If there was ever a sourdough loaf that tested my patience and my holiday spirit… it was this one. I lost count of how many times I tested this Gingerbread Sourdough Loaf. I wanted that perfect balance: cozy gingerbread spices, enough sweetness to feel festive, but still a light, airy artisan crumb—not a dense dessert bread.

And because apparently nothing can ever be simple… the week I was ready to share the original recipe, Hershey’s discontinued their cinnamon baking chips. And honestly? Those little chips made this bread shine. Other cinnamon chips worked in the loaf, but the Hershey’s chips were the chips that people could consistently find around the country. So I had to go right back to the drawing board and figure out how to pack in that warm, spicy flavor without relying on the chips.

After many (many) messy bowls, sticky doughs, and late-night test bakes… this loaf was born. And it’s honestly even better than the original. It’s soft, lightly sweet, full of warm gingerbread flavor, and bakes into a gorgeous shiny loaf that makes your entire house smell like December.

Pair it with homemade cinnamon honey butter and it becomes downright magical.

Why You’ll Love This Gingerbread Artisan Loaf

• Perfect balance of gingerbread spices without being heavy
• Soft, open crumb—surprisingly light for a sweet loaf
• Uses a sweet stiff levain for extra rise and less tang
• No cinnamon chips needed—the flavor stands beautifully on its own (but also … cinnamon chips taste amazing in it if you can find them at your local grocery store)
• Makes the best breakfast toast with cinnamon honey butter

Why the Fermentolyse Step Matters (Especially for Gingerbread Bread)

If you’ve been around for a while, you’ll know that I almost always skip the fermentolyse – I write in my recipes, but rarely actually follow that step. However … this loaf really needs the fermentolyse.

When you’re working with enriched doughs—or doughs with lots of spices, sugar, and molasses—the fermentolyse step becomes absolutely essential. Fermentolyse is simply the period where your flour, water, levain, sugar, and spices rest together before salt is added. This short rest allows the flour to fully hydrate, gluten strands to begin forming, and fermentation to kickstart without anything slowing it down. In a dough like this one, where molasses and brown sugar are already working extra hard to weigh things down, giving the dough this head start is the difference between a light, airy gingerbread loaf and a dense disappointment.

Cinnamon (and other warm spices) may smell amazing, but they’re actually natural fermentation inhibitors. Cinnamon in particular contains antimicrobial compounds that can slow—or even shut down—yeast activity when added too early or in too high a concentration. Salt also tightens gluten and slows yeast. When you combine cinnamon and salt too soon, you’re basically asking your sourdough starter to fight an uphill battle. That’s why waiting to add the salt—and mixing the cinnamon in with the wet ingredients—gives fermentation a fair chance to get going. If you skip this step and dump everything in at once, your loaf may never rise properly. Instead of a tall, airy artisan loaf, you’ll end up with a dense, gummy, “what happened to my bread?” kind of loaf.

Taking an extra 30-60 minutes for a fermentolyse isn’t just a nice-to-have here—it’s non-negotiable. Think of it as giving your dough a warm-up before the real work begins. It ensures the gluten structure forms correctly, the yeast stays active, and all those gingerbread spices shine without sabotaging your rise. Your future loaf will thank you.

Mix dough & fermentolyse

Add salt, cinnamon & water to combine

Stretch & folds then complete bulk

Shape

Place in banneton

Score & bake

Ingredients

• Sweet Stiff Levain – Using a sweet stiff levain gives this loaf lift without sourness. The added sugar slows fermentation, helping the final loaf stay soft and lightly sweet instead of tangy.

• Water — keeps the dough hydrated and helps lighten the crumb.
• Molasses — gives the loaf its deep gingerbread flavor, color, and moisture.
• Brown Sugar — adds sweetness and helps caramelize the crust.
• Spices: ginger, all spice, cloves, nutmeg — the classic gingerbread profile.
• Bread flour — gives structure and supports the open crumb.
• Ground cinnamon — boosts the warm spice flavor (I added this once the cinnamon-chip heartbreak happened!).
• Salt — balances sweetness and enhances the spice notes.
• Additional Water — used to help dissolve the salt and cinnamon after the fermentolyse.

Cinnamon Honey Butter

This is optional… but also not really optional. It’s sweet, creamy, and melts beautifully over a warm slice of gingerbread sourdough.

