This no-fuss sourdough recipe is the perfect recipe for beginners. Just mix it and head to bed and wake up ready to bake. No kneading, no worrying, just delicious artisan bread.
If you’re new to sourdough baking, chances are you’re feeling a little bit overwhelmed. I get it. Starting this new sourdough journey feels overwhelming. Not only are you trying to keep your starter alive, you’re also trying to learn all the “do’s” and “don’ts” to bake the perfect loaf of bread.
When I got my sourdough starter a few years ago, I was completely overwhelmed.
***Googles: “how do I feed a sourdough start” and orders a digital scale***
And the thought of doing stretch and folds, a fermentolyse, preshape … all of that felt completely overwhelming. So I skipped it all and just made bread. And guess what … it worked.
This is the recipe that I baked with for an entire year. My loaves were never beautiful, but they always tasted amazing. And the best part … I just mixed up the dough and then went to sleep. All the “work” happened while I was peacefully sleeping (or staying up too late watching my favorite series).
I can’t believe I’m going to show you this, but here’s a look of one of my first loaves I baked. I was so proud. It tasted amazing. It wasn’t beautiful, but guess what … my family DEVOURED it in minutes. And I gifted plenty of loaves like this and no one ever once told me they looked terrible. They were just thrilled to be eating amazing artisan bread.
As time went on, I learned more about the sourdough process. I learned how to strengthen my dough with stretch and folds. I switched from using all purpose flour to bread flour. I learned how to shape my loaf and score it. But that took time. So, if I have any advice for you, it’s this … Just bake the bread.
Okay, enough reminiscing about my sourdough beginning, let’s make a loaf of sourdough bread.
Easy Overnight Sourdough Bread
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Digital Kitchen Scale
- 1 Danish Dough Whisk
- 1 Bread Lame
- 1 Banneton Basket
- 1 Dutch Oven
- 1 Bench Scraper
Ingredients
- 100 grams active sourdough starter
- 350 grams water
- 500 grams bread flour
- 10 grams sea salt
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine starter and water. Mix with dough whisk until incorporated.
- Add flour and salt and mix until a shaggy dough is formed. Continue working for a couple of minutes to start to develop the gluten. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- If desired, do one set of stretch and folds about 30 minutes after mixing. Not necessary, but your loaf will look nicer and bake up better if you do this.
- Cover and let proof (bulk ferment) on the counter while you sleep all night – about 8-10 hours.
- In the morning, dump your dough onto a floured counter. Shape and place in a banneton basket and place in the fridge while your oven preheats or until you’re ready to bake later in the day.
- Preheat oven and Dutch oven to 450 °F for 45 minutes.
- Carefully transfer your dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and score your loaf with a bread lame.
- Take dough from the fridge and place onto parchment paper and then right into the preheated Dutch oven. No need to let it come to room temperature … you can bake it right from the fridge. Bake with the lid on for 25 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until bread is golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 200-210 °F.
- Try to wait at least an hour before slicing, but if you can’t make it that long try to go at least 30 minutes.
Notes
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