# Sourdough Bread: A Beginner's Guide

This easy sourdough bread recipe requires no kneading and uses only 5 simple ingredients for a light, crisp, and tangy loaf.

- Servings: 1 servings
- Total time: 780 min
- Cuisine: American
- Category: Baked Goods
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 150 g bubbly, active sourdough starter
- 250 g warm water, preferably filtered
- 25 g olive oil
- 500 g bread flour
- 10 g fine sea salt
- 0 fine ground cornmeal or parchment paper

## Instructions

1. Combine sourdough starter, water, and olive oil in a large bowl; mix with a fork.
2. Add flour and salt; mix until stiff, then squish together with hands.
3. Cover and let rest (autolyse) for 30-60 minutes.
4. Work dough into a rough ball.
5. Cover and let bulk rise in a warm spot (70-75°F) until almost doubled (3-12 hours).
6. Optional: perform stretch and folds during bulk rise.
7. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
8. Cut dough in half (for 2 loaves) or leave whole.
9. Shape dough into a boule.
10. Coat Dutch oven with cornmeal or line with parchment paper.
11. Place dough in Dutch oven and let rise for 30-60 minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 450°F.
13. Score the dough.
14. Bake with lid on at 400°F for 20 minutes.
15. Remove lid and bake for another 40 minutes, or until golden brown (internal temp 205-210°F).
16. Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing

## Equipment

- large bowl
- fork
- plastic wrap
- reusable wax wrap
- damp kitchen towel
- dough tub
- Dutch oven
- cornmeal or parchment paper
- bread lame, razor blade, sharp pairing knife, or small serrated steak knife
- wire rack

## Tips

- For best results, weigh all ingredients using a digital kitchen scale.
- For a softer dough, increase water to 300-325g and use a cloth-lined bowl for the second rise.
- Use a 5 1/2 or 6 quart Dutch oven.
- This recipe was tested with King Arthur, Gold Medal, and Pillsbury Bread Flour.
- Optional: perform stretch and folds during bulk rise.
- Use cornmeal or parchment paper in the Dutch oven to prevent sticking.
- Optional: crack oven door during last 10 minutes of baking to crisp the crust.
- Optional: bake directly on rack for crispier crust after removing from pot at 20 minutes

## Source

- Original video: https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2014/01/sourdough-bread-a-beginners-guide/
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/571c719f-c657-4f7d-83c7-5d796a42f26d
- Extracted: 2025-02-04

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt