Sourdough bread really can be easy to make when you use my easy no knead sourdough bread recipe. While it does need time for the natural yeasts to develop, this simple no knead sourdough only requires a little hands-on time.
Great bread that really is easy to make
Its hard to beat a loaf of fresh crusty bread, it is truly one of life's joys. As the daughter of a master baker I grew up with good bread and regulars to my blogs will know I like making my own bread.
Sourdough has really grown in popularity and at home I have been making sourdough bread regularly for over 10 years.
I can also be a bit of a lazy cook so I like to make things easy.
Over the time I have been making sourdough, from reading many recipes and going to various workshops, I have finally developed my own no-knead sourdough loaf recipe which is about as easy as it is going to get.
It's hard to believe that just flour salt, water, time and just a little effort can make such a tasty loaf.
I first published this recipe back in 2016 on my other blog Recipes Made Easy. after some friends who I had shared the recipe with suggested I added it. There it got many 5 stars reviews and a loyal following of newly converted sourdough bread makers.
In the intervening years, I have gathered even more tips for getting great results and as I share most of my baking recipes on Only Crumbs Remain here seemed the obvious place to share all that information in a new post.
A little bit of practise makes perfect
It's true sourdough can be a bit tricky at first. There are so many more variables to consider – ambient temperature, humidity, how active the sourdough starter is and so on.
But that said, once you get the hang of it it really is very easy. A lot of people took up making sourdough during lock down and then gave up once they were back at work as they found it too time consuming. I think thats such a shame because it is possible to fit, around leaving the house for work, it just take a a little planning and a little trial and error.
I found myself playing around with different methods during lockdown. With the family at home all day, I was making bread even more frequently. However In the end, the tweaks I tried during that time made at best only made minor improvements and so, I just keep coming back to this method because it really is simple and easy, to fit in with life in general.
For this method the actual hands on prep time is quick and takes no more than 10 minutes. After that it is just a case of letting the dough rise for several hours in two stages and then baking. Even when the no-knead sourdough loaf hasn’t gone quite to plan, I have yet to end up with a loaf that is inedible.
It always tastes great, even though sometimes it comes out a little flatter or doesn't look as good as it should. But with a bit of practice that happens less and less.
So if you have ever thought of making sourdough but haven’t tried it yet, then do give it a try. You will find soon be producing amazing bread and find a routine that works for you, and will wonder why you haven’t done this earlier.
Getting into a routine
I make up my dough just before going to bed at around 11pm (it takes less than 5 minutes to make). Mr B then shapes it in the morning at about 8am which also takes less than 5 minutes. It is then left for its second rise, and I pop it in the oven about midday. That routine fits in with our lives well.
If you are not home during the day this is obviously not going to work for you. However, you could make the dough before work in the morning, shape when you return home, and bake before bed. Or you can slow down the 2nd rising by popping it in the fridge and then bake the loaf in the morning.
Alternatively you could make the dough in the morning, shape at lunchtime and bake early evening, if your day permits. The options are endless, as long as you bear in mind you need about 12 hours in all, with the first rising taking the longest 8–10 hours, and the second 4 – 6 hours. If it has a longer first rise the 2nd will be quicker and vice versa. – It all about finding what works for you.
Also note that the warmer the ambient temperature the fast the dough will prove and the cooler the temperature the longer it will take.
The sourdough starter
Before you make a sourdough loaf you will need to have a sourdough starter. If you have a friend that makes sourdough you could ask them for a bit to get you started. If not you will have to make your own which will take a few days.
Day 1 – mix 3 tablespoon of organic bread flour with 3 tablespoon water.
Days 2 -4 – add another 3 tablespoon bread flour and 3 tablespoon water to the starter each day. repeat for a few more days if required.
Once the starter is bubbly and active it is ready to be used.
Top Tips for making a sour dough starter
- Keep your starter in a sealable container. A word of warning though, for a year or so I kept one of my starters in a Kilner jar until one time when I was feeding it (the process of adding fresh flour and water) the bottom of the jar cracked open while I was stirring it. The result? One horrendous mess. In addition, I had to start all over again. Now I play it safe and use a tall plastic container with a clip on lid.
- The starter needs to be left in a warm place to get started, so for the first few days keep it in a warm place about 20–30C but not in the full sun or it may become too hot and kill off the yeast. If your room is at the lower end of the range you can help the starter along by adding warm water (up to 35C). If it isn’t warm enough the only thing that will happen is that the starter will just take a little longer to get going.
