Easy Sourdough Bread- Golden Crispy Artisan Loaf

There’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh sourdough bread coming out of your own oven. But if you’re like me, your sourdough journey might include more than a few flops before your first golden brown, crispy crusty loaf lands on the table.

This easy sourdough bread recipe is the result of many test batches, mistakes, and aha moments. It’s made with simple ingredients—just flour, water, salt, and starter—but mastering sourdough takes more than just a recipe. Think of this post as a friendly beginner’s guide that also includes all the tips I wish I had known earlier.

Whether this is your first loaf of sourdough bread or your fiftieth, I hope this helps you get delicious, bakery-style results from your home oven.

How to ensure you will make delicious sourdough bread

The goal of this post is to help you make a perfect sourdough loaf on the very first try. And you just might, but I’m giving you a heads up… becoming a good sourdough baker all depends on your tenacity and willpower to learn your environment and all the other factors that can help you make a great loaf. 

Sour dough bread baking is an art form. It really takes patience and understanding through working with the dough and becoming accustomed to how to shape it and even making ingredient adjustments as the seasons change. 

This is why I’m sharing what I’ve experienced and learned over the last 10 years of baking sourdough bread. And it’s also why I’ve created a community through this website and answer questions in the comments below and on social media.

I know how frustrating it can be to try to get to an amazing loaf of bread. And it’s easy to get discouraged when your loaf comes out flat or too dense. But this guide is here to help. And with easy laid-out steps and the right support, I know you will have success on your sourdough baking journey.

What you will learn in this sourdough bread guide

In this guide, you’re going to learn how to make homemade sourdough bread so you don’t have to go to the grocery store! This step-by-step recipe guide includes follow along photos, as well as an easy printable for guidance. We even include some ideas for adding different flavors to your bread.

There are many sourdough bread recipes out there, but this recipe is designed to help you make a consistently good loaf of bread. This guide is designed to give you tips, like how to store your bread, a link to our easy sourdough starter recipe, and troubleshooting guidance (we already made all the mistakes so you don’t have to!)

You will find that baking sourdough becomes an intuitive process. While we can give you the starting point for measurements and tips like using a scale, with time and confidence, you will start to trust your baking gut and do things like add a little more flour when the dough seems too wet. Follow your own guidance and make notes!

Keep a baking journal for your sourdough bakes and notice all the little tweaks you make as you perfect your process. When you get questions, come back to this page and use the comments section to get support. We’re here to help you have success! 

What is sourdough bread?

Sourdough bread gets it’s name from the tangy sour flavor created during the slow-ferment process of live yeast cultures in the dough. 

Because of this, you don’t need store bought yeast to make sourdough bread. 

You do need sourdough starter, which many bakers lovingly call their “pet” because it’s basically a jar of living microorganisms. You must “feed” it flour and water to keep it alive.

Sourdough is known also known for it’s signature chewy inside texture and crackly outer crust. From a health standpoint, it is more desirable over supermarket bread because the acids and fermentation process help break down the carbohydrates and proteins in the dough. This makes the bread more easily digestible and can even aid in the development of probiotics and prebiotics.

What is the sour in sourdough bread?

The coveted sour flavor in sourdough bread comes from the fermentation process where assorted yeasts and healthy lactic acid bacteria produce acetic acids and lactic acids from breaking down sugars in the flour. The acetic acids produce a distinct tangy, vinegar like flavor, while the lactic acid gives off a yogurt like flavor.   

The longer you ferment the dough the more acetic acid is created (the more tang you get). The temperature during fermentation can also influence how sour the dough comes out. For example, a dough kept in the fridge can slow down fermentation and lead to more acetic acid for a stronger sour taste.  

Why do I need sourdough starter to make sourdough bread?

The starter is the culture of yeasts and bacteria you grow, maintain, and “feed” for future bakes. It’s this starter that holds all the key tangy flavors that make sourdough bread so appealing.

