No Knead Sourdough Bread

A household favorite! This No Knead Sourdough Bread recipe has been in our kitchen for as long as I can remember. It’s delicious, simplified and explained so even beginning bakers can make it, and it always has the perfect crust with that beautiful soft middle. While it does require a little patience and dedication, there is nothing more rewarding than baking your very own loaf of bread. The entire process can seem daunting, or even overwhelming but this step-by-step guide will help! This is definitely not a hard bread to make. If you have the time, you can have a delicious and fresh loaf coming out of your oven in just a few days.

About The Recipe

So, before we dive into this sourdough bread guide (because, this will be a long post), I wanted to tell you guys some stuff. My mom has been baking bread, this bread for almost twenty years. I can remember as a kid that instead of reading a book at night or while me and my brother were swimming, she was reading bread books. She has HUNDREDS of books. I never minded because, since I was a homeschooled kid, her bread experiments became my science class. She taught me all about fermentation, leavening, flours, yeasts, how things react, gases, etc! So, instead of dissecting a frog, I was baking bread with my mom.

Which is kinda cool. Over the years, I’ve followed her around and done pretty much everything she’s done. I’ve asked a ton of questions so you really don’t have to.

I’ve learned that a secret to a good loaf of bread is having a good starter. Lucky for you, we have a step-by-step guide on how to make the best sourdough starter in FIVE days.

Patience is a virtue but why wait longer than needed when you can have a delicious loaf of bread from scratch by the end of the week?

If you already have a starter then you can jump right in!

QUICK NOTE: The older your sourdough starter is, the more flavor your actual bread will have; but it’s not totally necessary to have a mature starter. A young starter can make a an equally delicious loaf of bread, but it won’t have the same amount of flavor.

Equipment Needed

Honestly, nothing is better than baking your own loaf of bread. But first, you gotta make sure you have the tools! All you need is:

• a large glass mixing bowl because, that’s right, this recipe doesn’t require a mixer!
• a large airtight container to let the bread rise.
• a bench knife is probably one of the most essential tools a baker can have. You’ll use it for dividing, shaping and moving the dough!
• a banneton is where you’e going to place the dough to help give it shape and while it retards overnight.
• a pastry brush to brush away with any access flour!
• a bread lame or a sharp knife. This is to make cuts into your bread to allow it to breathe. You can also add intricate designs.
• a cocotte or a pizza stone to bake the bread!
• heavy duty oven mitts to ensure you don’t burn yourself when grabbing the cocotte or just getting the bread out of the oven.

Each tool is just as important as the last. There aren’t a lot of substitutions so, make sure you have everything before you get into this!

Ingredients

For The Firm Starter:

• Bread Flour
• Sourdough Starter
• Water

For the Bread:

• Firm Starter
• Water
• Barley Malt
• Bread Flour
• Salt

The Basics of Starter

To make sourdough bread, the starter is essential. It’s what makes this bread so special. Like, I said above, you can click here to see our guide on how to make a very quick sourdough starter.

• Starters are active organisms. It requires daily feedings, almost like a kid! Keep that in mind before diving head first into this. My mom has had her starter for the last 15 years!
• A mature starter is always preferred when you’re baking bread, but you can use a younger one. The flavor won’t be as strong so, just know, with every loaf you make, it’ll only get better!
• Sourdough tastes different in different parts of the country, based on the type of yeast in the air. If you move and take your sourdough starter with you, the flavor will change based on the airborne yeast in your new location.
• A healthy starter should be bubbly and have a sweet-yeasty smell to it.

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how to make sourdough bread

The first thing you have have to do is make the firm starter! Combine the water and sourdough starter into a large mixing bowl. Add water until you have a soft, pliable dough. Place in an airtight container and set aside until the firm starter has doubled in bulk.

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Once the firm starter has risen, get together flour, water, barley malt (or honey), and salt.

Combine the firm starter and water into a large glass bowl. Mix with a whisk until the firm starter has thoroughly dissolved. Mix in the barley malt.

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Add the flour next and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.

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Remove the plastic wrap and add salt to the dough. Knead until smooth and there are no more clumps of salt. Transfer into a large airtight container and set aside for 30 minutes.

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Every thirty minutes, turn the dough. Fold over in half like an envelope, fold in half towards the left, fold upwards in half, and then fold to the right. Let sit for 30 minutes. Repeat these steps 5 more times. Afterwards, let dough rest until it has doubled in bulk.

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Turn the dough out and shape into a small boule. The photos below are from a doubled recipe so, don’t worry about cutting the dough like we did! Cover the dough with a damp towel and let rest for 30 minutes.

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Remove the towel and turn using an envelope fold (fold the bottom up, fold each of the sides in, and then fold the top down and under the dough). Reshape into a small boule.

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Using the bench knife, quickly scoop the dough up and place smooth side down into a floured banneton. Cover with plastic wrap or a plastic shower cap, set aside to proof for 1 hour, and then place in the refrigerator overnight.

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Next morning, it’s time to bake! Preheat a dutch oven or something similar in a 500 degree oven. Once that’s hot, turn out the dough into the dutch oven. Carefully use a lame or a sharp knife to make your cuts in the dough. Cover with the lid and let cook for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Uncover and bake for another 10-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

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Carefully, turn bread out of the dutch oven and let cook on a cooling rack.

I know it might be tempting but don’t cut immediately into the bread. Wait at least 30 minutes. It’s killer, I know – but you can do it!

Storing/Reheating

Remember how I said above we were making a double batch of this recipe? Well, there is a reason why! You can actually keep this bread in the freezer because you never know when you’re gonna want a chunk of homemade bread.

All we do is wrap it in tinfoil and write on there what it is. You can always slice the bread in half if you don’t think you’re gonna eat a whole loaf. Which, we try not to do but… let’s be honest. Homemade sourdough bread is literally the best thing ever.

To reheat it, set out on the counter for a little while to thaw slightly and then place in a hot oven to finish thawing it. Take it out of the tinfoil and place back in the oven to crisp up for a few minutes! It’s SO good and will taste just like the day you made it.

Expert Tips

• The barley malt syrup is optional, but contributes to the browning when baking!
• Glass mixing bowls are gonna be your best friend when making this bread. Sourdough reacts better to glass.
• A wetter dough will have a better hole structure, but it is more difficult to work with. This recipe is that perfect in between! You may need a little water when shaping the dough to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bench knife or your hand.
• One of the most common mistakes for new bakers is under-proofing. Follow along with the times and recipe, and your bread should turn out perfectly every time!
• If the dough splits, or something else goes wrong, set the dough aside, cover it back up, and let it rest again!
• If you already have a sourdough starter and it seems to be a little sluggish/doesn’t have that healthy smell, I recommend giving it about a week or so of really working to revive it. You can find out how/more tips HERE!
• If you’re new to this and don’t have a mature stater, don’t fret! The age of the starter doesn’t effect the baking. Just the flavor. Like I stated above, the older the starter, the stronger sourdough flavor your bread will have.
• It takes a lot of time working with a bench knife to get used to using it to shape the bread! Don’t be upset if it doesn’t always come out perfectly. Just keep practicing!
• It may help to wet your bench knife or spray it with cooking spray to prevent it from sticking to the dough when shaping and moving the dough.
• When scoring your bread, don’t cut too deep! You don’t want to deflate the bread.
• Make sure you preheat your oven to 500 degrees.
• Rice flour works the best to flour banneton to prevent sticking.
• If you don’t have a dutch oven or a combo cooker, you can use a pizza stone to bake the bread!

When you make this No Knead Sourdough Bread, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.