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I haven’t bought bread for a really long time. In the last two years or so, I think I’ve bought one loaf. We are not anti-bread, but we have gotten along well without it. JSarr used to take dinner leftovers for lunch, and we eat things like fruit and yogurt, scrambled eggs, tuna lettuce wraps, quesadillas, and nachos for lunch.
Then a couple of months ago I started reading about sourdough, and how good it is for you to eat and is easier to digest. You can go to Kitchen Stewardship and Living Water Health and Wellness for more information and resources. Then I read it is only three ingredients (4 if you count the start, but the start is made from two of the basic ingredients). I had to try! The sourdough start recipe is inspired by Living Water Health and Wellness. This sourdough bread recipe is adapted from Cheeseslave.
I have read many different instructions about starting sourdough. Some say to feed it every 8 hours or 12 hours. My recipe calls for feeding it every 24 hours. I try to find the most efficient way to do things, so I will be more inclined to repeat the process. The following has worked for me. Also, some say to throw away part of the start. I just don’t understand this, as it seems like a waste, and you could at least give it away. I have NEVER thrown any of it out.
Below the recipes are pictures of what the dough and bread should look like in different stages.
Ingredients
- -whole wheat flour (I have read white flour is good to start with until you get the hang of it. I used a blend of white and whole wheat to start. I heard rye and spelt works, too.)
- -filtered water or water that has been boiled and cooled (if using tap water, you can let it sit out over night so the chlorine evaporates out of the water. I have made this several times, and I have used water right from the tap sometimes, and I haven't had any problems)
- -glass or mason jar
- -cheesecloth or coffee filter (will crust and tear if you get the dough on it, so I recommend cheesecloth) to cover the glass jar
- -wooden spoon
Instructions
- Combine 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water in the glass container and cover it with the cheesecloth.
- Leave it on your counter top for 24 hours.
- There will be a separation of liquid on top (called the hooch or alcohol) that is darker than the start, and you can pour it off if you want, but you can just mix it back in. I mix it in.
- Stir, and feed your start with another 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water, and stir again. You can use a fresh container each day.
- Repeat this process for 7 days, and you have your sourdough start! When you see the bubbles, you have captured wild yeast. Isn't that crazy? The start should have a sourdough smell.
- If you won't use the start right away, you can put it in your refrigerator with a lid on it, and feed it equal parts water and flour once a week. It will keep in the fridge for a couple of months.
The start separating here below: totally normal
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sourdough start (which is the flour and water together: read above)
- two cups of flour
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- 1 t salt (update 10/30/12** I now use 2 t salt)
Instructions
- Combine 1/4 cup of your sourdough start with two cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of water, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Leave in a glass bowl on your counter (if it's a cold winter's night, you may want to leave it close to a heat source) for 16-17 hours covered with plastic wrap. I have used the dough after about 12 hours, and I really don't notice a difference, but may be it's less sour. It will look similar to a sponge, like the picture below, with all of those nice bubbles after the massive hours. It may feel really wet to the touch.
- Place dough on a well-floured surface, and turn a few times. You don't need to aggressively knead it. The dough can also stay a bit sticky in the middle, but the outside of the dough shouldn't be sticky. I have had to add a cup of flour before at this point because the outside of the dough kept absorbing the flour. I sometimes use a spatula in one hand, and my free hand to mix it all in. This helps my hands to be cleaner. Make sure the bread looks like the bread dough pictured in the corningwear below or the bread dough pictured in the crock-pot below. It is relatively dry to the touch.
- Put the dough in a colander (I like that colander has holes that allows the dough to breathe and can make a nice little pattern on your bread) or some kind of bowl lined with a cloth and cover completely.
- Leave the covered dough for 1 hour and let rise (by a warm heat source is best).
- Put an empty Dutch oven or some kind of corningware with a lid in the oven (or cook it in the crock-pot) .
