A Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Recipe

ByElien Lewis 2021-02-192026-01-20 Updated on2026-01-20

This is a simple, reliable sourdough bread recipe, perfect for beginners. The process gives you a golden, crusty loaf with a soft, open crumb. If you’re new to sourdough, read through the steps before you begin so you understand the timing and rhythm. Once you’ve got the hang of it, this method honestly becomes second nature.

Sourdough bread

Sourdough bread rises naturally with no commercial yeast needed. Instead, it uses wild yeast and beneficial bacteria (lactobacillus) from a sourdough starter.
The yeast produces carbon dioxide to lift the dough, while the bacteria create lactic and acetic acids that give sourdough its flavour. The long fermentation makes sourdough easier to digest and develops that classic tang.

The sourdough starter & levain

You’ll need an active sourdough starter before you begin. I keep mine at 100% hydration which means equal parts flour and water by weight. Keeping the acid levels balanced helps the dough stay strong and easy to handle and regular feeding keeps your starter healthy and reduces excess acidity. Read more on how to maintain a sourdough starter.

Feeding ratios

I usually feed my starter at

1:2:2 doubles within about 6 hours at 21 to 26 °C (70 to 78 °F).
1:3:3 takes longer to rise and is useful for overnight feeds.

Both are 100% hydration (equal flour and water by weight).

Creating a levain

A levain is a portion of your active starter fed and grown specifically for the loaf you’re making. To make one:

Take a small amount of your active starter.
Mix it with fresh flour and water (for example, 1:2:2).
Let it rise at room temperature until it doubles and looks bubbly and domed.

Use the whole levain in your bread dough. It’s essentially your freshly-fed, ready-to-use starter. After taking out what you need, feed the remaining starter (about 30g but it can be less) and store it in the fridge for next time. Even a small amount can be built back up again. Save any leftover discard for sourdough discard recipes.

A sliced loaf of rustic sourdough bread sits on a wooden cutting board, revealing a crispy golden crust and airy, open crumb. Blurred kitchen items and a white tiled wall are in the background.

Tools you’ll need

Dutch oven or cast-iron combo cooker: traps steam for great oven spring. I use a cast-iron combo cooker which is fantastic. It works as a Dutch oven, trapping steam. Mine is from Lodge Cast Iron though other brands make similar cookers.
Proofing basket (banneton) You’ll need a bowl for the dough to hold its shape while it proofs.
I use a traditional banneton batard basket but you can use a bowl lined with a floured towel.
Kitchen scale: for accuracy.
Bench scraper: handy for shaping.

Baker’s schedule (example)

You can adjust these times to suit your day.

Time	Step
8 am	Feed your starter and create levain
1 pm	Autolyse (mix flour and water)
2 pm	Add levain and salt
2:30-7:30 pm	Bulk ferment with folds
7:30 pm	Shape, then cold-proof overnight
Next morning	Bake

If you run into problems, see my Sourdough Troubleshooting Guide or watch my step-by-step video.

Method (overview)

Feed your starter so it’s ready to go.

A person mixing dough with a wooden-handled pastry blender in a large white bowl on a speckled countertop.

Mix the flour and water until no dry bits remain, then cover and rest for at least 30 minutes (up to 2 hours). This allows the flour to hydrate and start forming gluten naturally.

A person kneads sticky dough in a white bowl, using both hands, on a speckled countertop.

Add your bubbly levain and salt to the dough. Use wet hands to mix until it forms a sticky, rough ball and knead it in the bowl for 5 minutes. Cover again.

Folding and bulk ferment

Stretch and fold the dough every 30 minutes for 3 hours. Each fold builds strength and structure. You could do this with coil folds or traditional stretch and folds.

Stretch and folds

A pair of hands stretches a soft, risen dough inside a large white bowl on a light textured surface.

Grab one edge of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it back over the centre. Turn the bowl and repeat on all sides.

A person stretches and folds sticky bread dough inside a large white mixing bowl on a textured countertop.

Each fold helps align gluten and build structure while keeping the dough elastic.

Coil folds

Lift the dough from the middle with wet hands so the ends tuck under themselves. Turn the bowl and repeat on all sides.
This gentle method builds strength without losing air and is great for higher hydration doughs.

Bulk fermenting continued

A smooth, round ball of dough rests in the center of a large white bowl on a textured gray surface.

After your last fold, place the dough in a clean bowl. Keeping the bowl clean stops dried dough from gluing itself on and makes it much easier to clean up later.

A white bowl contains risen bread dough with bubbles on the surface, sitting on a textured, light-colored countertop.

Let the dough continue bulk fermentation until it’s about 40-50% larger than when it started. It should feel lighter and airier, with some bubbles forming.

Note: Ideal bulk ferment temperature is around 24 °C (75 °F). Cooler rooms take longer and in warmer ones the dough move faster.

Shaping and cold proofing

If you’ve made this recipe before, you might notice I’ve simplified my shaping method. I now use an easier fold-and-roll approach that still builds great structure without being too technical. If you’d prefer to follow my original, more detailed shaping method, you can still find it in my YouTube video here.

Lightly flour your bench. Tip the dough out gently.

Two hands stretching dough on a light, textured surface, highlighting its elasticity and smoothness—perfect for mastering a beginner's sourdough bread recipe.

Gently stretch the dough into a loose rectangle.

Two hands stretch a piece of soft, risen dough on a speckled light brown countertop, gently pulling the dough outward to work with its texture.

Do a pamphlet fold and fold the bottom third up, then the top third down.

A piece of raw, flattened dough rests on a textured beige surface, ready to be shaped or baked.

Turn the dough dough 90 degrees.

Two hands stretch a ball of dough on a lightly textured, beige countertop.