Making this butter is so easy. You just add everything into a medium size mixing bowl and beat it until everything is combined. Using your electric hand mixer makes this a breeze. Store in the fridge up to one week.

FAQs

Can I use a regular 100% hydration starter instead of a sweet stiff levain?

Yes! Your loaf will be slightly more tangy and may rise a bit faster, but it will still be delicious.

How can I keep the bottom of my loaf from burning?

The sugar and molasses makes this loaf really easy to burn before it’s fully baked. I like to sprinkle a handful of dry rice into the bottom of my Dutch oven or bread oven before I place my parchment paper and dough inside. The rice keeps the bottom from burning and keeps it soft. I also like to bake this loaf at 425F and keep it covered for 30 minutes. If it starts to get too dark before it’s finished baking, you can tent the loaf with foil.

Can I add chocolate chips or cinnamon chips?

If you can find cinnamon chips—go for it!
Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or toffee pieces are also fantastic.

Why does this dough rise slower?

Molasses, spices, and sugar all slow fermentation. Keeping the dough warm is key to getting a good rise. Be patient and keep your dough warm and you’ll be set. This loaf also does great with an overnight ferment on the counter.

Do I have to cold proof overnight?

You don’t have to, but it dramatically improves flavor and makes scoring easier.

Sample Baking Schedule:

This gingerbread sourdough loaf is cozy, festive, and totally worth the extra few steps. After so many trials, this version is the clear winner—and now it’s become one of my favorite seasonal bakes.

If you make it, tag me on Instagram @nicholebakesbread so I can see your gorgeous loaf!

Gingerbread Sourdough Artisan Loaf

Nichole Nelson

This gingerbread artisan loaf is everything you love about the holidays tucked into one beautiful sourdough loaf. It’s filled with bold ginger, warm spices, and a touch of sweetness, then baked until the crust is golden and the inside is soft, fragrant, and irresistibly festive. Pair each slice with whipped cinnamon honey butter and you’ve got the perfect holiday bread—comforting, cozy, and absolutely unforgettable.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Proofing Time 1 day d

Course Artisan Loaf, Sourdough Bread, Sweet Loaf

Cuisine American

Servings 1 loaf

Equipment

• Large Mixing Bowl
• Danish Dough Whisk
• Banneton Basket
• Bench Scraper
• Kitchen scale

Ingredients

  

For the Sweet Stiff Levain

• 25 grams starter
• 25 grams granulated sugar
• 50 grams water
• 100 grams all purpose flour

For the Dough

• all the sweet stiff levain
• 290 grams water
• 100 grams molasses
• 75 grams brown sugar
• 5 grams ground ginger 2 teaspoons
• 1/2 teaspoon ground all spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 500 grams bread flour
• 5 grams cinnamon 2 teaspoons
• 10 grams salt
• 10 grams water

For Cinnamon Honey Butter

• 113 grams salted butter, softened ½ cup
• 30 grams powdered sugar ¼ cup
• 20 grams honey 1 tablespoon
• 3 grams pure vanilla extract ½ teaspoon
• 5 grams ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions

 

Make the Sweet Stiff Levain

• About 12 hours before you’re ready to mix up your bread, you’ll need to make your sweet stiff levain. Using a sweet levain helps to keep some of that signature sourdough tang out of your sweet loaf. You can substitute active 100% hydration starter, but the flavor will be different.
• Combine starter with sugar, flour and water and mix until everything is combined. This is a stiff starter, so it will look kind of like dough. Don’t be afraid to knead your starter on the counter to make sure everything is mixed well. Cover and place somewhere warm overnight.

Mix the Dough

• Combine all of your sweet stiff levain with 290 grams of water. Use your hands to gently mix and break the starter up
• Add molasses, brown sugar, ginger, all spice, cloves, nutmeg and bread flour. Mix well until a shaggy dough forms. Then spend a couple of minutes building dough strength by doing slap and folds or using the rubaud method. Spending a couple of extra minutes up front developing the gluten will make a big difference in how your bread turns out. You could also use a stand mixer if you want for this and mix for 5 minutes.
• Cover and let rest for about an hour. . This particular loaf really needs a fermentolyse, so we’ll be adding the last 10 grams of water, salt and cinnamon into the dough a little later. Adding the extra spices really slows down fermentation, so don’t skip the fermentolyse or you may end up with a really dense loaf of bread.
• Now that we’ve completed the fermentolyse, it’s time to add the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle your salt and ground cinnamon over the top of the dough and then add the reserved 10 grams of water. Gently pinch in the salt and cinnamon until you can no longer feel any salt granules – this usually takes 2-3 minutes.