- After an hour, turn on the oven to 500 degrees with the empty Dutch oven inside the oven so the Dutch oven gets nice and hot, and preheat for 30 minutes. This gives the dough a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes to rise.
- Carefully take out the hot Dutch oven placing the dough inside (I actually plop the dough in because it's so hot), and put the lid over the dough. Often times my dough sizzles when it hits the Dutch oven.
- Put your Dutch oven back in the oven, and bake the bread at 450 degrees for 25-30 minutes (I sometimes bake it at 400).
- Take off the lid, and bake for another 10-15 minutes to brown the bread if needed.
- Cool, slice, and enjoy!
Pictured above is what the bubbles should look like after the dough has been on your counter all night. The dough is spongy and wet. The more whole wheat flour you use, the less wet and spongy it will be. Here is one more picture of the wet sponge overnight.
Below, the first picture is a picture of the dough right before turning onto the flour. The middle picture is taken after the dough has been turned onto a floured surface until the dough is “dry” to the touch.
**Update 10/10/12 I made one batch of sourdough bread out of wheat flour the other day and divided it into two equal parts right before the 1 1/2 hour rise. They rose in their own greased loaf pans, and it made 2 short loaves. I preheated the oven to 500 degrees with nothing inside and forgot to turn it down. So I baked the two loaves together uncovered at 500 degrees for 18 or 20 minutes. Despite the mistake, they were beautiful and tasty as seen below.
Then today I made 1 loaf out of 1 batch of sourdough bread so the bread would be taller. It turned out great, too. I baked it uncovered for 30 minutes at 450 degrees. I was talking to my friend Merri about what I did, baking the bread so hot the previous day, and she commented that sourdough is forgiving. She is right!!!**
The Verdict: The first time I made this, JSarr said, “this is the most impressive thing you’ve ever made.” It seems like something you would buy in the store and it’s SOOOO easy. Its just takes some pre-thought. We love this and eat this ALL of the TIME!!
Update 1/7/13** I did the cost breakdown and figured it costs about $0.61/loaf to make for the ingredients. You can go here to see the actual cost breakdown.
Want another idea to make with your start?
How about Sourdough Doughnuts?
Try making sourdough pizza crust, calzones, or breadsticks with the same recipe.
Or want to try making the sourdough bread in the crock-pot? Go here to see how…
How about Crock-pot Sourdough Caprese Pizza?
Go here for the complete list of recipes.
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Sonja
Shared @ Chic & Crafty, Rural Thursday, It’s a Keeper Thursdays, What’s Cooking Wednesdays, Works for Me Wednesday, Home is Where the Heart is Wed. Frugal Days Sustainable Way, One Project @ a Time, Simply Sensational Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Mix It Up Monday, My Meatless Monday, Barn Hop, Welcome Home Link Up, Making Space Mondays, Better Mom Mondays, Making Mondays Marvelous, Get Your Brag On, Hearth & Soul Hop @ the 21st Century Housewife, Homestead Barn Hop, Homemaking Link Up, Sunday Linky Party, Scrumptious Sunday, Family Ever After, Weekend Potluck, One Creative Weekend, Seasonal Inspirations, Strut Your Stuff, Feature Yourself Friday, Fight Back Friday, Frugal Friday, Foodie Friday, Friday Food Flicks .
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I can’t wait to make this! I will let you know how it turns out!
I also can not wait to make this. Thank you for typing everything out!!!
Yum would be an indulgent breakfast! Would love you to link the post up at my new link party – Breakfast Ideas Mondays – http://www.yummyinspirations.net/2012/04/breakfast-ideas-mondays-1-new-link-up.html
I’ll have to come by. Thanks for stopping in!
Thank your for sharing this. I failed with another sourdough starter recipe from the Peas and Thank You blog, but this one look simpler, and I didn’t know about boiling the water. I will definitely give this a go this week.
I hope this works for you! I do try to make things as simple as possible for me, since I find myself excited about so many different things.
