Sourdough is temperamental. People treat it like a science project, which it is, but they forget that it's also a living, breathing thing that reacts to the drafty window in your kitchen or the fact that you bought the cheap flour this week. Honestly, most "perfect" photos you see on Instagram are the result of three failed loaves that ended up as bird food. If you want a basic sourdough bread recipe that actually works in a normal human kitchen, you have to stop obsessing over hydration percentages for a second and look at your starter.
Is it bubbly? Does it smell like sweet vinegar or like a gym sock? That matters more than any expensive Dutch oven you can buy.
The Truth About Your Starter
Your starter is a colony of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria. That's it. You don't need a name for it, though everyone seems to give it one. According to microbiologists like Heather Hall at the North Carolina State University's Sourdough Project, the microbial diversity in your jar is unique to your home environment. This means my bread will never taste exactly like yours.
To get moving, you need 100 grams of active, bubbly starter. If it's been sitting in the back of your fridge for a month under a layer of gray liquid (hooch), it isn't ready. Pour off the liquid, feed it 50g of flour and 50g of water, and wait. You want it to double in size before it touches the main dough. If it doesn't double, your bread will be a brick. It's a simple rule, but people ignore it because they're impatient.
The Only Basic Sourdough Bread Recipe You Actually Need
Forget the fancy tools. You need a bowl, your hands, and a heat source.
Mix 350 grams of warm water with that 100 grams of active starter. Swish it around until it looks like milky water. Now, dump in 500 grams of bread flour. Don't use all-purpose yet; you need the protein. Add 10 grams of fine sea salt.
Mix it until it’s a shaggy, ugly mess. No dry bits of flour should be left. Now, let it sit. This is the autolyse phase, though most home bakers just call it "letting the dough rest." Give it 30 minutes. This allows the flour to fully hydrate and the gluten to start forming itself so you don't have to work as hard.
The Fold is Better Than the Knead
We aren't making pizza dough. Don't punch it. Instead, do "stretch and folds." Grab one side of the dough, pull it up until you feel resistance, and fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl and do it again. Four times total. Do this every 30 minutes for about two hours.
You’ll notice the dough changes. It goes from a sticky blob to something smooth and elastic. If it still feels like wet sand after three sets of folds, your flour might have low protein, or your kitchen is too cold. Yeast loves warmth. If your house is 65 degrees, this process is going to take forever. Aim for a spot that's around 75 degrees—maybe inside the oven with the light turned on.
Fermentation: The Part Everyone Messes Up
This is called the bulk fermentation. It is the most critical window. If you under-bulk, you get huge tunnels in the bread and a gummy texture. If you over-bulk, the dough turns into soup and won't hold its shape.
You’re looking for a 50% increase in volume. Not 100%. If it doubles in the bowl, it usually has nothing left for the "oven spring." You want bubbles on the surface and a jiggly consistency, sort of like a bowl of Jell-O.
Shaping and the Cold Proof
Once it’s puffy, gently tip it onto a lightly floured surface. Fold the edges into the center to create a ball. Flip it over. Use your pinkies to pull the dough toward you, creating tension on the "skin" of the loaf.
Now, put it in a basket (banneton) or a bowl lined with a floured towel.
Put it in the fridge. Seriously. Leave it there for 12 to 24 hours. This cold proofing slows down the yeast but lets the bacteria keep working, which is where that actual "sour" flavor comes from. It also makes the dough easier to score with a knife because it’s cold and stiff.
The Bake
Preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C). If you have a Dutch oven, put it in there while the oven heats. You need that cast iron screaming hot.
Flip the cold dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Use a very sharp razor blade or a brand-new box cutter to slice a deep line down the middle. This is the "score." It’s a chimney. It tells the steam where to escape so the bread doesn't explode out the bottom.
- Drop the dough into the pot.
- Put the lid on. This traps the steam coming off the dough, which keeps the crust soft so the bread can expand.
- Bake for 20 minutes with the lid on.
- Remove the lid.
- Bake for another 20-25 minutes.
The bread should be dark. "Cinnabar" or "Mahogany" dark. If it’s pale, it’s flavorless. Ken Forkish, author of Flour Water Salt Yeast, famously advocates for a dark, bold bake. Trust the process.
Why Your Crust Is Soft
If you take the bread out and the crust softens up within an hour, you didn't bake it long enough, or your house is too humid. Or—and this is the hardest part—you cut into it too soon.
When you take the bread out, it is still cooking. The internal steam is moving from the center to the outside. If you slice it while it's hot, that steam escapes instantly, and the starch in the bread turns into a gummy, rubbery mess. Wait two hours. I know it smells good. Just wait.
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Troubleshooting the Common Disasters
- Flat as a pancake: Your starter was weak, or you over-proofed the dough.
- Dense and gummy: You cut it too early or under-baked it.
- Too sour: You let it ferment too long at room temperature.
- Not sour enough: Skip the room temp rise and do a longer cold proof in the fridge.
Real sourdough doesn't use commercial yeast. If a recipe tells you to add a packet of Fleischmann’s, it’s not a basic sourdough bread recipe; it’s just flavored white bread. The complexity of the flavor comes from time. There are no shortcuts.
Actionable Next Steps
Start by testing your starter's strength today. Drop a teaspoon of it into a glass of water. If it floats, it’s ready to bake. If it sinks, feed it again and wait 4-6 hours.
Once you’ve mastered this ratio, try swapping 50 grams of the white flour for whole wheat or rye. It changes the enzyme activity and speeds up the fermentation, so watch it closely. Buy a digital scale if you haven't. Measuring flour by "cups" is a recipe for failure because one cup can weigh anywhere from 120 to 160 grams depending on how packed it is.
Get your scale, feed your starter, and clear your schedule for tomorrow morning. Sourdough doesn't wait for you; you wait for it.