Beginner’s Sourdough Bread Loaf

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After four years of baking sourdough bread loafs from scratch for my family of 6, this recipe has been perfected in my kitchen. I’ve had many failures with creating the perfect sourdough loaf but I didn’t let that stop me from finally pulling that warm, crusty beautiful sourdough loaf out of the oven time and time again once I figured out the method to a perfect sourdough loaf every time. Let me show you how step by step just for beginners.

Saying practice makes perfect is an understatement when baking sourdough dough bread as a beginner, but hey Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your sourdough bread skills either. But with consistency and willingness to learn how your sourdough starter reacts to your home temperature along with proper feedings you’ll be making consistently delicious bread in no time.

When I began to bake sourdough bread like most newbies my loafs wouldn’t rise to that perfect bubbly airy look we all know when proofing and I couldn’t figure out that it was my house temperature that was the issue, my bread was over proofing because it gets hot in Georgia! Sourdough bread making involves strong willingness to learn with my easy Sourdough loaf recipe and bakers schedule you’ll be baking up perfect batches of sourdough loafs  faster than most because you’ll know the science behind the failures and successes with your sourdough loafs.

If sourdough has felt intimidating to you, this recipe was written to change that. I’m walking you through each step in a simple, approachable way so you can confidently bake beautiful sourdough bread at home, every time.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Perfect for beginners – I made this recipe the simplest sourdough bread recipe to understand and create on your own. The steps are easy and practical for any home cook who’s busy and can’t spend their entire day making bread.

Only simple pantry ingredients – Not only are the ingredients for this recipe simple, but they are inexpensive, many of which you probably have in your cupboards already.

No fancy equipment required – All you need is your hands, a bowl, a loaf pan, and a willingness to learn!

Timeline that fits busy mom life – As a busy mom of 4 I choose the stretch n fold method, it develops the gluten

Creates a soft, airy crumb with a crusty exterior –

Builds confidence for all future sourdough baking –

What is Sourdough?

Sourdough is a traditional method of making bread rise using a natural starter instead of commercial yeast. A sourdough starter is simply flour and water that has been fermented long enough to grow wild yeast and beneficial bacteria from the environment. These wild yeasts consume natural sugars in the flour and release carbon dioxide, which makes the dough rise, while the bacteria create the gentle tangy flavor sourdough is known for.

When I first made my starter and helping it stay lively and bubbly, I always add a small source of natural sugar like raisins, dates, or a drop of honey. This isn’t required forever, but it helps kick-start fermentation because wild yeast feeds on sugars. Dried fruit naturally carries wild yeast on its surface and provides quick food for the developing culture, helping the starter become active faster and more reliably.

Sourdough bread is considered a leavened bread, meaning it rises through fermentation. This is important in religious traditions such as Passover in Judaism, when leavened breads (called chametz) are traditionally avoided to remember the hurried Exodus from Egypt, when there was no time for bread to rise. Because sourdough relies on fermentation to rise, it falls into the category of leavened bread and is therefore not eaten during Passover observance.

Why This Recipe Works

I’ve been cooking from scratch for years and preparing daily meals for my family. Every recipe on this blog is tested multiple times in my own kitchen using real ingredients and practical methods that work for busy homes.

Ingredients Notes

All-purpose Flour or Bread Flour – You can also use regular whole-wheat flour or white whole-wheat flour.

Sourdough starter – Bubbly fed sourdough starter that has peaked.

Filtered Water – I love using filtered water for my sourdough starter and bread dough.

Salt – Optionally, but does give the bread better taste.

Tools You May Need

Loaf Pan 9×5 – As a beginner sourdough baker its way easier to start with a loaf pan, plus majority of us have loaf pans in our kitchen.

Large Bowl – You’ll need a large enough bowl that you can do stretch n folds while the dough expands.

Plastic Wrap – or any cover that seals the large bowl will work.

Knife or blade – Having a sharp knife is important for scoring the dough, I like using my steak knife

Weekly Starter Feeding Schedule

Sourdough starter doesn’t need daily feeding. I store my starter in my fridge (my kitchen is warmer than desired) and give it a few feedings before baking day, you can keep a strong, active starter ready for bread whenever you need it.

Bake 1–2 Times Per Week Follow This Schedule

Increase the amount if you want to bake more times a week.

If you have a colder kitchen your sourdough starter will do well on the counter between re-feeds.

If your kitchen is hot like mine put your starter in the fridge instead.

Time to Re-Feed

After removing the starter needed for your recipe:

Feed the remaining starter using the 1:1:1 ratio:

• 50g starter
• 50g flour
• 50g water

Let your starter sit at room temperature for 1–2 hours, then place back in the fridge. This keeps the starter strong without daily feeding. This is how I care for my starter as a busy mom with a baby and toddler, it’s less over-whelming and not demanding of my time.