Whenever you bake sourdough bread, you use sourdough starter to create a levain (an offshoot of your starter). This is a pre-ferment which is a mixture of flour, water, and some of your starter to ensure you have a very active and bubbly starter ready for when you bake, This levain is used in your recipe to help produce the gassy bubbles (leaven your bread dough) to make your dough rise and give it all those dreamy air pockets.  

How do I get sourdough starter going?

We created an entire step-by-step sourdough starter tutorial for how to make your own sourdough starter at home. 

Many of our fellow bakers have had instant success with the starter recipe, getting their starter to bubble in just a few days. 

You can also order sourdough starter online. It’s dried and mailed and then rehydrated once you receive it. Or if you’re lucky to have a friend who makes sourdough bread, you can take some of their “scraps” home in a jar and just start feeding it. 

But making your own sourdough starter is not hard! We’ve even created a nifty feeding schedule to ensure you have success.

How do I get my sourdough starter ready to use?

I have my own easy method for feeding my starter to get it ready to use. It’s taken out of the fridge the day before using it, pour off the top of the starter and add 40 grams of all purpose flour, 5 grams of rye and 40 grams of warm water. I stir is completely, getting all the lumps mixed in. And I let that ferment overnight at room temp (around 75 degrees). The next day, I give it a bigger feeding of 70 grams of all purpose flour, 5 grams rye and 70-75 grams of water, and by this second feeding, the starter is very active and doubling to tripling in size. Note: You can feed it twice in one day to get your starter ready to use in one day! Just feed it a smaller amount in the morning and then a second time in the afternoon. 

I provide instructions in the Easy Sourdough Starter Post. 

How do I know when my sourdough starter is ready?

Your starter is ready to use in baking when it doubles in size in the jar after a bigger feeding. Bubbles alone are not an indicator of the starter being ready. We need strong starter to make a great loaf of sourdough bread. My trick for strengthening starter is to use a little less water to flour in feedings. See instructions in our Easy Sourdough Starter post. 

If you are growing a new starter, it will most likely be doubling by day 7-15.  Once it doubles, it’s ready to use.  Just remember to give it a bigger feeding on the day you’re going to make your dough. 

If you are using a pre-existing starter, and you keep it on the counter for daily feedings, you would just need to give it a bigger feeding and then wait 2-8 hours. Once it has doubled in size, it’s ready to use.

If you are using a starter kept in the fridge, I recommend taking it out a day before you want to bake bread. Feed it a small feeding the first day (once the starter has warmed up), and then give it a bigger feeding the second day. It’s ready to use if it doubles in size. Warmer temperatures (75-85 degrees F) can help speed up the starter growth, but be patient! A hot environment can actually make you starter go runny and weaken the glutens.

Some people find stirring the starter helps it grow faster. Also if your house is warm and your starter is always getting runny by later in the day, you can give it a second feeding. I keep my starter in the fridge because we live in a warmer climate, and I don’t want to have to feed my starter daily.  

Float Test: Some people use a float test to make sure their starter is ready. To do a float test, wait until the starter has doubled in size and then scoop about 1 tsp, into a glass of water. If the ball of starter floats to the top it’s ready to use. If it sinks, you should give your starter another feeding before using it.

Please note: just a few bubbles in your starter indicates it’s alive, but it doesn’t mean it’s ready for bread baking. You will want to strengthen your starter over a few days, and we cover how to do this in the starter tutorial. There’s even a printable daily guide to help you stay on track with daily feedings until your starter is ready. We also include tips for keeping your starter in the fridge so you don’t have to continually feed it. 

How to use Sourdough Starter to bake bread

After your starter is bubbly and doubling, it’s ready to use. I usually just pour the amount I need (by tearing a scale to zero) right into the bowl of my flour and water dough mixture. Then I make sure to feed the rest of my starter in the jar with a feeding of flour and water and let it sit on the counter for a few hours and then place it back in the fridge. 

