This crusty, soft, no-knead sourdough bread comes together so easily, even for the beginner baker. This dough is mixed one day, fermented overnight, and ready to bake the next day.
Crusty loaves of sourdough have become one of my favorite ways to eat sourdough bread. When I began making sourdough bread I started baking for the simple sandwich loaf, which you can find here. As time progressed I found excitement in working on the art of making a successful crusty loaf. There is something so satisfying about watching simple ingredients turn into a, sometimes, beautiful creation.
While there are times when it doesn’t work as planned, I have worked on this recipe enough times I think even a beginner sourdough baker will be able to find success with it.
Once you master this basic crusty loaf, you can start infusing and laminating your dough with other tasty ingredients. We’ve done this with honey, maple syrup, cinnamon and sugar, chocolate chips, and many more.
What is Sourdough Bread?
Sourdough is first, a mixture of fermented water and flour which contains helpful yeasts and bacteria. It is used as a leavening agent to make baked goods rise. It is regularly maintained with “feedings” to not only leaven but add flavor.
The benefits of sourdough are a bonus to that wonderful tangy flavor. Sourdough, being a long-fermented bread, is more nutritious and healthier than regular white or whole-wheat bread. It also is easier for your body to digest and contains less gluten. You can read my post All Things Sourdough Starter to read more about the specific benefits of eating sourdough bread. This post will also help you to begin making your starter or even how to get some of mine to share.
No-Knead?
When you knead dough it begins to start the act of forming gluten. With a no-knead approach, you use other methods to develop the gluten. With this loaf, you use stretches and folds, along with long fermentation times to create the gluten your dough needs to rise and bake successfully.
Tips
- You will need an active and bubbly starter to have success getting your bread to rise. For sourdough starter instructions see my post here.
- A damp tea towel, beeswax wrap, and plastic wrap can all be used to cover the dough to prevent a hard layer from forming on the top of your dough.
- Dusting the top of your dough with rice flour can help with scoring visibility.
- Dust your banneton bowls with rice flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl.
- Using a scale can be beneficial to ensure precise measurements. Measuring with a scale and in grams changed the bread-baking game for me. Better accuracy, and we said goodbye to all that sad dense bread.
Tools
Large bowl
Kitchen scale
Banneton bowl (optional)
Parchment paper
Instructions
Making the Dough
Feed your sourdough starter 4-12 hours before beginning. Make sure it is active and bubbly as well.
Combine flour and water with your hands and rest for 30 minutes to an hour. This process is called autolysing and is when the water hydrates the flour.
Add the sourdough starter and salt on top and begin to dimple and work in with your hands. Mix the dough for 5 minutes by hand.
Cover with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch and Fold
This step will allow you to develop the gluten and help the dough to rise nicely.
Grab the edge of one side of the dough, while still in the bowl, and gently pull up and fold across to the opposite side. Turn the bowl a quarter and repeat. Then two more times until you have moved around the bowl. This is one round of stretch and folds. You can wet the tips of your fingers with water if the dough is too sticky.
You will now perform 3 more rounds of stretch and folds each about 30 minutes apart.
When finished with 4 rounds of stretch and folds, cover with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel and allow to bulk ferment until the dough has doubled. The timing of this could vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen, starter maturity, or even hydration. I allow mine to sit overnight or all day.
When it is finished you should see more giant bubbles all over the top of the dough.
Shape and Ferment
Remove the dough from the bowl and begin to shape on a lightly floured surface.
Start by gently stretching the dough into a rough rectangle shape. Careful not to press on any of those precious bubbles.
Fold one side over to the middle, and then the opposite side to overlap. Then begin at the end of the dough closest to you and roll forward like you would roll up a cinnamon roll.
Then pinch together the sides so that there are no seams.
Finally, turn the dough over and begin forming it into a ball while turning and pulling it towards you. This will create some tension in the dough.
Place the dough in a floured banneton or bowl top side down. Cover with a wet tea towel, and place in a grocery bag. Allow to cold-proof in the refrigerator for 2 or up to 24 hours. I like to have mine in the fridge overnight and bake the following day.
Bake
Preheat your oven, with the Dutch oven inside, to 450 degrees.
Right before baking, pull the dough out of the fridge and turn it out onto parchment paper. Dust the top with flour and score with a scoring razor, if desired. The flour will allow the scoring pattern to stick out a little more.
Using the parchment paper, lower the dough into the Dutch oven and replace the lid.
Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on.
After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to bake for 20 more minutes at 425 degrees.
Allow to cool completely before slicing open.
Bakers Schedule
8:00 am: Feed sourdough starter (allow 8-12 hours for starter to be ready),
4:00 pm: Mix dough to autolyse
5:00 pm: Add starter and salt, rest for 30 minutes
5:30-7:30 pm: Perform 4 sets of stretches and folds every 30 minutes. Cover and allow to bulk ferment overnight
8:00 am: Perform final pre-shape and put in banneton or bowl, cover with a wet tea towel or beeswax wrap, and refrigerate, 2-24 hours or more.
4:00 pm: Preheat oven, score, and bake. Allow to cool, and enjoy!
While this is just a sample schedule you can adjust the time to suit your schedule better. You will need to take into consideration the temperature of your kitchen which might vary the proofing/rising times. My kitchen is normally 70 degrees and my starter is ready sooner than the average time. In very warm environments your starter could be ready to use in as little as 4-6 hours.
I hope you enjoy making this crusty loaf. The more I make these the better they get. Leave me a comment if you give it a try or have any questions. You can also follow along with our other baking and homemaking projects on Instagram @overeasyhomestead.
Check out more of my sourdough recipes here:
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- Sourdough Bagels
- Everyday Muffins with Sourdough Discard
- Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sourdough Discard
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make small commissions at no cost to you.
Recipe
Prep Time: 2 hours Cook Time: 50 minutes Additional Time: 12 hours
Yields: 1 loaf Author: Elizabeth Loveday
Ingredients
350 grams water
500 grams of bread flour
100 grams sourdough starter (active)
10 grams of salt
Instructions
Making the Dough
Feed your sourdough starter 4-12 hours before beginning. Make sure it is active and bubbly as well.
1.Combine flour and water with your hands and rest for 30 minutes to an hour.
2. Add the sourdough starter and salt on top and begin to dimple and work in with your hands. Mix the dough for 5 minutes by hand.
3. Cover with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Stretch and Fold
4. Perform four sets of stretch and folds each thirty minutes apart. See the instructions above for more details.
5. Cover with plastic wrap or a wet tea towel and allow to bulk ferment until the dough has doubled.
Shape and Ferment
6. Remove the dough from the bowl and begin to shape on a lightly floured surface.
7. Start by gently stretching the dough into a rough rectangle shape.
8. Fold one side over to the middle, and then the opposite side to overlap. Then begin at the end of the dough closest to you and roll forward like you would roll up a cinnamon roll.
9. Then pinch together the sides so that there are no seams.
10. Finally, turn the dough over and begin forming it into a ball while turning and pulling it towards you.
11. Place the dough in a floured banneton or bowl top side down.
12. Cover with a wet tea towel, and place in a grocery bag. Allow to cold-proof in the refrigerator for 2-24 hours.
Bake
13. Preheat your oven, with the Dutch oven inside, to 450 degrees.
Right before baking, pull the dough out of the fridge and turn it out onto parchment.
Dust the top with flour and score.
Using the parchment paper, lower the dough into the Dutch oven and replace the lid.
14. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on.
15. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to bake for 20 more minutes at 425 degrees.
Allow to cool completely before slicing open.
Over Easy Homestead 
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