Hi there! I have been trying for a couple of months to make good homemade bread. I had a nice starter, but the bread recipe I had kept turning out too sour and/or too dense. When I followed your recipe, I FINALLY got a bread that was not only edible, but delicious! Thank you so much!!!!!
You are welcome. That’s awesome! I am so glad to hear you had success!!
This is wonderful information! I’ve used a starter years ago and somehow lost the recipe and directions. I can’t wait to try this one. Thanks so much for sharing at Mix it up Monday
You are welcome. We are in love with the sourdough now!! Besides bread, I have been making rolls, cinnamon rolls, doughnuts & pancakes (with extra ingredients), and more. It’s so flexible!! This weekend I will try pizza dough and maybe some crackers!
Is there a recipe for the pancakes and other things that use more ingredients then just using the sourdough on your website? I would love to know the recipes!
Hi Lenora, No I don’t have any other sourdough recipes on the website, but I am going to put some on. Thanks for visiting and stay in tune! By the way, I play piano and my husband plays guitar!
I can’t wait to try this. Found you by way of It’s a Keeper party. Keep saying I am going to try sourdough bread but haven’t yet.
Amber recipeswelove.net
Let me know how it goes! Thanks for stopping by!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My mother use to make something like this when I was a child. I just had no recipe to follow. I can not wait to try your recipe.
So glad to hear! I’d love to know how it goes!
Hi,
I followed you over from Chic & Crafty Link Party. Sourdough is my FAVORITE and I can’t wait to try this out. Thanks for sharing.
I would love to invite you to share this, and any other posts you would like to, at my Creative Thursday Link Party at http://www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.com. (Runs through Monday each week)
Have a great day, Michelle
It worked! This was so easy and tasty. Thank you so much!!!
So glad to hear!! Thanks for letting me know!
Oh my deliciousness! Love it! Thank you so much for the directions and recipe. I’ve never made sourdough bread before (out of fear) and now I’m afraid I’m going to eat the whole loaf myself!
No problem! So glad you like!
Place dough on a floured surface, and turn a few times. You don’t need to aggressively kneed it. The dough can also stay sticky in the middle. I use a spatula to mix it all in. This will help your hands to be cleaner.
How much flour do you work in at this point? The sponge was like a batter, so I had to work in a lot to make a dough. I just guessed at it based on my previous bread-baking experience. It’s in the oven now. I’m sure it will be edible, but I’m not sure if it will be light or dense.
May be it’s been around a cup. I am guestimating since I don’t measure. The first time I made this, I didn’t put 1/4 cup of the flour I was supposed to, and I added maybe 2 cups or more, and it turned out great! I’d love to know how it turns out!
It was awfully dense. I think I mixed in too much flour. I will try again, though.
Give it another go! Good. Thanks for the update!
What an easy sourdough recipe! Thanks for sharing it at Hearth & Soul Hop. I have been wanting to try a simple recipe like this.
You’ll be amazed at how easy it really is. Just fix it and forget it for a while.
Thank you for sharing this informative, helpful and interesting post with the Hearth and Soul hop. Your sourdough bread looks wonderfully delicious!
You are welcome. Thanks for visiting, April!
What kind of flour are you using for this bread?
Hi Taylor, I used to use 1/2 white & half whole wheat, but now I use white whole wheat flour from Trader Joe’s. I have also used 100% spelt flour and 100% whole wheat flour, but I like the white whole wheat flour best since it’s less dense then the 100% whole wheat but still is all whole wheat. Hope that helps!
I literally just ate some store-bought sour dough. Yours looks so much better! Thank you for linking to Foodie Friday too!
This sounds so incredibly easy! I have to try this. I have one question, though–what kind of flour do you use? Maybe I was distracted when I read that part. Sorry if you already said it. Thank you so much for linking up with Making Space Mondays! I hope I see you again next week. -Tabitha
I love sour dough. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make it. I’m pinning this for sure. Thanks so much for linking up at One Creative Weekend! See you tomorrow!