How to Make Sourdough Bread Step-by-Step Guide: 

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Ingredients

• 450 grams all-purpose flour (I recommend Organic unbleached flour for best results)
• 300 grams warm water (filtered is best)
• 100 grams active sourdough starter (make sure it passes the float test!)
• 10 grams salt

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Tools You’ll Need

• Large mixing bowl
• Digital scale (accurate measurements matter!)
• Wooden spoon
• Bowl scraper or bench scraper
• Dutch oven (or Cast Iron Skillet and Cake Pan to match)
• Piece of parchment paper, rice flour, or regular flour
• Sharp razor blade or bread lame for scoring
• Clean damp towel or plastic wrap
• Optional: proofing basket or banneton

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Instructions

1. Feed Sourdough Starter

Go to our tutorial for getting your starter ready by clicking here. 

2. Mix the Dough

Tare your digital scale with a large mixing bowl. Add 450g of all-purpose flour and about 290g of your warm water (around 80–85°F is ideal for your first mix). Mix with a wooden spoon until combined. The dough will be somewhat dry, but it will get hydrated more soon. Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the dough to sit for about 30-45 minutes. This is called autolyse, and it’s a good idea to properly hydrate the dough and for helping gluten form.

Turn on the digital scale with the large bowl of dough and tare to zero. Add 100g of active starter (bubbly and recently fed). Mix in the starter starting with a wooden spoon and then use your hand to scoop the dough off the sides of the bowl and incorporate into the dough.

Tare the digital scale one more time and add 10g of salt with a splash of warm water if needed (use the remaining water, about 10 grams only if the dough is extremely dry).

Use one hand to hold the bowl and the other to start pulling and turning the dough until it starts to come together and form a soft dough. If it feels too wet, add a few tablespoons of flour until the dough is pulling away from the bowl and not too sticky.

Cover the bowl with a towel and allow the dough to sit for about 30 minutes in a warm spot (we use our convection oven warmed for a minute or two (without the dough inside) and then turned off). 

A Note on Flours: Avoid using bread flour unless you want a denser crumb—I’ve found most stores carry organic unbleached all purpose flour and most brands do a good job. I’ve worked with many brands and noticed that some have more of a light airy feel and these tend to do better. Maybe at some point I’ll rate the different brands, but for now, stick with organic flour (the bleached flours and non organic ones are going to make it harder for your yeast to do it’s best work). 

3. Stretch and Fold

After the dough has rested for 30 minutes, you can begin your stretch and folds. With wet hands, do a set of stretch and folds (lift a section of dough, stretch it upward, then fold it over). Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat 3–4 times. This builds surface tension and strengthens the dough.

Cover again and let it rest in a warm spot (ideally 75–80°F). Repeat 2–3 more sets of stretch and folds every 30–60 minutes.

4. First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)

After 4–6 hours of resting in the bowl (depending on the temperature of your kitchen), the dough should have visibly risen and become soft and puffy. That’s your first rise done.

A colder kitchen (65 degrees and less) means you might need to let the dough rise much longer (8-10 hours). A warmer kitchen (75 degrees+) means you only need 2-6 hours. Look for the dough to double in size and be flexible in your schedule until you get used to how your dough rises in your own environment.  

5. Shape the Dough

Gently remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Fold the dough starting with pulling the top to the middle, then the bottom to middle, then each side to the center. Flip over and use your hands to rotate the dough and tuck it under, forming it into a ball and creating tension on top.

This final shaping step is crucial! I skipped it many times early on and got flat loaves. Give your dough structure so it can rise beautifully in the oven.

At this point, you can let the dough proof on the counter another hour before baking, or you can see below for the alternative second rise in the fridge.

6. Second Rise (Proofing)

If you want bread the same day, do the final rise on the counter for 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temp and then bake the dough! Simply allow your shaped dough to rest on the counter for this second rise.

If you want to give the dough more time to build flavor, your can place dough seam-side up in a proofing basket lightly dusted with flour or rice flour, covered with plastic wrap, a plastic bag, or a shower cap, and keep it in the fridge overnight. You can also use a bowl, banneton basket, or loaf pan lined with a damp towel or tea towel (the dough tends to stick to these a bit). Let it rise overnight for the final rise in the fridge (cold proof). 

