Bake Your First Sourdough Bread
⏱ 3 min read · Updated June 2026
A condensed, beginner-friendly path through the full process — one free-standing wheat sourdough loaf, no special equipment beyond a Dutch oven or a baking tray with steam. Each step links to the book chapter that explains the why behind it.
Ingredients🔗
Yield: 1 loaf.
- 400 g bread flour (strong white flour)
- 100 g whole-wheat flour
- 350 g water (≈70% hydration — use 300 g for weaker all-purpose flour, up to 450 g for very strong flour)
- 50 g active sourdough starter (a stiff starter works best)
- 10 g salt (2%)
1. Feed your starter the evening before🔗
Make sure your sourdough starter is at peak activity: feed it 6–12 hours before mixing. A stiff starter (50–60% hydration) favors yeast activity and gives a milder, more reliable rise. Stiff vs. liquid starters →
2. Mix the dough🔗
Dissolve 50 g of starter in 350 g of water, add 400 g bread flour, 100 g whole-wheat flour and 10 g salt, and mix until no dry flour remains. The right amount of water depends on your flour — start at 70% hydration and adjust on your next bake. How hydration works →
3. Develop the gluten🔗
Knead, or do a few rounds of stretch-and-folds spread over the first hour, until a small piece of dough can be stretched thin enough to see light through it without tearing — the window-pane test. The window-pane test →
4. Bulk ferment until ~50% growth🔗
Let the dough rise at room temperature until it has grown by about half its volume. Judge by dough size, not the clock: at 20–22 °C this typically takes 8–12 hours; warmer is faster. A small sample of dough in a straight-sided jar (an aliquot) makes the growth easy to read. Bulk fermentation in depth →
5. Shape the loaf🔗
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, degas it gently, and shape it into a tight ball or batard, building surface tension so the loaf stands tall instead of spreading. Shaping technique →
6. Proof — ideally overnight in the fridge🔗
Place the shaped dough seam-side up in a floured banneton or a bowl lined with a kitchen towel. Proof in the fridge for 8–12 hours (easier scoring, better flavor) or at room temperature until the dough slowly springs back from a gentle poke. Proofing explained →
7. Score🔗
Turn the cold dough onto baking paper and cut one confident slash about 0.5 cm deep at a shallow angle along the loaf — this controls where the bread expands in the oven. Scoring patterns →
8. Bake with steam🔗
Bake in a Dutch oven preheated to 230 °C: 30 minutes with the lid on, then 15–20 minutes lid off until deep brown. No Dutch oven? A tray of boiling water on the oven floor for the first half of the bake works too. Let the loaf cool fully before cutting — the crumb finishes setting as it cools. Baking and steam →
Something not working? The troubleshooting chapter diagnoses the most common problems — dense crumb, flat loaves, gummy interiors — from photos of real bakes. Troubleshooting guide →
