Does the idea of freshly baked bread entice you, but you don’t know where to start or it feels so complicated? I get it! When you’ve never entered the world of fresh bread, it can all seem a little ominous- especially the intricate world of sourdough!
Never fear, friend. This recipe is fool proof for even the most novice of sourdough bakers.
No mixer or kneading required, and only one set of “stretch and folds”. The rest of the time, you’re just waiting for the flour and starter to work it’s magic. Seriously- it is as simple as it sounds!
Let me walk you through it:
Tools:
- A bowl to mix in
- mixing spoon
- A kitchen scale (here is mine)
- A long loaf pan (here is the one I use)
- a tea towel or flour sack towel
- food thermometer (we use this one for everything from bread to brisket!)
- cooling rack
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Ingredients:
- 500 g bread flour
- 300g Warm water
- 60g sugar
- 20g olive oil
- 70g active sourdough starter
- 10g salt
Activate Your Starter:
First, you will want to feed your starter. You should do this 4-6 hours or so before you would like to use it. I feed my starter 2 parts flour to 1 part water, though others may prefer a different ratio.
Here is what my starter looks like as soon as I feed it:
And here is what it looks like 6 hours later when its ready to use:
Starting Your Dough:
I like to start this process before bed, that way the majority of the wait time happens overnight!
To begin, mix the warm water, sugar, sourdough starter, olive oil, and salt together. Then, add your wet mixture to the bowl of bread flour. Using a mixing spoon or your hands, combine the ingredients into a shaggy dough. This doesn’t need to look beautiful. I mix mine until there is no more loose flour on the bottom of the bowl.
Once combined, cover your bowl with a wet tea towel for 30 minutes.
After its initial rest, it is time to start the one and only set of stretch and folds. This is a very easy process- simply pick up your dough, stretch it, and then fold it over onto itself. No need to be rough or over work your dough. Once you feel it getting tight and smooth on the surface, it is time to stop. I probably stretch and fold mine 5-8 times.
After this, return your wet tea towel to the top of the bowl and allow it to rise overnight or about 8 hours. I just let it go while I’m sleeping and come back to it before breakfast the next morning!
Shape Your Dough:
The next morning, grease your loaf pan. Take your dough and place it on a clean surface. Stretch it out so that it makes a rectangle as long as your loaf pan and about twice as wide. We are looking to get some of the air bubbles out but we are not working the dough. Then, roll it up onto itself and place it in the prepared loaf pan. Here you will let it rise for about 2 hours in a warm locations, covered by the wet towel. I like to see mine rise to the edge of the loaf pan.
Baking Your Bread:
Now it’s time to bake your loaf! Preheat your oven to 375F and cook your loaf for 40-50 minutes, until the internal temp reaches 200F. The top will be a lovely golden color.
Once it has hit temp, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing it and placing it on a cooling rack.
Allow it to cool completely before cutting into it!
This bread lasts about 5-7 days wrapped on the counter, or you can freeze it for longer storage. Realistically, it never lasts more than 3 days at my house. It really is the best bread for sandwiches and we also love it for making French toast!
Let me know how you like it!
Easy No-Knead Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 whisk
- 1 measuring cups
- 1 measuring spoon
- 1 tea towel
- 1 bread loaf pan (13×4)
- 1 kitchen scale
- 1 food thermometer
- 1 cooling rack
Ingredients
- 70 grams active sourdough starter ideally fed within the last 12 hours
- 300 grams warm water warm to the touch but not hot, less than 100 degrees
- 60 grams sugar
- 500 grams bread flour
- 20 grams olive oil a good, high quality olive oil
- 10 grams salt
Instructions
- Warm your water to 90-100 degrees
- To the warm water, add your active starter, sugar, oil, and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, add your bread flour and wet mixture.
- Mix the two together until there in no loose flour left on the bottom of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a wet tea towel and allow it to rest for 30 minutes or so for the flour to fully absorb the moisture.
- After 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough a few times until is has come together and is mostly smooth. This dough is really forgiving, so it doesn't need to be perfect!
- Let the dough rise for 6-8 hours or so. I typically mix my dough before bed and then let is rise overnight and tend it again in the morning, letting it grow to approximately double in size.
- Grease the sides of a loaf pan with butter. I prefer using my long loaf pan.
- Prepare a clean surface and take your dough out of the bowl, placing it on the surface and stretching it to be the length of the loaf pan. Roll it up and then place it in the greased pan.
- Let is rise again in a warn place for about 2 hours. I like to wait until the dough is about as high as the side of the loaf pan.
- Once risen, preheat your own to 375F and cook for 40-50 min, until the internal temp hits 200F.
- Let it cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing it and placing it on a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool completely before slicing.
