Same Day Sourdough Bread

Sourdough bread has been called a labor of love but if you have access to a good sourdough starter, baking artisan sourdough at home is a whole lot easier than you think!

Like so many other people, baking bread has always intrigued me. If you have spent any amount of time with me, in person or on this site, I make no secret of the fact that bread is just one of those things that I don’t feel like I am good at. I have a couple of favorite recipes that always work, like Jalapeno Cheddar Focaccia Bread, Parker House Dinner Rolls (thanks, Bobby Flay!) and Cheddar-Dill Dutch Oven Bread, but I can’t seem to make a loaf of white bread that comes anywhere close to the deliciousness of the grocery store bakery. *sigh*

When our worlds came to a screeching halt with Coronavirus and I (and the rest of the world) could no longer find commercial yeast on the grocery store shelves, I decided to try my hand at building my own. I love science and building a sourdough starter from scratch is truly rewarding (and can be a little bit frustrating – not gonna lie).

Now that I have an active, healthy and mature starter I have been making all sorts of sourdough bread. I have learned so many things, one of which is that it can take a long time and I don’t want to wait! So what’s a girl to do? Create a recipe, of course, that involves taking the starter out of the fridge, letting it rise overnight and having bread by dinnertime the next day.

Get your hands on some sourdough starter (make your own, get some from a friend or even order it online) and make this same day sourdough bread. I promise you will not be disappointed. It is so satisfying to create something this beautiful and delicious in just a few hours!

Why make Same Day Sourdough Bread?

This bread is easy and delicious, offering the tang of sourdough bread without being overly sour. The crust is crispy and delicious and the crumb (the inside) is flavorful and spongy. The business of making sourdough bread is a master skill that can be hard for a lot of at home bakers but this is a great starter recipe for those of us that are still learning.

This recipe doesn’t use any conventional yeast and gives a glimpse of the power of sourdough starter. In other words, it makes the science come to life and shows home bakers how versatile it can be. My friends and family ask me to bake this bread for them all the time and I am happy to oblige as this bread makes me feel like an accomplished baker!

Do I need any Special Equipment?

For this recipe, I use a stand mixer equipped with a dough hook, parchment paper and a small 4.5 quart dutch oven with a cover to bake the bread in. I use an inexpensive metal brownie pan half filled with water on the rack under the dutch oven during baking, and the first few times that I made this recipe I checked to be sure that the bread was cooked all the way through with an instant read thermometer (should read between 205 and 210 degrees F when done).

The dutch oven that I use is not an expensive one and it has gotten pretty stained on the enamel inside just from using it to bake, even with the parchment paper. You can use cast iron if you have it and it will stain a lot less.

If you want to use a cast iron pan and you don’t have a cover for it just be sure that the water in the pan below the rack you are going to bake on is good and steamy before you put your bread in (preheat + add an additional 10 minutes before putting the bread in to bake or start with boiling water when you preheat).

Spritzing the bread with a light mist of water before baking will also have the same effect as cooking for the first ten minutes with the cover on. There are ways around everything! Don’t be afraid to use a workaround – it is a great way to learn and grow as a home cook.

When is Sourdough Starter ready to use?

Sourdough starter is an established colony of wild yeast that can be used for baking. It adds a more complex flavor and texture and once you have some, you can make literally every baked good that you can think of with it. I built my starter from scratch because I love the science of it but you don’t have to. You can get sourdough starter from all sorts of places, a family member, a friend, a generous bakery… you can even buy it on Amazon.

The thing with starter is that you need to “feed” it to use it. When you feed it, it gets very active and happy and rises to at least double it’s volume like in the picture above. This is what they refer to when they say that you should use it for baking at the time of or just past the “peak”. I feed my starter every time I use it but then immediately move it to the refrigerator so that it does not rise. I mark the level of the amount of starter with an elastic band. For this recipe, I pull the starter out of the fridge when I go to bed so that I can bake with it the next day. By the time I get up and get going, it has doubled and is ready to go.

This recipe calls for about 1/2 cup of active starter (100 grams). My mixture is a ratio of 1:1:1 where I combine 50g of mature starter, 50 g of warm water and 50 g of flour and let it rise for 10-12 hours or until doubled. I use all but 50 grams, leaving me just enough starter left to feed it again and put it back in the fridge until next time.

How to make Same Day Sourdough Bread

Put the sourdough starter, warm water, salt, honey, and 2 1/2 cups of bread flour (400 grams) into the bowl of a stand mixer. Set the remaining 1/4 cup (40 grams) of bread flour aside.

