Why Sourdough?
The last few months have caused a lot of changes for pretty much everyone, and one thing that many people have been doing with the extra time at home is picking up new hobbies. Now, baking in general is most certainly not a new hobby for me, but baking sourdough bread is.
Sourdough bread is something that I’ve wanted to venture into for a while, and when yeast started to become hard to find in groceries stores this spring my desire became more urgent — but I had a problem. I didn’t have any starter and the instructions I found for making some seemed time consuming, complicated, easy to mess up, and just plain hard. So I did what anyone would do and complained about my dilemma on social media.
The result? It turns out I had a local friend who very graciously offered to share her happy, healthy starter, and now I’m an expert at making sourdough bread.
Just kidding. I only know how to make this one recipe, but I promise it’s a good one.
Before I share this very easy, very delicious sourdough bread recipe with you, let me just get something out in the open. I am still a COMPLETE newbie when it comes to sourdough. I have no idea what hydration my gifted starter is, because I have always been really terrible at math.
All I know is that when I remember to feed it, I give it 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup water. Those of you who are sourdough savants feel free to educate me about what this means. I promise I will not be at all offended.
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What to do with this bread
My favorite way to eat this bread is warm with lots of butter, but I also love it as toast, serve it alongside soups, and grill it into the BEST grilled cheese sandwiches. The. Best.
I’m normally not an ‘edge’ girl. I like the center of the cinnamon rolls, the inner pieces of the brownie. But I absolutely adore the chewy crust on this sourdough bread. The texture is amazing and it’s one of the few exceptions to my ‘inside only’ rule (the other exception is for cakes with heavy borders and thick frosting because more frosting = better).
One additional note: I use a glass 9 x 5 inch loaf dish (affiliate link) for this recipe. I’m sure you can also use metal, silicon, and ceramic, but be prepared to adjust the baking time using your own judgement since I haven’t personally tested any other types of pan.
- 3/4 cup active sourdough starter
- 1 1/4 cups warm water
- 3 cups unbleached flour
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp salt
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Add all ingredients to a large bowl and stir until combined. Knead for 3 minutes, sprinkling in more flour as needed to keep it from sticking to your hands and the counter.
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Press the kneaded dough into a greased loaf pan, cover it with a towel, and let it rise until at least doubled (typically 6-8 hours).
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Place into a cold oven and set the temperature for 350°. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until golden brown.
- Using unbleached flour is essential.
- I use a glass 9×5 inch loaf pan for this recipe.
- You can bake the bread before it has doubled in size, but it will be very dense. The bigger you let it grow, the better the texture will be.
I’ve been wanting to make bread for a while now. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
I hope you get a chance to try it soon!
I love all types of bread. But my absolute favorite is sour dough. I have never tried to make sour dough bread. But this recipe looks a lot easier for an amateur like me. Wish me luck!
It is super easy, you can do it!
I’ve always wanted to make bread! This seems like something I can do!
For sure! This is the sourdough recipe anyone can make.
Nothing beats homemade bread! I am so thankful for my wonderful neighbor who bakes us sourdough every week.
I do love a good sourdough bread. It’s what I always choose if I have a choice. I have made it a time or two, but now I don’t have a starter.
I just love sourdough bread! What an easy and tasty recipe
Where can I find a “starter?”, or better yet, how do I make one?
I had one given to me YEARS ago but that was. . .”YEARS AGO!” Hopefully smone can help me? Thanks!
Hi Terry, I’ll be honest, I had mine given to me too! If you Google how to make a starter you can find lots of information about how to do it yourself, and I think there are also options for purchasing a starter as well. Hope this helps!