Easy No-Knead Sourdough Bread

I’ve wanted to bake sourdough bread for years, but was always intimidated by the amount of work it seemed to involve. It took a global pandemic and a quarantine to allay those fears. Nevertheless, sourdough baking is life-altering and once you get started, you will never look back. Or buy commercially made bread again. And the best part? You only need 3 ingredients – flour, water and salt. It’s that simple! No oil, milk or sweeteners required. This recipe is one I arrived at after a few experiments, and it is one my family and I regularly relish.

I will never say I’m an expert at sourdough baking, but baking a loaf at least twice a week has taught me a few things which I will share. Sourdough baking is an ongoing and evolving journey though, and I’m still learning. This recipe uses a blend of bread flour and stone ground whole wheat flour which makes for a delicious, crusty, salty and well-fermented loaf. My kids usually cannot wait for the loaf to cool completely, and then when I do slice it and serve, it disappears within minutes. Enough said – let’s see what the fuss is all about!

Watch this 5 minute video of the end-to-end process

There are a few key steps to making a great sourdough boule.

1. Use a recently fed levain.  The terms “levain” and “starter” are used interchangeably, but levain refers to the portion of a starter that has been recently fed and which will go into your bread dough. The portion that remains is called the starter. Feed your starter as the first step in making bread, and ensure that you use it when it peaks, or shortly thereafter. Refer to this post for instructions on creating and maintaining a starter.
   
2. Use the right blend of flour. The best flour for sourdough is bread flour which is milled from hard spring wheat. The higher protein content in bread flour adds strength to the dough and gives it a nice rise. Adding some whole grain flour into the mix gives it an amazing flavor and texture. However, the trick is to use the right measure of whole grain flour so the loaf does not become too dense. For this recipe, I use 100 grams of stone ground whole wheat flour, but spelt flour or rye flour would work too.
   
3. Don’t skip the autolyse. Autolyse is the process of gently mixing the flour and water followed by a period of rest. During this rest period, the flour absorbs the water and becomes fully hydrated, which aids in the gluten formation. I recommend an autolyse period of at least 60 minutes. Add the salt only after the autolyse, else it can hamper gluten development.
   
4.  Fold the dough instead of kneading. Folding the dough instead of kneading it creates a better crumb and those nice holes that are much coveted in sourdough bread. In this recipe, we will do 4 rounds of folds after the autolyse stage. You will see the dough becoming smoother and stretchier with each round. Refer to the video to see how to fold the dough.
   
5. Do not let your dough over-ferment and over-proof. If there’s one single takeaway from this post, it is this! The dough will go through two rises. The first one is called bulk fermentation, which happens after the dough is mixed. The second rise called proofing, happens after the dough is shaped and is placed in the refrigerator. It is very hard to put a timeline on these two rises because the climate where you live, the type of flour, temperature of water, strength of the starter, the amount (and type) of salt all become variables when it comes to fermentation and proofing. 
   
   Thankfully, there are some visual clues you can rely on for the bulk fermentation phase. Do not allow the dough to rise beyond double during the bulk fermentation phase. To assess exactly when the dough doubles, use a clear container with measurements. This is the one I use and it’s also BPA-free. As soon as the dough becomes almost double, I shape it and stick it in the fridge for the second rise or proofing.

After the proofing phase, there are some tactile clues to judge the readiness of the dough for baking.  Press the dough gently with your finger. If the dough springs back right away, it needs more proofing. But if it springs back slowly and leaves a small indent, it’s ready to bake. If it never springs back, then it’s over-proofed. There’s not much you can do to rescue the dough once it’s over-proofed. If you bake it, you will end up with a dense crumb. When this happens, I just use the dough for pizza crust. That said, I never check for over-proofing if I’ve been diligent about the fermentation timeline in the first rise. I usually keep the dough in the fridge for the second rise overnight (8-12 hours), remove it from the fridge and bake immediately.

6. Use your refrigerator to accommodate your bread making schedule. The process of making bread, from feeding the starter to mixing the dough to finally baking, is a long drawn-out affair. You can spread it out over 2-3 days to accommodate your schedule. For example, your dough is in the bulk fermentation phase, but you need to step out for errands, pop the container in the refrigerator. When you return, you can take it out and let it continue rising until it doubles. No matter what, I recommend using the refrigerator for the second proofing phase. I usually put it in the fridge for a minimum of 6 hours or even overnight. You can easily keep it in for 24 hours. The longer cold proof makes the bread easy to score and also creates an airy crumb when baked. 

Essential Tools needed for Sourdough Bread Baking
I am not a fan of spending money and acquiring additional equipment in my small kitchen, but there are some essential items you will need for sourdough baking.

