How to Make Sourdough Bread — This easy sourdough bread recipe uses yogurt and sour cream in place of a traditional sourdough starter, which makes it possible to prep a loaf in less than a day!
Table of Contents
- Easy Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Homemade Sourdough Bread Ingredients
- How to Make Sourdough Bread
- Do I Have to Use a Dutch Oven?
- Can I Freeze Sourdough Bread?
- Can I Make This Gluten Free?
- Tips for Making Sourdough Bread
- Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Easy Sourdough Bread Recipe
- More Homemade Bread Recipes:
Easy Homemade Sourdough Bread Recipe
I’ve always wanted to make sourdough bread and can finally check it off my culinary bucket list. And rather than doing it in week(s), I did it in hours.
Traditional sourdough starters take 5-7+ days to develop and making the bread can take a full day, whereas I made this bread in 9 hours. Do it as an overnight recipe or think of it like a slow cooker recipe. Set it and forget it because it really is that easy.
Rather than using a traditional sourdough starter, Greek yogurt and sour cream are mixed with bread flour, yeast, and a pinch of salt. The active cultures in the Greek yogurt and sour cream ferment the dough and give the bread traditional sourdough flavor. The longer you let the bread rise and ferment, up to about 18 hours, the more sourdough-ey it’ll taste.
I’ve made the homemade sourdough bread twice because my family kept raving about this loaf. For this bread, I did a 6 1/2 hour rise/ferment (first rise) and for the next loaf I did 10 hours. The 10-hour version was more sourdough-ey and also had a more more ‘holey’ and open crumb, but I wouldn’t necessarily say the 10-hour was ‘better’. Both are fabulous.
If you’ve ever made bread, this recipe will be a total snap. Much easier than cinnamon rolls, sweet rolls, or dinner rolls, by a long shot.
The bread is hearty, satisfying, and has a firm crust that gives was to a super moist, soft interior. My daughter loves crust (she didn’t get that from me) and my family devoured the loaf in one sitting.
I got the bug to try this because of Mandy’s post and without knowing I was making homemade sourdough bread or the flavor goal, my family said it tastes like a piece of San Francisco sourdough bread from a fancy bakery.
It’s so rewarding knowing I made bread that looks and tastes like something from a bakery. You’re going to love that feeling. And you’re going to love the bread.
Homemade Sourdough Bread Ingredients
When making sourdough bread, you’ll need:
- Bread flour
- Plain Greek yogurt with live active cultures
- Sour cream
- Salt
- Instant dry yeast
How to Make Sourdough Bread
Add all the sourdough bread ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer and knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes using a dough hook attachment. The dough will be seem like it’s almost too wet and it’s very heavy, but this is what you want.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 6 to 8 hours. Once risen, remove the dough from the bowl and gently knead for a couple minutes. Shape the dough into a round mound and put back into oiled bowl to rise for another 1 to 2 hours.
Preheat your oven and place an empty Dutch oven inside to preheat as well. Once the oven is preheated, carefully remove the Dutch oven, place parchment paper on the bottom, and place dough inside. Cover with a lid and bake, then uncover during the last 10 minutes of baking.
Do I Have to Use a Dutch Oven?
While it’s not imperative to bake the bread in Dutch oven, it really helps develop sourdough’s signature crusty crust because a covered Dutch oven traps in the steam the bread releases while baking, aiding in crust development. This is the exact Le Creuset Dutch oven I used.
If you don’t have a Dutch oven, a cast iron skillet or heavy-bottomed skillet will work, although some of the crustiness will be sacrificed.
Can I Freeze Sourdough Bread?
Yes, homemade sourdough bread freezes well. Let the baked bread cool completely before freezing (you can freeze the entire loaf or slice and freeze).
Can I Make This Gluten Free?
That is a question I am not sure about since I have not tried this recipe with gluten-free flours of any kind.
However, my gut tells me that I definitely don’t think almond flour or spelt flour will work. A baking flour that is a cup-or-cup style replacement of traditional all-purpose flour is the only flour I think has a flying chance, but I do not know if it will work.
I have only made the recipe exactly as written. If you make the recipe with gluten-free flour, please comment how it went for you.
Tips for Making Sourdough Bread
I highly recommend using King Arthur bread flour for this sourdough bread recipe. I think it’s the best quality bread flour and it delivers consistently good results.
The sourdough bread recipe looks long but that’s because I write yeast recipes with as much detail and give as many tips as I possibly can to set you up for success. Read the recipe at least twice before starting. All you’re really doing is making dough, letting it rise for 6+ hours, letting it rise again for 1+ hour, and baking.
