Easy and delicious, beautiful and nutritious sourdough Bread Recipe

Easy and beautiful sourdough bread? Is that a thing? Yes, yes it is.

I'm so glad you're here. It took me a long time to gain the courage I felt I needed to make this delicious bread. I'm sad I waited so long to try it, but alas we are here now and that's what matters!

I had been making pancakes, kolaches and rolls and even pizza but the thought of creating beautiful sourdough bread seemed too intimidating to me, and scoring bread, what did that even mean? Below I want to share with you my most favorite and easy sourdough bread recipe ever.

Here's why I believe you're going to love this easy and delicious sourdough recipe.

I have a large family, making meals ahead of time, or in doubles is so helpful to me. I tend to make six smaller loaves they keep in the fridge for up to FIVE days! Yes, five days seems to be the right amount of time. Wrapped in plastic and covered with a towel the dough stays nice and soft, making the fluffiest and yet ever so crisp bread or pizza.

Say my family wakes up craving pizza I pull out the dough, warm it in my hands, flatten the dough and begin to make pizza. If the kids are craving kolaches, I divide the dough up and let it rice for a couple of hours, using the same dough. Pretzels? Yes, same ball of dough. This recipe lends its self so easily to so many of our favorite sourdough meals. The truth is not all of my kids enjoyed the sourdough bread at first. My son especially had to be won over. We have done so many changes to our diet in the last several years. Every time I'd hear about another ingredient that wasn't the best for us, I would eliminate it from our diet, msg, seed oils, and the like. So many of his favorite foods, like hot cheetos and takis, cereal, were on that list. I knew that if he gave this bread a fair shot he would love it, and while not a substitution for the snacks above I knew that if I could convince him homecooked meals are good we could both learn together, and that is exactly what has happened.

My son's least favorite words were, "Oh, I can make that!". Truthfully this world of cooking from scratch can be very fun. I feel like a scientist at times when I'm mixing in all the ingredients. Waking up my starter, feeding her and getting her ready to prepare this delicious bread is one of my favorite things to do with my little girls. They love to feed Henrietta as we lovingly call her. She gives us delicious bread babies as my girls say.

What is sourdough starter?

A sourdough starter consist of a mixture of flour, water, wild yeast from the air, organic acids that are used to break down, ferment, and leaven breads. A dear friend of mine gifted me of her sourdough starter. You can make your own or if you're local to me, send me a message and I'll share ours with you! Yes, she'll just keep multiplying!

So if you are craving a deliciously soft with a crunchy exterior bread look no further, you've come to the right place. I do hope this recipe becomes a family favorite for you too!

I especially enjoy bringing bread to friends whom I know are having a difficult time. Friends who may be recovering from cancer. Flu? Bring them bread. New baby? Bring them bread. Need the perfect side dish to bring to a potluck? Yes, every three weeks our Church hosts a potluck and yes, I always bring bread. I usually have several loaves ready to go, which is so helpful to our large family. One of my daughters always reminds me I should bring something else to share, but in this season of life I need simple and this my friends, is simple, especially once you get the hang of it.

Enjoy! Have any questions? Leave me a comment if you don't see your answer in the "notes" section.

YIELD: 3 large loaves or 6 smaller loaves

Easy Sourdough Bread

A deliciously crusty, sourdough bread with a splendidly soft texture and deliciously sweet and tangy flavor. The dough is mixed one day and baked the next, giving it time to ferment and create an elevated flavor profile.

PREP TIME                          COOK TIME 

30 Minutes                                  30 Minutes

ADDITIONAL TIME:                    TOTAL TIME:

12 Hours                                   13 Hours

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ cups, sourdough starter, active, bubbly
• ¾ cup of sugar
• 2 cups of very warm water
• 1 ½ sticks of melted butter
• 1 ½ tsp sea salt
• 7 cups of all-purpose flour

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a stand-up mixer bowl, add all dry ingredients.
2. Add in starter and melted butter.
3. Slowly add the water and knead on speed 2 (for a kitchen Aid) 10-15 minutes using a dough hook, until the dough becomes smooth, stretchy, and can pass the windowpane test.
4. Allow to rest for at least 20 minutes, but up to a couple of hours
5. Mix the dough with your hands for a couple of minutes after it has rested.
6. Separate dough evenly using a dough scraper, be careful not to break any bubbles that have formed, this will yield 3 large loaves or 6 smaller ones
7. Start your stretch and fold every 15-30 Minutes, if time allows do this 2-3 times. Feel free to let your dough sit though. Truly there is no rush.
8. Now that your dough is in 3 to 6 parts shape into a ball and gently spin the dough towards you.
9. Transfer to flour banneton or a bowl with a kitchen towel. Cover with plastic and proof 12 hours in fridge.

BAKE

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Remove dough from the fridge.
3. Dust with flour on top, this will allow your scoring pattern to stand out more.
4. Score with a razor. I like to do one large cut and then a simple wheat stalk design
5. Put parchment paper into Dutch oven and put dough on it.
6. Bake for 30 minutes at 380, with the lid on.
7. Remove bread from oven, check internal temp. 205 and clean thermometer.
8. Allow bread to cool fully before cutting into it, about 10-15 minutes.
9. ENJOY!

NOTES

Make sure your starter is very active and bubbly.

I use the pioneer woman metal dutch oven. Lisa from Farmhouse on Boone uses a large cast iron skillet, you can find her instructions here, she has been a great resource to me on this sourdough journey!

Depending on the temperature of your home, humidity, maturity of your starter, will determine how much water and flour you’ll need for your end result. Always pour water in slowly and not all at once.

To increase health benefits, one should allow the bread to ferment longer. I make 6 loaves at a time; I leave them covered in the fridge up to 5 days. I use this same exact dough for pizza, kolaches, sweet bread, pretzels, hot dog buns.