1. Digital Scale: When it comes to baking sourdough, you must be very precise in measuring your ingredients, else you will not be able to troubleshoot something that goes wrong with your bread. This one is inexpensive and can be used for either gm/ml or lb/oz measurements.
2. Clear vessel for bulk fermentation: This is probably the most valuable tool in the breadmaking process, especially for those who are new to sourdough baking. I use this BPA-free 4 quart container, and it’s very reliable in showing when the dough has doubled.
3. Flour sack towels: You will need these to wrap the dough for the second rise or proofing phase. They are non-stick and will help the dough release easily after proofing.
4. Bench scraper: You will need this to shape the dough after the bulk fermentation phase.
5. Parchment paper: Parchment paper makes it a cinch to transfer the dough to your Dutch oven for baking.
6. Scoring Tool: Scoring helps to release the gases before baking. This one is not fancy, but gets the job done well.
7. Dutch oven: If you own a fancy Dutch oven like Le Crueset or any other, by all means use it. I could not justify the cost of spending too many $$$, so this Lodge Double Dutch Oven is great, and I use the lid for my everyday cooking too.

In addition, you will need oven mitts to handle the screaming hot Dutch oven, some rice flour for dusting the top of the dough before scoring, a large bowl for mixing the dough and proofing the dough, and a sharp knife to cut the bread once it’s ready.

If you think you’re ready to get started, watch this video and then proceed to the recipe.

Easy Sourdough Bread (with Whole Wheat)

Recipe by theplantpaletteblog

Yield

1

Loaf

Cooking time

40

minutes

A crusty, salty and well-fermented sourdough loaf made with whole grain

Ingredients

• 100 grams active sourdough starter

• 400 grams bread flour

• 100 grams whole grain flour (stone ground whole wheat flour or spelt flour or rye flour)

• 375 grams water

• 12 grams salt (see notes)

• Rice flour for dusting

Directions

• Make the dough and autolyse. In a large bowl, combine the water and starter loosely with a spatula. Add the flour and stir again to combine until it forms a dough. The dough will be sticky and shaggy. Transfer immediately to a clear container and cover with a towel or breathable cloth cover. Let the dough rest for an hour (or upto 4 hours).
  
• Add salt, then stretch and fold. Shake the salt well over the dough, then begin stretching and folding. Grab the dough in one area, lift it up and pull into the center. Rotate the vessel clockwise while you repeat this process in each area of the dough. Refer to the video at the bottom of the recipe for guidance. It will take you 4 or 5 tries to do this in a full circle. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes, then repeat. Do this for a total of 4 times with a 30 minute interval between each series of stretch and fold. The dough will become smoother and stretchier with each round.
• Bulk fermentation phase: After the last stretch and fold, cover the vessel and let the dough rise at room temperature. This phase could take anywhere from 4 to 12 hours based on the climate where you live, time of the year, temperature in your kitchen etc. Do not go based on time, but instead rely on the visual cues. Use a clear container such as this one to monitor the rise. When the dough rises to almost double its initial volume (almost to the 2 quart level for this recipe), the bulk fermentation is complete. You will see a nice network of holes spread across the dough, which is what makes the crumb airy.
• Shape the dough. Transfer the dough gently onto a floured surface. Fold the dough into an envelope (refer to the video at the bottom of the recipe). Then using a bench scraper, flip the dough over and start shaping it into a tight ball by pushing it up and pulling back towards you. Repeat this a few times until you can feel some tension in your ball of dough. Line a shallow dome shaped bowl like this one with a flour sack towel and dust it lightly with rice flour.  Gently transfer the doughtop side down into the bowl. Cover the bowl with the towel. 
• Proof the dough. Transfer bowl containing the dough to the fridge and let it stay there for 8 to 24 hours. When you remove the bowl from the fridge, it may look unchanged from when you stuck it inside. This is totally fine.
• Bake. Preheat the oven to 500ºF with the Dutch oven inside. Remove your bowl of dough from the fridge and open the towel. Place a sheet of parchment paper over the bowl. Then place a plate over the parchment. Flip the bowl onto the parchment lined plate with one swift motion (Watch the video at the bottom of the recipe for guidance). Remove the bowl and towel, then slide the parchment paper off the plate. Use a scoring tool to score the dough in any pattern you wish. Scoring helps to release the gases as the sourdough bakes. Transfer the dough with the parchment paper to the Dutch oven (refer to the video on how to do this). Cover it. Lower the oven temperature to 450ºF and bake covered for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, uncover and bake for 10 more minutes. Your bread is done. Transfer to a rack and let cool for at least an hour before cutting.

Recipe Video

Notes

• Adapted from Alexandra’s Kitchen.
• Typically, the amount of salt called for in a sourdough loaf is 2% of the flour quantity which would be 10 grams for this recipe.. I like a salty loaf, so I use a little more. Feel free to reduce the amount as per your preference.