Hi Heidi, I’ve never heard of the instant potatoes start, so I don’t know if it would work, but I’d give it a shot!
I LOVE sourdough bread! I was salivating reading this! I can’t wait to try it!
New follower here via the Better Mom Mondays Link Up. Come by and follow back when you get a chance!
If I wanted to use loaf pans, would this work?
Hi Joyce, I have not made it in a loaf pan, but I had a friend who did it with success. You’ll have to reduce the baking time, though, checking after 15 minutes, and I bet this makes enough dough for two loaf pans. I am going to try it, too and comment after I do. I just made the dough.
Hi Missy! Yes, the start/dough should be in a warmer area. You can try putting it in your oven with the oven light on only with the oven off. That should provide enough heat. Also, is your water filtered (you can leave a cup of water out on your counter for 24 hours to let the chlorine evaporate from it)? What kind of flour are you using? Now the dough will be wet.
My dough did not get spongy either. I used Whole Wheat and my house is not cold. Should I start over or let it continue to sit?
Thanks!
Hi Amy, Does your start smell sour? Did the dough have any bubbles at all? How long after the initial mixing of the ingredients are you talking?
I’m getting ready to start this and want to make sure I do it as right as possible. Is the starter just to make one loaf or thats to make multiple loaves out of just that one recipe? Also I would make the bread on the 8th day right, so it goes a full 7 days? Also for the full 7 days I need to keep this somewhere warm at all times? Thank you for posting these recipes. I can’t wait to have a constant flow of sourdough bread instead of having to buy bread anymore.
Hi Christina, The starter is for you to have forever. That you keep feeding. Every time I make something sourdough, I feed my start with at least a 1/4 cup water and a 1/4 cup whole wheat white flour. I have had my start since March. I subdivided it so I actually have 2 starts in case one dies. I only killed one start once and was glad I had my backup. Once I went through the 7 day process I don’t leave my start on the counter very often. May be over night, and then I put it in the fridge and feed it once a week. I usually feed it when I make something else sourdough.
The bread recipe (the second half of the post) makes one loaf. Make the bread the 8th day. Instead of feeding it once a day, you could feed it every 12 hours and probably have the start ready in 3-4 days. It’s got to smell sour and have bubble. And bake it about the 4th day, but only if you are truly impatient.
Yes, the start should be warm, like on your counter. I leave mine on the stove or next to my crock pot.
Hope this helps, and let me know if you have any other questions!!
I left my dough out for the 16/17 hrs and went to get it ready today to rise and I literally had to pour it onto the counter. I did the starter using half and half but then made the dough with just white. I’m still going along with it to see what happens. I put it in the oven with the light on since our kitchen can get chilly with cold weather. I did add up to a cup of flour plus whatever was on the counter and it did firm up a bit during the kneading. It did have bubbles on it before kneading.
Hi Christina, Good new! This August I was at a friend’s who only uses white flour. I brought my whole wheat start, and made them some bread. When I made the dough I used 2 cups white flour, 1 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup start, and 1 t salt. It was VERY wet the next day after waiting. When I added flour for the last 1 1/2 hours of rising, I couldn’t believe how much of the flour the liquid from the dough absorbed. I used WAY more flour than I have ever used before, probably at least an extra cup like you. Long story short, I just saw my friend 2 days ago. I left her some start back in August, and she makes the bread about once a week. She said she uses 3 cups white flour, 1 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup start, and 1 t salt when she first makes the bread. So it sounds like you are on the right track! I would love to know how it turns out! Bubbles is a great sign!
It didn’t turn out so great. But I wonder if adding 3 cups to the starter then adding whatever you knead in with it would do better. My bread didn’t rise so much, really probably not at all. But I still went ahead with it. I did leave it a little longer then an hr since I got busy thinking extra rise time wouldn’t be bad. It got very hard on the outside (450 with about 23 min bake time, then the 13 min after taking the lid off), but soft on the inside, but it looked NOTHING like the bread in the pictures. It was very dark looking. The inside is probably almost good, but not quite. I’d love to just use this as our main bread and not have to buy any bread ever again so I’m not ready to give up. I tried 3 different loaves today. One in the crock that did not turn out at all, one in a glass pan in the oven, that one didn’t do well and one in my cast iron dutch oven which is the one that got more crispy on the outside and was the best out of the 3.