Roll the dough up, gently pressing down with each roll to keep tension as you go.

Two hands are shaping or kneading a ball of dough on a lightly floured, textured countertop.

Pull it toward you gently to build surface tension and tuck in the sides.

Two hands shape a loaf of bread dough in a cloth-lined bowl on a light, textured surface.

Place seam-side up in a floured basket. Stitch the top lightly to help it hold height.

Cover and refrigerate for 12–24 hours to proof slowly.

Note: Dust your basket or floured cloth with rice flour or a 50/50 mix of rice and bread flour. Rice flour doesn’t absorb much moisture, so it’s the best way to stop dough from sticking during long proofing.

Baking

A close-up of unbaked bread dough in a cast iron pan, with several diagonal slashes across the surface, ready to be baked.

Flip your dough into it (seam-side down) into your dutch oven and score the dough with a razor or sharp knife.

A round loaf of rustic bread with a split crust rests in a cast iron skillet on a stovetop, ready to be baked. A black pot is visible in the background.

Bake covered for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake another 15 to 20 minutes until deep brown.

A round loaf of artisan sourdough bread with decorative scoring rests in a black cast iron skillet on a light countertop. The crust is golden brown and slightly charred on one edge.

Dough proofing

Under-proofed dough

An under-proofed dough hasn’t fermented long enough. It will feel tight and dense, and won’t hold its shape when you try to stretch it. After baking, the crumb will be heavy with small, uneven holes and a chewy thick crust. The loaf might burst where the dough tried to expand too late in the oven.

If this happens, extend your bulk ferment next time. The dough should feel lighter and slightly puffy before shaping.

Over-proofed dough

An over-proofed dough has gone too far. It looks very soft and airy, but it feels weak and sticky when you try to shape it. In the oven, it can collapse or spread out rather than spring up. The crust may brown unevenly and the crumb can seem gummy or flat.

If this happens, reduce your ferment time or keep the dough somewhere cooler next time. Aim for a dough that’s risen about 40 to 50% and feels elastic but not fragile.

Trouble shooting tips

Dough sticking to your hands: Wet your hands during folds to stop it sticking.
Dense loaf: Under-fermented. Let bulk go longer next time.
Flat loaf: Over-proofed; shorten the proofing stage.
Runny starter: Feed a higher ratio (1:3:3 or 1:4:4) to strengthen it.

Adding inclusions (seeds, nuts, cheese, etc.)

Add inclusions after completing the folds during bulk fermentation. This lets the dough build some strength before you mix in anything heavy or textured.

How to add:

Lightly flatten the dough into a rectangle with wet hands.
Evenly sprinkle half your inclusions over the surface.
Fold the dough up like a letter (bottom third up, top third down).
Turn the dough 90 degrees, then sprinkle on the rest of the inclusions.
Roll it up into a log, then gently shape it into a ball. Let the dough continue bulk fermentation.

How much to add:

Around 15-25% of the total flour weight works well for seeds, nuts, or grains.
For cheese or dried fruit, use a bit less like 15-20%, as they release moisture or sugar.

More sourdough recipes

A sliced loaf of artisan sourdough bread, made from a beginner's sourdough bread recipe, sits on a wooden board, showing its golden crust and airy, open crumb structure with a blurred kitchen background.

A Beginner’s Sourdough Recipe

Elien Lewis

This easy sourdough bread recipe is so straight forward. All you need is a little patience and time.

4.79 from 100 votes

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 45

Proofing Time 1

Total Time 1 1 10

Course Sourdough

Cuisine American

Servings people

Calories 223 kcal

Ingredients

Levain (this will all be used in the dough)

20 g sourdough starter
40 g all-purpose flour
40 g water

Dough

400 g bread flour or all-purpose flour, at least 11% protein
285 g water
All the levain
8 g salt

Instructions

Levain

In a small bowl, mix the levain ingredients until well combined and smooth.
Transfer to a clean jar or glass and cover with a loose lid or damp towel.
Let it sit at room temperature (around 22-26 °C / 72-79 °F) until it has at least doubled and looks bubbly and domed. This usually takes 4 to 6 hours, depending on room temperature.

Dough

About an hour before the levain is ready, combine the flour and water in a large bowl. Use wet hands to mix until no dry bits remain. Cover with a plate or damp towel and rest for 30 to 60 minutes.
Add all the levain and salt. Mix with wet hands until the dough is sticky and roughly combined. Give it a few slap and fold kneads in the bowl to begin creating structure. This is when you lift the dough slightly and slap it back down into the bowl, folding it over itself. After this, cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
Over the next 3 hours, perform stretch and folds (or coil folds) every 30 minutes to build strength. Keep your hands damp to prevent sticking. It’s 5 to 6 sets total. After each fold, cover the dough and let it rest until the next one.
After the final fold, transfer the dough to a clean bowl and cover it to finish fermenting.
Let it rise in a warm spot until it looks puffy, jiggles slightly when you move the bowl, and has grown about 40-50% (not doubled). This might take between 1-3 hours, depending on your room temperature, so watch the dough, not the clock.
Tip: Ideal bulk fermentation temperature is around 24 °C (75 °F). Cooler kitchens take longer, warmer ones the dough will rise faster.

Shaping

Line your banneton with a towel and flour it well with rice flour or a 50/50 rice and bread flour mix.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape it into a rectangle.
Fold the bottom third up, the top third down, then turn it 90 degrees. Roll the dough up, gently pressing down with each roll to keep tension as you go.
Pull it gently toward you to build surface tension and tuck in the sides.
Place seam-side up in the floured basket and lightly stitch the top to help it hold height.

Cold Proof

Cover the basket with a floured tea towel or slip it into a large plastic bag to prevent drying out and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.