- I like to make my no-knead sourdough loaf with organic flour, but this is not essential. It is, however, important to use organic flour to make the starter.
- Use bottled spring water or filtered water since the chlorine in tap water will inhibit the starter. Once established you can use tap water if you like. Personally I prefer to use filtered water.
- Once the starter is bubbly and active keep it in the refrigerator. If you are making bread everyday you can just keep it at room temperature as long as it is not really hot.
There is more than one way to make a starter. Paul Hollywood adds grated apple to the starter to get it going quickly. Others recommend using wholemeal flour as there are more natural yeasts on the outer bran of the wheat, although I have always found it to work perfectly fine to use just white flour.
Alternatively you can buy dried wild yeast in a sachet on-line and use these as a fail safe way of making a starter. My current starter was made as above with stoneground flour from Woodbridge tide mill.
Looking after your starter – Its easier than you think
You may have heard a lot of talk about having to nurture and feed your starter. If that sound like a lot of faff, don’t let that put you off, it isn’t.
Once you have a strong starter, it will be quite robust and can last months with out being used, and can be brought back to active life by feeding with some fresh flour and water.
If you haven’t used your starter for some time you may need to discard about half and add flour and water to replace it allowing a few hours at room temperature or a day in the the refrigerator until it is active again.
There is no need to waste the discard. Try making my sourdough pancakes or sourdough buns.
Don’t worry if a rather ugly grey liquid forms on top, this just indicates your starter is hungry again. Simply stir in and add a little more flour and water.
If you make your no-knead sourdough every day or two you will not need to feed at all, as you will be replacing the starter that you use (and so in effect feeding it) it is part of the baking process.
If you only bake once a week or so I would recommend mixing in a about 2-4 tablespoon flour and 2-4 tablespoon water and leaving it at room temperature for about an hour before using, just to get it really going again but it is not essential.
Although you dont need to have a large amount of sourdough starter I do find having a decent amount (about 500ml/1pt) on the go, it can take more lack of attention than if you keep a smaller amount.
How to make a no knead sourdough loaf
That’s an awful lot of words for me, and I hope I haven’t put you off. In any case, if you have managed to get this far, hopefully you are willing to take the plunge. Now for the fun bit. You have an active starter and you know how to look after it, so you are all set to make bread.
Place the starter in a mixing bowl, add the water and stir to mix.
Then add the flour and salt.
Using your hands mix the flour and water together.
Continue to mix until you have a soft sticky dough.
You can give it a light knead if you wish but it is not necessary.
Cover and allow to prove for about 8–10 hours.
The dough will double in soze.
Remember to refresh the starter by replacing the starter used with 75g (3oz) water and 75g (3oz) flour to the remaining starter and pop back into the fridge.
Shape the dough and place in a banneton or bowl lined with a well floured tea towel.
Cover and leave to rise before turning out onto a baking sheet.
Cut a few slashes in the top of the loaf and bake until golden.
Hints, tips and variations
I used to cover the bowl with a disposable shower cap which works for me as I can use it again and again. By chance I now have a clear glass saucepan lid that perfectly fits my mixing bowl so I use that. But you can cover the bowl with cling film, a tea-towel or stick it inside a clean carrier bag. This prevents the surface of the dough drying out which in turn would inhibit the ability for the dough to rise.
I am a white crusty bread girl myself, but do sometimes substitute 100g (3½ oz) of the white flour with wholemeal which works well. However, if you use more wholemeal flour you will have to start altering the water to flour ratio significantly, as yet I have not tested that enough to give reliable proportions.
As I have mentioned before, sourdough can tend to vary, so sometimes you will find the bread needs a little more or less water or flour. On some days it may rise quicker then on others. You will soon get to know how it works in you kitchen as well as how it should look and feel at each stage.
Remember the warmer the environment is the less time the dough will need. My most common mistake is leaving the loaf for the second rise too long so that it over proves and collapses a little when turned out. But don’t worry if that happen to you, it will just end up a bit flat but still tastes fab .
If you have any questions or want any advise then do leave a comment below or send me an email via the contact page and I will do my best to answer them. I can also highly recommend the book Do/Sourdough - slow bread for busy lives by Andrew Whitley for further reading.
No special equipment required
One of the great things about making sourdough is that it requires no special equipment. Just a container for your sourdough starter. Mixing bowls and a baking sheet. But if you get bitten by the sourdough baking bug you may want to invest in a few extras.
