Sourdough Bread Recipe by Sourdough Explained

This is the recipe & schedule I have started my sourdough journey with, the one that has always been my reference point.

For more detailed instructions & explanation of every step, plus a long list of troubleshooting questions, you may want to check my Sourdough bread guidebook. Otherwise, just scroll further 🙂

🌾It is crucial to use an active starter. An inactive or acidic starter is the main cause of unsuccessful bakes, something we often ignore. My Sourdough starter guide does not only cover how to make a starter from scratch, but also important information about your starter maintenance. Otherwise, you can read this article, about my sourdough starter maintenance.

🌾This schedule works best for an ambient temperature of 24-25°C / 75-77°F, so please keep this in mind. If your kitchen is much cooler, you will have to extend the bulk fermentation time. This is my winter baking schedule, you might want to check this one too.

🌾The quantities stated are for a final dough before baking of ~950g dough before baking and around 820g once baked

🌾This recipe calls for cold proofing also known as overnight in the fridge. Should you want to go for ambient proofing, the starter should be fed the night before, and the dough prepared first thing in the morning to allow same day baking. Replace the overnight cold proofing with a 2.5h ambient proofing. More on this in my Sourdough bread guide

🌾This recipe is using bread flour. Should you use all purpose flour, less water might be required. Should you add whole grain flour to the mix, more water might be required. Every flour absorbs water in a different way, that’s why adjustment is important. Otherwise you can easily end up with a dough that’s too wet and impossible to handle, or a dough that’s too stiff, and again difficult to handle

🌾Use % to scale up or down should you want to prepare a smaller or bigger loaf, in brackets below next to the weights of ingredients.