I like it served simply with honey butter or butter. Or try jam, jelly, or hummus. The bread is great toasted, perfect for sandwiches, for crostini, or with your favorite dip. I wouldn’t complain if you put a hunk of cheese and bread in one hand and a glass of wine in the other.
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Easy Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups bread flour, I use King Arthur
- one-17.6 ounce tub plain unsweetened Greek yogurt with active cultures, 500 grams
- about 1/2 to 1 cup sour cream, or Greek yogurt, lite versions are okay
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- scant 1 teaspoon, just slightly less than 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast (I use Red Star Platinum)
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or use a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon and your hands), add the flour, Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup sour cream, salt, and yeast.
- Turn mixer on low speed and allow it to knead dough for about 5 to 7 minutes (about 7 to 10 minutes by hand using a wooden spoon and then switching to your hands). Add sour cream as needed to form a very moist and wet dough. If it’s at all dry or crumbly, add more sour cream (or Greek yogurt) until it comes together. I used one-17.6 ounce tub of Greek yogurt and almost 1 cup lite sour cream. Dough will be seem like it’s almost too wet and it’s very heavy, but this is what you want. Err on the side of wetter than drier because flour and yeast love moisture when rising.
- Remove dough from the mixing bowl, spray a large bowl with cooking spray, pat dough into a round ball, place it in the bowl, and flip it over once so it’s lightly oiled on both top and bottom. It will look like a dimply head of cauliflower.
- Cover bowl with plasticwrap (spray it with cooking spray in case dough rises high enough to touch it) and place bowl in a warm, draft-free place to rise for about 6 to 8 hours (I did 6 1/2 hours), or doubled in size. If you want to start this before work or before bed and made as an overnight dough and it’ll go 8-10 hours, that’s fine. There’s really no harm in letting it rise for up to 18 hours and the longer you let it go, the more of a classic sourdough/fermented flavor that will develop. If you suspect you’re going to allow it to rise on the longer side (12-18 hours), reduce yeast to about 1/2 teaspoon so dough doesn’t get too puffy and overflow the bowl.
- After 6+ hours of rising, turn dough out onto a floured surface (without punching it down to preserve the air pockets and bubbles that have been created) and knead lightly for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Pat dough into a round mound, and place it back into large mixing bowl, seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 60 to 120 minutes, or until doubled in size (I did 60 minutes; I suspect the longer you let the second rise go, the more ‘holey’ the bread will be). Placing the bowl on the stovetop is a nice spot for this rise because you’re going to turn on the oven and the residual heat emitted helps with rising. - Shortly after dough begins the 60-120 minute rising, turn oven on to 450F and place a covered 7 to 10-quart or sufficiently large Dutch oven (empty) or heavy-bottomed skillet into the oven and allow it to heat for about 45 minutes. Dutch ovens are so heavy and take so long to get truly hot, and when you’re ready to bake the bread, you want the Dutch oven screaming hot.
- After about 60-90 minutes or dough has doubled in size, remove Dutch oven from oven (careful, it’s screaming hot, use two pairs of hot mitts) and carefully place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of Dutch oven to prevent bread from sticking.
Carefully transfer dough from rising bowl to Dutch oven, cover it, and bake covered for 30 minutes. Don’t open the oven door or the Dutch oven lid to peek; you want to seal in the steam. - After 30 minutes, uncover the Dutch oven, and allow bread to bake uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes (I did 8 minutes) or until it’s as browned as desired. Traditional sourdough has a darker crust than most bread (sometimes almost burnt-looking, but I prefer mine on the lighter side).
- Remove Dutch oven from oven, and remove bread from Dutch oven. Place it on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. As tempting as it is, don’t slice too early because the cooling process is important and should be considered an important extension of the baking process. Slice or break off hunks, and serve with honey butter, butter, jam, hummus, etc.
- Bread is best fresh, but will keep airtight at room temp for up to 3 days. Older bread may be better toasted.
Notes
- Note that the yogurt you use must say ‘active cultures’, I used 0% Non-Fat Fage.
- Use closer to 1/2 teaspoon yeast if you plan to allow dough to rise for 12-18 hours; see step 4 above.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Pin This Recipe
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Easy Sourdough Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups bread flour, I use King Arthur
- one-17.6 ounce tub plain unsweetened Greek yogurt with active cultures, 500 grams
- about 1/2 to 1 cup sour cream, or Greek yogurt, lite versions are okay
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- scant 1 teaspoon, just slightly less than 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast (I use Red Star Platinum)
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or use a large mixing bowl and wooden spoon and your hands), add the flour, Greek yogurt, 1/2 cup sour cream, salt, and yeast.
