Your First Sourdough Loaf: a Forgiving Beginner Recipe
Your first loaf should teach you the rhythm of sourdough, not punish you with a wet, unmanageable dough. This recipe uses moderate hydration and an overnight cold proof that bends around a normal schedule.
Ingredients (one loaf)
- 400 g bread flour (plus 100 g whole wheat if you have it, otherwise 500 g bread flour)
- 350 g water (70% hydration, deliberately manageable)
- 100 g active, recently-fed starter at its peak
- 10 g salt
The schedule (afternoon start, morning bake)
| Time | Step |
|---|---|
| 2:00 pm | Mix flour and water; rest 45 min (autolyse). |
| 2:45 pm | Add starter and salt; squeeze and fold until combined. |
| 3:15–5:15 pm | 4 sets of stretch and folds, 30 minutes apart. Then leave untouched. |
| ~8:00 pm | Bulk done when the dough is ~50% bigger, domed, and jiggly. Shape into a tight ball, seam side up in a floured banneton or towel-lined bowl. |
| 8:15 pm | Into the fridge, covered, overnight (8–14 hours). |
| 8:00 am | Heat oven to 250°C / 480°F with a Dutch oven inside for 45–60 min. |
| 9:00 am | Score the cold dough, load it, lid on: 20 min. Lid off, 230°C / 450°F: 20–25 min until deep brown. |
| 10:00 am | The hard part: cool 1 hour before slicing. Cutting hot bread gums the crumb. |
Why this works for beginners: 70% hydration handles easily, the cold proof makes scoring simple and the schedule flexible, and the Dutch oven traps steam so you get bakery crust without any tricks.
The two mistakes that flatten first loaves
- Baking with a starter that wasn't ready. It must double reliably within 4–8 hours of feeding. No shortcut exists.
- Ending bulk too early. Watch the dough (bigger, domed, bubbly at the edges), not the clock, cold kitchens can need hours longer.
Bake it with a coach in your pocket
Sourdoughy checks your starter is truly ready, rings you for every fold, and walks each step with exact timings, then logs the loaf in your baking journal so the next one is even better.
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