Optional Extras
Bannettons
Once the dough has been shaped I place mine in a banneton . A banneton is a special basket in which to let your loaf rise, they cost about £8 and are readily available on line.
I think they are worth getting if you intend to make the bread regularly because it gives such a pretty effect. The come in different shapes and sizes.
Make sure you flour the banneton well. You can use plain flour, wholemeal flour or semolina to dust it. I found wholemeal flour seemed to work the best.
In the first instance though, a bowl lined with a well-floured clean tea towel works just as well. I used a 20cm (8in) wide bowl.
Bread Lame
You will need a very sharp knife to slash the bread over the top. If you use a blunt knife you may find yourself pressing out the air. Some people find a serrated knife works best. If your knife is not sharp enough, it’s better to leave it un-cut and just let it tear as it bakes. It does look rather rustic that way.
You can also consider buying a bread lame which comes in different styles and hold a razor blade or other sharp blade. You would need one of these if you want to start cutting fancy designs into your sourdough crust.
Personally I have never really succeeded doing that. I wish I could as it looks so pretty but life is too short to spend hours trying to master this art form.
Clouches and Baking Domes
As I have said before I love crusty bread, so I quite often bake my bread in an earthenware Clouche. These are preheated in the oven and you flip the dough out onto the hot base and cover immediately before returning to the oven.
They help keep the moisture from the dough enclosed around the bread as it rises and bakes producing a crisp crust. They are pricy but by no means essential to make a good loaf but they do give the loaf a most amazing crust.
One of my readers of Recipes Made Easy had the great idea of using an earthenware chicken roaster (Chicken brick) which she picked up for next to nothing in a charity shop, which she assured me made a great substitute cloche.
Cast Iron Casseroles
You may have seen recipes which bake bread in a cast iron casserole. These are a good alternative to a clouche and help get that crusty crust. And of course are useful to have anyway.
Some people suggest lining with baking parchment but I have found that the creases can get caught in the crust and prefer to oil the pan very well instead.
Cooking in a casserole not only helps to improve the crust it also support the loaf as it rises. Sourdough dough is quite a wet dough and I have found it can lose a lot of its height when you tip it out of the Banneton onto the baking sheet. The loaf might not look as pretty but it does give more regular slices.
Loaf cooked in a castiron casserole.
Loaf risen in a bowl and cooked on a baking sheet.
If you want to invest in a clouche, lame or other specialist baking equipment Check out The Bakery Bits Website
Easy No knead Sourdough Loaf
Equipment
- Banneton (optional)
- Cast Iron casserole or Earthenware cloche (opitonal)
- baking sheet
Ingredients
- 150 g sourdough starter (5oz), see body of post
- 300 ml water (½pt)
- 500 g strong white bread flour (1lb 2oz) preferably organic
- plus extra flour to sprinkle and replenish the starter
- 1½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place 150g (5oz) sourdough starter in a large mixing bowl. (Remember to replenish the starter after you have made your dough, see below. ) Make up to 450g/1lb (2 cups) with water and add 500g (1lb 2oz) bread flour and salt.
- Mix to form a rough ball of slightly sticky dough. The dough does not require kneading just mixing until the flour and water is combined.
- Leave in the bowl and loosely cover the bowl. Leave overnight or for about 8-10 hours depending on ambient temperature. The dough will have risen and increased in size.
- Knock back the dough and shape into a ball, you can knead lightly if you like but it is not essential. Place smooth side down in a well floured banneton (special basket) or in a 20cm (8in) wide mixing bowl, lined with a tea-towel and well floured.
- Dust the top of the dough with a little more flour. Cover loosely and leave for a further 4 to 6 hours until risen again.
- Turn out of the basket or bowl onto a lightly oiled baking sheet, and slash the top a few times with a very sharp knife. Bake at 220℃ (200℃ fan)/425°F/gas mark 7 for about 50 minutes, until risen and golden. The loaf will sound hollow if you tap it on the bottom when cooked.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes
- Keep in the fridge.
- If it hasn’t been used for a few days try to take out of fridge for about 1-2 hours before required. Add a little flour and water in equal quantities to get it going again.
- If you don’t use it for a while occasionally discard about ¼ of the starter and replace with fresh flour and water.
Sue
Is there yeast in the sour dough starter, I can’t see it mentioned
Jacqueline Bellefontaine
Yes the yeast comes from the sourdough starter. It will take a few days to make the starter but once it is active you are on your way.