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One Day Before Baking

Take starter out of the fridge and “wake it up”. Let it sit on the counter come to room temp prepare the first feeding in the morning

Morning — First Feeding

Discard all but 50g starter (Basically half of whats in the jar), then feed:

• 50g starter
• 50g flour
• 50g water

Leave at room temperature.

Evening — Second Feeding

Repeat the same feeding again. This strengthens the yeast and bacteria before baking day.

Night Before Baking

Feed the starter one more time before bed using the same ratio. Your starter will be active and bubbly by morning and ready to bake with.

After Baking Starter Reset Routine

Once you’ve baked and used your starter:

1. Feed it once.
2. Let sit 1–2 hours.
3. Return to fridge.

Repeat weekly.

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Pro Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Starter

• If liquid forms on top (hooch), it’s hungry , just feed it a 1:1 ratio of water and flour.
• If you skip a week, give it 2–3 feedings before baking.
• A healthy starter smells tangy-ish and pleasant like yeasted bread, not rotten or acicic like acetone.
• Consistency and the willingness to learn from failer is more important than perfection

How to Make Fresh Sourdough Bread

Prep

1. Feed your starter
Feed your sourdough starter 4–6 hours before mixing the dough.
It should be bubbly, doubled in size, and pass the float test.

Mix the Dough

2. Combine starter and water
In a large bowl, whisk together:
• 100g active starter
• 350g warm water

3. Add flour and salt
Add:
• 500g bread flour
• 10g salt

Mix until a shaggy dough forms and no dry flour remains.

Autolyse (Rest)

4. Rest the dough
Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 30–60 minutes.

This allows the flour to fully hydrate and begin gluten development.

Stretch & Fold (Gluten Development)

5. Perform stretch and folds
Over the next 2 hours, perform 4 sets of stretch and folds:

• Grab one side of the dough
• Stretch upward
• Fold over itself
• Rotate bowl and repeat 4 times

Rest 30 minutes between each set.

Bulk Fermentation (First Rise)

6. Let the dough rise
Cover and let rise at room temperature 1–3 hours, until dough is:
• Puffy
• Jiggly
• Increased in size by ~50%

This rise timeframe depends on how warm or cold your kitchen is; the time shown is what normally works for me in my kitchen. When getting familiar with your sourdough starter it’s personal and it may be different for you show take note of how long it takes for your bread to rise in your kitchen.

Shape the Dough

7. Pre-shape
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface lightly press dough and shape into a loose square take one end corner and fold it into the center. Turn dough so the seam side is facing up pinch the dough vertically til sealed. It should look like a cylindrical log , next pinch the ends of the dough to seal the sides.

8. Final shape
Place dough in a greased 9×5 greased loaf pan and place seam-side up.

Cold Proof (Second Rise)

9. Refrigerate overnight
Cover with oil plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. This step develops flavor and makes scoring easier.

Baking

10. Preheat oven
Place a pot of boiling water in oven and preheat to 450°F (232°C) for 30 minutes.

11. Score the dough
Score the top with a sharp blade 3 slits at the top. And brush on water or egg and water mix

12. Bake covered
Bake for 30-45minutes check the oven see of the loaf is golden brown or deep brown. the bread should spring back when pressed, and have a crisp crust. 

Cooling

13. Cool completely
You’ve made it to the finish line! When you remove the bread from the oven, allow it cool COMPLETELY for 1-3 hours before cutting into the loaf. The bread is still cooking even after it’s taken out the oven, if you cut into it while it’s hot, the bread will be gummy. So don’t rush to cut into that beautiful loaf.

Storage + Meal Prep

Common Sourdough Mishaps to Avoid

• Using a weak starter, a weak starter looks flat, non-bubbly, and has a significant amount of water collected at the top of the starter and smells VERY sour.
• A starter that hasn’t doubled after feeding won’t raise bread properly. This is the #1 beginner mistake.
• Rushing Fermentation
• Sourdough takes time. Dough that hasn’t fermented long enough will be dense and heavy.
• Not Strengthening the Dough
• Skipping stretch and folds leads to weak gluten structure and flat loaves.
• Over-Proofing the Dough
• If the dough rises too long, it collapses and spreads instead of rising in the oven.
• Cutting the Bread Too Soon
• Fresh sourdough continues cooking internally after baking. Slicing early makes the crumb gummy.
• Expecting Perfection on the First Loaf
• Sourdough is a skill that improves with practice. Every loaf teaches you something new.

What to Serve With This?

This recipe pairs beautifully with:

• Homemade Mixed Berry Preserves
• Avocado (Avocado Toast)
• Deli Meat
• Salted Butter

Sourdough starters are surprisingly resilient. Even if your starter seems weak or slow, a few consistent feedings usually bring it back to life.

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars!⭐Tag me on Instagram @ourlovedhomeliving.

If you try this recipe, I’d truly love to hear how it turned out for your family. Leave a comment below and let me know how you served it!