Best Same Day Sourdough Bread
This same day sourdough bread delivers the crusty exterior, tender crumb, and subtle tang you crave from traditional sourdough, but on a much friendlier timeline. With just a little morning prep and your active starter, you can have a gorgeous loaf ready by dinner time without the usual two or three day commitment.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Digital kitchen scale For accurate measurements
- Bench scraper
- Dutch oven 5-7 quart capacity
- Banneton proofing basket Or a bowl lined with floured towel
- Bread lame or sharp knife For scoring
- Plastic wrap or shower cap For covering
- Cooling rack
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 150 g active sourdough starter about 3/4 cup, fed and doubled in size
- 350 g lukewarm filtered water about 1 1/2 cups
- 500 g bread flour about 4 cups, unbleached with 12-14% protein
- 10 g fine sea salt about 2 teaspoons
Instructions
- Feed your sourdough starter 8-12 hours before mixing using a 1:1:1 ratio. It should double in size, be bubbly, and pass the float test.
- Add water to mixing bowl, whisk in active starter until dissolved, then add flour and salt. Mix until you have a shaggy dough with no dry flour remaining.
- Cover bowl and let rest 30-60 minutes at room temperature. This allows flour to absorb water and gluten to develop naturally.
- With wet hands, grab one edge of dough and stretch up and over to opposite side. Rotate bowl and repeat 3 more times, then cover and rest 30 minutes.
- Repeat stretch and fold process two more times, resting 30 minutes between each set. Dough should feel stronger and smoother after each set.
- Let dough rise undisturbed in warm spot (75-80°F) for 3-4 hours until increased 50% in volume with smooth surface and visible bubbles on bottom and sides.
- Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, fold edges toward center, flip over and drag in circular motion to create tension. Let rest 10-15 minutes.
- Dust banneton with rice flour, flip dough seam-side up, perform final folds, and place in basket seam-side up. Cover and proof 1-2 hours at room temperature or refrigerate 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- About 45 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450°F (232°C) with Dutch oven and lid inside.
- Turn dough onto parchment, score with one deep slash at 45-degree angle, and lower into hot Dutch oven. Bake covered 20 minutes, then uncovered 25-30 minutes until deep golden brown (205-210°F internal).
- Remove bread from Dutch oven using parchment and transfer to cooling rack. Let cool at least 1 hour before slicing.
Notes
- Your starter must be active and bubbly for this recipe to work. Feed it the night before for best results.
- Keep dough temperature between 75-80°F for optimal fermentation. Use oven light or proofing box if needed.
- Don't wait for dough to double during bulk fermentation; 50% increase is perfect to avoid over-fermentation.
- For overnight proof, refrigerate shaped dough 8-12 hours and bake straight from fridge, adding 5 minutes to covered baking time.
- No Dutch oven? Use preheated baking stone with steam pan underneath or cover with large metal bowl for first 20 minutes.
- Store at room temperature in bread bag or wrapped in kitchen towel for 3-4 days. Never use plastic.
- Freeze sliced bread in freezer bag up to 3 months. Toast directly from frozen.
- Replace up to 100g bread flour with whole wheat for nuttier flavor; add extra 10-20g water.
- Resist cutting before cooling completely or crumb will be gummy.
- Score with confidence in one smooth motion for clean, beautiful ears on your loaf.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 182kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 5gFat: 0.5gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 390mgPotassium: 52mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.1gCalcium: 1mgIron: 11mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!