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Two golden brown sourdough loaves with crisp, rustic crusts cooling on a wire rack, scored with artisan patterns.

Sour Dough Bread

This simple sourdough bread skips the over-complication and focuses on what works. With just four ingredients and an easy stretch-and-fold method, you’ll get a beautifully crusty loaf with a soft, chewy center—perfect for sandwiches, toast, or enjoying fresh from the oven.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Course: Bread
Ingredients Method Video

Ingredients
  

Ingredients:
  • 300 g active sourdough starter
  • 30 g salt
  • 600 g warm water
  • 920 g flour

Method
 

  1. Mix Starter: In a large bowl, combine 300g starter, 30g salt, and 600g warm water. Stir.
  2. Add Flour: Mix in 920g flour until combined. Cover.
  3. Rest & Fold: Let rest 10–20 minutes. Then pull and stretch each side of the dough (all 4 sides) and fold it over itself.
  4. Bulk Rise: Cover and let rise for 6 hours at room temp.
  5. Divide & Shape: Place dough on counter, cut in half. For each half:
  6. Gently stretch into a large rectangle.
  7. Fold bottom up, top down (like a letter).
  8. Stretch side to side, fold right side in, then left side in.
  9. Flip it over and shape into a smooth ball.
  10. Final Proof: Place into baskets lined with flour. Cover and let rise 2–3 hours.
  11. Preheat Oven: Place 2 Dutch ovens in the oven and preheat to 425°F.
  12. Transfer & Score: I used a silicone sling to help lower the dough in easily! But you can also use parchment over each dough ball, then an upside-down plate. Flip and release dough. Score as desired.
  13. Bake: Remove hot Dutch ovens. Lift silicone sling/parchment paper and lower dough into the pots.
  14. Bake Covered: Cover and bake 30 minutes.
  15. Finish Baking: Uncover and bake 10-20 more minutes.
  16. Cool: Remove from Dutch ovens. Cool on wire rack.