Welcome back to That Birb Life! Today, I'm excited to share my recipe for homemade sourdough bread—a tried and true method that I use to produce a perfect, crusty loaf. Whether you're a seasoned baker or just getting started with sourdough, this recipe is designed to guide you step-by-step to baking success.

Ingredients

• Active Sourdough Starter: 80g
• Filtered Water: 360g
• Salt: 15g
• Bread Flour: 500g

• Food Scale (such as this)
• Sourdough Whisk (I love this one; it looks like it's smiling)
• Sourdough Scraper (I like the angled ones but the flat ones are nice too)
• Mixing Bowl
• Cooking Thermometer (I've used this one since 2021 and it works great!)
• Dutch Oven or Cast Iron Skillet with Lid (I have an enameled one and a normal one)
• Cooling Rack (something like this)

Note: You’ll need an active sourdough starter for this recipe. If you don’t have one yet, check out my step-by-step guide on starting your own sourdough journey!

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1:

Place your large mixing bowl on your food scale. Zero the scale and measure 80g of your active sourdough starter into the bowl.

Step 2:

Reset the scale to zero and add 360g of filtered water. Mix the water and sourdough starter thoroughly with your sourdough whisk.

Step 3:

Add 15g of salt and mix well with the whisk.

Step 4:

Add 500g of bread flour. Begin mixing with your whisk, then use your clean hands to fully incorporate the ingredients. Don’t worry if the dough is very sticky—that’s completely normal. Wet your hands with water or a bit of flour if needed.

Step 5:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or cling film and let it rest on the counter.

Steps 6-7:

Every 30 minutes to an hour, use your sourdough scraper to stretch and fold the dough right in the bowl. Do this at least twice and up to five times, allowing the dough to rest in between.

Step 8:

Cover the bowl again and let the dough rest at room temperature for about 8 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Step 9 (Bulk Fermentation):

Shape your dough into a loaf right in the bowl using your scraper, then cover and refrigerate it for 12 hours to 3 days. This slow fermentation deepens the flavor and enhances the health benefits of the sourdough. 

(For more on sourdough health benefits, check out A Bread Affair's post!)

Step 10:

Preheat your oven to 450°F with your Dutch oven (or cast iron skillet) and its lid inside. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and, on a well-floured piece of parchment paper, shape it into a loaf and score the top.

Step 11:

Carefully transfer the dough into the preheated Dutch oven, keeping the lid on, and bake for 35 minutes.

Step 12:

After 35 minutes, remove the lid and reduce the temperature to 425°F. Bake for another 30-35 minutes. The bread is done when its internal temperature reaches 205-210°F.

Step 13:

Transfer your loaf to a cooling rack and let it cool for at least an hour. Or, if you’re feeling rebellious, enjoy it straight from the oven with some delicious, melty butter. #NoRegrets

And that’s it! This sourdough recipe is my secret to a perfect loaf every time, and I hope it inspires you to try your hand at baking your own sourdough bread. Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe and how your loaf turns out. Happy baking!