Stretch and Folds

• Perform a series of “stretch and folds” throughout the next 2 hours. This is how you strengthen your dough since we don’t knead it. First, wet your hands, so the dough doesn’t stick to it. Reach to the bottom of the bowl, pull the dough up and over and place it on the top of the dough. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat the stretching and folding motion 4-6 times. You’ll notice the dough changes through this process. Your first set will look a little bit shaggy, but by the end you should have a nice, smooth and elastic dough. Cover the bowl and wait about 30 minutes in between each set of stretch and folds.
• Stretch and fold #1: 30 minutes into bulk fermentation
• Stretch and fold #2: 30 minutes later. This is when I like to add the cranberries.
• Stretch and fold #3: 30 minutes later
• Stretch and fold #4: Optional, if your dough is still really sticky or isn’t starting to hold it’s shape in your bowl you can do a fourth set to continue adding strength to the dough.

Finish bulk fermentation

• Cover the dough and let rise for 1.5-2 more hours (longer in the winter when it’s cold). You’ll know the dough is ready to shape when the dough is puffed up, jiggles when you shake the bowl, has scattered bubbles visible on the sides and top. My bulk fermentation took about 7 hours with a dough temperature of about 74F

Pre-shape

• Lightly flour your counter and place your dough on the floured counter. Gently pull your dough across your counter until you’ve got a round ball. Using a bench scraper can be helpful. The goal is to introduce some tension in your dough, but we’ll be back for the final shaping in a little bit.

Bench Rest

• Let the dough rest uncovered on the counter for about 30 minutes. The dough will probably flatten during this time. This allows the gluten in the dough to relax and prepares the dough for the final shaping.

Shaping

• Prepare your banneton basket. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough. Using a bench scraper, lift the dough up off the counter and place it back on the countertop – floured side down. This ensures that the flour is staying mainly on the outside of the dough.

  For a boule (round loaf): Going around in a circle, pull the dough sideways towards you and then fold up to the top of the round. Turn 90 degrees and repeat the same process pulling the dough sideways and then folding up to the top. As you continue this process around the dough, increase the tension as you pull. Gather the bread into a circle and place into your prepared bowl. Place into your prepared banneton basket.

  For a batard (oval loaf): stretch your dough into a chubby rectangle. Fold into thirds – like you would fold a letter for an envelope. Then roll the dough up and pinch the sides together. Gently pull the dough back across the counter to build tension. Place into your prepared banneton basket.

Cold Fermentation

• Cover the dough and refrigerate overnight or up to 36 hours. If you want to bake the same day, you can skip this step and let the dough rise for about 2-3 hours in the banneton basket until it’s puffed up and risen. Then bake according to recipe directions.

Day 2: Baking

• Preheat your oven and Dutch oven to 425 °F for 45 minutes.
• Once preheated, pull the loaf out of the refrigerator and remove the covering. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Flip the dough over so it is now sitting on the parchment paper.
• Scoring: Use a bread lame score the dough. Decorative scores should be shallow. Your expansion score should be deep.
• Baking: Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Take the lid off and place your bread into the Dutch oven (including parchment paper – this helps with the transfer). Put the lid on and put back in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid of the Dutch oven and continue baking for 20 minutes until the bread is a crackly deep brown. Remove the Dutch oven and place on a wire cooling rack. Your bread is fully cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 200-210 °F. Because of the added sugar this loaf can start to darken really quickly. If your loaf is getting too dark, you can tent it with foil while it finishes baking.
• Cooling. I know it’s hard, but try to let your loaf cool for at least one hour before you slice into it.

Making the Cinnamon Honey Butter

• Add the softened butter, powdered sugar, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt to a small mixing bowl.
• Whip with a hand mixer (or vigorously with a whisk) until light, smooth, and creamy.
• Taste and adjust as needed—add extra cinnamon for more spice or a drizzle of honey for extra sweetness.
• Serve immediately or refrigerate to firm up.
• Store in the fridge up to one week. Let set out at room temperature to soften before serving.

Notes

The added sugar makes this loaf prone to burning a bit. I like to sprinkle a handful of dried rice in the bottom of my Dutch oven before I place my parchment paper and dough in to bake. This keeps the bottom from burning.

Keyword artisan bread, Christmas recipes, sourdough bread