- Turn mixer on low speed and allow it to knead dough for about 5 to 7 minutes (about 7 to 10 minutes by hand using a wooden spoon and then switching to your hands). Add sour cream as needed to form a very moist and wet dough. If it’s at all dry or crumbly, add more sour cream (or Greek yogurt) until it comes together. I used one-17.6 ounce tub of Greek yogurt and almost 1 cup lite sour cream. Dough will be seem like it’s almost too wet and it’s very heavy, but this is what you want. Err on the side of wetter than drier because flour and yeast love moisture when rising.
- Remove dough from the mixing bowl, spray a large bowl with cooking spray, pat dough into a round ball, place it in the bowl, and flip it over once so it’s lightly oiled on both top and bottom. It will look like a dimply head of cauliflower.
- Cover bowl with plasticwrap (spray it with cooking spray in case dough rises high enough to touch it) and place bowl in a warm, draft-free place to rise for about 6 to 8 hours (I did 6 1/2 hours), or doubled in size. If you want to start this before work or before bed and made as an overnight dough and it’ll go 8-10 hours, that’s fine. There’s really no harm in letting it rise for up to 18 hours and the longer you let it go, the more of a classic sourdough/fermented flavor that will develop. If you suspect you’re going to allow it to rise on the longer side (12-18 hours), reduce yeast to about 1/2 teaspoon so dough doesn’t get too puffy and overflow the bowl.
- After 6+ hours of rising, turn dough out onto a floured surface (without punching it down to preserve the air pockets and bubbles that have been created) and knead lightly for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Pat dough into a round mound, and place it back into large mixing bowl, seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 60 to 120 minutes, or until doubled in size (I did 60 minutes; I suspect the longer you let the second rise go, the more ‘holey’ the bread will be). Placing the bowl on the stovetop is a nice spot for this rise because you’re going to turn on the oven and the residual heat emitted helps with rising. - Shortly after dough begins the 60-120 minute rising, turn oven on to 450F and place a covered 7 to 10-quart or sufficiently large Dutch oven (empty) or heavy-bottomed skillet into the oven and allow it to heat for about 45 minutes. Dutch ovens are so heavy and take so long to get truly hot, and when you’re ready to bake the bread, you want the Dutch oven screaming hot.
- After about 60-90 minutes or dough has doubled in size, remove Dutch oven from oven (careful, it’s screaming hot, use two pairs of hot mitts) and carefully place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of Dutch oven to prevent bread from sticking.
Carefully transfer dough from rising bowl to Dutch oven, cover it, and bake covered for 30 minutes. Don’t open the oven door or the Dutch oven lid to peek; you want to seal in the steam. - After 30 minutes, uncover the Dutch oven, and allow bread to bake uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes (I did 8 minutes) or until it’s as browned as desired. Traditional sourdough has a darker crust than most bread (sometimes almost burnt-looking, but I prefer mine on the lighter side).
- Remove Dutch oven from oven, and remove bread from Dutch oven. Place it on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. As tempting as it is, don’t slice too early because the cooling process is important and should be considered an important extension of the baking process. Slice or break off hunks, and serve with honey butter, butter, jam, hummus, etc.
- Bread is best fresh, but will keep airtight at room temp for up to 3 days. Older bread may be better toasted.
Notes
- Note that the yogurt you use must say ‘active cultures’, I used 0% Non-Fat Fage.
- Use closer to 1/2 teaspoon yeast if you plan to allow dough to rise for 12-18 hours; see step 4 above.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Homemade Bread Recipes:
Easy Cheddar Sourdough Bread — The bread is hearty, satisfying, and has a firm crust that gives was to a super moist, soft interior with ample hunks of cheddar.
No-Knead Make-Ahead Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter — The easiest dinner rolls ever! No kneading, no fuss & you can make the dough ahead of time! Perfect for holiday meals and parties!
Raisin Bread for Raisin Lovers — There’s nothing worse than raisin bread with like five raisins in the whole slice, which isn’t a problem here. Calling all raisin lovers, this bread is for you!
Honey Dinner Rolls — Soft, fluffy rolls brushed with sweet honey butter! Truly the best dinner rolls ever. They disappear so fast at holiday meals & parties!
One-Hour Sun-Dried Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Focaccia Bread — The bread is soft and chewy, loaded with tangy sun-dried tomatoes, and the basil is the perfect complement to the tomatoes.
100% Whole Wheat No-Knead Make Ahead Dinner Rolls with Honey Butter – Working with wheat flour and yeast is usually the kiss of death but these rolls are light, fluffy, soft and you’d never guess made exclusively with whole wheat flour!
Soft and Fluffy Sandwich Bread (vegan) — The bread is versatile for anything from sandwiches to grilled cheese to French toast. It’s an easy recipe, even for bread-making novices.