Please note: If you use this method of proofing in the fridge, you will want to cut your first rise on the counter to about half the time (so you dough does not overproof). You don’t have to proof your dough in the fridge, we just give you this option because many people want to wait until morning to bake or they want to try to increase flavor. We actually prefer doing the second rise on the counter for the half hour to hour, and the bread still comes out amazing. 

7. Score the Dough

Preheat your Dutch oven (or cast iron skillet) inside your oven to 425°F. Let it heat for 30 minutes.

Turn the dough onto a piece of parchment paper (or sprinkle flour in bottom), score the top of the dough with a razor blade, sharp knife, or bread lame (go about half an inch deep and make the cut about 3-4 inches long on the top center of the dough). This allows steam to escape for the dough to expand more upon baking.

8. Bake the Dough

Place the dough into the hot Dutch oven or cast iron skillet. We use a cast iron skillet base with a cake pan top inside of our convection oven and it works just as well. Just make sure you have a cake pan that fits your cast iron skillet. This works great if you don’t have a Dutch oven. 

Bake at 425°F:

• Covered: 14 minutes
• Then turn the pot 180° and bake covered another 14 minutes.
• Remove the cover, turn the pot 180°and bake uncovered 14 minutes.
• Then turn the pot again back 180° and bake the final 14 minutes uncovered

That’s a total of 56 minutes for a crispy crust and fully baked interior. Use a thermometer to check the internal temperature—it should be around 200°-210°F. Or look for that golden crust coloring on top. The outer crust should be crispy.

Note About Baking In Pots vs. Pans:  Baking in a pot or skillet with lid helps to trap the steam inside which is essential to achieving an artisan style loaf of bread. It helps to use pots that can heat up to 425-450 degrees (including the lid). Baking on a pan tends to make the crust harden too quickly because it’s hard to control moisture levels. 

9. Cool and Enjoy

Let the bread cool in the Dutch oven or skillet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack or board to cool completely (about 1 hour). Resist the urge to cut into it too soon—this helps the crumb set.

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Sourdough Troubleshooting: What I Learned the Hard Way

Here’s what caused my early failures (so you can avoid them!):

• Too wet dough that never developed structure
• Inactive or weak starter that couldn’t rise the dough
• Skipping or rushing stretch and folds
• Not using a scale for accurate ingredient measurements
• Using only bread flour made loaves too dense
• Poor quality or old all-purpose flour
• Not proofing in a warm, enclosed space
• Skipping final shaping or not creating a tight dough ball
• Water too cold or too hot (affects fermentation)- room temp or slightly warm 85 degrees F is best.
• Not scoring the dough deep enough- score at least half an inch deep
• Underbaking or over-proofing

Sourdough really is an art form, and even small tweaks can impact your results. But once you find your rhythm, it becomes one of the most rewarding things to bake.

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Helpful Tips For Best Results

• Use filtered water to avoid killing wild yeast
• Always feed your starter the day before and give it a bigger feeding the day of to make sure it’s active (do the float test!)
• Keep track of the temperature of your dough and your environment
• Try using rice flour to dust your proofing basket—helps prevent sticking
• Store leftover bread in a plastic bag or wrap tightly in a damp towel

Ideas for Sourdough Bread Flavors

Once you’ve produced a good loaf from the recipe provided in this post, then it’s time to get creative and go wild with adding flavor! 

• You might want to try making rosemary bread by adding just 2 tablespoons of rosemary during the stretch and fold phase.
• You could make garlic bread by roasting a few cloves of garlic, chopping it up and adding it to the dough.
• Make an olive loaf by chopping Kalamata Olives and adding them into the dough during the stretch and fold.
• To make a spicy cheese bread, add chopped Jalapenos and Cheddar cheese to your dough.
• Bake up a breakfast treat by adding lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and blueberries to your dough. 
• The sky is the limit with flavors and what you can create with this easy sourdough recipe! 

