Easy guide for sourdough bread/starter?
I've seen so many friends start baking fresh sourdough bread, and I want to make some too. I am so overwhelmed by the process and don't even know where to start. Is there an easy sourdough recipe for a beginner like me? Do I have to get a sourdough starter somewhere or can I make my own?
Here's the recipe I always use and it hasn't failed me yet :)
You will need:
- 150g/5.35 oz active sourdough starter
- 250g/8.8 oz warm (~25-30 degrees C) water
- 25g/.9 oz extra virgin olive oil
- 500g/17.65 oz bread flour (NOT all purpose flour)
- 10 g/.4 oz salt
- ground cornmeal, extra flour, OR parchment paper
How to make it:
1. Add your starter, water, salt, and olive oil to a large bowl and stir with a fork or spoon. Slowly start adding the flour, continuing to mix with the fork until the dough thickens up. Mix with your hands until all the flour has been added and everything is well-incorporated. The dough should be dry and shaggy now. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Let the whole thing sit for about an hour. This is called the autolysing process. After the hour is up, use your hands to form the dough into a rough ball. Don't overwork the dough.
2. Lightly oil some plastic wrap with the olive oil, then lay it over the bowl. Put the bowl in a warm place at about 25C/75 F. Let the dough rise until it's about doubled in size. It'll get easier to know when your dough is done rising the more you bake it, but the timing will depend on how hot your dough/ingredients are, how humid and hot your environment is, and the time of year. The hotter and more humid the environment and ingredients, the faster the dough will rise, and vice versa. Check in on your dough after a couple of hours to see how it's coming. It could take anywhere from 2 to 10+ hours to rise.
3. Flour your work station and take the dough out of the bowl and lay it on the flour to keep it from sticking. (It helps to flour your hands too to keep them from sticking to the dough.) Use a bench knife to fold the dough over onto itself in small sections, basically wrapping the dough up. Once you've wrapped it up lengthwise, fold it over on itself width-ways to form a ball that's lightly floured on all sides.
4. Coat a dutch oven with cornmeal or flour, or place parchment paper on the bottom. Add the dough for a second rise and cover the pot. Let it sit for about a half-hour to an hour. It should get a little puffier.
5. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F.
6. Take a sharp knife and make a shallow slash a few inches long in the top of the dough.
7. Put the lid back on the dutch oven and put it in the oven. Reduce the temp to 200C/400F, bake for 20 minutes, then remove the lid.
8. Let the bread continue to bake 40 minutes, or until it's a nice golden brown color. Remove from oven and let cool for about an hour before cutting. Enjoy!
You will need:
- 150g/5.35 oz active sourdough starter
- 250g/8.8 oz warm (~25-30 degrees C) water
- 25g/.9 oz extra virgin olive oil
- 500g/17.65 oz bread flour (NOT all purpose flour)
- 10 g/.4 oz salt
- ground cornmeal, extra flour, OR parchment paper
How to make it:
1. Add your starter, water, salt, and olive oil to a large bowl and stir with a fork or spoon. Slowly start adding the flour, continuing to mix with the fork until the dough thickens up. Mix with your hands until all the flour has been added and everything is well-incorporated. The dough should be dry and shaggy now. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. Let the whole thing sit for about an hour. This is called the autolysing process. After the hour is up, use your hands to form the dough into a rough ball. Don't overwork the dough.
2. Lightly oil some plastic wrap with the olive oil, then lay it over the bowl. Put the bowl in a warm place at about 25C/75 F. Let the dough rise until it's about doubled in size. It'll get easier to know when your dough is done rising the more you bake it, but the timing will depend on how hot your dough/ingredients are, how humid and hot your environment is, and the time of year. The hotter and more humid the environment and ingredients, the faster the dough will rise, and vice versa. Check in on your dough after a couple of hours to see how it's coming. It could take anywhere from 2 to 10+ hours to rise.
3. Flour your work station and take the dough out of the bowl and lay it on the flour to keep it from sticking. (It helps to flour your hands too to keep them from sticking to the dough.) Use a bench knife to fold the dough over onto itself in small sections, basically wrapping the dough up. Once you've wrapped it up lengthwise, fold it over on itself width-ways to form a ball that's lightly floured on all sides.
4. Coat a dutch oven with cornmeal or flour, or place parchment paper on the bottom. Add the dough for a second rise and cover the pot. Let it sit for about a half-hour to an hour. It should get a little puffier.
5. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F.
6. Take a sharp knife and make a shallow slash a few inches long in the top of the dough.
7. Put the lid back on the dutch oven and put it in the oven. Reduce the temp to 200C/400F, bake for 20 minutes, then remove the lid.
8. Let the bread continue to bake 40 minutes, or until it's a nice golden brown color. Remove from oven and let cool for about an hour before cutting. Enjoy!
Thank you for this recipe! How do you make your own starter though? What even is a sourdough starter? Is this something I can just make myself at home?
If you have friends that are making sourdough bread already, ask them! They probably have some extra starter that you can use. Otherwise making your own just takes about a week with some flour and water! This is how I made mine!
1. Mix 1/2 cup (60 g) of whole wheat flour with 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water in a large jar.
2. Cover the jar and keep it in a warm spot on your counter.
3. Check your starter the next day for bubbles, and give it a good stir.
4. Once a day, throw out about half your starter and "feed" it another 1/2 cup (60 g) of flour with 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water.
5. When your sourdough starter is really bubbly and doubles in size when you feed it, then you can use it to make bread!
Sourdough starter is kind of like yeast, so it helps your bread rise when you're baking. Hope this helps!
1. Mix 1/2 cup (60 g) of whole wheat flour with 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water in a large jar.
2. Cover the jar and keep it in a warm spot on your counter.
3. Check your starter the next day for bubbles, and give it a good stir.
4. Once a day, throw out about half your starter and "feed" it another 1/2 cup (60 g) of flour with 1/4 cup (60 ml) of water.
5. When your sourdough starter is really bubbly and doubles in size when you feed it, then you can use it to make bread!
Sourdough starter is kind of like yeast, so it helps your bread rise when you're baking. Hope this helps!
How can you tell when the bread is done?
Bake your bread until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Reader Tips from How to Make Sourdough Bread
Be sure to discard a portion of your sourdough starter each time you feed it so it doesn't grow too much. You can even give the extra to a friend to use for their own sourdough starter.
If you notice a fuzzy texture on your sourdough starter, throw it away because it's been contaminated with mold.
Reader Tips from How to Make Bread from Scratch
You can mix other ingredients, like cheese, spices, nuts, and berries, into the bread for a tasty, flavorful version of the recipe. We add crushed walnuts and olives to ours and it's delicious!
You could make sourdough with canola oil, butter, safflower oil...lots of variations! We typically make our sourdough with olive oil because of the antioxidants, and it always tastes great.
Reader Tips from How to Fix Dough That Won't Rise
Make sure to preheat the oven at least 5 minutes before you need it so it's hot enough when you put the dough in! A lot of bread gets ruined in a cold start oven.
If your dough doesn't rise, don't chuck it. Failed bread dough can be recycled into batters, pastries, and other baked products without entirely wasting it.
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