Originally posted November 20, 2014 and reposted with updated text February 25, 2022.
Could I use all greek yogurt instead of yogurt AND sour cream?
I haven’t tried it that way so I cannot say for sure the results.
Can you make this recipe into rolls?
Possibly but I haven’t tried and am not sure if they would work or not.
Cannot wait to try this. Went through seven days of making a starter and made the bread – did not raise at all, even though the starter passed the ‘ready’ test ~ will let you know how it turned out – thanks so much!!
This is the cheater’s guide to sourdough and works like a charm! Keep me posted!
Hello.
I finished mixing the dough and I have used all of the right ingredients and quantities, yet it has the consistency of toothpaste. Is this what I am looking for ? I added about 70 grams of whole wheat flour to thicken it a bit, but its still quite runny. At this point no way I’m taking it out of the bowl to try to shape it.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.
Well you’ve probably deteremined what to do with it by this point. Hopefully things came out well. Whole wheat flour as a sidenote would not be my first choice for bread for the average person because it’s trickier to work with to get things to rise and not be dense. I would stick with AP or bread flour for the future just as a tip. Not saying that you can’t make w.w. bread at home, but you need to alter the original ratios.
Sourdough dough is typically a wet dough – it comes together as you let it sit and rise and knock down for a second rise… resist the temptation to add flour or you’ll make it too dense and dry. The key is to work quickly in forming your dough ball on a floured counter, once formed into shape, move it onto parchment (it allows you to carry the dough to the pan).
And Make sure you score it on top to give the bread a decided place to expand, otherwise you risk side blowout.
Hello.
I just finished mixing and I am letting it rest for 6 hours.
I am a little concerned with the texture.
I used the proper quantities. For the flour I used 385 grams of unbleached bread flour which should be equal to 3 cups. 500g of yogurt and half the quantity os sour cream.
The texture I get sort of resembles toothpaste. Actually could be a bit of a runny toothpaste. Is this the right “wetter” texture?
You mention taking it out of the bowl and shaping it round before returning to a large bowl. I can’t even think of doing that right now.
Any hints.
Many thanks.
Can’t wait to give this a go, however, i would like to know if you have ever used this as a sourdough pizza base?
No I have not. Interesting thought…let me know if you try it. I think knowing this bread, it wouldn’t be quite the right texture as a pizza crust, and you’d have to rework the recipe a bit to get to the correct texture for a pizza dough. But that’s just my hunch and haven’t experiemented.
Wonderful recipe! This one was a lot of fun and yielded a spectacular moist and fluffy loaf that had incredible flavor! Thanks!
I just mad this bread and love it!!!! Thank you very much. Yummmmmmmy
I just mad this bread and love it!!!! Thank you very much. Yummmmmmmy
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you loved it!
Can I use emmer flour instead of bread flour?
I don’t know what kind of flour that is and have made the recipe only as I wrote it.
From a quick Google search, emmer is a grain, so I’d say give it a shot!
What are the measurements?
They’re listed in the recipe.
This was one of the best and easiest sourdough recipes I have tried. My family can’t get enough of it and I love the fact that I don’t need a starter. Have done it in an overnight situation as well as same day. Same day we were up early anyway and bread was done in time for a 6pm dinner!!! What is the nutritional information? Just wondering!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that it was one of the best and easiest sour doughs you’ve tried!
I don’t have the nutr info on it at this moment. Working on updating all my recipes but you can calculate using an online tool yourself in the meantime.
This was one of the best and easiest sourdough recipes I have tried. My family can’t get enough of it and I love the fact that I don’t need a starter. Have done it in an overnight situation as well as same day. Same day we were up early anyway and bread was done in time for a 6pm dinner!!!
OMG! I am so happy! Tried doing the “potato flakes” sourdough recipe and just didn’t have the patience for it! Made this last night and was perfect!!!! Let it rise for 6 hours, then turned it out on flour to knead “ gently” , put in pan and let it rise for another hour. Only thing I baked it in a regular loaf pan at 350 for 40 minutes. Will be making again and will let it rise longer for more holes. Thank you thank you thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad you’re so happy with this recipe and will make it again!
Hi Averie! So I tented the heavy cast iron skillet with foil to seal it, removed it the last 5-10 minutes and it worked well enough!! Only issue I had was that it didn’t rise as high as expected while baking & think I left the dough too wet, as it had a few gooey spots near the loafs center. Taste and texture ARE there however. Going to try again tonight until I perfect it. Thanks so much for this gorgeous recipe!!😘😘
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that you’re going to keep trying it until you perfect it! Bread making is for sure one of those things that practice makes perfect!