down, bottom third up, then sides in—like folding a letter.
  4. Roll or tuck into a tight round, creating tension on the surface.
  5. Seal any seams well.

Step 7: Proofing (Second Rise)

Prepare your proofing container:

  • Dust a banneton generously with flour (rice flour works best), or
  • Line a bowl with a clean kitchen towel and dust heavily with flour.

Place the shaped dough:

  • Gently lift the dough and place seam-side up in the basket/bowl.

Proofing Options

You have two main approaches:

1. Room-Temperature Proof (Faster)

  • Let the dough sit at room temp for 45–90 minutes.
  • It should become slightly puffy and airy to the touch.

2. Cold Retard in Fridge (Best Flavor & Easiest Scoring)

  • Cover and refrigerate for 8–16 hours.
  • Benefits:
    • Deeper flavor
    • Easier to score
    • More flexible baking schedule

Cold proofing is preferred by many artisan bakers. More on the technique here:
Overnight Sourdough Proofing.

Step 8: Preheat the Oven and Dutch Oven

For excellent oven spring and crust:

  1. Place your Dutch oven and lid inside your oven.
  2. Preheat to 250 °C / 480 °F for at least 30–45 minutes.

If you don’t have a Dutch oven:

  • Preheat a baking steel or stone if available.
  • Place a metal tray on a lower rack; you’ll pour hot water into it to create steam.

Step 9: Score and Bake

Turn Out the Dough

  1. Cut a piece of parchment paper slightly larger than your dough.
  2. Gently invert your proofed dough onto the parchment so it’s seam-side down.
  3. Brush off excess flour.

Score the Dough

Use a lame or very sharp knife:

  • Make a confident 1–2 cm (½–¾ in) deep slash along the top (a long “ear” score)
  • Or several shallow decorative cuts if you like.

Scoring controls where the bread expands and improves oven spring.

Baking in a Dutch Oven

  1. Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven.
  2. Lift the dough using the parchment and place it inside the pot.
  3. Cover with lid and bake:
    • 20 minutes at 250 °C / 480 °F (covered, with steam trapped)
  4. Reduce temperature to 230 °C / 450 °F, remove the lid, and bake:
    • Another 20–25 minutes, until:
      • Deep golden to dark brown
      • Internal temperature ~96–99 °C (205–210 °F)

Baking Without a Dutch Oven (With Steam)

  1. Place dough (on parchment) on preheated stone or tray.
  2. Immediately pour a cup of hot water into the lower tray and quickly close the oven door.
  3. Bake:
    • 20 minutes at 250 °C / 480 °F with steam
    • Vent the steam tray (carefully) and reduce oven to 230 °C / 450 °F
    • Bake another 20–25 minutes, until well browned.

A properly baked sourdough has:

  • Dark, blistered crust
  • Hollow sound when tapped on the bottom
  • Crisp exterior that crackles as it cools

Step 10: Cooling and Slicing

Resist cutting right away.

  • Cool the loaf on a wire rack for at least 1–2 hours.
  • The crumb finishes setting as it cools; cutting too early makes it gummy.

Once cooled, slice with a serrated bread knife. The inside should be:

  • Moist but not wet
  • Open crumb with varying hole sizes (not necessarily huge holes for beginner dough)
  • Pleasantly tangy aroma

Common Sourdough Problems and Fixes

1. Dense, tight crumb

  • Starter not active enough → feed it more frequently and use at peak.
  • Under-fermented dough → extend bulk fermentation until dough has risen more.
  • Too cool environment → increase dough temperature or ferment longer.

2. Dough spreads flat

  • Over-proofed → shorten bulk or final proof times.
  • Weak gluten → improve shaping and use bread flour (higher protein).
  • Hydration too high for your flour → reduce water slightly (e.g., to 280 g).

3. Pale crust

  • Oven not hot enough or not preheated long enough.
  • Not baking long enough → extend uncovered bake by 5–10 minutes.
  • Lack of steam → ensure you’re trapping steam (Dutch oven or tray of hot water).

4. Very sour flavor (too tangy)

  • Very long warm fermentation → shorten bulk or proof time.
  • High percentage of starter → try using 60–70 g instead of 80 g.
  • Prefer milder sour? Keep starter and dough a bit cooler.

For a deeper dive into troubleshooting, see:
Sourdough Bread Troubleshooting Guide.

Tips for Consistent, “Perfect” Sourdough

  • Use a scale: Weigh everything for repeatable results.
  • Track dough temperature: Warmer dough ferments faster; adjust times accordingly.
  • Take notes: Record flour, water, temps, and times. Adjust based on results.
  • Be patient: Fermentation is more important than the clock. Watch the dough, not the timer.
  • Practice shaping: Structure and surface tension impact oven spring and crumb more than you think.

For more inspiration and advanced techniques:

Simple Recap: Sourdough in One Glance

  1. Morning or night before: Feed starter.
  2. Mix: Combine flour + water, autolyse 30–60 min.
  3. Add: Starter + salt, mix to combine.
  4. Bulk ferment: 3–5 hours at 24–26 °C, with 3–4 sets of stretch & folds.
  5. Preshape: Rest 20–30 min.
  6. Final shape: Place seam-side up in floured basket.
  7. Proof: 45–90 min at room temp or 8–16 hours in fridge.
  8. Bake: In a preheated Dutch oven, 20 min covered at 250 °C, then 20–25 min uncovered at 230 °C.
  9. Cool: At least 1–2 hours before slicing.

Follow these steps and adjust based on your kitchen temperature and flour, and you’ll be very close to a perfect sourdough loaf—crisp crust, lovely crumb, and rich, complex flavor.