FAQs About Homemade Sourdough Bread

Can I use cold water?

Warm water is best. Cold water can slow the fermentation process. So if you do use cold water, just know that it will take longer to get the dough to ferment. 

What is the float test?

Drop a bit of your active starter in water—if it floats, it’s ready!

Can I use a loaf pan?

Yes, and you can get the same crispy crust you’d get in a home oven with a hot Dutch oven or covered cast iron skillet by using another loaf pan on top. Enclosing the dough helps keep the environment damp and produces that amazing crunchy outer crust.

Can I split the dough in half to make two loaves?

Yes, absolutely! You’ll want to split the dough after you have done all of your stretch and folds. Split the dough, allow them to rise, and then shape each one. Allow for the second rise after you’ve shaped them and then bake. Reduce the bake time about 10 minutes.

Can I split the dough into 4 to make bread bowls?

Yes, and we often split the dough to make bread bowls as well as pizza doughs. Just split the dough after your stretch and folds, and remember to reduce the bake time about 10 minutes.  

Do I need a bread machine or a stand mixer to make sourdough bread?

Nope, you’re just using a wooden spoon and your hands to make this bread. 

What’s the internal temperature of fully baked bread?

About 200-210°F.

I see people online using only bread flour to make sourdough bread. Should I use bread flour?

You can certainly try, but my experience is bread flour results in a very dense loaf of bread. The inside texture tends to be way more chewy and the outer crust comes out way more crisp and tough.

Bread flour has a higher protein content than all purpose flour, so it is often used in baking things like bread, pretzels, and pizza where bakers are looking for more structure in their baked goods. This could help with keeping the rise and structure of your bread, but just know that the dough will be super chewy.

The recipe we’ve provided here is on the more dry side, so it helps with structure, and if you practice creating tension in your dough during shaping, you’ll still produce a nice round domed shape AND you’ll get a more appealing chewy inside (in my opinion… but again, to each their own).

Note: You will most likely need to add a bit more water to this recipe if you use bread flour.  

How do I get bigger air pockets in my sourdough bread?

You would need to hydrate the dough more. This is typically more challenging because handling wet dough can feel like a struggle (think very sticky dough). So you would want to aim for 75-85% hydration in your dough to get bigger air pockets. You could also use bread flour in this case because it’s going to help hold the structure of the dough. You would also want to allow for a slower, longer fermentation, and also be careful during the shaping of the dough, so you don’t burst all the bubbles created.

The recipe we provide here puts you in the 65-70% range for hydration. Again, this recipe is on the dryer side and it makes it very easy to achieve a successful, domed, golden, crusty loaf. 

How do I store baked sour dough bread?

We store it in a Ziplock bag on our counter for a day or two, and then to keep it from molding, we put it in the fridge in the Ziplock bag. When we use it from the fridge, we toast pieces in the toaster oven.

You can also store an uncut loaf in a paper bag or in a bread box. Cut loaves can be stored cut side down or in a bread box. 

Can I freeze leftover bread?

Yes—wrap slices in in plastic wrap or foil and place in a plastic bag or freezer-safe container.

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Final Thoughts on Your Sourdough Journey

Whether this is your first time baking sourdough or you’re on your 50th loaf, this simple sourdough bread recipe makes it easy to bake artisan sourdough made simple—right in your kitchen.

If this is your first time baking sourdough, be patient and give yourself grace. You’re learning a living process—wild yeast and fermentation have their own personalities.

Let me know in the comments if you tried this recipe or tag me on Instagram or Facebook with your beautiful loaves. If you are a beginner, let us know how your first loaf of sourdough bread turned out! Once you master this, you’ll never want store-bought bread again!

Happy baking, sourdough friend. 🍞

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More Recipes You’ll Love:

• Easy Sourdough Starter
• Easy Yeast Bread Recipe

📌 Save this post for next time you bake!