Easy homemade sourdough bread is a simple, approachable recipe, ideal for serving a wholesome loaf with a slightly crisp crust and a soft crumb. It’s one of those home breads I often bake when I want something tasty and aromatic without complicated handling, letting the fermentation time do most of the work.
Only a few ingredients are needed, some folds in the first hours and a long fermentation to obtain a soft, well-developed dough. I chose to bake it in a bundt (tube) pan — a small trick that helps the bread bake evenly and form a golden, fragrant crust all around.
If you don’t have a sourdough starter you can also make this with baker’s yeast: just prepare a small preferment with flour, water and yeast and use it in place of the starter. The result will still be a soft, fragrant bread, perfect for everyday meals.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 12 Hours
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 10
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 230.07 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 50.02 (g) of which sugars 1.30 (g)
- Proteins 7.57 (g)
- Fat 0.48 (g) of which saturated 0.00 (g)of which unsaturated 0.00 (g)
- Fibers 1.38 (g)
- Sodium 304.71 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 110 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for easy homemade sourdough bread
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this home-baked bread: flours, sourdough starter, water and salt. With these quantities you’ll obtain a bread with a soft crumb and a slightly crisp crust.
- 1 1/4 cups re-milled durum wheat semolina
- 3 1/3 cups 00 (Italian) all-purpose flour
- 5/8 cup active sourdough starter
- 1 1/2 cups water (can be increased up to 1 2/3 cups)
- 1 tsp sugar (level)
- 1 tsp salt
Useful tools to prepare the bread
To make this homemade bread you need only a few kitchen tools: a stand mixer to make kneading easier, a large bowl for fermentation and a bundt (tube) pan which helps the loaf bake evenly.
- 1 Stand mixer
- 1 Bundt pan (tube pan)
Procedure to prepare the sourdough bread
Follow these simple steps to easily prepare a soft, fragrant sourdough bread with straightforward handling and a long fermentation that helps the dough develop well.
1. Make the dough
In the bowl of the stand mixer add the two flours, the sourdough starter, the sugar and about 1 1/2 cups of water. Start mixing with the dough hook and add the remaining water little by little, up to about 1 2/3 cups total if needed. The dough should be soft, slightly sticky but well combined and workable. Finally add the salt and continue kneading until you obtain a homogeneous dough.
2. First folds
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover. During the first hour perform a fold every 20 minutes, slightly wetting your hands to handle it more easily. This step helps the dough develop a good structure.
3. Dough rest
After the initial folds place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 1 hour, so the dough will firm up slightly. After this time perform one last fold and let it rest covered at room temperature overnight.
4. Shape the loaf
The next morning turn the dough out onto a work surface dusted with semolina. With quick movements round it into a log and join the ends to create a ring (bundt) shape.
5. Second proofing
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bundt (tube) pan, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until it has doubled in volume.
6. Baking the bread
Bake in a very hot oven at 464–482°F (240-250°C) for the first 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 392°F (200°C) and continue baking for about 25-30 minutes, until the crust is golden and crisp.
7. Cooling
Once baked, remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a rack before slicing so the crumb stays soft and properly set.
If you don’t have a sourdough starter you can easily replace it by preparing a small preferment with baker’s yeast.
Mix in a bowl:
about 3/4 cup of flour (100 g)
about 3 1/2 tablespoons of water (50 ml)
about 3 tsp fresh baker’s yeast (10 g)
Knead quickly until you have a soft mixture, cover and let rise at room temperature until it doubles in volume.
Once ready, use this preferment in place of the 5/8 cup (150 g) of sourdough starter indicated in the recipe and continue normally with the bread preparation.
The result will still be a soft, fragrant and well-leavened homemade bread, perfect for everyday meals.
Final notes
Easy homemade sourdough bread is a simple recipe that yields great satisfaction. Thanks to the long fermentation the dough develops a soft, fragrant crumb, while baking at a very high temperature creates a golden, slightly crisp crust.
The amount of water can vary slightly depending on the flour used, so it’s best to add it gradually until you obtain a soft, slightly sticky but well-combined dough.
If you prefer you can also make this bread using a baker’s-yeast preferment, still obtaining a fragrant homemade loaf perfect to accompany everyday meals.
Once cooled, store it wrapped in a cotton kitchen towel: it will stay soft and aromatic even the next day.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make this bread if I don’t have a sourdough starter?
Yes, you can make this recipe without a sourdough starter. Just prepare a small preferment by mixing about 3/4 cup of flour (100 g), about 3 1/2 tablespoons of water (50 ml) and about 3 teaspoons of fresh baker’s yeast (10 g). Let it rise until doubled, then use it in place of the 5/8 cup (150 g) of sourdough starter called for in the recipe.
How should I store homemade bread?
Once completely cooled, homemade bread keeps well wrapped in a cotton kitchen towel or in a paper bag. This way it will remain soft and fragrant even the next day.