Hi Christina. Thanks for the update! Sourdough is hard on the outside, typically. Was it like a rock on the outside?
I am surprised that it’s dark inside, especially if you used white flour.
I HIGHLY recommend not trying this in the crock-pot until you like how your bread is turning out in the oven, so you prevent wasted time, and energy. When you like your bread out of the oven, then try the crock-pot.
It was really hard to cut through. It probably was just about there in my cast iron dutch oven. I just need to figure out why its so runny to begin with. I think the amount of flour that was added to it may have prevented it from being perfect. Made it heavier. It definitely wasn’t rounded or light in color. For some reason homemade bread and I do not get along.
I just want to encourage you to stick with it, Christina! Have a great week!
I didn’t use my start right away and put it in the fridge. It’s been in there about a week, but I didn’t feed it. Do you think it will still work?
I am so blessed by your blog, and inspired in many ways!
Hi Andrea, Your start should be totally fine! I use my starts (I have 2 of them) about once a week each, and feed them at that time, so mine only get fed once a week. As long as it’s not molding, it should be fine.
It should smell sour. If it doesn’t, leave it outside your fridge on the counter, and feed it 1/4 cup flour, and 1/4 cup water every 24 hours. Then keep it in the fridge. I really don’t leave mine on the counter too often anymore since it’s gotten started.
Thank you for the encouragement, and have a blessed holiday season!
Do you use yeast at any point in this recipe or does the flour/water starter make it’s own yeast?
Hi Bobby, It’s like a science experiment the first time you make a sourdough start. No, you don’t need any commercial yeast at all in the bread recipe because the flour/water starter has captures wild yeast from the air. It’s crazy and amazing!! Try it! Thanks for visiting!
I am all kinds of glad I saw your starter recipe first – when I went searching for others just to see, they scared me.
I got my bubbles around the 5th day or so, using a combo of wheat and white flour, whichever I happened to grab out of the pantry that day. I’ve made muffins so far, and the dough rose beautifully!! So that (and the bubbles) tells me I’ve got yeast in there, but my starter hasn’t once grown on its own. Is this normal/ok? I’ve kept it on the counter and fed it every day. I’m excited to try bread!
Hi Leigh. I am so glad you have had success with muffins.
Would you mind clarifying about your start not growing? Does it have bubbles? Does it have a sour smell? That is what is most important. Typically I leave my starts (I keep two starts at a time) in the fridge so I don’t see a lot of growth on them. If I move them on the counter overnight occasionally I will often see a little froth of bubbles on top.
Hope this helps, and thanks for visiting!
I have always wanted to have a sourdough start but have felt intimidated and nervous about it because I didn’t understand it and how to use it. Thank you for the great tutorial and recipes. I’m eager to start trying it now.
Hi Lori, I hope you have great success. It really is so easy! Just equal parts flour and water added to daily. Thanks for visiting!
Just wanted to comment on using tap water for the start. Because I am a bit lazy (and overwhelmed as a new mom) I used water straight out of the tap. It failed miserably. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t ineptitude on my part, so I tried a new start with tap water I’ve boiled. After only two days, I can tell it made a huge difference. I already have the sour smell that I didn’t ever have even after a week using straight tap water. Looking forward to getting to the bread making part!
I am consistently using my filtered water now, but I used to use tap water occasionally. Maybe our tap water has less chlorine than yours?? I am so glad that your start is working.
Im just got a starter from a friend and fed it for today. I put it into another jar because I didnt think there was enough room in the first jar. Will that kill the starter?
Hi Marlene, Moving jars won’t kill the start if it’s a glass jar. Thanks for visiting!