Using a spoon, roughly mix the contents of the bowl just until it comes together into a shaggy dough. I use a Danish dough whisk. I like it because nothing sticks to it. They aren’t very expensive on Amazon but you do not need to use one unless you want to. Once the dough has just come together, let it rest for 15 minutes.

Using a dough hook, mix the dough in the stand mixer for 5 minutes, slowly adding the last 1/4 cup (40 grams) of bread flour.

While the dough is being kneaded, lightly grease a medium bowl with cooking spray. Using lightly floured hands, remove the dough from the hook and shape into a ball. Place into the greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

Allow to rise for three hours in a warm place, performing a set of stretch and folds after each hour has passed. Wait – WHAT? You might be wondering what the heck a stretch and fold is. Let me show you!

After the third stretch and fold, place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and place inside of a small dutch oven. Allow to rise one final hour.

After the final rise, score the dough using a sharp knife or a bread lame. Do it like you mean it. The first time I did it I was afraid of deflating the bread but this is Sourdough bread and it needs deeper cuts to allow for “oven spring” which is the rising it does while baking.

Fill a small oven proof container halfway with water. Place onto the lowest oven rack and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. The steam from this water will help your bread to have a crispier (but not hard) crust.

Once preheated, cover the dutch oven with the lid and bake for 10 minutes. The bread will rise slightly in the first ten minutes with the lid on.

Remove the lid and bake for an additional 30 minutes until the bread has risen and the crust has become golden brown.

Remove from the dutch oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing. If you cut the bread too early, the crumb (inside of the bread) will be gummy. Let it cool before you cut. It is worth the wait!

Serve immediately. Store at room temperature for up to three days. Enjoy!

Here’s some other bread recipes you may like:

Jalapeno Cheddar Focaccia Bread – Flavorful Italian inspired bread gets kicked up a notch with the addition of cheddar cheese and spicy jalapenos. The perfect combination of yum.

Parker House Dinner Rolls – A family favorite for special occasions these also make great slider buns and little sandwiches.

Cheddar-Dill Dutch Oven Bread – Easy to make bread with a great texture and a complex flavor.

No Fail Pizza Dough – Simple and delicious – great in the oven or on the grill, just add your favorite fixins!

Rustic Dutch Oven Bread – Five pantry ingredients come together in this easy to make crusty bread, a delicious addition to homemade soup or chili.

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Same Day Sourdough Bread

Sourdough bread has been called a labor of love but if you have access to a good sourdough starter, baking artisan sourdough at home is a whole lot easier than you think!

4.63 from 8 votes

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Equipment

• Stand mixer equipped with a dough hook.
• Parchment Paper
• Small 4.5 quart dutch oven.
• Oven proof pan for water (for the rack under the dutch oven).
• Instant read thermometer (OPTIONAL – not necessary).

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mature sourdough starter, at peak 100 grams
• 1 cup water, warm (105 – 115 degrees) 245 grams
• 1 tsp salt 7 grams
• 1 tbsp honey 22 grams
• 2 3/4 cups bread flour, divided 440 grams
• cooking spray

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Instructions

• Put the sourdough starter, warm water, salt, honey, and 2 1/2 cups of bread flour (400 grams) into the bowl of a stand mixer. Set the remaining 1/4 cup (40 grams) of bread flour aside.
• Using a spoon, roughly mix the contents of the bowl just until it comes together into a shaggy dough. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Using a dough hook, mix the dough in the stand mixer for 5 minutes, slowly adding the last 1/4 cup (40 grams) of bread flour.
• While the dough is being kneaded, lightly grease a medium bowl with cooking spray. Using lightly floured hands, remove the dough from the hook and shape into a ball. Place into the greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Allow to rise for three hours in a warm place, performing a set of stretch and folds after each hour has passed.
• After the third stretch and fold, place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and place inside of a small dutch oven. Allow to rise one final hour.
• After the final rise, score the dough using a sharp knife or a bread lame.
• Fill a small oven proof container halfway with water. Place onto the lowest oven rack and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Once preheated, cover the dutch oven with the lid and bake for 10 minutes. Bread will rise slightly.
• Remove the lid and bake for an additional 30 minutes until golden brown.
• Remove from the dutch oven and cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before slicing.
• Serve immediately. Store at room temperature for up to three days. Enjoy!

* The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.

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